Will Friedle

Friedle in 2016, photo by cvanwagoner/bigstock.com

Place of Birth: Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.

Date of Birth: August 11, 1976

Ethnicity:
*father – Sephardi Jewish, Ashkenazi Jewish, as well as German, African-Jamaican, small amount of Irish
*mother – Irish, Dutch

Will Friedle is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for his role on the series Boy Meets World.

He was raised in Avon, Connecticut. Will’s paternal grandfather was of Ashkenazi Jewish and German descent. Will’s paternal grandmother was likely of mostly Sephardi Jewish ancestry, along with African-Jamaican and Irish. Will’s mother is of half Irish and half Dutch descent.

He is married to Susan Martens.

Will’s paternal grandfather was George Allen Friedle (the son of Sam/Samuel Friedle and Margaret Reydel/Routher/Reister). George was born in New York. Sam was born in Russia, the son of Jewish parents, Bernard Friedle and Victoria Ginisburg, who are listed as Yiddish-speakers on the 1920 U.S. Census. Will’s great-grandmother Margaret was born in Germany, and was likely from a Lutheran family.

Will’s paternal grandmother was Edna Maud Alethia Curtin (the daughter of Valarie Violet Maud Curtin). Edna was born in Crossroads, Saint Andrew, Jamaica, and moved to New York as a child. She was listed as “white” on U.S. Censuses. Her father was likely a Sephardi Jew. Her mother Valarie was the daughter of Nigel Hannaford Curtin and Amelia Georgiana Burnett. Amelia was listed as “coloured” on her baptismal record. It appears that her father, Charles Barrow Burnett, was black, and her mother, Rosanna Delisser, was of Sephardi Jewish and Irish descent.

Will’s maternal grandfather was William G. Leary (the son of Timothy E. Leary and Nora Bradley). William was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Timothy was Irish. Nora was the daughter of Irish parents, Patrick Bradley, from Clare, and Nancy Hayes.

Will’s maternal grandmother was Gertrude Markus Van Wyck (the daughter of John Van Wyck and Coba Wouters). Gertrude was born in New Jersey, to Dutch parents.

Will is a fourth cousin, three times removed, of Chris Blackwell of Island Records, through their shared ancestors Alexandre Elisha Lindo and Hannah. Alexandre and Hannah were Sephardi Jews.

Sources: Will’s paternal grandfather, George Allen Friedle, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Obituary of Will’s paternal grandfather, George Allen Friedle – https://www.newspapers.com

Death record of Will’s paternal great-grandfather, Sam/Samuel Friedle – https://www.familysearch.org

Birth record of Will’s paternal grandmother, Edna Maud Alethia Curtin – https://www.familysearch.org

Will’s paternal grandmother, Edna Maud Alethia Curtin, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Genealogy of Will’s paternal great-great-grandmother, Amelia Georgiana Burnett – https://www.geni.com

5 Responses

  1. bablah says:

    >was Edna
    >Valarie was the daughter of Nigel Hannaford Curtin and Amelia Georgiana Burnett.

    Amelia was listed as coloured on her baptismal record.
    https://prnt.sc/WxUHOfAXbLwQ

    If the tree on familysearch is correct, her mother, Rosanna Delisser, was the daughter of a Jewish father, Alexander Samuel Delisser, and of Amelia McConnell (white woman).

    I can’t find the baptismal record of her father, Charles Barrow Burnett, but 2 of his siblings were also listed as coloured.
    https://prnt.sc/IlM-W9jzwEFN
    https://prnt.sc/wPaG64Pkt_-m

    • bablah says:

      >Gertrude Markus Van Wyck
      >Wyck and Coba Wouters).
      >to Dutch parents.

    • bablah says:

      As you can see from this tree, Alexander Delisser was Sephardic.
      https://www.geni.com/people/Amelia-Curtin/6000000033045809878

      Looks like Will is a fourth cousin 3 times removed of Chris Blackwell of Island Records, through Alexandre Elisha Lindo and Hannah.

      Edna’s father was possibly named Dudley Alexander.
      There’s a Dudley Clifford Alexander from Kingston that fits age-wise. This Dudley was also a Sephardic Jew (I think his great-grandmother Catherine Elkin was Ashkenazi, but the rest of his ancestors were Sephardi).

  2. jackson9 says:

    Who is Berid?

  3. jackson9 says:

    Maternal grandfather: William G. Leary (1906-1962) Hartford, Connecticut. He was the son of Timothy E. Leary about 1867 in Ireland and Nora Bradley born in Massachusetts in 1869. Nora was the daughter of Irish parents Patrick Bradley and Nancy Hayes.
    Maternal grandmother: Gertrude M. Van Wyck, who was the daughter of John Van Wyck. John was born in the Netherlands in 1877.

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