Profile Text
Birth Name: Margaret Brainard Hamilton
Date of Birth: December 9, 1902
Place of Birth: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States
Date of Death: May 16, 1985
Place of Death: Salisbury, Connecticut, U.S.
Ethnicity: English, small amounts of Welsh and Scottish
Margaret Hamilton was an American actress, vaudevillian, and schoolteacher. She is known for playing the Wicked Witch of the West/Almira Gulch in The Wizard of Oz .
She was the daughter of Mary Jane “Jennie” and Walter J. Hamilton, a lawyer. Her father had deep Colonial American roots, in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Her mother was born in Cleveland, to English parents. Her sister was birth control and women’s rights advocate, and author, Dorothy Hamilton Brush. She was a distant cousin of actor Neil Hamilton. Margaret had a son with her former husband Paul Boynton Meserve.
Margaret’s paternal grandfather was Edwin Timothy Hamilton (the son of Justus Hamilton and Salinda Brainerd). Edwin was born in Newburgh, now Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio. Justus was born in Mount Tom, Easthampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel Hamilton and Susannah Hamilton. Margaret’s great-grandmother Salinda was born in Newburgh, now Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, the daughter of Amos Brainerd and Rachel Brainerd, who were from Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut.
Margaret’s paternal grandmother was Mary Ellen Jones (the daughter of John Jones and Mary Ann Mason). Margaret’s grandmother Mary Ellen was born in Ohio. John was born in Herefordshire, England. Margaret’s great-grandmother Mary Ann was the daughter of Stephen Mason and Anna Ely.
Margaret’s maternal grandfather was named Edgar E. Adams.
Margaret’s maternal grandmother was named Mary Jane Elliott (the daughter of George Elliott and Mary Jane).
Sources: Genealogies of Margaret Hamilton – https://famouskin.com https://www.wikitree.com https://www.findagrave.com