Adam DeVine
Devine in 2013, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: Adam Patrick Devine
Place of Birth: Waterloo, Iowa, U.S.
Date of Birth: November 7, 1983
Ethnicity: Dutch, Irish, English, some German
Adam Devine is an American actor, comedian, singer, producer, and screenwriter. He has starred in the films The Final Girls, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Isn’t It Romantic, Magic Camp, and Jexi. He is a member of sketch group Mail Order Comedy, along with Blake Anderson, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck.
He was raised in Omaha, Nebraska. Adam is married to actress Chloe Bridges, with whom he has a son.
Adam’s paternal grandfather was William James “Bill” Devine (the son of William James Devine and Anna Elizabeth Ward). Adam’s grandfather William was born in Iowa. Adam’s great-grandfather William was the son of William James Devine, who was Irish, and of Clara Brown, who was born in Iowa, to Irish parents, her father from Druminorwerst, Kilmacshalgan Parish, Sligo, Connaught. Adam’s great-grandmother Anna was the daughter of Dennis James Ward, who was born in Iowa, to Irish parents, from Armagh, Ulster, Ireland, and of Lydia Blankenburg, who was born in Iowa, to German parents from Prussia.
Adam’s paternal grandmother was Arvilla V. Drenth (the daughter of Sievert “Sam” Drenth and Elizabeth Grimmius). Arvilla was born in Iowa, to Dutch parents. Sievert was born in Finsterwolde, the son of Berend/Ben Sijwerts/Sieverts Drenth and Jantina/Jennie Alida Bos. Elizabeth was born in Midwolda, Groningen, Netherlands, the daughter of Mentko Grimmius and Jantje “Jennie” Ottens.
Adam’s maternal grandfather was Jack Blain/Blane Cobb (the son of George William Cobb and Ethel M. Tennyson). Jack was born in Missouri. George was the son of John Dorphin Cobb and Mary Susan Hartman. Ethel was the daughter of Geal Albert “G. A.” Tennyson, who was of Dutch origin, and of Emma M. Burgess, who likely had British Isles ancestry.
Adam’s maternal grandmother was Freda Evelyn Smith (the daughter of Russell Everett Smith and Etta Pearl Scott). Freda was born in Missouri. Russell was the son of Henry O. Smith and Lillie J. Leach. Etta was the daughter of John Martin Scott and Elizabeth Ann Brown.
Sources: Genealogy of Adam DeVine (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Genealogies and obituaries of Adam’s paternal grandparents, William James “Bill” Devine and Arvilla V. Drenth – https://www.findagrave.com
Obituary of Adam’s paternal grandfather, William James “Bill” Devine – http://iagenweb.org
Adam’s maternal great-grandmother, Ethel M. Tennyson, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Adam’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Geal Albert “G. A.” Tennyson – https://www.newspapers.com
He is a bit weird looking in fact (depending by facial expression) but you could have guessed by his features he has some sort of Germanic heritage (Dutch here).
Adam’s maternal grandfather was Jack Blain/Blane Cobb (the son of George William Cobb and Ethel M. Tennyson). Jack was born in Missouri. George was the son of John Dorphin Cobb and Mary Susan Hartman. Ethel was the daughter of Gale A. Tennyson and Emma M. Burgess.
*Gale Tennyson was of Dutch descent, Emma was probably of British descent.
Adam’s maternal grandmother was Freda Evelyn Smith (the daughter of Russell Everett Smith and Etta Pearl Scott). Freda was born in Missouri. Russell was the son of Henry O. Smith and Lillie Leach. Etta was the daughter of John Martin Scott and Elizabeth Ann Brown.
Can you point me to the source for Gale A. Tennyson being of Dutch descent? Is the name Anglicized or something? Because Tennyson is an English name.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M841-2N8
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2Y9-3KK
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHX5-CJF
I would also like to have his name changed to Geal Albert Tennyson, since that’s how it’s spelt in the obituary. His parents were Herman Tennessen/Tennyson and Elizabeth Liebers.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59071549/obituary-for-g-a-tennyson/
That’s even more confusing. Liebers is a German name. I wonder if perhaps he didn’t just make that up, or if there is some interesting story behind this? I’m trying to think of a comparable Dutch surname to Tennyson, and it’s not coming to be right now.
Lijbers is Dutch. There are several last names similar to Tennyson/Tennissen found in Netherlands. Why would they lie about being Dutch?
What kind of question is that. I lie all the time about my ethnicity and say I am Dutch. Why did torressani say she was Jewish? It is fun!
Teunissen is a fairly prevalent surname in the Netherlands, and there’s many variations of it in the country. It could’ve been changed to Tennyson in the U.S. The least likely thing is probably that they lied about their background.
Funny, I thought Devine was where his Dutch ancestry came in, and it’s actually through his paternal grandmother.
He looks like he could be related to Zac Efron