Annie Ellicott Kennedy was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, on June 30, 1839.[2] she was the daughter of Joseph C. G. Kennedy,[1] a politician in the Whig party, who served as director of the United States Census for 1850 and 1860. The Kennedy family lived in Washington, D.C., from Annie's 10th year.[2]
While her husband was alive, Bidwell was concerned for the future of the local Mechoopda Native Americans.[2] She was active in state and national Indian associations. An amateur botanist, she collected the first known specimen of a small annual plant, which was named Bidwell's knotweed (Polygonum bidwelliae), after her.[5]
After her husband's death, Bidwell continued to live in Chico, the town her late husband had founded. Before her death, she donated to the city of Chico on July 10, 1905, some 2,238 acres (almost ten square miles) of land,[6] along with a Children's Park in downtown. Since then the land has remained in the public trust and is now known as Bidwell Park.
She died on March 9, 1918, in Chico, California.[1]
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