Tim Tebow
Tebow in 2010, left eyed photography/bigstock.com
Birth Name: Timothy Richard Tebow
Place of Birth: Makati, Manila, Philippines
Date of Birth: August 14, 1987
Ethnicity: English, German, some Irish and Scottish, distant Belgian [Walloon]
Tim Tebow is an American professional football and baseball player, and sports broadcaster. He has played for the Denver Broncos, the New York Jets, the New England Patriots, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). In baseball, he has played for the Scottsdale Scorpions, the Columbia Fireflies, the St. Lucie Mets, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, and the Syracuse Mets.
He was born in Manila, Philippines, to American parents, Pamela Elaine (Pemberton) and Robert Ramsey Tebow II, who were serving as Baptist missionaries there at the time. A doctor expected Tim to be stillborn and recommended an abortion, but his parents proceeded with his birth. He has English, German, some Irish and Scottish, and distant Belgian [Walloon], ancestry. Tim was raised mostly in Jacksonville, Florida. He is married to South African beauty queen and model Demi-Leigh Tebow.
Tim is a devout Christian.
His patrilineal line originates with Belgian immigrants.
Tim’s paternal grandfather was Robert Ramsey Tebow (the son of Lee Robert Tebow and Alta Fern Ramsey). Tim’s grandfather Robert was born in Ohio. Lee was the son of James Ora/Oury Tebow and Cora Ann McKinney. Alta was the daughter of James Newton Ramsey and Ida Alice Neville.
Tim’s paternal grandmother was Patricia Neal Atzel (the daughter of Robert Joseph Atzel and Marie Alice Nichols). Patricia was born in Ohio. Robert was the son of John F. Atzel, who was born in Maryland, to German parents, from Hesse-Kassel and Bavaria, respectively; and of Theresa Knipschild, who was born in Ohio, also to German parents, from Prussia and Wuertemberg.
Tim’s maternal grandfather was Col. Frank Solon Pemberton (the son of Redden Herbert Pemberton and Marian/Miriam Maidie/Maddie Taylor). Col. Frank was born in Florida. Redden was the son of Solon Licurgus Pemberton and Emma C. Blanton. Marian was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Taylor and Lucy Jane Thompson.
Tim’s maternal grandmother was Rachel Wynona “Rae” Rawlings (the daughter of Henry Nathan Rawlings and Orabel Cheek). Rachel was born in Oklahoma. Henry was the son of James Rawlings and Lana. Orabel was the daughter of George W. Cheek and Mary J. Dizmang/Gezmany.
Sources: Genealogies of Tim Tebow – http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com
https://www.geni.com
I was curious about the Belgian ancestry. The source I’ve seen by the genealogist mentions that his immigrant ancestor was a Walloon who was Protestant and left “from Bruges.” But it’d be unusual for a Walloon to have been from a Flemish city like that at the time. There were French-speakers in all major cities in Flanders at the time, but that didn’t necessarily mean they were Walloon in origin, at all. That the ancestor was Protestant is also an interesting clue given that both Flanders and Walloon were (and still are) heavily Catholic.
Just curious if anyone has ever definitively ruled out the ancestor having been Flemish or ruled in that he was definitely Walloon.