The Kentucky River Giant: Martin Van Buren Bates Claimed 7' 11"

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The native of Kona, Kentucky, near Whitesburg in Letcher County, became an international circus star, especially after his marriage in 1871 to a woman even taller than he was.

The mysteries and marvels of the life of Martin Van Buren Bates begin with his birth. What’s not contested is that he was born on November 9 at Kona, in Letcher County, Kentucky, to John Wallis Bates and his wife, Sarah.

But was it November 9, 1837 or November 9, 1845?

More on the eight-year disparity in a moment, but first to what would make Bates an international circus and social-circle sensation as part of a couple who by the 1870s toured the world as “The Largest Married Couple in the World.”

How large? Their publicity touted their total height at just under 16 feet with a total weight at about 900 pounds.

Martin Van Buren Bates’ life began traditionally enough. The family owned a large farm at Kona, on the north fork of the Kentucky River. There John and Sarah Bates raised a family of seven boys and five girls, with Martin being the baby. He was apparently of unremarkable size at birth.

But beginning at about age seven, Martin began to grow. And grow. And grow some more. Soon it was impossible to deny that he was going to be bigger than his big brothers and sisters, not to mention his parents. By the time he was 13 he weighed 300 pounds and was as tall as a man.

He would continue to grow until he was 28 years old, ending up at what he touted to be 7 feet, 11 inches tall, with a well-distributed weight of 525 pounds. It was said that one of his boots could hold a half-bushel of shelled corn, about 28 pounds of the grain.

Despite his mammoth size, Bates’ adult life began in a normal pattern for the time. He traveled across the Kentucky line to Washington County, Virginia, to attend Emory & Henry College, then becoming a schoolteacher. Not long after the Civil War began, he left the profession to enlist as a private in the 5th Kentucky Infantry.

His huge size soon caught the attention of opposing Union troops, who referred to the Confederate giant as a man large enough to make five men, with the fight of 50. He and his unit saw action throughout the Appalachian mountains of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, distinguishing himself enough to be made a Captain.

It was at one of the numerous battles at the Cumberland Gap that he was wounded and captured, then sent off to be imprisoned at Camp Chase in Ohio. He didn’t stay there for long, as he managed to escape and make his way back to his unit to fight another day.

When the war ended, Bates made his way to Cincinnati, where he began to capitalize on his size. He joined the John Robinson Circus and its “Cabinet of Curiosities”—the sideshow or “freak show.” Along with Bates came his cousin, John Wright, who joined the same circus as a marksman who performed his “shootist” show on the back of a galloping horse while aiming at targets with his pistol. Wright, also known as Devil John Wright and later known as the most famous U. S. Marshal in Eastern Kentucky, was also the inspiration for the character of Devil Judd Tolliver in the book “Trail of the Lonesome Pine” by John Fox, Jr.

Martin Van Buren Bates made the circus his home for the next five years, traveling throughout North America under the watchful eye of his promoter, Judge H. P. Ingalls. And it was Ingalls who brought the Kentucky River Giant the greatest gift of his life.

He and Ingalls were talking about organizing a tour of Europe, to introduce Bates and his great stature to the people of that continent. Finally, Bates accepted Ingalls’ European tour plan, and in 1871 Bates traveled to Elizabeth, New Jersey to finalize the plan.

While there, Ingalls introduced his client to the ultimate showman, P. T. Barnum. With Barnum was one of his sideshow attractions, Anna Swan, of Nova Scotia, Canada, reputed to be the tallest woman in the world and, in fact, a few inches taller than Bates. The two fell in love, and before the end of the year, Miss Swan would become Mrs. Bates.

The tour with Anna was a triumph. Here are some entries from Martin Van Buren Bates’ journal referring to his time with Anna on the tour:

  • April 22, 1871, couple left New York on the City of Brussels of the Inman Line accompanied by Judge H. P. Ingalls.
  • May 2, 1871, arrived at Liverpool, and spent a week at the Washington Hotel.
  • May 19, 1871, arrived in London and gave a reception at the Willis Rooms on Kings Street to editors and medical men exclusively.
  • May 29, 1871, gave first public reception at same place.
  • June 2, 1871, Ordered by royal command to appear before Her Most Gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria, at Buckingham Palace. The Queen expressed her pleasure in the warmest terms and presented us with several valuable presents.

By 1872 they were using the billing of The Largest Married Couple in the World. Their claimed particulars:

  • Martin Van Buren Bates: 7’ 11½”; 525 lbs.; age 35 (using birth year of 1837)
  • Anna Swan Bates: 8’ 1”; 425 lbs.; age 26 (using uncontested birth year of 1846)

And who are we to cite Guinness and other sources that he was 7’ 7½” and she was 7’ 11”?

Whatever their sizes, on May 19, 1872, Anna gave birth to a stillborn daughter that weighed 18 pounds and was 27 inches long. The couple donated the body of “Sister” to science. In July, 1874, they ended their time in Europe and returned to America, where they took another tour, this time in the Southwest.

After they finished that tour, Martin bought a farm for the couple in Seville, Ohio, and there built a house designed just for them and known locally as The House The Giants Built.

Another child was born to the couple in 1879, a boy, who died hours after birth. “Babe” was 28 inches long and weighed 22 pounds, and is still listed in Guinness as the largest child ever born.

After this the two returned to Seville and the farm life. And they were apparently happy for 10 years. During that time, according to several sources, Bates compiled autobiographical information, part of which states: “I was born on November 9, 1845.”

Speculation is that, wanting to continue his career as a circus performer, and worried that advancing age—mid 50s based on an 1837 birth date—Bates simply knocked eight years off his age.

In 1889, Anna became ill and died, apparently of heart failure. Owing to problems with obtaining a casket large enough for Anna, Martin soon had his own casket specially built and stored it in his barn until it was needed.

He later remarried, to the normal-sized Annette LaVonne Weatherby, and lived with her until his death in 1919, at age 82. Or was he just 74?

Bob Bates: Another Outsized Life

Martin Van Buren Bates wasn’t the only Bates brother with a big superlative to his life.

His older brother Bob Bates had become a banker, land owner and politician, elected to the Kentucky senate and who, near the end of his life, marked a most unusual milestone. According to the Morristown [Tennessee] Gazette edition of March 1, 1916, Bob Bates, who had been married three times and had 23 children already, had recently welcomed, at age 96, his 24th child.

And with even stronger longevity than “little” brother Martin, Bob passed away in 1921, at the age of 101.

About This Story

This history of the life of Martin Van Buren Bates is adapted with permission from the podcast Stories, A History of Appalachia, produced by Steve Gilly and Rod Mullins. It is just one of scores of fascinating stories from the southern Appalachians—all told in relaxed, conversational style by Steve and Rod. The Stories podcast is available at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, Deezer, iHeartRadio and elsewhere.

The story above appears in our November / December 2020 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!