Edwin married Phebe Pope in 1845, daughter of a former mill-owner. She was 19 at the time of marriage, became a botanist and microscopist, published books for children and wrote natural history articles. They had a total of eleven children of whom eight survived – four boys and four girls. Thomas Henry Huxley became a close friend of the family, and visited often. John Stevens Henslow, Darwin's tutor, was also a family friend. A born teacher, he introduced Edwin's son Ray to the delights of fossil collecting. Through his association with East Suffolk and his friendship with Henslow, Lankester became an early and active Honorary Member of the Ipswich Museum, of which his son Ray Lankester was afterwards President (1901–1929).