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Born enslaved to parents Alvina (d. 1910) and Samuel Moore, Anna Moore Schwein was a longtime educator in Corpus Christi whose later interviews give insight into the town’s early history. Her mother was one of the first enslaved persons brought to the area, arriving in 1849 with the Baskin family from Mississippi. Her father was brought by John Marks Davenport Moore, originally from Georgia. Anna (Annie) was born in New Braunfels and brought to Corpus Christi by Rebecca Britton before she was four. In one of her interviews, Anna recalled that the 1862 Battle of Corpus Christi caused Rebecca Britton to flee for safety, bringing her four enslaved persons, including young Anna, to Nuecestown, twelve miles inland. Anna recollected that she could still hear the cannons “as if we had been in town.” After emancipation, Anna attended a variety of schools, including Catholic schools, public schools, and those taught by Rev. Aaron Rowe, Catherine Bray and Mary Eliza Dix.
Anna’s first two children, Adelaide and Henry, were born in 1874 and 1879, respectively. On January 30, 1881, she married C.W. Schwein, but their bi-racial marriage was against the law at the time. Schwein left the family a few months later, leaving Anna expecting her third child, William, and taking a new position as a school teacher. Anna never remarried. She worked for many years teaching primary school, acting as principal of the Coles School later in her career. After she retired from teaching, she was employed as a laundress and seamstress. Anna died at the age of 89 and was buried in the Old Bayview Cemetery. (2023) |
