Anna Eliza Williams was born on December 25, 1824, in France.

She married Aquilla Amos, and they had six sons and two daughters together between 1844 and 1859.

Serving different roles in various social organizations, Anna was committed to interconnected causes of temperance, women’s suffrage, and the betterment of the African American community in Harrisburg. Anna, as a founding member of the Independent Order of Daughters of Temperance, served as the Grand Recording Scribe and District Grand Deputy of the Good Samaritan Council, which functioned as a political hub in the Eighth Ward.

Anna helped found Wesley Union A.M.E. Zion Church, which was originally located in the old Eighth Ward. Here, she established a kindergarten for African American children.

At the 1902 Colored Ministers Conference in Harrisburg, Amos was the sole female speaker, joining other politicians and influential citizens such as Governor William Stone, Mayor Vance McCormick, Professor John P. Scott, and Mr. Dennee Bibb.

She died on March 25, 1911, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, having lived a long life of 86 years.
Aquilla and Anna are buried alongside each other. SOAL has righted both of their stones and treated them with D2 biological solution.

Learn more about Anna A. Amos on the Lincoln Cemetery Ancestry Tree.

Destyni Cruz