Anna 'Sister Nannie' Tempo, was born of a slave mother and father who were kidnapped as children off the coast of Mozambique. She was born in the late 1870s and grew up in Worcester. One day in 1884, a Christian lady by the name of Miss Schreiner, who later became Mrs Stakeby-Lewis), asked Anna's mother if she could take her daughter into her service, and her mother agreed. Early in her career with Miss Schreiner, Anna struggled to feel convinced by the Christian faith, but was soon brought around by an incident in which she recovered from being gravely sick, and attributed this convalescence to the power of a higher being. For the rest of her life, Sister Nannie, as she came to be known, assisted Miss Schreiner in her work running Christian workshops under the banner of the Gospel Temperance. These workshops had a missionising purpose, and also aimed to steer members of the Worcester community away from the temptations of alcohol.
23 September 1867
Anna Tempo is born

Anna 'Sister Nannie' Tempo
- Updated
- 23 Sep 2026

Anna 'Sister Nannie' Tempo
How we know this
- 01Verwey, E.J. (ed)(1995). New Dictionary of South African Biography, v.1, Pretoria: HSRC.
Last updated · 23 Sep 2026
South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Anna Tempo is born. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011030
South African History Online (2011) 'Anna Tempo is born', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011030 (Accessed: 8 November 2026).
South African History Online, Anna Tempo is born [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011030, (accessed 8 November 2026).
"Anna Tempo is born." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011030. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.
South African History Online. "Anna Tempo is born." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011030.
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