Janet was born at Queens Gardens, Glasgow, on 15th December 1901, one of seven children in the family of James Farie Anderson and Janet McCall (nee Henderson). Her father was a solicitor in the well-established firm of Anderson & Pattison. Brought up in Glasgow, she was ten at the time of the 1911 Census which reveals that the family lived in some comfort at 11 Grosvenor Terrace in the West End. Sixteen people were recorded that day as sharing a large household, six of whom were servants, including a governess and a nurse in addition to cooks and maids. At that time the children were being educated at home. Later, Janet attended St. Andrews University, graduating M.A. in 1923. She returned to Glasgow to study and graduated LL.B.in 1925 with a solid record that included a Distinction certificate in Civil Law. Although she did not immediately petition the Court of Session for admission as a solicitor she did so in 1943, probably having continued to work in the family firm (now Anderson, Young & Dickson) in effect having done the same job de facto until she deemed it necessary to complete the formalities of registration. According to the register of the General Council she was living on Skye in 1950, but no occupation or marriage is listed. The Anderson family did make an alliance through marriage with Maclay, Murray and Spens, the firm that had taken on Madge Easton Anderson as an apprentice in 1917. Janet’s sister Nancy married Thomas Patrick Spens in 1924 and their son became a partner in the firm from 1960-1990. Janet died in Port Glasow aged 81 in 1982.
Sources
GU Registry and General Council records
Scotland’s People
CoSS Petitions List CS46 1943/11/12
