Anna Lanham was born on a farm near Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio, USA, on 19 July 1878 (claimed 1877). She was the second of three children born to parents Sam Stover and Mary Ann Houser. She grew up on the family farm where her family raised pigs, chicken, and grew corn. In her youth, she traveled through the Cumberland Mountains with her mother, aunt, and uncle. During summers, the family often traveled around the country in wagons. They lived in tents, her aunt would tell people’s fortunes, and her uncle would sell horses.

In the late 1890s, she married George Lanham. The couple had two children, a son, and a daughter. She worked in a caning factory in Hamilton, Ohio. In 1910, the couple moved to Vincennes, Indiana, where they worked in another cannery. Her son was killed in World War I.

At the age of 91, she moved to the St John’s Home for the Aged in Evansville. When asked about the secret of her longevity, she claimed how there was no secret formula, she mainly attributed it to hard work.

Lanham died in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, USA, on 2 February 1989. She was survived by her daughter, Dorothy Allega, five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and eight great-great-grandchildren.