Anderson, Archibald

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Battle:3 Sep 1650, Battle of Dunbar, at Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland
Ship/Arrival:Unity; Dec 1650, Massachusetts Bay Colony
Prisoner and List:Archibald Anderson, #1 on George S. Stewart’s Captured at Dunbar list
Name Variations:Anderson, Henderson, Archibald, Arzbell, Arsbell
Residences:Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts
Other SPOW Associations:“Near of kin” to Alexander Grimes.
Every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy; please independently verify all data.

Published: 3 December 2014
Updated: 05 Sep 2020
Researchers: Ray Dusek, Dr. Andrew Millard, Teresa Rust
Editor: Teresa Rust

First Generation in the New World

1. ARCHIBALD¹ ANDERSON, was born in Scotland and died at the Iron Works at Lynn, Massachusetts on 13 June 1661.

Biographical Notes:
1. Contributed by Dr. Andrew Millard in July 2018:
According to, Christopher Gerrard, Pam Graves, Andrew Millard, Richard Annis, and Anwen Caffell, in, Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650, (England: Oxbow Books, 2018), on page 248, Archibald is categorized as: Probable [that he is a Dunbar prisoner transported on the Unity] Anderson/Henderson, Archibald/Arzbell/Arsbell. Residences: Lynn MA. Appears: 1661. D.1661. “Near of kin” to Alexander Grimes. [Exiles; DR; SPOWS; Ch.7 & 8; App.B] For explanations of the category, abbreviations and references see List of Dunbar prisoners from Lost Lives, New Voices.
2. Arzbell/Arsbell Anderson died 13 Jun 1661 at the Iron Works in Lynn, MA.1 As no wife or children are mentioned we can presume he died without heirs. He appears to have been in Lynn in 1642. If this is correct he is not a Dunbar prisoner of war.

History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant
by Lewis, Alonzo, 1794-1861; Newhall, James R. (James Robinson), 1809-1893, page 207 Annals of Lynn, YEAR 1642.

Sources and Notes:

History of Lynn, page 83. Found and submitted by Ray Dusek. Is this accurate? If so, he would not be a Dunbar prisoner of war.

1 Essex County, MA: Early Probate Records, 1635-1681, Vol 2, p 338-339. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015).

Scots Prisoners and Their Relocation to the Colonies :
“Aside from the Scot prisoners, there were other Scots, who also arrived on The Unity. Many also worked at the Iron Works. They were as follows:

  • James Adams
  • Archibald Anderson
  • —- Davison (died either before or right after arrival)
  • James Hage
  • Rober Macintire
  • Alexander Macmalless
  • James Moore
  • John Paul”

I am not sure what sources they have for this idea that not all on the ship were prisoners. ~Teresa