Profile Text
Wayne in trailer for ”Wake of the Red Witch,” 1948
Birth Name: Marion Robert Morrison
Date of Birth: May 26, 1907
Place of Birth: Winterset, Madison, Iowa, United States
Date of Death: June 11, 1979
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: Scots-Irish/Northern Irish/Scottish, English, Irish, remote Welsh
John Wayne was an American actor, director, producer, and filmmaker. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for True Grit (1969). Among his roles are The Big Trail , Stagecoach , Red River , The Searchers , The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance , and Rio Bravo . He was also credited as Marion Michael Morrison and Marion Mitchell Morrison, and also known as “Duke.”
He was the son of Mary Alberta “Molly” (Brown), from Lincoln, Lancaster, Nebraska, and Clyde Leonard Morrison, from Summer Township, Warren Co., Illinois.
John was married to Peruvian actress Pilar Pallete, until his death. He had four children with his former wife Josephine Wayne (born Josephine Alicia Saenz); and three children, film producer and actor Michael Wayne, actor Patrick Wayne, and actor Ethan Wayne, with Pilar. Among his grandchildren are actor and producer Brendan Wayne and actress and musician Jennifer Wayne .
John’s paternal grandfather was Marion Mitchell Morrison (the son of James W. Morrison and Martha Purdy Ewing). John’s grandfather Marion was born in Cherry Fork, Adams Co., Ohio. James was born in Cherry Fork, the son of Robert Morrison, who was from County Antrim, Ireland; and of Mary Mitchell, whose paternal grandparents were from Dalgety, Fife, Scotland, and Cork, Ireland, respectively. John’s great-grandmother Martha was born in Virginia, the daughter of George Ewing, whose grandparents were Irish, from Derry on his father’s side, and Donegal on his mother’s; and of Mary Margaret Ewing, whose paternal grandparents were also from Ireland.
John’s paternal grandmother was Wealthy/Wealtha Chase “Weltha” Parsons (the daughter of Henry Charles Parsons and Abigail Buck). Wealtha was born in Sumner Township, Warren, Illinois, to parents from Vermont. Henry was born in Fletcher, Franklin, the son of Eldad Parsons and Betsey/Betsy Buck. John’s great-grandmother Abigail was the daughter of Murray Buck and Polly/Polythenia Thorp. Wealthy’s ancestral lines trace back to New England in the 1600s, and England before that.
John’s maternal grandfather was Robert Emmet Brown (the son of Edward Brown and Margaret Good). Robert was born in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, to parents who were also born in the state. He had Scots-Irish/Northern Irish ancestry.
John’s maternal grandmother was Margaret “Mary” Kennedy (the daughter of Patrick Kennedy and Catharine Cunningham). Margaret was an Irish Catholic, born in Ireland, likely in Cork.
Sources: Genealogies of John Wayne – http://dukefanclub.weebly.com http://famouskin.com http://www.wikitree.com https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of John Wayne (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.findagrave.com
Marriage record of John’s paternal great-great-grandparents, Murray Buck and Polly/Polythenia Thorp – https://www.familysearch.org