Ellar Coltrane
Coltrane in 2014, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: Ellar Coltrane Kinney Salmon
Place of Birth: Austin, Travis, Texas, U.S.
Date of Birth: August 27, 1994
Ethnicity: English, German, Polish, Cajun French, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, some Irish and Welsh
Ellar Coltrane is an American actor and model. He is known for his starring role in the Richard Linklater film Boyhood, and for the films Fast Food Nation, Barry (2016), The Circle (2017), The Last Movie Star, Blood Money (2017), The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot, Summer Night (2019), and Shoplifters of the World, and on the mini-series The Good Lord Bird.
His birth surname, Salmon, originates in England. His father is musician Bruce Salmon.
Ellar’s maternal grandmother, both Mary Kathryn Horton, has described her ancestry as “one-sixteenth American Indian.” It is not clear if this ancestry has been verified/documented. Ellar’s grandmother’s parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, Ellar’s great-great-great-grandparents, are all listed as “White” on United States Censuses.
Ellar is a fourth cousin, once removed, of actor and musician Matt Bennett. Ellar’s maternal four times great-grandparents, William J. Autrey and Frances Ann Heflin, were also Matt’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents.
Ellar’s paternal grandfather was Larmon Ray Salmon (the son of Charles Herman Salmon and Annie Pearl Hebert). Larmon was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Charles was the son of Silas Anderson Salmon and Margaret Ann Rea/Rey. Annie was the daughter of Alexander P. Hebert and Alice Ballard, and was of Cajun (French) descent.
Ellar’s paternal grandmother is Diana Lyeki (the daughter of John Lyeki and Amelia H. Freidenberg). Diana was born in Louisiana. John was born in Hungary, the son of Louis Alexander Lyeki and Anna/Amelia Kosek. He was likely of either fully or partially Polish descent. Ellar’s great-grandmother Amelia Freidenberg was born in Louisiana, the daughter of Henry Alfred Friedenberg and Wilhelmina Heikamp, who were born in Louisiana, both of them to German immigrants; Henry’s parents were Henry Freidenberg and Mary, and Wilhelmina’s parents were Herman H. Heikamp and Christina Westphal/Westfault/Westfold.
Ellar’s maternal grandfather is Girard Arnold William Kinney, Jr. (the son of Girard Arnold William Kinney and Cleora Maude/Maud Deitz). Ellar’s great-grandfather Girard was the son of George Putnam Kinney and Carrie Mae Shands. Cleora was the daughter of Emerson Ellis Deitz and Bessie Mae/May Spencer.
Ellar’s maternal grandmother is Mary Kathryn Horton (the daughter of Ogle Eugene Horton and Frances Elizabeth Thompson). Mary Kathryn was born in Texas. Ogle was the son of Albert David Horton and Josie Mullen. Frances was the daughter of Samuel Rodman Thompson, Jr. and Hallie Fry Dugger.
Sources: Obituary of Ellar’s paternal grandfather, Larmon Ray Salmon – http://www.legacy.com
Ellar’s paternal great-grandfather, John Lyeki, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Ellar’s paternal great-grandmother, Amelia H. Freidenberg, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Ellar’s maternal great-grandfather, Ogle Eugene Horton, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Ogle Eugene Horton on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Ellar’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents, Benjamin Wesley Horton and Mary Eugenia Autrey, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Ellar’s maternal great-great-grandmother, Josie Mullen, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Ellar’s maternal great-grandmother, Frances Elizabeth Thompson, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy and obituary of Ellar’s maternal great-grandmother, Frances Elizabeth (Thompson) Horton – http://www.findagrave.com
Ellar’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Samuel Rodman Thompson, Jr., on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Ellar’s maternal great-great-grandmother, Hallie Fry Dugger, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
He’s 4th cousin once removed of Matt Bennett.
Ellar’s 4th great-grandparents, William J. Autrey and Frances Ann Heflin, were Matt’s 3rd great-grandparents.
Hungarian —> Polish
I’d say simply Polish would be more accurate. Eastern European countries of birth varies too much for it to mean anything that it says Hungary on that record (it also says Louis’ and Anna/Amelia’s parents were born in Austria). They were Polish-speakers and have Polish surnames.
Is Kosek strictly a Polish surname? It seems to pop up in Hungary a lot. I don’t think all of these people are ethnic Poles:
https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bsurname%3AKosek~%20%2Bbirth_place%3AHungary~
No, I don’t think it is either (although it seems to be predominantly Polish). But these people were almost certainly ethnic Poles. Again, if you’re basing the possible Hungarian ancestry on the birthplace you have to also consider that Louis’ and Anna/Amelia’s parents are listed as Austrian-born. The birthplaces are just a great big mess, what’s consistent is that their language is Polish, and there’s no reason for them to write that if they weren’t in fact Polish.