Eric Szmanda

Szmanda in 2011, photo by Prphotos.com

Birth Name: Eric Kyle Szmanda

Place of Birth: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.

Date of Birth: July 24, 1975

Ethnicity: German, Polish, Swiss-German, English, distant Dutch and Scottish

Eric Szmanda is an American actor. He is known for his role on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and on various subsequent iterations.

His surname is pronounced sh-muhn-duh, and is Polish. Eric’s father has Polish, German, and Swiss-German ancestry. Eric’s mother has German and English roots, along with distant Dutch and Scottish.

His uncle was Ray Szmanda, the “Menard’s Guy,” a celebrity in the Midwest who was in ads for Menard’s, a chain of hardware stores.

Eric is a half-second cousin, once removed, of model and actor Trevor Donovan. Eric’s maternal great-great-grandfather Lester Elwin Rasey was a half-brother of Trevor’s paternal great-grandmother, Inez Mae Rasey.

Eric’s paternal grandfather was Robert L. “Bob” Szmanda, Sr. (the son of Casmer/Charles Szmanda and Marie Gertrude Baumann). Robert was born in Wisconsin. Casmer was born in Wisconsin, to Polish parents, Anton/Anthony Szmanda and Angeline/Angela/Amelia Rossa. Marie Gertrude was also born in Wisconsin, the daughter of Henry Baumann, who was Swiss, and of Mary Imanski, who was Polish.

Eric’s paternal grandmother was Lucille Dirkman/Dirkmann (the daughter of Walter Jacob Dirkman and Clara M. Heinzen). Lucille was born in Wisconsin. Walter was born in Wisconsin, the son of Valentine/Valatine Dirkman and Elizabeth/Elisabetha Hausherr. Clara was born in Iowa, the daughter of Jacob Heinzen and Mary Neuser. Eric’s great-great-grandparents Valentine, Elizabeth, Jacob, and Mary, were born in Wisconsin, all of them to parents from Germany.

Eric’s maternal grandfather was William Leroy “Bill” Enders (the son of William Carl Enders and Hedwig Caroline/Karolina “Hattie” Mertens). Eric’s grandfather William was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Eric’s great-grandfather William was the son of Wilhelm Samuel Enders, whose parents were German, his father from Sschsen-Meiningen and his mother from Wurrtemberg; and of Emma Maas, whose parents were also German, her father from Pomerania and her mother from Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Hattie was a German emigrant, from Homberg, Saarland, and was the daughter of Jacob Mertens and Louisa Eberhardt.

Eric’s maternal grandmother was Lorna Jean Courtright (the daughter of Forest/Forrest Roland Courtright and Ruth Irene Rasey). Lorna was born in Iowa, and had deep roots in the U.S. Forest was the son of Oran/Orin Abram Courtright and Delilah/Dialilha Ann Coulson, whose father was born in Ontario, Canada. Ruth was the daughter of Lester Elwin Rasey and Nettie Edith Bushnell.

Sources: Genealogy of Eric Szmanda (focusing on his father’s side) – http://familypedia.wikia.com

Eric’s paternal grandfather, Robert L. “Bob” Szmanda, on the 1930 U.S. Census – http://www.familysearch.org

Marriage record of Eric’s paternal great-great-grandparents, Anton/Anthony Szmanda and Angeline/Angela/Amelia Rossa – https://familysearch.org

Eric’s paternal grandmother, Lucille Dirkman/Dirkmann, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Eric’s paternal great-grandfather, Walter Jacob Dirkman, on the 1910 U.S. Census – http://www.familysearch.org

Eric’s paternal great-grandmother, Clara M. Heinzen, on the 1910 U.S. Census – http://www.familysearch.org

Obituary of Eric’s paternal great-grandmother, Clara M. (Heinzen) Dirkman – http://www.2manitowoc.com

Obituary of Eric’s maternal grandmother, Lorna Jean (Courtright) Enders – http://www.legacy.com

Genealogies of Eric’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Oran/Orin Abram Courtright and Delilah/Dialilha Ann Coulson – http://www.findagrave.com