Chris Mulkey
Birth Name: Christian Homer Mulkey, Jr.
Place of Birth: Viroqua, Wisconsin, U.S.
Date of Birth: May 3, 1948
Ethnicity: English, Irish, Scottish, 1/16th Spanish, remote Swedish
Chris Mulkey is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films First Blood, Captain Phillips, and Whiplash, and on the series Any Day Now, Twin Peaks, Boardwalk Empire, and Friday Night Lights.
Chris is the son of Juanita and Christian Mulkey. He was married to actress Karen Landry, until her death, with whom he has two children.
Chris’ paternal grandfather was Cicero Hurley Mulkey (the son of Homer Moses Mulkey and Martha Elizabeth Holland). Cicero was born in Georgia. Homer was born in Georgia, the son of Benjamin Franklin Mulkey and Frances Williams. Martha was born in Alabama, the daughter of Jordan William Holland and Mary Ann Whitehead.
Chris’ paternal grandmother was Mattie D. Veates (the daughter of Christian Baker Yeats/Veates and Mary Ann Sease). Mattie was born in Georgia. Christian was born in South Carolina, to a Spanish-born father, and Matilda “Mattie” Gladden; he added the surnames of his stepfathers, Chaplin and Baker, and then the name Veates. A picture of Christian can be seen here. Mary was the daughter of George Washington Sease and Martha Frances Wilson.
Chris’ maternal grandfather was William M. Martin, Jr. (the son of William M. Martin and Mary). Chris’ grandfather William was born in Illinois, to a Scottish father and an Irish mother.
Chris’ maternal grandmother was named Juanita Winn. Juanita was born in Illinois, to an English father and a Louisiana-born mother.
Sources: Chris Mulkey on the 1950 U.S. census – https://www.familysearch.org
Death certificate of Chris’ paternal great-grandfather, Christian Baker Veates – https://www.familysearch.org
Chris’ mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Chris’ maternal grandfather, William M. Martin, Jr., on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Chris’ mother – https://www.startribune.com
Thank you. Is the adult male the supposed Spanish one? The picture is so old it does not add much. They would look a bit atypical to me though as white people, both him and the kid. Your thoughts?
@bablah
The man in the picture is supposed to be Christian Baker Veates. The girl is his daughter Gladys, I think.
I don’t know. As you said, it’s an old photo. Everybody looks the same in those old candid photos.
Oh, I wrote 1/8 up there; I meant 1/16.
Christian Baker Veates was born in South Carolina, the illegitimate child of a 14-year-old girl. He went by Christian Chaplin and then Christian Baker (his stepfather’s surnames), before he eventually tacked Veates onto the end, for seemingly no real reason. On the census (1900, 1910, 1920), his father’s birthplace was listed as Spain. His father’s identity was left blank on his death certificate, but it does note he was Spanish.
A Spanish-born South Carolinian would have been very rare in the 1860s. I wonder what the backstory there was?
Interesting stuff. Could have been “Spain” a way to hide the real ethnic background of Christian Baker Veates father? a person of color from American South, passed for a swarthy white man from Spain? This is my random speculation.
His picture from ancestry.com
https://mediasvc.ancestry.com/v2/thumbnail/namespaces/1093/media/eb309454-3017-4f62-9e2a-2e1e85fc6669.jpg?Client=SearchUI&MaxSide=8000&suppressNotFound=true
Christian and his mother are on the 1870 census as C. Yeats and M. Yeats.
Christian’s mothrr’s name was Matilda “Mattie” Gladden.