The Famous Descendants of John Fuller (1655-1726), Part 1

My 8th great-grandfather, John Fuller, was born on 11 Jan 1655 in Barnstable, Massachusetts to Samuel Fuller (1611-1683) & Jane Lothrop (1615-1683). He married Mehitable Rowley (1669-1732) and they had at least 5 children:

1. Thomas Fuller (1680-1772)

2. Samuel Fuller (1682-1757)

3. Thankful Fuller (1689-1740)

4. Joseph Fuller (1699-1775)

5. Benjamin Fuller (1701-1740) 

Four of these five children would have descendants who would become notable in history. This post will only focus on the first two children- Thomas and Samuel:

~Thomas Fuller (1680-1772) & Elizabeth (ULN) (1689-1784)

    - Ebenezer Fuller (1715-1749) & Mary Rowley (1708-1798) 

        - Elizabeth Fuller (1750-1837) & Joshua Phelps Jr. (1751-1825) 

            - Dicey Phelps (1785-1860) & Joseph Carver (1782-1854) 

                - Levina P. Carver (1825-1854) & John Albert Fuller (1819-1891)

                    - John Fuller (1853-1928) & Charlotte A. Squires

                        - John Robert Fuller (1889-1938) & Ruby Ingham (1893-1963)

                            - Imion A. Fuller (1917-2004) & Kenneth F. Trainor (1908-1986)

                                - Gary Trainor & Kelley Anne Jekanowski 

                                    - Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (b. 1993)

Meghan Trainor is an American singer- songwriter. She married actor Daryl Sabara and they have 2 sons: Riley and Barry.

~Samuel Fuller (1682-1757) & Naomi Rowley (1685-1764)

    - John Fuller (1704-1769) & Sarah Clotheir (1709-1769)

        - Asa Fuller (1733-1811) & Mary Goodwin (1738-1768)

            - Charles Fuller (1773-1853) & Philinda Wells (1787-1847) 

                - Charles A. Fuller (1811-1862) & Alivia Cole (1813-1899)

                    - Jane Sophia Fuller (1835-1924) & George Barnard (1833-1896)

                        - Charles Fuller Barnard (1859-1905) & Anna Aldridge (1870-1962)

                            - Julia Fuller Barnard (1897-1973) & Richard Clark (1896-1989)

                                - Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark (1929-2012)

Dick Clark was a television and radio personality. He was married 3x- Barbara Mallery from 1952-1961, Loretta Martin from 1962-1971) and then Kari Wigton in 1977. He had 3 children: 

1. Richard A. Clark

2. Duane Bradley Clark 

3. Cindy Clark

Part 2 to come next week!

Please comment and share this post via Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site. If you have any questions or personal comments, please feel free to reach out via Carriesmith11411@yahoo.com. 

Copyright (c) 2024, Carrie Smith

Celebrity Cousin Profile- Aaron Carter (1987-2022)

The world was shocked by the death of rapper Aaron Carter on November 5. It really is a tragedy when someone dies so young. I have many celebrities in my family tree, but was surprised when I didn't have the Carter family there...so I decided to look into it-- see if we are distant cousins after all. And, of course I found the connection. 

This post will be about my relation to the recently deceased rapper and also how I came upon the relationship. 

Robert Gene Carter (1952-2017) and his wife Jane Elizabeth Spaulding had 5 children together- 

1. Nickolas Gene "Nick" (b. 1980)

2. Bobbie Jean Carter (b. 1982)

3. Leslie Barbara Carter (1986-2012) (died of a drug overdose)

4. Angel Carter (Twin) (b. 1987)

5. Aaron Charles Carter (twin) (1987-2022)

The Carter children are my 8th cousins, 2x removed on my mothers side.

Relationship to me: 

So, how did I find this relationship...and so quickly??

It was easy mainly because I already have an extensive tree built online. First, I googled "Nick Carter Family Tree". The first result comes up with a website called "Geneastar- Famous Genealogies". This site has a pretty good start of his family tree. If you click on "Full Tree", you can see several generations back. I looked at 2x great grandparent surnames and see if any of them matched in my tree- one that clicked was "Crippen". I had 3 names in my tree with that surname and one was a match (very distant). It was seriously that easy. Obviously, I now I have to go back and source-match my names and dates to see if everything is accurate and matches 100% but as of right now, I think it's a great start. 

How about you? Do you have the Carter family in your family tree? 

1940 Celebrity Homes: The Wizard of Oz Cast

A year ago, I wrote a post about cast members of The Wizard of Oz who I am related to. Recently, my son and I were looking up census records to see where the cast lived in 1940- I thought it'd make a fun post.

(You can read more about that previous post Here)

Judy Garland (1922-1969)

(born: Frances Ethel Gumm)

My 7th Cousin, 4x Removed

In 1940 United States Census:

April 8, 1940

Los Angeles, California

17 year old Judy Garland is living with her mother, sister Sue, a butler and a maid.

                                                               Judy's home in 1940:

1231 Stone Canyon Rd.
Los Angeles, California
5 bedrooms, 5.5 bath
1940- Valued at $50,000
Today- Valued at $8,041,200
(Photo courtesy of Realtor.com)

Ray Bolger (1904-1987)

Born: Raymond Wallace Bolger

In 1940 United States Census:

April 5, 1940

New York, New York

36 year old Ray appears to be living with the Law Family (William & Lucy) and another male named Alfred Kiddle in a brand new building in Manhattan- not sure if the dictation on the document is correct.

Hampshire House
150 Central Park South
New York, New York
220 Units, 36 Stories, built in 1940
Rent in 1940: $325/month
Rent today: average- $7,997/month
(Photo Courtesy of Streeteasy.com)

Jack Haley (1897-1979)

Born: John Joseph Haley 
In my tree, but not directly related- his son married the daughter of Judy Garland, my distant cousin.

In the 1940 United State Census:

April 23, 1940

New York, New York

38 year old Jack is living with his wife at the Essex Hotel in New York. 

                                                                Jack's home in 1940:

Essex House Ne w York
160 Central Park South
New York, New York
426 Rooms
Rent in 1940- Unknown
Rent today- Low price- $663/night
Highest price- $1901/night
(Photo Courtesy of Google.com)

Bert Lahr (1895-1967)

Born: Irving Lahrheim

In 1940 United States Census:

April 8, 1940

New York, New York

44 year old Bert was a lodger at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. 

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel
301 Park Ave
New York, New York
1,413 Rooms
Room in 1940: Unknown
Room Today: varies of couple hundred dollars
They also have a $10,000/night Presidential Suite

Margaret Hamilton (1902-1985)

My 8th Cousin, 2x Removed

In the 1940 United States Census:

May 9, 1940

Beverly Hills, California 

37 year old Margaret (married name of Meserve (divorced)) is living with her 3 year old son and a cook. 

Margaret's home in 1940 was at 611 N. Canon Drive in Beverly Hills. The home has since been torn down and replaced with another home that was built in 1983, valued at just over 18 Million dollars.

Billie Burke (1884-1970)

Born: Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke

In the 1940 United States Census:
Unfortunately, I couldn't find her in the census.

Frank Morgan (1890-1949)

Born: Francis Philip Wuppermann

In the 1940 United States Census:

Unfortunately, I couldn't find Frank in the census. 

Clara Blandick (1876-1962)

Born: Clara Blanchard Dickey

In the 1940 United States Census:

Unfortunately, I couldn't find Clara in the census. 

Charley Grapewin (1869-1956)

Born: Charles Ellsworth Grapewin

The 1940 United States Census:

May 15, 1940

Temescal, Riverside, California 

Charles was living with his wife, a servant and 2 of his servants children in a home off Route 1- home valued at $20,000- no exact address to look up.

I feel like the three characters- scarecrow, lion and tin man were all three in New York for some type of event because The Wizard of Oz- they were all in New York during the 1940 Census and they were all three staying in hotels as if visiting. Coincidence? 

Thomas Tracy- a Common Ancestor

Introduction:

Before it was discontinued, I really enjoyed playing around with Ancestry's We're Related app. I think there was a lot of speculation with this app- whether or not the famous ancestors it said you were related to were actually true. I had the app for I think close to 2 years (maybe) and I tried to prove every single celebrity that We're Related threw at me. I can definitely say that more than 50% of the people it gave me, I couldn't really for sure say- yes, I'm related to this person. However, there were quite a few that I did prove to be legit, and that's fun!

Through this app, I found Thomas Tracy, my 10th great grandfather on my mother's paternal side. He was one of the common ancestors that presented several celebrity cousins and some fun surprise connections with friends.

Thomas Tracy was born on 07 Nov 1610 in Gloucestershire, England to the son of Paul Tracy (1556-1626) & Anne Shakerly (1563-1615). He immigrated to America and settled in Norwich, Connecticut. Thomas was married to Marthe Bourne. I saw somewhere he had more than one spouse, but I only have the one in my tree, because that's who I'm related to. I haven't expanded it.

Thomas and Martha had 4 children in my tree that had descendants that I know of or know personally- Mary (1633-1671), Jonathan (1646-1704), Miriam (1648-1732) and Solomon (1651-1732).

Cousins Found through Thomas Tracy

                           

  Frank Morgan (Left) & Ralph Morgan (Right)-- Frank was the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz

Chang & Eng Bunker- "Siamese Twins"

For Christmas, I received a book called "Mobituaries", written by Mo Rocca. I am loving it, even though I haven't much time to read. I just read a very interested story about the "first" siamese twins, or more-or-less the twins the term was named after. 

Born: 11 May 1811- Siam
Died: 17 Jan 1874- Mount Airy, North Carolina
         Age- 62

Eng and Chang Bunker

Now, obviously, I have heard of these twins before and I know I've seen there picture in various articles, but I never knew their story. Born in Siam (today, it's Thailand), they traveled to America at the age of 18 with a man who wanted to "manage" their talent, but he rather took advantage of the twins disability and pocketed most of the profits. At the age of 28, they stopped touring and settled into a small town in North Carolina so that they could marry and have lives of their own. I didn't know this part of their story. I had no idea they both married and even had children! 

Chang and Eng married in 1843 to sisters Sarah and Adelaide Yates, daughters of David and Nancy Yates. Between the two brothers, they had 21 children (Chang-10) (Eng- 11)!

~Family of Chang Bunker:

Chang married Adelaide Yates. Adelaide was born on 11 Oct 1823 and died at the age of 93 on 21 May 1917. She outlived her husband, his brother and her sister my many years. Chang and and Adelaide together had 10 children: 

1. Josephine Virginia (1844-1867)
2. Christopher Wrenn (1845-1932)
3. Nancy Adelaide (1847-1874)
4. Susan Mariana (1849-1922)
5. Victoria (1852-1896)
6. Louise Emiline (1855-1934)
7. Albert Lemuel (1857-1944)
8. Jesse Lafayette (1861-1909)
9. Margaret Elizabeth (1863-1950)
10. Hattie Irene (1868-1945)


~Family of Eng Bunker:

Eng married Sarah Ann Yates. She was born on 18 Dec 1822 and died at the age of 69 on 29 Apr 1892. Together, Eng and Sarah had 11 children:

1. Katherine Marcellus (1844-1871)
2. Julia Ann (1845-1865)
3. Stephen Decatur (1846-1920)
4. James Montgomery (1848-1921)
5. Patrick Henry (1850-1938)
6. Rosalyn Etta (1852-1852)
7. William Oliver (1855-1932)
8. Frederick Marshall (1857-1886)
9. Rosella Virginia (1859-1941)
10. Georgianna Columbia (1863-1865)
11. Robert Edward (1865-1951)

This is a terrible picture, but it was the largest "person" picture I could find of the twins and their families (picture courtesy of Google.com). Pictured are the twins, their wives, children and one of their slaves.

Surprisingly, neither brother had twins. However, with all of their 21 children, their direct descendants number over 1500! That is insane! These two men very well could have succumbed to their "disability" or "oddity" but instead, changed their lives for good and did what THEY wanted and I LOVE that part of the story! 

Chang and Eng and their wives Sarah and Adelaide are buried together in the White Plains Baptist Church Cemetery in White Plains, North Carolina. 

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

My 8 year old son Jack has discovered The Wizard of Oz. Apparently they watched it at school (learning about Tornadoes he says). Now, this is his favorite movie. He and my 3 year old daughter Chloe are currently watching it as they make a magnet tower from MagnaTiles.

I realized, even though I have Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton (The Wicked Witch of the West) in my family tree, I have never made a blog post about them or the movie, which is surprising. So, here we go!



~Judy Garland (born: Frances Ethel Gumm)
born: 10 Jun 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota
died: 22 Jun 1969 in Belgravia, England

Judy was born Frances Ethel Gumm, the daughter of Francis Avent Gumm (1886-1935) & Ethel Marion Milne (1896-1953). She and her 2 sisters Dorothy and Mary were all actresses and  my 7th cousin, 4x removed. 

Judy was the lead actress in The Wizard of Oz in 1939, playing Dorothy Gale. She was 17 years old at the time.

The Gumm Sisters- 1935

Judy started acting in 1936 at the age of 14 years old and has starred in at least 25 different films.


U.S. Census Records:

1930- Antelope, Los Angeles, California (age 7): Judy is living with her parents and 2 sisters in Antelope, California, at 1211 Ceadir Street (?). Their home is rented for $40 a month. Her father works as a proprietor of a theater- owner and operator.

1940: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (age 17): Judy is living at 1231 Stone Canyon Road in Los Angeles, the home is owned, valued at $50,000. She is living with her mother, sister Sue, a butler and a maid. Both her mother and sister have also adopted the name Garland.

1231 Stone Canyon Rd in Los Angeles- (information from Realtor.com)
5 Bed, 5.5 bath, 5,513 Sqft, built in 1938. Last sold for 6.7 million in 2012.

Judy married 5 times in her 47 years and had 3 children:
1. Liza May Minnelli (b. 1946)
2. Lorna Luft (b. 1952)
3. Joseph Luft (b. 1955)


Judy died at the young age of 47 years old of a barbiturate overdose- a drug used to depress the central nervous system- example would be Xanax or Valium. She is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.



~John Joseph Haley "Jack Haley"
born: 10 Aug 1898- Boston, Massachusetts
died: 06 Jun 1979- Los Angeles, California

Jack, born John Joseph Haley Jr., was born to John Joseph Haley Sr. and Ellen Curley. Jack is actually in my tree as well since his son John III married Judy Garland's daughter- Liza.
Jack played the Tin Man and the farmhand "Hickory" in the Wizard of Oz. He was 41 years old at the time.

Jack married Florence McFadden (1902-1996) and they had 2 children: Jack Jr. (1933-2001) and Gloria (1923-2010).

Jack died at the age of 80 of a heart attack on 06 Jun 1979. He is buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.


~Margaret Brainard Hamilton
born: 09 Dec 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio
died: 16 May 1985 in Salisbury, Connecticut

Margaret was the daughter of Walter Jones Hamilton (1865-1935) & Mary Jane "Jennie" Adams (1865-1926). She is my 8th cousin, 2x removed on my mother's side.

Margaret starred as The Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz in 1939. She was 37 years old at the time. I read somewhere a long while back that she had originally auditioned to play Glenda the Good Witch, but they said she was too ugly. I have no idea if that is accurate- I'd hope not! How cruel!

Before she played the Witch, Margaret was married to Paul Boynton Meserve (1902-1983) on 13 Jun 193 and they divorced in 1938. They had one son together: Hamilton Wadsworth Meserve (b. 1936). Hamilton married and gave his mother 3 grandchildren, one of whom he named after her.


U.S. Census Records:

1910: Cleveland, Ohio (age 7): Margaret was living at 2098 East 96th Street with her parents (father was a lawyer), 3 siblings and 2 servants. Their home was owned- mortgage-free. I couldn't find the house online, so either it was written incorrectly on the record or it doesn't exist anymore.

1930: Cleveland, Ohio (age 27): Margaret was living with her father and a servant. It appears to be the same address above, the number is different. It looks like it reads 2050, but it's transcribed as 2346. (None of the numbers come up in google search). Their home is owned, valued at $35,000. Her father is still an attorney.

1940: Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California (age 37): Margaret is divorced, living with her son and a cook. They live at 611 Canon Drive- home is owned, valued at $42,000. Her occupation is listed as Movie Actress- motion pictures.

611 N. Canon Drive- (information courtesy of Zillow.com)
6 Bed, 7 bath, 10,999 sqft. Unfortunately, it appears Margaret's house in 1940 was probably torn down and this house was put in it's place because this house was built in 1983.

I thought it'd be fun to look up famous neighbors who were also in the movie business:

Next door @ 609 Canon Drive- Actor Ralph Bellamy, his wife Catherine and a lodger

Margaret died at the age of 82 and died on 16 May 1985. She was cremated, ashes scattered over her property in Dutchess County, New York.




Update-
18 Jan 2020- I found this wonderful video of The Wizard of Oz burials! Check it out if you get a chance!


VIDEO