Biography
Born in 1876 to former enslaved farmer William Anderson and his French-Canadian wife Philomen Langlois in Shoreham, Vermont, William Anderson, Jr. attended Mount Herman Preparatory School in Massachusetts. He stayed on at the school to manage their laundry service for a number of years. While there he became active in the Republican Party, attending Gov. Coolidge's inaugural ceremonies in 1919.
In 1920 he returned to Shoreham where he began his orchard business. In 1935 he was elected the president of the Vermont Horticultural Society. Through his actions, he integrated the Vermont Masons through a unanimous vote by all lodges. He served in a number of elected town offices before his election to the legislature in 1945.
With his election, he became the second African American to serve in the Vermont legislature - more than 100 years after Alexander Twilight in 1836. At the time, many Montpelier institutions such as the Pavilion Hotel and the Montpelier Tavern (now Capitol Plaza) were closed to him due to segregation. At the national level, he worked with U.S. Senator from Vermont Warren Austin to increase the number of black officers in the Army and create a Senior ROTC unit at Tuskegee University.Education
Mount Herman Preparatory SchoolOccupation
Orchardist
Politician