Jerome E. Anderson

ANDERSON, Jerome E. Genealogist, Jerome E. Anderson of Easthampton, formerly of Warren, MA, and Boston, died on February 13, 2023, at age 81. Genealogist, book collector, and former chemist, Jerome was a longtime member and staff member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, delivering lectures around the country, preparing exhibits, and carrying out valuable research for patrons and colleagues, for publications and his own projects. He was an editorial consultant for the NEHGS Register and contributing editor for The American Genealogist (TAG). He was known as a specialist in early handwriting, on Anderson family lines, and the Scotch-Irish of early New England and Canada, with a particular interest in Maine ancestry. In 1995, he produced a family genealogy for the historian David McCullough, keynote speaker for the Society's anniversary. He was also an enthusiastic member of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. As a book collector, Jerome concentrated on American and New England history and science, and the history of books, bookbinding, and printing. With activities and memberships such as in the Ticknor Society of Boston, the American Antiquarian Society, and the Friends of the Houghton Library, he contributed uniquely to research and collections in early New England book and printing history. Other interests included antiques and horticulture. Jerome Elwood Anderson was born April 11, 1941, in Chippewa Falls, WI, to Eunice Healy and Elwood Edgar Anderson, and grew up in the town of Hammond, WI. His father was a county agricultural agent and his mother taught Latin, French, and other subjects in the local schools. Catholic in his faith and catholic in his interests, Jerome early began exploring his family history and followed academic successes in both the humanities and science with a chemistry degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1963. With both Wilson and National Science Foundation fellowships for graduate work at Harvard, he received his master's degree there in organic chemistry in 1965. After several years of teaching and Boston laboratory work, along with his deepening genealogical research, Jerome joined the staff of NEHGS on Newbury Street, then served as reference librarian and frequent lecturer. In 2002, continuing as a consultant, he moved to the town of Warren in central Massachusetts with his longtime companion, Cassandra D. Phelps (C. Deirdre Phelps). They married the following year and recently relocated to Easthampton. Besides his wife, Jerome is survived by two younger brothers and their families, Terence Anderson of Greendale, WI, and Michael E. Anderson of  OK.. Condolences may be sent to the Mitchell Funeral Home in EASTHAMPTON, www.Mitchellcofuneralhome.com Contributions in Jerome's memory may be made to the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, or the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

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