William H. Macy
Macy in 2014, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: William Hall Macy, Jr.
Place of Birth: Miami, Florida, U.S.
Date of Birth: March 13, 1950
Ethnicity: Scottish, English, smaller amounts of Irish, French/Cajun, Welsh, Swiss-German, and Dutch, 1/64th Spanish, 1/512 Choctaw Native American
William H. Macy is an American actor, teacher, writer, and director. His roles include Fargo, Air Force One, Pleasantville, Magnolia, The Cooler, Wild Hogs, and Boogie Nights, among many other films, and the show Shameless.
He is the son of Lois Elizabeth (Overstreet) and William Hall Macy, a WWII veteran who received the Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal for piloting a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. His mother was widowed when her first husband died in WWII. William was raised in Georgia and Cumberland, Maryland. He is married to actress Felicity Huffman, with whom he has two children. William often talks about his Lutheran faith.
William’s patrilineal line can be traced to Thomas Macy, who was born, c. 1605/1608, in England. Thomas was among the early European owners and settlers of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
William’s paternal grandfather was Albert Hall Macy (the son of William Henry Macy and Emily de la Montagnie/Montagne). Albert was born in Goshen, Orange, New York. William’s great-grandfather William was the son of John I. Macy and Jane Hall, who was born in Little Broughton, Cumberland, England. Emily was the daughter of William de la Montagnie, Jr. and Cornelia McMullen, whose father was born in Ireland. Through his Macy line, William is a distant cousin of Rowland Hussey Macy, who founded R. H. Macy & Co. (now Macy’s), and of actor Ethan Hawke.
William’s paternal grandmother was Elizabeth Cowan Somerville/Sommerville/Summerville (the daughter of John Somerville and Clementine Cowan McLeyne). Elizabeth was born in Barton, Allegany, Maryland. John was Scottish, from Cambusnethan, Lanark, and was the son of John Somerville/Sommerville and Agnes Russell. Clementine had Scottish and Irish ancestry, and was the daughter of John McLeyne, who was born in Ireland, and of Katharine Cowan.
William’s maternal grandfather was Clement Overstreet (the son of Ellis G. Overstreet and Isabella/Isabelle Quave). Clement was born in Moss Point, Jackson, Mississippi. Ellis was the son of Jacob H. “Jake” Overstreet and Sarah Elizabeth Loper. Isabella was the daughter of Ursant/Usant Quave, whose father was a slaveowner, and whose own grandfather, Juan/Jean de Cuevas/Coueve/Quave/Quaive/Quaivie, known as the “Hero of Cat Island,” was from Seville, Andalusia, Spain; and of Sarah Davis.
William’s maternal grandmother was Mary Lois Everitt (the daughter of Horace Benjamin Everitt and Martha Leticia/Letitia “Mattie” Roberts). Mary was born in Meridian, Lauderdale, Mississippi. Horace was the son of George Gaines Everitt/Everett and Mary Ann Mayers/Myers. Martha was the daughter of Aaron Roberts and Martha Hearn.
William is a third cousin, once removed, of actor and singer Chord Overstreet and musician Nash Overstreet. William’s maternal great-grandfather, Ellis G. Overstreet, was a brother of Chord and Nash’s paternal great-great-grandfather William Sharkey Overstreet.
William is also a fourth cousin, once removed, of professional football player Brett Favre and journalist and author Cokie Roberts. William’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents, Pierre/Perrique Baptiste Quave/Cuevas/Coueve/Quaive/Quaivie and Mary/Marie Louise Ladner, were also Brett’s maternal great-great-great-great-grandparents. William is a cousin of Cokie through the same line.
A DNA test on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2017) found that William has a common ancestor with actress Mary Steenburgen.
Sources: Genealogies of William H. Macy – https://www.geni.com
https://famouskin.com
Genealogies of William’s parents – https://www.findagrave.com
William’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy of William H. Macy (focusing on his mother’s side) – https://wmstrother.org
William’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogy of William’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Ursant/Usant Quave – https://www.wikitree.com
Remove French-Canadian (can remain in the tags) and Acadian. All Cajuns are descended from French-Canadians, just as all French-Canadians are descended from the French, thus, Cajun/French is enough. And Acadian isn’t even a thing, everyone who has that in their ethnicity should have it removed.
Completely agree like when they say Patrick Swayze is “Norman French.” Very silly.
update this profile
genealogy of Ursin “Ursant”/Justin DeCuevas/dit Quave:
https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/Quave-Family-Tree-5
William’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents, Pierre Baptiste Cuevas and Marie Louise Ladner, were also Brett Favre’s maternal great-great-great-great grandparents.
https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/Favre-Family-Tree-194
Other than 1/64 Spanish (from Seville, Andalusia), William has also French/Cajun (including French-Canadian/Acadian), Swiss-German and 1/512 Choctaw Native American ancestry (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Panyouasas-1).
https://www.geni.com/people/William-H-Macy/6000000002801671284
*Additional Info*
According to the above info and “Genealogy of the Macy Family from 1635-1868” compiled by Silvanus J. Macy, pub New York 1868 William’s Macy lineage is:
William Hall 8, William Hall Sr 7, Albert Hall 6, William Henry 5, John, Robert 4, Thomas 3, John 2, Thomas Macy
This would give William kinship to Rowland Hussey Macy, the founder of R.H. Macy and Company: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowland_Hussey_Macy
From the Macy genealogy book, Rowland’s Macy lineage is:
Rowland Hussey 7, John 6, Silvanus 5, Caleb 4, Richard 3, John 2, Thomas Macy
William would also have a kinship to Ethan Hawke: http://ethnicelebs.com/ethan-hawke
Ethan’s Macy lineage is:
Ethan Hawke 12, James Hawke 11, Frank Taylor Hawke 10, Betty Virginia (Hartsock) Hawke 9, Winifred (Macy) Hartsock 8, Edmund Antram 7, Nathan D. 6, David 5, David 4, David 3, John 2, Thomas Macy
Now my question is about William’s paternal grandfather Bascum Horace Overstreet. Has any one looked into the Overstreet family to see if there’s a connection to Chord Overstreet the actor from Glee?
http://ethnicelebs.com/chord-overstreet
Oops!
William’s Macy lineage should read:
William Hall 9, William Hall Sr 8, Albert Hall 7, William Henry 6, John 5, Robert 4, Thomas 3, John 2, Thomas Macy
Did a bit of digging, but was able to find out that chord William are distant cousins. They share the ancestry of Henry overstatement his wife Anne who came from England.