The Woman Behind Mother’s Day — And the Cousins Who Carry Her Legacy

Every second Sunday in May, millions pause to celebrate mothers. But few know the complicated story behind the woman who made the holiday happen — or that her closest living relatives have recently been found.

Thanks to research by the MyHeritage team, we now know that Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother’s Day in the United States, has no direct descendants. But her legacy lives on through a line of cousins she likely never knew.

A daughter’s promise

Anna Maria Jarvis was born in 1864 in Grafton, West Virginia. Her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, had spent years organizing Mothers’ Day Work Clubs — grassroots groups aimed at improving public health, hygiene, and child survival in their community.

When Ann passed away in 1905, Anna was determined to honor her. What began as a memorial service in a Methodist church turned into a nationwide campaign. Just 3 years later, on May 10, 1908, Anna held the first official Mother’s Day celebration in Grafton. By 1914, it was recognized as a national holiday by President Woodrow Wilson.

“For the best mother who ever lived — your mother.”

— Anna Jarvis’s motto for Mother’s Day

Spartenburg Weekly Herald and Herald-Journal, May 10, 1914, OldNews.com.

Anna was very particular about what Mother’s Day should represent. In her own words, as can be seen in the article below, it was “not a day of idle sentimentalism,” but a time to renew “allegiance to our highest ideals of womanhood” and to strengthen “the sanctity of home and motherhood” — a day rooted in values, not consumerism.

Avon Sentinel, April 18, 1918, from OldNews.com.

A holiday she came to regret

Although Anna envisioned Mother’s Day as a personal, heartfelt tribute to individual mothers, the holiday quickly took on a commercial life of its own. Florists, candy makers, and greeting card companies capitalized on it — much to Anna’s dismay.

She spent decades opposing what the day had become, even launching lawsuits and public campaigns. By the end of her life, she had poured her own inheritance into trying to reclaim the holiday from what she saw as exploitation.

Anna died in 1948, ironically without any children of her own, and her efforts were largely forgotten. But the story didn’t end there.

A family line lost — and found

Anna Jarvis came from a large family — she was one of 13 children. But only four survived to adulthood, and just one had children. That line eventually died out in the 1980s. MyHeritage researchers, curious whether any living relatives might still exist, took on the challenge.

Using census records, historical documents, and family trees, the team mapped out Anna’s extended family, looking beyond her immediate line. The search led to the descendants of her first cousins — and eventually, to living relatives in Maryland.

Richard Talbott Miller Jr., 50, and his sister Elizabeth Burr, 52, are first cousins 3 times removed of Anna Jarvis. They were unaware of the connection until a surprising phone call from a MyHeritage researcher.

“I thought it was a scam,” Elizabeth said in an interview. “But once I realized it was real, it was amazing.”

Their family line descends from Anna’s aunt, Margaret Jane Jarvis Strickler — Anna’s father’s sister.

Remembering Anna — on her terms

In a twist of fate, Elizabeth Burr shared that her own family had never really celebrated Mother’s Day growing up — a quiet tribute, passed down from earlier generations, to Anna’s wishes.

“Our mother used to say something like, ‘Every day is Mother’s Day,’” said Elizabeth’s aunt, Jane Unkefer. “We didn’t go in for the fancy dinner or the bouquets of flowers.”

Today, many in the family have come to embrace the holiday with new meaning — not as a commercial event, but as a chance to reflect, to reconnect, and to appreciate the everyday care of mothers and caregivers.

A legacy reclaimed

Anna Jarvis didn’t live to see her full vision realized. In her final years, she was nearly blind and living in a sanitarium in Philadelphia, where she spent the last six years of her life. She had exhausted her inheritance — over $100,000 — fighting to preserve the day’s original intent. When she died in November 1948, she was penniless and largely forgotten.

Sun Journal, November 25, 1948, from OldNews.com

It was a sad and solitary end for a woman who had spent decades trying to honor others.

But today, millions of mothers around the world are celebrated because of Anna’s dedication. Though her name may not be known by everyone, her impact is felt each time someone picks up the phone, shares a hug, or sends a message of love to their mom. In that way, Anna Jarvis may forever be remembered as the mother of Mother’s Day.