World's Tallest Married Couple #interestingthings
Channel: Interesting Things with JC
Date: 2023-03-02

Interesting Things with JC #570: "The World's Tallest Couple: Anna & Martin" - Discover the fascinating story of Anna Swan, born weighing 16 pounds and grew to 7 feet 11 inches tall. From working at Barnum's museum to finding love in the heart of Martin, and becoming the world's tallest married couple, their life together was a true spectacle.

#TallestCouple #BarnumMuseum #love #SevilleOhio #NovaScotia #interestingthings 

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Anna Swan was born in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia in 1846, to the surprise of her average-sized parents. At birth, she weighed a whopping 16 pounds, and by the age of four, she was already four and a half feet tall. Growing seven inches that year alone, Anna continued to defy expectations, reaching a height of 6 feet 2 inches by the time she was eleven years old. Weighing almost 200 pounds, she towered over her father and continued to grow.

It would take seven more years for Anna to reach her full height of 7 feet 11 inches. P.T. Barnum, of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, was impressed by her size and talent, and hired her to work at his New York Museum when she turned 17. Anna performed alongside Tom Thumb, the museum's famous midget, emphasizing both of their sizes.

While her size was a spectacle that drew visitors to the museum, it was also her undoing. In 1865, a fire broke out in the basement offices, and although most people were able to escape through the windows or down the stairs, Anna's size prevented her from fitting through the windows. The stairs were on fire by the time she realized it, and she was too heavy to be carried by firefighters. Eventually, a crane was brought in to knock a section of the wall out and lower her to safety.

Although the museum reopened soon after, it burned down again in 1868, and Anna lost all her belongings. This was enough for Anna, and she decided to return to Nova Scotia.

A year after leaving Barnum, P.T. Barnum invited Anna on a tour of the United States. She agreed, not knowing that the trip would change her life. On the tour's southern leg, Anna met Martin Van Buren Bates of Kentucky, who was 7 feet and 9 inches tall, just two inches shorter than her.

Despite their height difference, Anna and Martin fell in love and got married just a year later. The couple became famous as the "World's Tallest Couple," and received letters and wedding gifts from all over the world. Queen Victoria herself sent them a pair of diamond-studded gold watches. After their wedding in 1871, the couple moved to Seville, Ohio, where Martin built them a custom home with oversized ceilings, doorways, and furniture for their comfort.

The main floor had 14-foot ceilings, and the doors were all 8 feet tall and extra wide. Martin even had a small house built in the back of the property for servants and guests. However, the couple continued to tour the country with P.T. Barnum, as their wedding had become an international sensation.

While on tour, Anna became pregnant with their first child, but tragically, the baby was born weighing only 18 pounds and died shortly after birth. The couple's second child was born the following winter, weighing 23 pounds, measuring 30 inches long, and having six-inch feet. Anna was awarded a Guinness World Record for having the largest newborn ever recorded, but the baby only lived for 11 hours.

After their children died, the tallest couple toured with the W.W. Cole Circus before retiring and returning home. In 1888, Anna passed away at the age of 41, and Martin buried her in the town of Seville. He commissioned a 15-foot-tall Greek Goddess statue from Europe, which he placed atop her grave. Martin died in 1919 and was laid to rest next to Anna.