It was claimed by Ann's father, John Howell that his family descended from the Plantagenet monarchs. This seems very unlikely and no attempt has been made to confirm this claim. The Howells originally lived in Albrighton Shropshire and previously in Longford near Newport. Records show that Howells were resident in the district back to the 1580s and it is a very common name in the region.
How Ann Howell got to meet François Marie Jaunay in London is not known although people by the name of Howell were prominent in the liquor trade at the start of the eighteenth century and this could be the link although it is known that her father, John Howell, was a tailor in Wolverhampton.