Taylor Swift
LOS ANGELES – FEB 08: Taylor Swift arrives to the Grammy Awards 2015 on February 8, 2015 in Los Angeles, CA photo by DFree/bigstock.com
Birth Name: Taylor Alison Swift
Place of Birth: West Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of Birth: December 13, 1989
Ethnicity: German, English, some Irish, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, and Welsh, 1/16th Italian, as well as distant French, Swedish, Dutch, and Belgian Walloon
Taylor Swift is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. A prominent cultural figure and one of the most successful musicians in history, she is known for autobiographical lyrics and stylistic reinventions. Her songs include “Teardrops on My Guitar,” “Love Story,” “You Belong with Me,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “All Too Well,” “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood,” “Look What You Made Me Do,” “Cardigan,” “Willow,” “Marjorie,” “Anti-Hero,” “Cruel Summer,” “Is It Over Now?,” and “Fortnight.” Having recorded in the genres country, rock, electronic, synth-pop, hip-hop, electropop, indie folk, alternative rock, and chill-out, Taylor has sold over 200 million records worldwide, and has been the most-streamed female artist on Spotify. Her The Eras Tour is the highest-grossing tour of all time. She has appeared in the films Valentine’s Day, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, The Giver, Cats, and Amsterdam, and the documentaries/concert films Miss Americana and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. She advocates for artists’ and women’s rights. She has also been credited as Nils Sjöberg and under the banner, Taylor’s Version. She is 5′11″.
Taylor is the daughter of Andrea, a marketing executive, and Scott Swift, a stockbroker. Her brother is actor Austin Swift. She was raised partly in Wyomissing and Reading, Pennsylvania, the latter on a Christmas tree farm; and Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Taylor is descended from a number of German immigrants to the United States, in the 1800s and earlier. Some of her ancestral lines also trace back to Colonial America of the 1600s, and to English immigrants of that time period. Aside from other German and English lines, her ancestry includes Irish, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Welsh, one sixteenth Italian, and distant roots in France, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Belgium, with Walloon ancestors.
Taylor’s Swift lines traces to a William Swift, who was born, c. 1593, and lived in Bermondsey, England.
Taylor’s paternal grandfather was Lt. Col. Archie Dean Swift, Jr. (the son of Archie Dean Swift and Bernice Maude Thompson). Taylor’s grandfather Archie was born in Ridgway, Elk, Pennsylvania. Taylor’s great-grandfather Archie was the son of Charles Julius/James Fox Swift and Josephine Reno; the Reno line originates with French ancestry. Bernice was the daughter of Willis Wilbur Thompson and Barbara Maria Jane “Jennie” Kingsley.
Taylor’s paternal grandmother was Rose Baldi Douglas (the daughter of Charles Gwynn Douglas and Louise Eurindine Baldi). Rose was born in Pennsylvania. Charles was the son of Charles Douglass/Douglas and Mary Gwynn, whose parents were from Derry, Ireland. Louise was the daughter of Charles Carmine Antonio “C. C. A.” Baldi, an Italian man, born in Castelnuovo Cilento, Province of Salerno, Campania, Italy, and of his wife, Louisa/Louise Eurindine Sobernheimer, who was born in Pennsylvania, to German parents, Frederick Sobernheimer and Catherine Louise Hammel. Thus, Taylor is of 1/16th Italian ancestry. C. C. A. Baldi was a community leader, who organized a bank and owned a daily Italian-language newspaper, among other businesses.
Taylor’s maternal grandfather was Robert Bruce Finlay (the son of Lancelot George “Lance” Finlay and Eleanor A. “Ella” Mayer). Robert was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Lancelot was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, the son of George Finlay, who was born in Scotland or Ireland; and of an Irish-born mother, Emma Lynch. Eleanor was born in Dunkirk, Chautauqua, New York, the daughter of German parents, Julius Mayer, from Bavaria, and Delia Gunther.
Taylor’s maternal grandmother was Marjorie Finlay (born Marjorie Moehlenkamp, the daughter of Elmer Henry Moehlenkamp/Molencamp and Cora Lee Morrow). Marjorie was born in Tennessee, and was an opera singer and television personality. Elmer was the son of Henry J. Moehlenkamp and Emma Bruns, who were of German descent. Cora was born in Arkansas, the daughter of Sanford Hewitt Morrow and Sallie Wells Faulkner.
Swift in 2011, kathclick/bigstock.com
“The Silence Breakers” won Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2017, women speaking out about sexual harassment/abuse. Taylor was one of six persons chosen to represent that title on the magazine’s cover, along with Isabel Pascual, Adama Iwu, Ashley Judd, Susan Fowler, and a woman who chose to remain anonymous. Taylor was, in a solo context, Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2023.
Taylor is a first cousin, once removed, of Charles Douglas III, who was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire, from 1989 to 1991. She is also a great-great-niece of politicians Charles Baldi, Jr. and Joseph Baldi.
Sources: Notations on Taylor’s Irish ancestry – https://www.rte.ie
https://www.irishpost.com
https://www.irishecho.com
https://www.hotpress.com
Genealogies of Taylor Swift – http://famouskin.com
http://familypedia.wikia.com
https://www.geni.com
http://www.wikitree.com
http://gw.geneanet.org
Genealogies and obituaries of Taylor’s paternal grandparents, Lt. Col. Archie Dean Swift, Jr. and Rose Baldi Douglas – http://www.findagrave.com
Taylor’s paternal great-great-grandparents, Charles Carmine Antonio “C. C. A.” Baldi and Louisa/Louise Eurindine Sobernheimer, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Biography of Taylor’s Italian paternal great-great-grandfather, Charles Carmine Antonio “C. C. A.” Baldi – http://www.baldims.org
Obituary of Taylor’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Charles Carmine Antonio “C. C. A.” Baldi – http://www.pennsylvaniaburialcompany.com
typical Swiftie!
Her Dublin ancestor was called Findlay which is a Scottish surname. Shouldn’t that be considered ‘Scots-Irish’ too then?
The Scots-Irish term is a senseless term just used by Northern Protestants who never wanted to integrate into Irish society.
Her ancestors from Ulster had surnames Gwynn and Davis which are Welsh and English so it is odd how she is described as ‘Scots-Irish’ because of those names. Not all people from the plantations of Ulster came from Scotland.
Her Irish ancestry is being documented by national Irish broadcaster and various other sources. Please add.
“Taylor Swift is a Derry girl, Irish Emigration Museum CEO Aileesh Carew has said. The great-great-great-grandparents of the multiple Grammy Award winner left Ireland for the US in the 1830s. Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1’s News at One, Ms Carew said the great-great-great-grandparents of the multiple Grammy Award winner left Ireland for the US in the 1830s. “It’s well known that her great-great-grandfather George Findlay hails from Dublin. ”
But we commissioned the Irish Family History Centre – our genealogy partners at EPIC – to delve a little bit more and see if they could find out any more about the Findlay family that wasn’t in the public domain.”We were absolutely astounded to find out, in fact, that Taylor Swift is a Derry girl.” Ms Carew explained that Susan Davis, a 21-year-old dressmaker and Francis Gwynn, a 21-year-old weaver, emigrated from Derry in 1836. Research shows that although five of those children predeceased Susan and Francis, they were survived by daughter Mary Gwynn, who is Taylor Swift’s great-great-grandmother.”
“Francis Gwynn established a successful soap-making business, and the family prospered. Their idyllic life in Philadelphia was touched by tragedy. Five of the Gwynn children predeceased their parents. Only one, Mrs. Mary Douglas (née Gwynn), Taylor Swift’s great-great-great-grandmother, outlived her parents. In December 1886, Mary buried her father, in February 1887 she buried her mother. Some might speculate Susan Davis Gwynn died of a broken heart, or that might just be folklore.
https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2024/0619/1455571-taylor-swifts-derry-roots-revealed-in-new-research/#:~:text=Taylor%20Swift%20is%20a%20Derry,the%20US%20in%20the%201830s.
https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/taylor-swifts-roots-lie-in-ireland-new-ancestry-research-shows-273989
https://www.irishecho.com/2024/6/taylor-swift-s-irish-roots
https://www.hotpress.com/music/epic-emigration-museum-reveal-details-of-taylor-swifts-irish-ancestry-23031294
I thought she was actually mainly German (31.25%) when everyone talked about her ancestry, but the majority of her ancestors were from the British Isles. I’m actually quite shocked most of her ancestry comes from the British Isles, especially with the massive German population. She has very strong North West European features which is not a shock due to her ancestry.
I read one of the ancestors (Jane W Guy through the Sallie Wells Faulkner line) was born in Indian territory on WikiTree. I don’t know if she was Native American, as it’s nearly impossible to find out anything about her. But I did find her FamilySearch profile and it said she was born in Virginia and was white from the 1850 census. So it might be a stretch and misinformation on WikiTree’s part, but it was kind of sourced so I thought it was legitimate, but I honestly think now it’s nothing. But if you guys want you can look at it.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Faulkner-1695#Ancestors
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/LT3B-ZFS
Taylor Swift has some Oklahoma roots, does she? I doubt she has any Native American ancestors. But her 1/16 Italian from a GGGfather involved in his community causes explains her involvement in social justice issues one finds on her social media pages. +
I looked it up further and found a few relatives on the Faulkner live resided in Washington Co AR adjacent to the Cherokee Nation in the 1800s. Lately, after the last Super Bowl when the KC Chiefs won and one of their players is her BF Travis Kelce, she just became vocal on Indigenous/Native American rights and issues, and she said the Chiefs fan base in home stands should stop performing the Tomahawk chop (and this goes to the Atlanta Braves in MLB too). Native American team mascots in high school, college and major league sports (Washington’s NFL and Cleveland’s MLB team renames) are increasingly abandoned out of favor. I can see why she’s a Chiefs fan, but she grew up in the PA-MD-DE area and was spotted in one Washington DC NHL Capitals home game, and it turns out the Eagles NFL player Jason Kelce is Travis’ brother: they met in 2023’s Super Bowl to only have the Chiefs win. I have to say her family doesn’t have fakelore of “Cherokee Indian GGGGma”, were they living among Cherokee neighbors along the OK-AR state line in the late 19th century, and not sure they attempted to steal any Cherokee land reserved for the tribe (my research finds nothing of the sort).
@ drzaius21
Disagree about her having “strong” NW European featured, surely would not stick out there but she looks more shifted to Nordic spectrum of phenotypes.