Annie Louisa Jelfs was born at Badsey on 28th December 1889, the second of six children of George Rogers Jelfs and his wife, Ashley (née Carter, also known as Keyte). She was baptised at Badsey on 16th February 1890.
In 1891, Annie lived with her parents, siblings, grandparents and uncle on Mill Lane, Badsey. At the time of the 1901 census, she was with her parents and two of her siblings at The Green, Brewers Lane. Aged 16 when her mother died in 1906, Annie worked in service whilst her younger sister kept house for their father and the boys went to their maternal grandmother, Clara Warner. By 1911 Annie was working as a general domestic servant in the home of jeweller, Charles Banks, in Acocks Green.
On 6th June 1912, Annie set sail from Liverpool bound for Quebec, arriving there on 16th June 1912. She had come on the “British Bonus Allowed” scheme to work as a domestic servant in Canada and was heading for Toronto.
On 29th October 1913 at Strathclair, Manitoba, Annie married James (Jim) Joseph Sellman, who had also emigrated in 1912. His birth-place was Hinton-on-the-Green, a village close to Badsey, so the couple may well have known each other in England.
Annie and Jim had four children: Christina Mary (1914-2008), George Henry (1917), Lilian Rose (1919) and William Joseph (1919). At the time of the 1916 Manitoba census, they were living at Strathclair where James was farming. By 1921 the address was given as Westbourne, Manitoba. They also had staying with them Annie’s grandmother, Clara Warner, Ashley’s uncle, Owen Keyte, and Annie’s youngest brother, John (known as Jack) Jelfs, who had all emigrated just a short time before the census. Owen and Jack were coming to Canada to work on Jim Sellman's farm, and Clara had come to escape an unhappy marriage.
According to her niece, Esmé Dennick (née Jelfs) loved life and had been the flashiest girl in Badsey. She came back to Badsey at the age of 83 for a holiday.
Annie died at Alonsa, Manitoba, on 27th December 1986, aged 96; her husband had died in 1978.