Ben Williams

From the list of elephant persons Family: Williams

☨ Ben Williams
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Personal details
Country	United States

Locations
Title	elephant trainer 1989-1994
Location	at Big Apple Circus in United States

Title	elephant trainer -2001
Location	at Woodcocks’s elephant acts elephants in United States

Biography details

Ben Harold Williams , circus elephant trainer in United States

Born 1953-01-18 in United States dead 2009-10-02 in United States , son of elephant trainer Rex Williams and animal trainer Barbara Woodcock .

Affiliation with 1 elephants

1: Anna May (trainer from 1958 to 2001)

Ben Harold Williams was born in 1953 at Fort Worth, Texas, the son of an aerialiste, Barbara Ray, and an elephant trainer, Rex Williams, who performed with Circus Vargas in the US for some years. Ben Williams had his first elephant ride at four months and the giant beasts became his childhood friends.

His parents got divorced and when he was 5 his mother was married to William “Buckles” Woodcock, whose family had been training elephants since 1853. Although academically bright, Williams determined that the circus would be his career and from the age of 6 he was performing publicly in the sawdust ring with the Woodcocks’ famous leading-lady elephant, Anna May.

Williams inherited the animal training skills of both his father and stepfather, two of the most talented elephant experts.

In 1982 the Woodcock elephants joined the Big Apple Circus and thereafter the Woodcock and Williams families were associated with that show. Ben Williams frequently presented the elephant acts they created, always new and refreshed, during the 1980s and 1990s.

His stepfather Buckles Woodcock returned to the Ringling-Barnum show when its elephant trainer was killed in a circus train wreck.

In a bizarre episode in 1982 Williams was arrested along with another trainer and charged with the murder of a friend, Mary Herman, 30, who was found dead in Wisconsin Rapids.Her death was the result of a “crushing-type injury” and it was later established that Anna May had killed the woman with a blow from her Trunk. The charges were dropped, although Williams had admitted hiding the body. His mother later commented: “He was afraid they were going to kill the elephant.”

Records about Ben Williams from William "Buckles" Woodcocks Blog at http://www.bucklesw.blogspot.com/

Stopped by Baraboo to water and exercise the elephants and John Herriott came up with this idea!
Ben Williams and "Anna May" in front, the Baraboo Elephants with Frankie Brown then John Herriott and Myself!
Years later Mr. Kellner contacted me saying the elephants were for sale so I explained the situation to Kenneth Feld and we were shortly reunited!

William "Buckles" Woodcock

Siblings

Siblings through the father Rex Williams (1927-01-23 -- 2003):

Ben Williams s ancestral Ahnentafel:
P	I	II	III
Ben Williams Born: 1953-01-18	Father: Rex Williams Born: 1927-01-23	Paternal Grandfather: ? Williams Born: ?	Paternal Great-grandfather:
		Paternal Grandfather: ? Williams Born: ?	Paternal Great-grandmother:
		Paternal Grandmother: Born:	Paternal Great-grandfather::
		Paternal Grandmother: Born:	Paternal Great-grandmother:
	Mother: Barbara Ray Born:	Maternal Grandfather: Born:	Maternal Great-grandfather:
		Maternal Grandfather: Born:	Maternal Great-grandmother:
		Maternal Grandmother: Born:	Maternal Great-grandfather:
		Maternal Grandmother: Born:	Maternal Great-grandmother:

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). elephant trainer Ben Harold Williams in United States. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 29 March 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/person.php?id=807. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:

Selected publications

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About this documentWebsite online since 1995. This document was created: . Latest update: 2021-12-22 12:11:27 included characters with valid HTML5

From the list of elephant persons Family: Williams

Siblings

Siblings through the father Rex Williams (1927-01-23 -- 2003):

Ben Williams s ancestral Ahnentafel:

References

Sources used for this article is among others: