She was a survivor of the sinking of the French passenger steamer "Ville du Havre" in 1873. Her daughters Anna “Annie” (born June 11, 1862), Margaret Lee “Maggie” (born May 31, 1864), Elizabeth “Bessie” (born June 19, 1868), and Tanetta (born July 24, 1871) were lost in the wreck. Afterwards Anna gave birth to three more children. Her husband, Horatio Spafford wrote the song "It Is Well with My Soul" after the various tragedies that struck them, which includes the Chicago fire and the loss of their daughters in the sinking of "Ville du Havre".