Ann Wombwell

Of the children of Samuel Wombwell, we have already encountered Ann Wombwell, the companion of George Wombwell, whom he adopted into his circle after the death of her husband, Henry Morgan, in 1815. Ann remains a major - if slightly puzzling - figure in the history of the menagerie.

Ann Wombwell, from Shaun Everett's Website

There is a strong possibility that there may have been more than a certain sleight of hand involved in George’s adoption of his elder brother’s daughter into the menagerie. Ann had lost her husband Henry Morgan by the time she joined the menagerie, in around 1815, and had already given birth to six children. 

In all the references to her, she is however named simply 'Mrs Wombwell', seemingly having reverted back to her maiden name whilst retaining her married title. Small wonder that ever since researchers have acted on the presumption that she was George’s wife and strained themselves in the futile exercise of trying to uncover a marriage certificate.

Of course, it is not entirely inconceivable that George might have embarked on some kind of semi-incestuous relationship with his niece, but the most likely explanation yet again is that his main concern was with the branding of his business. A Mrs Wombwell would meet the bill very nicely, much more so than a widowed Mrs Morgan. And if the public and media chose to assume that he and his niece were a married couple, that would do just fine as well. And so it did, with researchers down the years all mistakenly identifying Ann as George’s wife. The name ‘Morgan’ meanwhile was quietly consigned to the Wombwell recycling service. 

As it happens, and as described in Shaun Everett’s biography, George had in fact got married to one Mary Linn back in 1800 at St. Giles in the Field Church in Soho. It was this Mary who was at home on that fateful day in 1809 when Thomas Soaper came calling and had his unfortunate encounter with the rattlesnake. George himself was nowhere to be seen on that occasion. No children have ever been recorded and Mary disappears without trace from the story, either dead, abandoned, or having absconded. And, as noted, George himself was more than happy for his niece Ann to be seen as the official holder of the Mrs Wombwell title.