  anna marie jarvis (may 1, 1864, webster, west virginia â november 24, 1948, west chester, pennsylvania) is the founder of the mother's day holiday in the united states. ==early life and family background== anna jarvis was born to granville e. jarvis and ann jarvis on may 1, 1864 in webster, wv. her birthplace, today known as the anna jarvis house, has been listed on the national register of historic places since 1979. she was one of thirteen children born to her parents and was the tenth child, seven of her siblings having died prior to her birth. the family moved to grafton, west virginia later in her childhood. ann reeves jarvis was a social activist, founder of mothersâ day work clubs, and a unifying force within her community during the american civil war. as a woman who was also defined by her faith, she was very active within the andrews methodist episcopal church community. it was during one of her sunday school lessons in 1876 that anna jarvis allegedly found her inspiration for motherâs day, as ann closed the lesson with a prayer, stating,  at the encouragement of her mother, anna jarvis attended college and was awarded a diploma for the completion of two years of course work at the augusta female seminary in staunton, virginia, today known as mary baldwin college. jarvis returned to grafton to work in the public school system, additionally joining her mother as an active church member, maintaining a close link to her mother. after her uncle, dr. james edmund reeves, persuaded her to move to chattanooga, tennessee, jarvis worked there as a bank teller for a year. the following year, jarvis again moved, this time to live with her brother in philadelphia, pennsylvania in spite of her motherâs urging to return to grafton. jarvis was successful in philadelphia, taking a position at fidelity mutual life insurance company, where she became the agencyâs first female literary and advertising editor. another of her acc
1864_births 1948_deaths Burials_at_West_Laurel_Hill_Cemetery Burials_in_Pennsylvania Mary_Baldwin_College_alumni People_from_Taylor_County,_West_Virginia