Robert Taylor

Birth Name: Spangler Arlington Brugh

Date of Birth: August 5, 1911

Place of Birth: Filley, Nebraska, U.S.

Date of Death: June 8, 1969

Place of Death: Santa Monica, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: English, German, Scottish, smaller amounts of Welsh

Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor, and singer. He starred in the films Magnificent Obsession, Camille, A Yank at Oxford, Waterloo Bridge, Bataan, Ivanhoe, and Above and Beyond, and on the series The Detectives and Death Valley Days. He served in the U.S. Naval Air Forces during WWII, and was known as Lieut Robert Taylor USNR.

Robert was the son of Ruth Adaline/Adeline (Stanhope) and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer and doctor. He was partly raised in Muskogee, Oklahoma; Kirksville, Missouri; and Fremont, and finally Beatrice, both in Nebraska. He was married to German actress Ursula Thiess, until her death, with whom he had two children.

Robert’s paternal grandfather was Jacob Andrew Brugh (the son of Spangler Brugh and Johanna Nancy Cline Shick). Jacob was born in Hartford City, Indiana, and was of almost entirely German ancestry. Spangler was the son of Jacob Brugh and Lydia A. Spangler. Johanna was the daughter of Jacob Shick and Barbara Cline.

Robert’s paternal grandmother was Laura Elizabeth Davis (the daughter of Andrew Jackson Davis and Nancy Cowan). Laura was born in Jersey, Illinois, and had partial deep roots in the U.S. Andrew was the son of Moses Davis and Elizabeth “Betsey” Devereaux. Nancy was the daughter of Mathew/Matthew Riburer Cowan and Elizabeth Ann Hewitt/Huitt.

Robert’s maternal grandfather was Archibald Levi Stanhope (the son of Charles Stanhope and Nancy McLachlen/McLaughlin). Archibald was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Charles was the son of Levi Stanhope and Lucinda Davis, and had deep roots in the U.S. Nancy was the daughter of Scottish emigrants, John McLachlen, from Glassary, Argyll, and Susannah McIntosh.

Robert’s maternal grandmother was Eva Adelia/Adela Barber (the daughter of Manville Barber and Adelia C. Campbell). Eva was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and had deep roots in the U.S. Manville was the son of Caleb Barber and Mary Lord Crampton. Adelia was the daughter of Warren Campbell and Mary Polly Sears.

Sources: Genealogies of Robert Taylor – https://www.familysearch.org
https://www.geni.com
https://www.findagrave.com