[1] He was appointed to the staff of the first North American Boundary Commission, established following the 1846 Oregon Treaty to survey the 49th parallel from the Strait of Georgia eastward to the Rockies.

He received intensive instruction in astronomy at the Ordnance Survey office in Southampton before sailing to Canada, arriving on Vancouver Island in December 1859.

[1] In 1872, he returned to western Canada after being appointed chief astronomer to the second British commission, and arrived at Pembina on 18 September 1872.

[1] For his services, Anderson received a CMG in 1877, having also been elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1876.

He is remembered by a plaque at Rochester Cathedral as well as being the namesake of Anderson Peak located in Alberta, Canada.