Ty Burrell

Burrell in 2012, photo by PrPhotos

Birth Name: Tyler Gerald Burrell

Place of Birth: Grants Pass, Oregon, U.S.

Date of Birth: August 22, 1967

Ethnicity: German/Black Sea German, English, smaller amounts of Scottish, Irish, French, as well as 1/64th African [from Madagascar]

Ty Burrell is an American actor and comedian. His roles include the films Muppets Most Wanted, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Dawn of the Dead (2004), Fur, and Morning Glory, and television’s Modern Family, among many other projects.

Ty is the son of Sheri Rose, a teacher, and Gary Gerald Burrell, a family therapist. He was raised in Applegate, Oregon. He has German/Black Sea German, English, and smaller amounts of Scottish, Irish, and French, roots, as well as 1/64th African ancestry from Madagascar.

He is married to Holly. The couple has two children, who are adopted, and are both black.

One of Ty’s maternal great-great-great-great-grandmothers, Jane, was a thirteen year-old African slave girl, from Madagascar. She had a daughter with her white owner, Dudley Mask. Their daughter, Nellie Mask, was born into slavery. Both Ty’s maternal grandmother, Lucy Weeks, and Ty’s maternal great-grandfather, George Weeks, are listed as “Mulatto” on the 1920 U.S. Census, and Ty’s great-grandfather George had also been listed as “Black” on other censuses, referring to this ancestry.

Ty’s black ancestry was explored on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2016). A DNA test taken by the show stated that Ty’s genetic ancestry is:

*98.5% European
*1.4% Sub-Saharan African
*0.1% Unassigned

Ty’s mother’s test stated her to be of 3.5% African descent.

Ty’s paternal grandfather was Gerald Frank Burrell (the son of Benjamin Burrell and Naomi Lorena Kitselman). Gerald was born in Rawlins, Wyoming. Benjamin was the son of Richard Burrell and Lida Frances Murphy. Naomi was the daughter of Franklin Elmer Kitselman and Amanda A./Maude Stephens.

Ty’s paternal grandmother was Dollie Alberta Cook (the daughter of Harry Hiram Cook and Lena Mary Leppard). Dollie was born in California. Harry was the son of Charles A. Cook and Lilene/Lilly Cunningham Farrant. Lena was the daughter of John Henry Leppard and Agnes/Maggie M. Hartman.

Ty’s maternal grandfather was Johann/John Friedrich Hauck (the son of Frederick A. “Fred” Hauck and Rosina Maag). Ty’s grandfather Johann was born in South Dakota. Ty’s great-grandfather Frederick was born in Russia, to an ethnic German family, the son of Johann “John” Hauck and Elizabeth Brunmeier. Ty’s great-grandmother Rosina was born in South Dakota, to ethnic German emigrants from Russia, Peter Maag and Elisabetha/Elizabeth Jungmann. They lived in Odessa, and Hoffnungstal, in the Russian Empire, now Tsebrykove.

Ty’s maternal grandmother was Lucy Kathleen “Kathy” Weeks (the daughter of George Washington Weeks, Jr. and Nancy Evelyn/Eva Leabo). Lucy was born in Trail, Oregon. George was the son of George Washington Weeks, Sr. and Susannah/Susanna W. Mask. Nancy was the daughter of James Kirkpatrick Leabo and Mary Deborah Hoover.

Sources: Genealogies of Ty Burrell – http://www.geni.com
http://www.wikitree.com

Ty’s paternal grandfather, Gerald Frank Burrell, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Ty’s maternal grandfather, Johann/John Friedrich Hauck, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Ty’s maternal grandmother, Lucy Kathleen “Kathy” Weeks, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Ty’s maternal great-grandparents, George Washington Weeks, Jr. and Nancy Evelyn Leabo, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

A discussion of Ty’s ancestry – http://boards.ancestry.com