Anna Maria Stahl was born December 31, 1841, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Anna's family were poor migrant workers. Her mother, Sophie, the daughter of French immigrants, died giving birth to her only daughter. Anna's father, Mark, suddenly found himself a single father. He did his best to take care of Anna, but realizing that he could not support his tiny daughter, he tearfully left her on the steps of an orphanage. The only clue Anna had to her identity was a note containing her name, birthdate, and the name of her mother. Her father explained in the note that he loved her very much, but could not take care of her. He gave her up so she would have a chance at life.
Elizabeth Sarah Lindall was born September 17, 1841, in Bloomington, Indiana, the only child of Peter and Sarah Lindall. Her parents owned a small farm near Bloomington, but when she was six, they decided to move west. They loaded up all their belongings into a covered wagon and drove across Illinois, to St. Louis, planning to join a wagon train there.
In St. Louis, the Lindall family met up with a wagon train headed to California, and, crossing the Mississippi River, began their journey west. But tragedy struck just days after they joined the train. Elizabeth was riding in the wagon of another little girl who had quickly become her friend when the horses pulling Peter and Sarah's wagon became spooked. The wagon careened out of control, leaving the line of wagons and heading down a steep hill. The axle broke, and the wagon flipped over, and Elizabeth became an orphan in an instant.
Elizabeth stayed with the wagon train until they reached St. Joseph two days later. There, the wagon master sold her family's horses and wagon, with the axle fixed, and brought her to an orphanage. He left her their with her family's belongings, and this is where Elizabeth spent the next eleven years of her life.
Elizabeth was a quiet child at first, still not having recovered from the deaths of her parents. But she soon made a friend in Anna Stahl, the only other girl her age in the orphanage. Anna had lived in the orphanage all her life, and she helped Elizabeth fit in. When the girls were nine, Louise Macloud, who was a year younger than them, came to live in the orphanage with her younger brother and sister. The three girls became instant friends, and often drove the nuns crazy with all the mischief they caused.
Anna and Elizabeth remained at the orphanage until they were seventeen. At this time, they left to attend teachers college in St. Louis. Upon graduation, the two girls received teaching positions in towns very close to each other. Happy to be able to maintain their close friendship, the two girls eagerly accepted the positions, and settled down to a life of educating minds. A year after she started teaching, Elizabeth met Giles Carter, and his brother Michael. She soon found herself engaged to Giles, and Anna quickly became engaged to Michael. The girls believed the two young men truly loved them, but sadly this was not the case.
Anna and Elizabeth were in Willow Springs shopping for their upcoming weddings when they were reunited with Louise Macloud. The girls spent a happy day together, remembering their lives at the orphanage. The happy times were shattered, however, when Lou met the girls' fiancees. Recognizing them as the two men she had overheard planning a bank robbery, Lou warned her friends, only to find all three of them held hostage by Michael, Giles, and their brothers--the Carter gang.
The other boys, having found out what happened to Lou, attacked the gang to rescue the girls. The gang used Lou as a shield, forcing the boys into a stalemate. Elizabeth, concerned for her friend and anxious for the gang to be brought in, managed to escape her bonds and distract the attention of the man holding Lou. She saved Lou and enabled the boys to bring the gang to justice, but paid for it with her life. Elizabeth was killed by a gunshot from the leader of the gang.
Lou and Anna buried Elizabeth in the Willow Creek cemetery. She had died, but her memory remained forever alive in their hearts. Anna had been offered a teaching position at the orphanage before her engagement, and she decided to accept this. She never married, but spent her life happily working at the orphanage with the children who were forced to grow up without their families as she had. She visited Kid and Lou often, and their children loved their Auntie Anna very much.