Thomas B. Anderson

THOMAS B. ANDERSON was born in Camden on June 5, 1889. He was the son of John Anderson and his wife, the former Delia Fowler, most likely at the family home at 1032 Line Street in Camden’s Seventh Ward. This home was owned by his grandfather, William Anderson, who served as county freeholder in the 1890s and 1900s. Both his father and grandfather worked at one time or another at the nearby iron works. Anderson also served on Camden’s police force in the 1890s and 1900s.

Thomas B. Anderson was an excellent baseball player, and was well known in local sports circles in the 1900s and 1910s. He played for teams sponsored by the Camden Iron Works, the Denmar Athletic Club, and the P.O.S. of A. (Patriotic Order, Sons of America).

By June of 1910 Thomas B. Anderson had married. The young couple lived initially at the family home at 1032 Line Street, but had moved next door to 1030 by June of 1917, when Thomas B. Anderson registered for the draft. By then there were four children, Frank, William, Dorothy, and Virginia. A fifth daughter, Naomi, came shortly thereafter. Thomas B. Anderson was then working at the Victor Talking Machine Company plant. He returned to the iron foundry that had provided employ to his father and grandfather by 1920. He then was working as a “crane runner.”

During the 1920s the Andersons moved to 1012 Line Street. Thomas B. Anderson had found work as a brakeman with the Pennsylvania Railroad by the spring of 1930. Tragically, he was killed in a freight car accident in Philadelphia on March 16, 1932. He was survived by his wife and children, mother, brother Charles F. Anderson and sisters Lydia and Elizabeth Anderson Strauss.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM today for Thomas B. Anderson, 42, of 1012 Line Street, who was fatally injured Wednesday when crushed between two cars of a shifting freight train in Philadelphia.

Anderson is survived by his widow Rebecca, three sons, and two daughters. He was the son of John Anderson, a former Camden policeman, and a grandson of William Anderson, active in political circles here years ago. As a young man, Anderson was well known as a promising baseball player, playing with the Camden Iron Works team, Denmar A.C., and the P.O.S. of A.