Ann Greenly

Ann Greenly (née Barnard; 8 June 1852 – 1 March 1927) was the fourth of five daughters of John Barnard of Bath, a dispensing chemist. She is known for her geological work assisting husband Edward Greenly in his surveying of Scotland and Anglesey, as well as being an accomplished artist and animal rights' representative. She died of heart failure on 1 March 1927, at the age of 75.

The "Annie Greenly Fund" for detailed geological mapping was established in her honour by the Geological Society of London.

Much of what we know about Annie Greenly comes from the autobiographic work of her husband. Greenly grew up in Bath and Bristol in a liberal evangelical household. Her first introduction to geology came at age 11 when she witnessed an earthquake on 6 October 1863.

She first met her future husband Edward Greenly in 1875 in Bristol. Their families were acquainted and encouraged the growing friendship between the two, which was built on philosophical and poetic exchanges as well as Edward’s scientific studies. Greenly often helped the then chemistry student with experiments in his home laboratory. When pressed by Edward’s parents to either become engaged or break off the relationship, they separated and lost all contact for 11 years. Edward approached her again in 1890, and they soon got engaged and married in 26 September 1891. The couple had no children.

Greenly was blind in one eye from an early age. Due to worries for his wife’s health Edward Greenly retired from the Geological Survey in 1895, and the couple subsequently moved to Anglesey where they continued their geological surveying and mapping relying on a private income.

Despite her obvious interest in geology she stressed herself: "I am not a scholar". On top of her scientific role, Annie Greenly was a contralto singer and pianist, and a long-standing member of her local branch of the North Wales RSPCA.

Edward Greenly (and with him Annie to a lesser extent) was a mystic who shifted from Evangelicalism to pantheistic religion and Buddhism. He strongly believed to be reunited with his wife, who he survived by almost a quarter of a century, in an afterlife.

Greenly became fully involved in her husband’s geological work immediately after their wedding. "We have agreed that I am not to be ignorant of your subject… I can begin by reading. Put into our luggage some lucid elementary books."

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Wikipedia