A Powerful Partnership: J.C. League and Harper Anderson

One name we keep seeing in the archival papers of J.C. League is Harper Anderson. Mr. Anderson was a Galveston attorney who worked for J.C. ensuring the smooth operation of his vast land-related business interests. When J.C. traveled, and he traveled frequently, it was Harper that held down the fort. He kept meticulous registers of each day’s business activity, typed it all in lengthy letters, then dispatched the information to J.C.’s various hotel destinations. 

Harper’s letters to J.C. reveal not only an efficient working partnership that resonates even in today’s digital age, but a true friendship built on trust, loyalty, and mutual respect. You’ll see more of Harper’s letters to J.C. on this blog from time to time, but we’ll start with the first one in the archives.

This letter of August 3, 1904 is a good example of Harper and J.C.'s intricate business operation.

Taken by Harper’s genteel professionalism, we wanted to know more about him. It was another captivating rabbit hole.

Charles Harper Anderson Jr. was born in 1875 at the Locust Hill Plantation in Ivy, Virginia. He was a great-great nephew of Meriwether Lewis, who was born at Locust Hill in 1774. An interesting side note about Meriwether Lewis. He died at age 35, shot to death at the Grinder’s Stand Inn just off the Natchez Trace near Nashville. History debates whether his death was murder or suicide, but he was shot several times so I’m leaning toward murder. Robbers and other bad guys were not uncommon on the Natchez Trace back then. 

The Locust Hill estate passed out of family hands in 1892. In 1894, perhaps influenced by the explorers and public administrators in his family, Harper moved to Galveston and began to study law. By 1901 he had passed the Texas bar exam setting the stage for his pivotal collaboration with J.C. League.

Harper’s personal life flourished alongside his career. In 1902, he married Caroline Frances Gwyn. Caroline was the daughter of Galveston’s Doctor Charles Gwyn who sadly died from ‘exposure’ to the 1900 storm. We’re not yet sure where Mr. Anderson first lived in Galveston, but in 1914 he purchased property at the corner of 17th and Broadway from dressmaker Sarah Behrman and built a two-story home for his family. That house still stands, diagonally across from the League-Kempner house. 

Built in 1914, the home of Harper Anderson Jr. and family was just steps away from that of J.C. and Nellie Ball League. Photo credit: Kelli Beyer.

Harper and Caroline had four children, all of which attended Galveston’s Ball High School. Their son Charles Harper Anderson III particularly distinguished himself, graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1925 before embarking on an illustrious naval career marked by significant contributions to national security, including a distinguished Commendation Ribbon for his work in the design and development of anti-aircraft guns in the months following Pearl Harbor. In February 1945, Captain Anderson took command of the USS Collingsworth and six months later was anchored in Machinato, Okinawa on VJ Day. That November, following the end of World War II, the Collingsworth joined the "Magic Carpet" operation, returning 1500 American toops home to the U.S.

Captain Harper Anderson III

The impact of Harper Anderson Jr. extended far beyond his role as J.C. League's legal counsel. His dedication to his profession, his family, and his adopted home exemplified the spirit of excellence that defined Galveston’s golden era, and left an indelible mark on the island's history.