Tom Welling
Welling in 2006, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: Thomas Joseph Welling
Place of Birth: Putnam Valley, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: April 26, 1977
Ethnicity:
*75% German
*25% mix of Irish, and some English, Scottish, and Swiss-German
Tom Welling is an American actor, model, director, and producer. He is known for portraying Clark Kent on the series Smallville, and for his film roles in Cheaper by the Dozen, the 2005 remake of The Fog, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Parkland, Draft Day, and The Choice. He has also appeared on the series Lucifer and The Winchesters.
Tom’s brother, Mark Welling, is also an actor. He was raised partly in Wisconsin, Delaware, and Michigan. Tom is married to equestrian and Saddle Club founder Jessica Rose Lee, with whom he has two children.
Tom’s paternal grandfather was Louis Harry Welling (the son of Bernard Heinrich Welling and Johanna Kluempka/Klumke). Louis was born in Illinois, to German parents. Bernard was born in Lingen, the son of Johann/John Heinrich/Henry Welling and Euphemia Maria Maier/Kruse. Johanna was born in Hanover, the daughter of Herman Kelumpke and Carolina Kotmann.
Tom’s paternal grandmother was Leora M. “Lee” Poelker (the daughter of Joseph Henry Poelker and Anne Bernadine/Bernadina Petermeyer). Leora was born in Illinois. Joseph was the son of Bernard Peter “Ben” Poelker and Louise Marie/Mary Scheveling. Anne was the daughter of Joseph G./C. Petermeyer and Caroline Kreiter.
Tom’s maternal grandfather was Joseph William Meitz (the son of Joseph Meitz and Mary Wolf). Tom’s grandfather Joseph was born in Missouri. Mary was the daughter of John Wolf.
Tom’s maternal grandmother was Geraldine A./Y. Byington (the daughter of Claude Cole Byington and Angela Ellen Sullivan). Geraldine was born in Missouri. Claude was the son of Arzell/Arzel Byington and Mallisa/Melissa Josephine Mackley. Angela was born in Missouri, the daughter of Timothy Sullivan, who was Irish, and of Margarette/Margaret/Maggie, who was born in Missouri, to Irish parents.
Sources: Genealogy of Tom Welling – https://www.geni.com
Tom’s paternal grandfather, Louis Harry Welling, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Tom’s paternal grandfather, Louis Harry Welling – https://www.newspapers.com
Tom’s paternal grandmother, Leora M. Poelker, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Tom’s paternal grandmother, Leora M. (Poelker) Welling – https://www.newspapers.com
Tom’s maternal grandfather, Joseph William Meitz, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Tom’s maternal great-grandparents, Joseph Meitz and Mary Wolf, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Tom’s maternal great-grandparents, Claude Cole Byington and Angela Ellen Sullivan, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Tom’s maternal great-grandmother, Angela Ellen Sullivan, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Angela Ellen Sullivan on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Something Swiss about his eye shape and forehead.
Welling is an anglo-saxon or germanic patronymic name, so his ancestry could include German, Dutch or English forebears.
Are you serious?
Welling is a place name in Kent. Anglosaxon patronymic names ending -ing are common throughout England, Netherlands and Germany. There is Dorking, Sonning, Barking etc, in England. So…Yes, I am serious.
No, the point is that his ancestry is discussed in detail above, so why do you sound like you stopped reading at the picture, writing nonsense that his surname means “his ancestry could include German, Dutch or English forebears” when his ancestry through the surname “Welling” is already established?
Americans are mutts and lineages are complicated and three dimensional beasts to get to the bottom of. Continue to view things one dimensionally by all means.
Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Your comment was about the origin of the surname “Welling”, which, in this case, has already been traced back to Germany. American interethnic marriage has nothing to with that.
Follers, you seem to be one of these wazzocks who has to have the last word on everything and generally be disparaging. It may have escaped your attention but Welling is a place name in Kent, England.
Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about. You said that Tom Welling’s “Welling” line may have been German, Dutch, or English.
This was a totally bizarre comment because the specific origin has already been established in explicit detail. You just didn’t read it.
I’m honestly thinking that all text on this site after the pictures should be deleted.
@ follers
maybe “Welling” was anglicized. Btw people are really stupid.
@ follers
Edit the genealogical links between Al Gore and John Huston and between Madeleine Stowe and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Thanks
In his Wikedia profile in German he’s described as having Irish, German and Amerindian ancestry
Welling does have non-German ancestry, as it turns out. I finally found his maternal grandmother.
@follers
good find
His Mackley line is Swiss-German.
Joseph Meitz and Mary Wolf were from Austria-Hungary.
https://www.geni.com/people/Arzel-Byington/6000000001357682116
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=amandabagley51&id=P1672031140
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8ZW-FDJ
I think the Wolfs were ethnic Germans.
Maybe bablah can shed some light on that.
One of these Josef Meitzs might be the one on that census (destination is St. Louis. MO), but I can’t read where he’s from. Kinda looks like Krottendorf (part of Budapest). He’s definitely from somewhere in the Hungarian part of A-H. The only place on the list that I deffinitely recognise is Tiborfa which is in Slovenia.
The family don’t seem like ethnic Hungarians.
They’re not. They’re German. It says they’re German on the passenger list.
If they’re indeed from Krottendorf, here’s an excerpt from wiki:
”Békásmegyer (German: Krottendorf) is a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. By 1890 Békásmegyer had a population of 1340, 95% of Swabian (German) origin.”
Now, don’t get confused by the Swabian bit, it was a catch-all term for Germans (most of whom had nothing to do with Swabia).
Lol, I didn’t even link the passenger record.
https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/show-manifest-big-image/czoxNzoidDcxNS0wODI2MDI4MC5qcGciOw==/1
About “Johanna Kluempka”: “Kluempka” formally must be a Czech name, “Kelumpke” an East German/Slavic name. “Kotmann” may be an orthographic mistake – “Kot” is “sh*t” in refined German; nevertheless some people in Germany bear this name (actually about 100; poor people), but “Kottmann” is a common name.
I have had a lot of friends of German descent and they are all blondes. He looks English or Irish.
There are germans with dark hair you know.
What is with people on the internet and their tendency to claim not being blonde is un-german. Have you guys been looking through too much nazi memorabilia or something? Most Germans are dark haired.
Not really. “Dark haired” is definitely a minority. Most children have blond hair, most adult Germans are lighter haired, but not necessarily blonde, many have a light brown/dark blonde. And the more you go to the north, the more people are blonde.
Of course, the cliché of the “Arian” (what is, btw., a linguistic term…) German is a projection of the nazis. Also in Hollywood movies, Germans are usually blond – more than in reality.
You had to have all of that long rant just so you could wind up agreeing that most Germans are not blonde? OK. Also, it’s spelled “Aryan”; “Arian” means something else (an extinct Christian denomination).
Seems to have been too much words for you to understand that I don’t agree … And second, I wasn’t in the mood to consult a dictionary for the correct English spelling of what we spell “arisch” in German (but we normally avoid that word…), to the result that you couldn’t understand me. O_o Thanks for your essential comment. :P
What’s the correct translation of “Klugscheißer”?
Someone’s clearly obsessed about Germans and blondness.
To the British/Irish truthers: His nose is too wide for that.
Could be Irish. but perhaps for the nose – but certainly the face shape – too square.
German bone structure
Tom was blonde as a kid