Walter McDaniel Anding Sr. 1893-1962

Lineage:  Walter, John Sylvester, William Burt, John Seaton, Jonathan, Solomon, William, Solomon born 1680 England

By:  Linda Allred Cooper

Alan Fleming, pictured here with his wife Vache, contacted me in 2019 asking if I would help solve his family's family tree mystery.  He had grown up hearing family stories about how his Grandfather, Walter Anding Sr., was the son of "Old Man Allred" and his African American maid Eliza McDaniel.   This union and illegitimate child was an Open Secret in the little town where they lived.   Walter's daughter, Mildred Anding Fleming (Alan's mother), had often told:  "Their lives being a little easier because mostly everyone knew of the connection between my father and "Old Man Allred".   Alan also stated he heard many stories about how the family did not suffer as much racial discrimination as other Black families in the area because everyone knew Old Man Allred was Walter's father.  

Who was Old Man Allred?  Was the story true?  If true, had it been a love affair?  Rape?  Or did the Black maid simply comply when the White boss demanded sex, a sad but common practice in the Post Civil War South.   Those answers may never be known because, as Alan's mother said "those things simply were not talked about" and everyone who may have known is now dead.  

Regardless of how Walter came to be, he was raised in a loving home.  His mother, Eliza, married Steve Anding in 1893 (per the 1900 Ferguson, Copiah Co., MS census), about the time Walter was born, and Walter was given the Anding surname.    Walter served as a Private in the Army during WWI.   After the war, he married Leontine Coleman and together they raised 13 children.  But, back to Old Man Allred...

I approached this project from a genealogical focus, looking at original records such as census, marriage/death, land, etc.   Allred DNA Project Co-Manager Mike Kidd approached it from a DNA Match focus.  Together, we determined John Sylvester Allred 1850-1916 of Copiah County, Mississippi was the most likely father of Walter Anding.  Click on the Report Links on the left to read how we can to this conclusion as we welcome our new cousin Alan Fleming into the Allred Family!!