Our Unique Stories

annie laura evans kidd

1914-1964

Life Story

Faithful Daughter, Devoted Wife, and a Life Rooted in Community

Early Life and Family Roots

Annie Laura Evans Kidd was born on July 7, 1914, in the Lawrence community of Newton County, Mississippi, into one of the area’s deeply rooted and interconnected families. She was the daughter of Robert T. Evans and Alsena Williams Evans, a couple whose household reflected both the labor and resilience of Black rural life in the early twentieth century.

The 1920 census captures Annie Laura at just five years old, growing up in a large, multigenerational household in Beat 4. Surrounded by older siblings—including Sarah, Fannie, Alberta, Lindsey, and Charlie—she came of age in a family where work, faith, and mutual support were essential to survival. By 1930, as a teenager, she was already contributing to the family farm as an unpaid laborer while continuing her education, a balance common among young Black girls in the rural South.

Coming of Age in Rural Mississippi

Annie Laura’s early adulthood unfolded during the Great Depression, a time when economic hardship intensified the demands placed on families like the Evanses. Despite these challenges, she completed at least one year of high school—an achievement that reflected both personal determination and the value her family placed on education.

By 1940, she had begun building a life of her own while still contributing to the economic structure of family labor. Like many women of her generation, her work was often unrecorded in wages but essential in sustaining the household.

Marriage and Home Life

On December 18, 1937, Annie Laura married Ezelle Kidd, forming a union that would anchor her adult life. The couple established their home in Newton County, where they remained part of the close-knit Lawrence community.

Census records from 1940 and 1950 show Annie Laura as a devoted wife and homemaker. Though listed at times as an unpaid worker, her role within the household was central—maintaining the home, supporting her husband, and contributing to the broader family network that defined community life in rural Mississippi.

Their marriage was marked by both love and loss. The couple had one child, who tragically preceded Annie Laura in death—a quiet but profound sorrow that shaped her later years.

A Life of Faith and Service

At the heart of Annie Laura’s life was her enduring commitment to the church. From an early age, she joined Union Chapel Methodist Church in Lawrence, where she remained a faithful and active member throughout her life.

Her obituary reflects the depth of her spiritual devotion, describing her Christian life as “the fragrance of a beautiful rose.” This poetic tribute speaks not only to her personal faith but to the way she lived it—through service, kindness, and quiet influence within her church and community.

Union Chapel was more than a place of worship; it was a center of identity, stability, and belonging. Annie Laura’s lifelong dedication to the church places her within a broader tradition of Black women whose faith work sustained both congregation and community across generations.

Tragic Death and Community Loss

On November 7, 1964, Annie Laura Evans Kidd’s life was suddenly and tragically cut short in an automobile accident on Highway 80 near Newton. The accident claimed four lives and was reported as one of the first fatal crashes in that patrol district in several years.

She was just 50 years old.

Her passing was not only a personal loss to her family but a communal loss deeply felt throughout Lawrence and the surrounding area. In communities like hers, where lives were closely intertwined, such tragedies reverberated across church pews, family homes, and shared histories.

Family and Enduring Connections

At the time of her death, Annie Laura was survived by her husband, Ezelle Kidd, and her mother, Alsena Evans, both of Lawrence. She was also mourned by a wide network of siblings whose lives had spread across the country—a reflection of the broader patterns of migration among Black families during the twentieth century.

Her sisters included:

  • Sarah Johnson of Joliet, Illinois
  • Rena Bell Simmons of St. Louis, Missouri
  • Alberta Kidd of San Diego, California
  • Mary Lucille Johnson of Lawrence, Mississippi

Her brothers included:

This geographic spread tells a larger story—of a family rooted in Newton County but shaped by the currents of the Great Migration, carrying their Southern ties into cities across the nation.

Homegoing and Burial

Annie Laura’s homegoing service was held on Friday, November 13, 1964, at Union Chapel Methodist Church—the same church where she had worshipped faithfully throughout her life.

The service was led by Rev. Charles Foster, assisted by Rev. J. F. Moore. Expressions of remembrance were given by Lucy Evans and others, with the obituary prepared by Annie L. Eubanks and condolences offered by Ozella McGowan. Magnolia Funeral Home of Forest directed the arrangements.

She was laid to rest in the Union Chapel Methodist Church cemetery, surrounded by “beautiful seasonal flowers,” a final tribute to a life remembered for its grace, kindness, and quiet strength.

Why Her Story Matters

Annie Laura Evans Kidd’s life reflects the lived reality of many Black women in rural Mississippi—women whose contributions were rarely recorded in formal histories but were foundational to family, faith, and community life.

Her story is one of:

  • Continuity — rooted in a post-Reconstruction family network
  • Faith — sustained through lifelong church service
  • Resilience — lived through labor, loss, and love
  • Connection — linking a rural Mississippi community to a wider national migration story

Though her life ended tragically, her legacy endures in the memory of Union Chapel, in the Evans and Kidd family lines, and in the sacred ground where she now rests.

Resting Place

Union Chapel United Methodist Church Graveyard

Photos/Albums

Sources

  • 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950 Federal Censuses
  • U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current
  • The Newton Record, Annie Laura Kidd Obituary, Wed, Nov 18, 1964 ·Page 9
  • The Newton Record, Fannie E. Evans Obituary, Wed, Nov 18, 1964 ·Page 9
  • U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
  • Scott County Times, Rena B. Simmons Obituary, Wed, May 24, 1978 ·Page 3
  • The Newton Record, Alsena W. Evans Obituary, Wed, Oct 18, 1972 ·Page 16

Leave a Reply