When Annie Whelpley was ten years old, she appeared in the 1860 census, living in New York with her parents.

Her mother died there on July 9, 1860, and the following year, at Dedham, Massachusetts, on September 19, 1861, her father married Mary Louise Breed (1841–1932).

In 1885, he left his family to take a position as professor of chemistry on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he would teach until his retirement in 1911.

In her passport application in 1915, she submitted an affidavit explaining her protracted stay abroad: "...I ceased to reside in the United States about 1881...I have since resided temporarily at Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland...I arrived at Locarno, Switzerland where I am now temporarily residing in December 1915; I came to Europe to engage in my work as a painter and composer and am now obliged to remain here on account of my health....I maintain the following ties of family in the United States: husband, professor Edward Renouf, Monkton, Maryland and brother: James Davenport Whelpley, c/o Century Magazine, New York...my husband owns real estate and I receive $1,500 annually from him.

Edward Renouf died on November 1, 1934, and his remains were interred at St. Mary the Virgin Church Cemetery, in Warwick Parish, Bermuda.