Anderson, Martin J.

Marty Anderson was an amateur historian of Colorado River history. Born in 1943, Anderson's interest in the Colorado began upon meeting river-runner and Grand Canyon historian, Otis "Dock" Marston in 1971. Marston acted as a historian-guide on a commercial Grand Canyon boat trip in which Anderson participated. Thus began a lengthy association, mostly via mail and telephone, between the two men. Anderson's letters reveal a growing awareness of himself as a historian and writer. His painstaking efforts to accurately transcribe the handwritten letters and journals of early Grand Canyon river runners such as John Wesley Powell, Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, and Almon Harris Thompson helped him transform from a casual river-running enthusiast to a highly "competent amateur" historian--he referred to himself as such in a letter. Anderson passed away June 5, 1995.