Birth Name: Paul William Walker IV
Birth Date: September 12, 1973
Birth Place: Glendale, California, U.S.
Date of Death: November 30, 2013
Place of Death: Valencia, Santa Clarita, California
Ethnicity: English, German, Irish
Paul Walker was an American actor. He was known for starring in the highly successful The Fast and the Furious franchise. His ancestry included (relatively) recent English and German immigrants, as well as English roots from ancestors who had long lived in New England, and elsewhere in the United States. He had also stated that he had Irish ancestry.
Paul’s paternal grandfather was Paul William Walker II (the son of Paul William Walker and Harriett June Willey). Paul William Walker was born in Wisconsin, to parents George Walker and Ann Augusta Tilley, who were from England (Ann was born in Clerkenwell, Middlesex). Harriett was born in Illinois, as was Harriett’s father, Charles Leon Willey (Charles’s parents were Ebenezer “Eben” or “Eban” Glover Willey and Ellen “Nellie” Augusta Hopkins). Charles Leon Willey was of English descent, and his parents’ families had long been established in New England. Harriett’s mother, Ella Pearl Clark, was from Pennsylvania. Paul William Walker II had a boxing career as “”Irish” Billie Walker”, but it is unclear if he had any Irish ancestry. Paul Walker (the actor) had stated that his own ancestry was partly Irish, but this ancestry could have been from Paul’s mother.
Paul’s paternal grandmother was June Vivian Oefinger (the daughter of Elmer John Oefinger and Betsey Idell Spooner). Elmer’s father, Johannes “John” Oefinger, was a German immigrant, from Trossingen, Wuerttemberg. Elmer’s mother, Louisa Ann Stark, was born in Deerfield, Massachusetts, to German immigrants Ludwig “Lewis” Frederick Stark and Mary/Marie Rechert/Richert. Betsey’s parents, William Hampton Spooner and Annie Woodruff Smith, were both from families long-resident in the United States, and of English descent.
Paul’s maternal grandparents were George Crabtree and Ann Smith.
Sources: Genealogy of Paul Walker (focusing on his father’s side) – http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com
Paul’s paternal grandfather, Paul William Walker II, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Paul’s paternal grandfather, Paul William Walker II – http://theworldlink.com/news
Wisconsin birth record of Paul’s paternal great-grandfather, Paul William Walker – https://familysearch.org
Paul’s paternal great-grandmother, Harriett June Willey, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Harriett June Willey on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Paul’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Charles Leon Willey, on the 1870 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Charles Leon Willey on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy of Paul’s paternal great-great-great-grandmother, Ellen “Nellie” Augusta Hopkins (focusing on her own father’s side) – http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com
Obituary of Paul’s paternal grandmother, June Vivian (Oefinger) Walker – http://theworldlink.com
Genealogy of Paul’s paternal grandmother’s sister, June Vivian Oefinger (through June’s sister, Betsey Alma Oefinger) (focusing on her own father’s side) – http://germans2franklincountyma.info
Paul’s paternal great-grandmother, Betsey Idell Spooner, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy of Paul’s paternal great-grandmother, Betsey Idell Spooner (focusing on her own father’s side) – http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com
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