Chris Parnell
Parnell in 2015, photo by kathclick/www.bigstockphoto.com
Place of Birth: Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Date of Birth: February 5, 1967
Ethnicity: Irish, English, German
Chris Parnell, full name Thomas Christopher Parnell, is an American actor, comedian, and singer.
He was adopted, by Shirley and Jack Parnell. He has stated that the adoption agency indicated that he has Irish, English, and German ancestry.
Chris’ adoptive maternal grandfather was August Carl Rauchle (the son of August Carl Rauchle and Louise Manner). Chris’ grandfather August was born in Tennessee, to German parents. Chris’ great-grandfather August was the son of Christian Rauchle. Louise was the daughter of Gottfried Manner and Elizabeth.
Chris’ adoptive maternal grandmother was Clara Bessire (the daughter of Fred Bessire and Louise Yancer). Clara was born in Tennessee, to Swiss parents, her father of Swiss-French origin, and her mother of Swiss-German descent.
Sources: Genealogy of Chris Parnell (focusing on his adoptive mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Chris’s adoptive maternal grandmother, Clara Bessire, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Shirley and Jack aren’t his biological parents:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2wgj6n/chris_parnell_thespian_ama/coqoib9/
He does describe himself as “Irish, English and German”, so no big difference.
Likely his aunt:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKLS-QM2P
Fred was Swiss-French and Louise was Swiss-German. Their languages are listed here:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN51-X82