Sam Waterston

Waterston in 2013, photo by PrPhotos

Birth Name: Samuel Atkinson Waterston

Place of Birth: Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

Date of Birth: November 15, 1940

Ethnicity: English, Scottish

Sam Waterston is an American actor, producer, and director. His roles include the films The Glass Menagerie (1973), The Great Gatsby (1974), Interiors, Hopscotch, The Killing Fields, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Man in the Moon, and Miss Sloane, the series Law & Order, The Newsroom, and Grace and Frankie, and a litany of stage performances, including as Abraham Lincoln.

His father, George Chychele Waterston, was an emigrant from Edinburgh, Scotland, and was of Scottish and English descent. His mother, Alice/Alica Tucker (Atkinson), born in Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts, was of English descent. He is married to model Lynn Louisa Woodruff. He has a son, actor James Waterston, with his former wife, photographer Barbara Rutledge; and three children, including actress Katherine Waterston (Katherine Boyer Waterston), with Lynn.

Sam is an Episcopalian.

Sam’s paternal grandfather was George Waterston (the son of George Waterston and Agnes Mackie Wyse Millidge). Sam’s grandfather George was Scottish, and was born in Edinburgh. Sam’s great-grandfather George was the son of George Waterston and Jane Peat. Agnes was the daughter of Edwin Millidge and Sarah Wyse.

Sam’s paternal grandmother was Ellen Louise Giles (the daughter of William Brantingham Giles and Louisa/Louise Rebecca Simons). Ellen was born in Hackney, London, England. William was the son of William Giles and Ellen Gray. Sam’s great-grandmother Louisa was the daughter of Robert Simons and Eliza Rebecca Hammon.

Sam’s maternal grandfather was Robert Whitman Atkinson (the son of Edward Atkinson and Mary Caroline Heath). Robert was born in Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts, and had deep roots in the state. Edward was the son of Amos Atkinson and Anna Greenleaf Sawyer. Mary Caroline was the daughter of Charles Heath and Caroline Penniman.

Sam’s maternal grandmother was Elizabeth Bispham Page (the daughter of Edward Augustus Page and Josephine Augusta Bispham). Elizabeth was born in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania, to parents who had deep roots in New Jersey. Edward was the son of Gilbert Page and Atlantic French. Josephine was the daughter of Joseph Bispham and Susan Ridgway Tucker, whose own father, Ebenezer Tucker, was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey.

Sources: Genealogies of Sam Waterston – http://www.wargs.com
https://famouskin.com

Immigration record of Sam’s father – https://familysearch.org

Genealogy of Sam Waterston (focusing on his mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com