Wes Welker
Welker in 2012, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: Wesley Carter Welker
Place of Birth: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Date of Birth: May 1, 1981
Ethnicity: German, English, Scottish, Cherokee Native American, small amount of Kaw Native American and Osage Native American
Wes Welker is an American professional football player and coach. A wide receiver, he played for the San Diego Chargers, the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos, and the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He is the wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins, and has also been an offensive assistant and special teams assistant coach for the Houston Texans and the wide receivers coach for the San Francisco 49ers.
He is the son of Shelley and Leland Welker. Wes is a member of the Cherokee Nation. His grandmother lives within Cherokee Nation jurisdiction in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma.
Wes is married to Anna Burns, a swimsuit model, who won the 2005 Miss Hooters Pageant. The couple has three children. Wes owns Undrafted, a chestnut-colored gelding racehorse, trained by Wesley Ward.
Wes’s paternal grandfather was Calvin Jack Welker (the son of Clarence Jack Welker and Edith Eudora Norris). Calvin was born in Missouri. Clarence was the son of John Welker and Caroline. Edith was the daughter of Henry Osborn Norris and Martha Jane Lankford.
Wes’s paternal grandmother was Mina Lee Lynn (the daughter of Ray Dempster Lynn and Cordia LaFlora Capps).
Wes’s maternal grandfather was William Clifford/Frank Wetzel (the son of Clifford Wetzel and Cora Leola Lessert). William was born in Oklahoma. Wes’s great-grandfather Clifford was the son of George Pendleton Wetzel and Floy Odessa Snyder. Cora was the daughter of Frank Lessert, whose father was of one quarter Osage Native American descent, and whose mother was of half Kaw Native American descent; and of Cora Leola/Leota McKenzie.
Wes’s maternal grandmother is Ruth Virgene Rider (the daughter of Thomas Needles Rider and Tiny Mae/May Rigsby).
Wes is a second cousin, four times removed, of U.S. Vice President Charles Curtis, through their Gonville line.
Sources: http://newsok.com
Genealogy of Wes’s paternal grandfather, Calvin Jack Welker – http://www.geni.com
Obituary of Wes’s paternal grandfather, Calvin Jack Welker – http://legacy.newsok.com
Wes’s maternal grandfather is William Clifford/Frank Wetzel (the son of Clifford Wetzel and Cora Leola Lessert). William was born in Oklahoma. Clifford was the son of George Pendleton Wetzel and Floy Odessa Snyder. Cora was the daughter of Frank Lessert and Cora Leola/Leota McKenzie.
His great-grandfather Frank Lessert was of Osage and Kaw Native American descent. His father was 1/4 Osage and his mother was 1/2 Kaw. I’ll check in a minute if he’s related to Charles Curtis because I’m seeing some similar names.
I’m also not convinced Ruth is his grandmother. I’ll also see what’s the deal with that.
Yes, they’re related. Charles’ maternal great-grandparents were also Wes’ 5th great-grandparents. That makes them 2nd cousins 4 times removed, if I’m not mistaken.
The only explanation I have right now regarding the grandmother situation is that Mr. Wetzel had an extramarital affair, because from what I gather, Shelley was born in August 1955, and William was married to Sheila Wilson at the time, and they had a daughter on December of that same year. So Sheila is definitely not her mother, and Ruth was definitely not married to Mr. Wetzel at the time.
Maybe William, who I think married Ruth in 1961, was a step-father?
Was Ruth married before?