Michael Seater
Birth Name: Michael Bruce Patrick Seater
Place of Birth: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date of Birth: January 15, 1987
Ethnicity:
*father – Scottish, English, possibly one quarter Romanian
Michael Seater is a Canadian actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He has starred on the shows Redwall, in voice performance; The Zack Files, Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, Life with Derek, ReGenesis, Murdoch Mysteries, 18 to Life, Bomb Girls, and The Wedding Planners; and appeared in the films Future Fear and The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, and in the made-for-tv movies Shades of Black: The Conrad Black Story, Degrassi Goes Hollywood, and Vacation with Derek. He has directed the films People Hold On, which he wrote, and Sadie’s Last Days on Earth, which he co-wrote. He has also directed episodes of the shows Upstairs Amy and Emerald Code, and written episodes of Life with Derek.
Michael’s paternal grandfather was named Robert John Rennie Seater (the son of Robert Seatter and Margaret). Michael’s grandfather Robert was born in Manitoba, to Scottish parents.
Michael’s paternal grandmother was Grace Marie Moyse (the daughter of Joseph Moyse and Marise Minnie May Miles). Grace was born in Manitoba. Joseph was born in Bucharest, Romania, or possibly Mons, Belgium. Minnie was born in Enfield, England, the daughter of Frederick Bartholomew Miles and Emily Meekcoms.
Sources: Michael’s paternal grandmother, Grace Marie Moyse, on the 1926 Canada, Prairie Provinces Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Michael’s paternal grandmother, Grace Marie (Moyse) Seater – https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com
Michael’s paternal great-grandfather, Joseph Moyse, on the 1916 Canada, Prairie Provinces Census – https://www.familysearch.org
https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-80379/Seater_Grace
Michael’s paternal grandfather was Robert John Rennie Seater (the son of Robert Seatter and Margaret). Michael’s grandfather Robert was born in Manitoba, to Scottish parents.
Michael’s paternal grandmother was Grace Marie Moyse (the daughter of Joseph Moyse and Minnie May Miles). Grace was born in Manitoba. Minnie was born in Enfield, England, to Frederick Bartholomew Miles and Emily Meekcoms.
There’s some confusion about whether Joseph was from Mons, Belgium or Bucharest, Romania, but in any case, I think he was Jewish.
You know, this is very interesting.
Joseph’s brother was named Acram Moyse (not Abram or Aaron as some records incorrectly state). Acram’s wife was Rachelle, who is listed on censuses as also a Romanian immigrant.
The couple’s 60th wedding anniversary in 1964 says that Acram was a doctor from Romania, and that Rachelle was his first patient. OK, she probably still is a Romanian immigrant.
https://newspaperarchive.com/winnipeg-free-press-apr-10-1964-p-25/
Rachelle’s funeral was officiated by a Christian officiant.
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/484593696/
I can’t find any Canadian records that list this family as Jewish at all. And Canadian records of the time, with some exceptions I’m sure, were pretty strict about listing Jews as Jewish, one way or the other (religion, race, language).
Acram’s son also had the name John Acram Moyse, and that would be a rare middle name choice for Ashkenazi Jews. Rachelle is a pretty Jewish name, but it doesn’t have to be.
It’s possible this family converted to Christianity, I suppose, although that’s relatively rare for whole families once they’re in North America. But even if they were Christians, some Canadian records should have picked them up as Jewish.
So, maybe they were ethnic Germans from Romania? Or maybe just Romanians?
Acram is an odd name in any case. Letter Y is only present in foreign words in Romanian, so I looked for the last name Moise, and it does appear in the south-eastern part of the country (if it was German, it would be prevalent in the north-west). And I think they “converted” in any case. Even if they weren’t Jewish back in Bucharest, they would probably be Orthodox Christian or Catholic, not protestant.