Profile Text
Wells in 2019, kathclick /bigstock.com
Birth Name: Dawn Elberta Wells
Date of Birth: October 18, 1938
Place of Birth: Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Date of Death: December 30, 2020
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: * father – English, some German, Swiss-German, and Scottish * mother – German, Italian
Dawn Wells was an American actress. She was known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the sitcom Gilligan’s Island , and also appeared in the films Winterhawk , The New Interns , The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), Return to Boggy Creek , and Super Sucker ; and on the shows 77 Sunset Strip , Surfside 6 , Hawaiian Eye , Bonanza , It’s a Man’s World , The Love Boat , and Growing Pains .
Dawn was the daughter of Evelyn G. and Joseph Wesley “Joe” Wells, who owned a Reno construction company, Wells Cargo. Her father was of English, as well as German, Swiss-German, and Scottish, ancestry. Evelyn was of half German and half Italian descent.
Dawn’s paternal grandfather was Frank Clinton Wells (the son of Joseph Harold Wells and Mary Alice Reddick). Frank was born in San Andreas, California. Joseph was born in Athens, Ohio, the son of Thomas Wells and Catharine Ann Adams, whose grandfather was Scottish; or of Samuel J. Wells and Elizabeth Matheny. Dawn’s great-grandmother Mary Alice was born in Ohio, the daughter of William Reddick and Elizabeth A. Songer, who was of German and Swiss-German descent, and whose maternal grandfather was born in Sulz, Württemberg.
Dawn’s paternal grandmother was Laura Maude Avery (the daughter of George Johnson/Johnston Avery and Henrietta Johnson). Laura was born in Avery, California. George was born in Calais, Maine, the son of Peter Avery and Nancy Brackett. Henrietta was born in Sheep Ranch, Calaveras, California, the daughter of George Kress Johnson and Mary Ann Johnson, who were from Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively.
Dawn’s maternal grandfather was Ernst/Ernest Steinbrenner (the son of Ludwig Steinbrenner and Juliana/Juliane Zachej/Cahaca). Ernst was born in Warsaw, Poland, and was of ethnic German descent. Ludwig was born in Stary Borowiec, Wielkopolskie, the son of Johann Martin Steinbrenner and Anna Katarzyna/Katharina Schulz/Schultz. Juliana was born in Piskory, Wielkopolskie, the daughter of Johann Christian Zachej and Anna Dorothea Gnerlich.
Dawn’s maternal grandmother was Rose Mary Corsiglia (the daughter of John Corsiglia and Mary Olcese). Rose was born in Reno, Nevada, to Italian parents. Dawn’s great-grandmother Mary was born in Genoa, Liguria.
Sources: Genealogies of Dawn Wells – https://www.geni.com https://www.findagrave.com https://www.familysearch.org