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
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