Callie Thorne
Thorne in 2012, photo by kathclick/www.bigstockphoto.com
Birth Name: Calliope Silver Thorne
Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Date of Birth: November 20, 1969
Ethnicity:
*paternal grandfather – Ashkenazi Jewish
*paternal grandmother – Irish, English, Welsh
*mother – Assyrian, Armenian
Callie Thorne is an American actress. Her roles include the series Homicide: Life on the Street, Rescue Me, The Wire, and Necessary Roughness.
Her mother has stated that she is of Assyrian and Armenian descent. Callie’s mother’s family were members of St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church. Callie has said:
I’m Armenian but I pass for several ethnicities, which is great. It’s easy for me, and I do accents really well. But it’s not all that I can do. That particular movie and this show [Homicide: Life on the Street] — because I’m playing Laura Ballard, not Laura Esposito — show that.
Callie’s paternal grandfather was Samuel Edmund Thorne (the son of Bernard David Thorn and Julia/Julie Parvel/Pawel). Samuel was born in New York, and was a legal historian and professor at Harvard Law School. Bernard was a Jewish emigrant, who was born in Austria, the son of Samuel Thorn and Rosa Bader. Callie’s great-grandmother Julie was born in New York, the daughter of Jewish emigrants, Adolph Parvel/Pawel, from Leszno, Poland, and Emma Klein, from Leipzig, Germany.
Callie’s paternal grandmother was Margaret Ewen MacVeagh (the daughter of Davenport Lincoln MacVeagh and Margaret Charlton Lewis). Callie’s grandmother Margaret was born in New York. Lincoln MacVeagh was a soldier, diplomat, businessperson, and archaeologist. Lincoln’s father, Charles Miner MacVeagh, was ambassador to Japan, from 1925 to 1928. Lincoln was the grandson of Wayne MacVeagh, who was U.S. Attorney General, in 1881, and the great-nephew of Franklin MacVeagh, who was U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, from 1909 to 1913. Lincoln’s mother was Fanny Davenport Rogers. Callie’s great-grandmother Margaret was the daughter of Charlton Thomas Lewis and Margaret Pierce Sherrard.
Callie’s maternal grandfather was named Samuel Pius Oshana (the son of Pius Oshana and Martha R.). Samuel was born in either Russia or Connecticut, to Assyrian parents, from Persia, now Iran.
Callie’s maternal grandmother was named Beatrice Davidian (the daughter of Khachig/Rathador Davidian and Siranoush). Beatrice was born in New Britain, Connecticut, to Armenian parents.
Sources: http://www.twitter.com
http://odssf.com
Genealogy of Callie Thorne (focusing on her father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Marriage record of Callie’s parents – http://www.familysearch.org
Callie’s paternal grandfather, Samuel Edmund Thorne, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Samuel Edmund Thorne on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Samuel Edmund Thorne on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Callie’s paternal grandfather, Samuel Edmund Thorne – http://www.nytimes.com
Marriage record of Callie’s paternal great-grandparents, Bernard David Thorn and Julia/Julie Parvel/Pawel – https://familysearch.org
Callie’s maternal grandfather, Samuel Pius Oshana, on the 1940 U.S. Census – http://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Callie’s maternal grandfather, Samuel Pius Oshana – http://www.legacy.com
Callie’s maternal grandmother, Beatrice Davidian, on the 1930 U.S. Census – http://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Callie’s maternal grandmother, Beatrice (Davidian) Oshana – http://www.legacy.com
Why does her father possibly have Italian and Portuguese ancestry?
Speculation. Some sources state that Callie also has Italian and Portuguese roots.
I think her father’s parents were Samuel E. Thorne and Margaret.
Oh, didn’t see that you wrote that. I researched some information about Samuel.
I think it’s possible that his maternal grandfather was of Armenian descent too. Armenia was part of Russia while Syria wasn’t. And the family moved to the U.S. during the Armenian genocide. In the obituary it says: “He was a member of St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church, New Britain”.
Also, I think this is her paternal grandfather:
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/09/obituaries/samuel-e-thorne-legal-historian-87.html
He is listed as a relative on her public record (which, I’ve noticed, isn’t always definite, although it’s often correct), lived in Massachusetts, and has a son named Stuart. Maybe someone can verify if it is the right man. If it is, then Callie’s paternal grandparents were Samuel Edmund Thorne and Margaret. Samuel was a retired legal historian and professor at the Harvard Law School.
Samuel was born in New York. I’m pretty sure this is him on censuses:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M53V-695
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJRC-PFQ
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4JR-QR9
Samuel was then the son of Bernard D. Thorn and Julia/Julie Parvel. Bernard was born in Austria, the son of Samuel Thorn and Rosa Bader. Julia was born in New York, to parents from Germany, Adolph Parvel and Emma Klein.
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:249D-T8Y
I’m not good at determining Jewish ancestors, but I think Bernard and Julia/Julie may have been Jewish.
If they weren’t, looking at the other families in the census, they sure do like Jewish company.
I think they were definitely Jewish.
Your research is correct, sirs.
And yes, they were Jewish, and already part of the geni.com Jewish genealogy network.
BTW, the famous Sophie (Didimamoff) Elgort lived in an almost entirely Jewish neighborhood in 1910, but that doesn’t totally prove that she was Jewish.
Similarly, the Labofish family almost never lived around very many Jews, but it’s still possible that they were ethnically Jewish.
It can be confusing.
I agree with almost everything, but Callie’s mother has stated that she is Assyrian and Armenian on Twitter. So I believe Callie’s maternal grandmother would be Assyrian, at very least.
There’s a reason why Assyrians and Armenians fled at the same time. From wiki:
”The Assyrian genocide (also known as Sayfo or Seyfo, (“Sword”) Syriac: ܩܛܠܥܡܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ or ܣܝܦܐ) refers to the mass slaughter of the Assyrian population of the Ottoman Empire and those in neighbouring Persia by Ottoman troops during the First World War, in conjunction with the Armenian and Greek genocides.”
Speaking of Assyrians, a whole lot of Syrians on this site would actually fall under that category.