A portrait of young Anna Rosalie
Teacher, Writer, Poet, Community Activist
Anna Rosalie was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. She was daughter of prosperous merchants who fled to Brazil during the Civil War. Following the war, her family moved back to the states and Anna Rosalie attended Chegary Institute in Philadelphia.
As a well-educated, multilingual woman, she was hired by the Henderson family as a tutor and moved to live with the family where she met and later married Jock Bedell Henderson. The couple lived at Henderson Hall and helped to run the family farm. Despite the overwhelming chores of daily life, Anna Rosalie found time to channel her creative energy into writing essays, poetry, and hymns.
Anna Rosalie was a feminist ahead of her time. She was active in local organizations, including the Women’s Literary Club of Parkersburg, the Women’s Centennial Association of Marietta, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Colonial Daughters, and the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society.
Of Note
Wife of Jock Bedell Henderson
Mother of George Travis Henderson, Rosalie McMahon Henderson, Hope Henderson, Jock Lee Henderson, Don Lithgow Henderson, Arthur Edgar Henderson, and Lorna Tomlinson Henderson Diehl Banner
A book of her poetry was published in 1900.
