Jim Gaffigan

11/05/2014 – Jim Gaffigan – 8th Annual “Stand Up For Heroes” Event Presented by the New York Comedy Festival and the Bob Woodruff Foundation – Arrivals – Theater at Madison Square Garden, 4 Pennsylvania Plaza – New York City, NY, USA – Photo Credit: Laurence Agron / PR Photos

Birth Name: James Christopher Gaffigan

Place of Birth: Elgin, Illinois, U.S.

Date of Birth: July 7, 1966

Ethnicity: Irish, as well as one eighth German, approximately one eighth English

Jim Gaffigan is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He has starred on The Jim Gaffigan Show, and in many film and television productions.

Jim is the son of Marcia Miriam and Michael Ambrose Gaffigan. He is married to actress, producer, and comedy writer Jeannie Gaffigan, with whom he has five children. The two are frequent professional collaborators.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2021) stated that Jim’s genetic ancestry consists of:

*74% Ireland and Scotland
*24% England, Wales and Northwestern Europe
*2% Germanic Europe

Genetically, he was found to have a common ancestor with professional baseball player Derek Jeter and actor Brian Cox.

Jim’s paternal great-great-great-grandparents were Patrick Gavahan and Sabina Flannery. The surname was changed to Gaffigan.

Jim’s paternal grandfather was Joseph Patrick Gaffigan (the son of Patrick Joseph Gaffigan and Katherine J. Murtaugh). Jim’s grandfather Joseph was born in Springfield, Illinois. Jim’s great-grandfather Patrick was the son of Irish parents, James P. Gaffigan, who was from County Mayo, and Mary Doherty.

Jim’s paternal grandmother was Agnes Cecilia/Cecelia Manning Gardiner (the daughter of Herbert Lester “Bert” Gardiner and Catherine Elizabeth “Kate” Manning). Agnes was born in Springfield, Illinois. Herbert was the son of Daniel W. Gardiner and Virginia Toncray, who were of Colonial American, mostly English, descent. Catherine was the daughter of Irish parents, Micheal Manning, who was from Galway, and Mary A. McGovern.

Jim’s maternal grandfather was Richard Furlong Mitchell (the son of Peter M. Mitchell and Sarah/Sara A. Furlong). Richard was born in Webster, Iowa, and was a Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, from December 6, 1932 to December 31, 1942, from Webster County, Iowa. Jim’s great-grandfather Peter was the son of Irish parents, Patrick Mitchell and Anne Eliza Kennedy, who were from Galway. Jim’s great-grandmother Sarah was the daughter of Richard Powers Furlong, a prominent businessperson in Fort Dodge, Iowa; and of a woman surnamed White.

Jim’s maternal grandmother was Miriam Elizabeth Reynolds (the daughter of John William Reynolds and Ida Cicle Nabers). Miriam was born in Creston, Union, Iowa. John was the son of James Degnan Reynolds, who was of Irish; and of Elizabeth Sybil Sullivan, who was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, also with Irish heritage. Ida was the daughter of German parents, Theodore Herman Nabers and Elizabeth Wynkoop.

Source: Genealogies of Jim’s parents – https://www.familysearch.org