Born in Henry County, Virginia, on 6 February 1882, Annie Bethel Bannister was the only child of Joel Cephus Bannister and Sarah Louise Scales. After her tumultuous marriage ended, Sarah took Annie to Bramwell, West Virginia; subsequently, Sarahs financial exigencies forced her to place Annie in the home of William T. Dixie, an upstanding member of the black community. Reading dimestore novels and newspapers taught the precocious youngster about the power of language. While she was illiterate herself, Sarah Scales sent Anne to the Virginia Seminary in Lynchburg, and she graduated in 1899. This period was also significant because Anne met classmate Edward Spencer. The couple married on 15 May 1901 and had three children.

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