Robbie Amell

Amell in 2015, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Robert Patrick Amell

Place of Birth: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Date of Birth: April 21, 1988

Ethnicity: English, Scottish, German, Irish, 1/16th French-Canadian, more distant Welsh and Dutch

Robbie Amell is a Canadian actor, model, and producer. His roles include the films Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Left for Dead, Struck by Lightning, The DUFF, Max (2015), Nine Lives, ARQ, The Babysitter, and its sequel, The Babysitter: Killer Queen; When We First Met, Code 8, Desperados, Eat Wheaties!, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, and Simulant, and television’s Life with Derek, Picture This, True Jackson, VP, the Scooby-Doo live action prequels, Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous, The Tomorrow People, The Hunters (2013), The Flash, The X-Files, and Upload.

His first cousin is actor Stephen Amell. Robbie is married to actress Italia Ricci, with whom he has a son.

Robbie’s ancestry is English, Scottish, German, Irish, 1/16th French-Canadian, and more distant Welsh and Dutch. Many of Robbie’s ancestral lines have been in Canada going back many generations, on both sides of his family. He also has American-born ancestors going back to the 1600s.

Robbie is a first cousin, twice removed, of Progressive Conservative politician Bill Davis, who was Premier of Ontario, from March 1, 1971 to February 8, 1985. Robbie’s paternal great-great-grandparents, John William Hewetson and Eliza Jackson, were also Bill’s maternal grandparents.

Robbie’s surname was spelled Hamel several generations back. Robbie’s patrilineal line can be traced to Jean Hamel, who was born, c. 1636, in France, and to Jean’s wife, Marie Auvray, who was born, c. 1638, in France.

Robbie’s step-great-grandfather was Henry John Burden, a WWI flying ace officially credited with 16 victories; Henry was a grandson of Timothy Eaton (1834-1907), who founded the famous Canadian store Eaton’s in Toronto in 1869, and who was an emigrant from Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Robbie and his wife Italia have also become U.S. citizens.

Robbie’s paternal grandfather was Robert John Amell (the son of Robert Henry Amell and Alice Isobel/Isabel Learmouth). Robbie’s grandfather Robert was born in Toronto, Ontario. Robbie’s great-grandfather Robert was the son of William Amell, who was of French-Canadian descent, and of Julia Ann Foster. Alice was the daughter of Peter Frank Learmouth and Alice Gertrude Smith.

Robbie’s paternal grandmother was Rosemary Hewetson (the daughter of Alfred Russell Hewetson and Rosa Melvina Breithaupt). Rosemary was born in Brampton, Ontario. Alfred was the son of English parents, John William Hewetson and Eliza Jackson. Rosa was the daughter of Louis Jacob Breithaupt, who was of German descent, and of Emma Alvarena/Alvarine Bowman Devitt, who was of entirely or almost entirely German ancestry.

Robbie’s maternal grandfather was Stewart Patrick Burden (the son of Stewart Lyon McClenaghan and Gladys Hilliard Gamble/Gemble). Robbie’s grandfather Stewart was born in Ottawa, Ontario. Robbie’s grandfather Stewart took the surname of his own stepfather, Henry John “Hank” Burden. Robbie’s great-grandfather Stewart was the son of Stewart McClenaghan and Matilda Agnes Lyon; Robbie’s great-great-grandfather Stewart was a Member of Parliament, from Ottawa, from 1925 to 1926. Robbie’s great-grandmother Gladys was the daughter of William J. Gamble and Mary Amy Harriette Thomas.

Robbie’s maternal grandmother is Pauline Olivia Watkins (the daughter of Walter William Reginald Watkins and Margaret Josephine Foster). Walter was the son of Ernest De Long/Delong Watkins and Mary/Marie Olivia Nelles. Margaret was the daughter of Anthony Stephen Foster and Hortense Pauline Davis.

Robbie’s great-great-grandfather, Louis Jacob Breithaupt, was a prominent manufacturer and political figure in Ontario, who was Mayor of Berlin, Ontario, now Kitchener, Ontario, from 1888 to 1889; his own father, Philip Ludwig/Louis Breithaupt, was also Mayor of the town. Robbie’s great-great-uncle, Louis’s son Louis Orville Breithaupt, was an MP in the Canadian Parliament, from 1940 to 1952, and a Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, from 1952 to 1957. Robbie’s great-great-grandmother Emma Devitt was the daughter of Benjamin Devitt, who was Mayor of Waterloo, Ontario, from 1881 to 1883.

Sources: Obituary of Robbie’s paternal grandfather, Robert John Amell – http://necrologie.genealogiequebec.com

Obituary of Robbie’s paternal grandmother, Rosemary (Hewetson) Amell – http://v1.theglobeandmail.com

Obituary of Robbie’s maternal grandfather, Stewart Patrick Burden – https://obittree.com

Genealogy of Robbie’s mother (focusing on her mother’s side) – http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com