Annie Minerva Turnbo was born in Metropolis, Illinois, the daughter of Robert and Isabella Turnbo, who were formerly enslaved . When her father went off to fight for the Union with the 1st Kentucky Cavalry in the Civil War, Isabella took the couple's children and escaped from Kentucky, a neutral border state that maintained slavery. After traveling down the Ohio River, she found refuge in Metropolis, Illinois. Annie Turnbo was born on a farm near Metropolis in Massac County, Illinois., the tenth of eleven children.