annie evans arrington
1892-1914
Life Story
A Brief Life of Love, Family, and Tragedy in the Altare Community
Early Life and Family Heritage
Annie Evans Arrington was born around 1892 in Newton County, Mississippi, to Benjamin Evans (1840–1909) and Josephine Walker Evans (1852–?), both lifelong residents of the Altare community. The Evans and Walker families were among the earliest and most influential in the region, known for their faith, resilience, and commitment to community life.
Growing up in Altare, Annie’s world revolved around faith, family, and the rhythm of rural life. She attended local schools—likely connected to the Altare Missionary Baptist Church—and helped her parents on the family farm. These early experiences shaped her character, instilling in her a sense of perseverance, compassion, and strong moral grounding that defined her short but meaningful life.
Marriage and Family
On April 1, 1911, at the age of nineteen, Annie married Van Arrington (1886–?), a young man from another respected local family. Their union represented the joining of two long-established Altare lineages—the Evans and Arrington families—whose ties extended across generations of kinship and shared spiritual life.
While their marriage was brief, it symbolized the hopes and aspirations of a new generation within the Altare community. Tragically, Annie’s life came to an end just three years later, before she and Van had children together. Her untimely passing deeply affected both families and remained a source of sorrow and remembrance in the community for many years.
Tragic Death and Conflicting Records
Annie passed away on May 27, 1914, at the young age of twenty-two. Her death was a devastating loss to the family and to the Altare community that cherished her.
Two separate death certificates were filed, reflecting both the confusion and emotional turmoil surrounding her passing. One was recorded by her uncle, Tom Walker, who stated that Annie had been suffering from a fever. The other was completed by Bairl Arrington, the brother of her husband, who reported the cause of death as septic fever following childbirth—a tragic and all-too-common outcome in an era when maternal healthcare was limited, especially in rural communities.
These duplicate records underscore both the grief felt by her loved ones and the difficulties families faced in documenting such events accurately. Each informant, while mourning, sought to ensure Annie’s story was recorded and remembered.
Resting Place and Legacy
Annie was laid to rest in the Altare Missionary Baptist Church graveyard, surrounded by family members and fellow worshipers whose lives were intertwined with her own. Her grave serves as a quiet testament to a young life full of promise, devotion, and faith.
Though her years were few, her memory endures through the stories of the Evans, Walker, and Arrington families—each preserving her name as part of the larger heritage of the Altare community. Annie’s life reflects both the fragility of existence and the enduring strength of family and faith that have long defined Newton County’s Black heritage.
Sidebar: Motherhood and Mortality in Early 20th-Century Mississippi
In the early 1900s, childbirth remained one of the most perilous experiences for women, particularly in rural Mississippi. Limited medical resources, the absence of trained physicians, and inadequate sanitation meant that conditions like septic fever often proved fatal.
For African American women like Annie Evans Arrington, these dangers were compounded by economic hardship and racial inequalities in access to healthcare. Their stories reveal both the vulnerability and the strength of women whose lives were sustained by community care and faith.
Each record of loss—such as Annie’s—reminds us of the broader struggle for survival and dignity that shaped the experiences of rural Black families in the South. Her story is not only one of sorrow but also of courage, echoing through generations who remember the sacrifices of women whose love and labor formed the foundation of communities like Altare.
Resting Place
Altare Missionary Baptist Church Graveyard
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1900 Federal Census
- 1910 Federal Census
- Mississippi, U.S., Index to Deaths, 1912-1943
- U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
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