Gregory Peck

publicity photo of Gregory Peck c. 1948, eBay

Birth Name: Eldred Gregory Peck

Date of Birth: April 5, 1916

Place of Birth: San Diego, California, United States

Date of Death: June 12, 2003

Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: Irish, English, some German, distant Welsh

Gregory Peck was an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). He also starred in Spellbound, The Yearling, Roman Holiday, and Cape Fear, among many other films.

Gregory was the son of Bernice Mae (Ayres) and Gregory Pearl Peck. His paternal grandmother was Irish. His other ancestry was English, some German, and distant Welsh. Many of his family lines have been in the United States since the 1600s. Gregory’s grandson is actor Ethan Peck.

Gregory’s paternal grandfather likely was named Samuel Peck.

Gregory’s paternal grandmother was Catherine Ashe (the daughter of John Ashe and Catherine/Katherine Mary Prendiville/Prenderville). Gregory’s grandmother Catherine was born in East Minard, County Kerry, Ireland. John was the son of Gregory Coke Ashe and Bridget Kennedy or Honoria O’Donnell. Gregory’s great-grandmother Catherine was the daughter of John Prenderville/Prendiville and Kate Leary. Through his grandmother, Gregory is said to have been a third cousin of Thomas Ashe, a hero of the Easter Uprising, who was President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, from 1916 to September 1917, his death.

Gregory’s maternal grandfather was John Daggett Ayers II (the son of William Henry Ayers and Elizabeth/Eliza Maria/Marie Daggett). John was born in Missouri. William was the son of Isaac Ayers and Emily Lucy Woodruff. Elizabeth was the daughter of John Dickinson Daggett and Sarah B. Sparks.

Gregory’s maternal grandmother was Kathryn/Katherine Elizabeth Forse/Force (the daughter of Albert Thomas Forse and Catherine Woodruff). Gregory’s grandmother Kathryn was born in Pennsylvania. Albert was the son of Thomas Manning Forse and Nancy Elizabeth Ann Reiter.

Gregory is sometimes listed as the great-grandson of Clark Skinner Peck and Emma Jane Simmons. This does not appear to be correct. The couple has no son named Samuel on either the 1870 nor the 1880 U.S. Censuses.

Sources: https://www.irishexaminer.com

Genealogies of Gregory Peck – http://www.geni.com
http://famouskin.com
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com

Genealogy of Gregory Peck (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.wikitree.com

Gregory Peck on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Information about Gregory’s visit to Ireland – http://www.askaboutireland.ie

Gregory’s father on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org