Profile Text
Birth Name: Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr.
Date of Birth: November 17, 1938
Place of Birth: Orillia, Ontario, Canada
Date of Death: May 1, 2023
Place of Death: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ethnicity: English, some Cornish, distant German and Irish
Gordon Lightfoot was a Canadian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was considered one of the greatest figures in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He was a member of the Order of Ontario and a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Gordon was the son of Jessie Vick and Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, who owned a dry cleaning business. He was of predominantly English ancestry, as well as one eighth Cornish, distant German, and possibly a small amount of Irish. He had deep lines in Canada and the U.S. through his paternal great-grandfather David George Swartz, with the rest of his lines being mostly recent English immigrants. Gordon was a boy soprano.
Gordon was married to Kim Hasse, until his death. He had six children, including two with his former wife, Swedish-born Brita Ingegerd Olaisson; and two with his former wife Elizabeth Moon.
Gordon’s paternal grandfather was George Lightfoot (the son of Joseph Lightfoot and Elizabeth Ann Inch). George was born in Lambton, Ontario, to parents from England. Joseph was born in Yorkshire, the son of Henry Lightfoot and Jane Calvert. Elizabeth was born in Boyton, Cornwall, the daughter of Richard/Joseph Inch and Mary Hawken, who were of Cornish ancestry.
Gordon’s paternal grandmother was Emma Jane Swartz (the daughter of David George Swartz and Emma Jane Joyes). Gordon’s grandmother Emma was born in Houghton, Norfolk, Ontario. David was born in Glanford, Wentworth, Ontario, the son of Jacob Swartz, Jr., whose maternal grandparents were from New Jersey, U.S.; and of Luema/Luemma Smith. Gordon’s great-grandmother Emma was born in Windham, Norfolk, the daughter of Solomon “Sol” Joyes, who was born in Canada, to English parents, from Sussex; and of Emma/Emily Lois/Lewis Anscomb, who was also English, her father from Northumberland and her mother from Climping, Sussex.
Gordon’s maternal grandfather was John Trill (the son of Walter James Trill and Sarah Maria Wilkes). John was born in Bradford, West Gwillimbury, Simcoe, Ontario, to English parents. Walter was born in Hastings, Sussex, the son of John Trill and Martha Catt. Sarah was born in Surrey, the daughter of James Wilkes and Elizabeth Ann Bluring.
Gordon’s maternal grandmother was Ethel Kate Woods (the daughter of John Austin Woods and Mary Ann Vick). Ethel was born in Orillia, Simcoe, Ontario. John was English, from the Isle of Wight, and was the son of Thomas Woods and Selah Wheeler. Mary Ann was born in Rochester, Monroe, New York, U.S., the daughter of an English father, George Vick, from Niton, Hampshire, and of a mother, Eliza Emily Bailey, who was born in Orillia, to Irish parents, with roots in County Down.
Sources: Genealogy of Gordon Lightfoot – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogy of Gordon Lightfoot (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com