William Henry Anderson correspondence regarding the Crocodile Club

William Henry Anderson was born on January 12, 1836 in Londonderry, New Hampshire. He was part of Yale College's Class of 1859. While a student, he helped start and became the steward of the Yale student organization called the Crocodile Club in 1858. However, the club was short lived due to an altercation with a group of New Haven, Connecticut firemen that resulted in the death of fireman William Miles. The members of the Crocodile Club were put on trial, but none of them were convicted. Anderson continued as a student of Yale after the club disbanded. After graduation in 1859, he became a private teacher for two families. In 1860, he moved to Lowell, Massachusetts and began working in the law office of Morse and Stevens. Anderson was admitted to the bar in 1862 and started a partnership called Stevens and Anderson with lawyer George Stevens. The partnership lasted until 1875 and then Anderson practiced alone for the rest of his career. Besides practicing law, Anderson served on the school committee of Lowell, Massachusetts, served on the Common Council in 1868 and 1869, served as director of the Merchant’s National Bank of Lowell from 1870 until his death, and served on the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1871 and 1872. Anderson married on October 1, 1868 and had one daughter. He died on April 14, 1902 in Lowell, Massachusetts.