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Birth Name: Elias Victor Seixas, Jr.
Date of Birth: August 30, 1923
Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of Death: July 5, 2024
Place of Death: Mill Valley, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: * father – Saint Thomas [Sephardi Jewish, French, Italian, Croatian] * mother – Irish
Vic Seixas was an American professional tennis player. From 1942 to 1956, he was ranked top ten in the U.S. thirteen times, as well as, No. 1 amateur in the U.S. in 1951 and in the world in 1954. He won fifteen Major championships, including singles in Wimbledon and the US Open, and doubles in the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open.
He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna Victoria and Elias Victor Seixas Zattini. His father was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. His mother was born in Pennsylvania. Vic was a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII.
He had stated :
I never met my grandparents. My mother was Irish, and my father’s family left Portugal and immigrated to the Dominican Republic some time ago… Neither went to church nor were they particularly religious. It’s quite possible my father’s family was Jewish 500 years ago, but I was brought up and married in a Presbyterian church.
I never met my grandparents. My mother was Irish, and my father’s family left Portugal and immigrated to the Dominican Republic some time ago… Neither went to church nor were they particularly religious. It’s quite possible my father’s family was Jewish 500 years ago, but I was brought up and married in a Presbyterian church.
Vic’s patrilineal line can be traced to Isaac da Costa Mendes Seixas, who was born, c. 1708, in Lisbon, Portugal, and to his wife, Rachel Franks Levy, who was born, c. 1719, in London, England. They were Sephardi Jews. They were also the great-great-grandparents of poet Emma Lazarus , Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo , and abolitionist Robert Purvis , making Vic and the aforementioned third cousins, three times removed.
Vic’s paternal grandfather was Carl Emile Seixas Gueit (the son of Elias Victor Seixas and Angelina Paulina Gueit). Carl was born on Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Elias was born on Saint Thomas, the son of Abraham Mendes Seixas, who was born in South Carolina, and was a Sephardi Jew, and of Maria Martis, who was born on Curaçao. Angelina was born on Saint Thomas, the daughter of Jean Louis Gueit, who was from France, and of Rosalie Dampierre, who was from Louisiana.
Vic’s paternal grandmother was Paulina Vincent Zattini (the daughter of Leonis Martini Zattini and Rosanna Lambotte/Lambert). Paulina was born on Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Leonis was born on Saint Thomas, the son of Andrea Tommaso Giovanni Zattini/Zatini, who was born on Lošinj Island, Croatia, and likely had Italian and Croatian ancestry; and of Petronella Rudand, who was from Saint Thomas. Rosanna was born on Saint-Barthélemy, the daughter of Louis Lambotte/Lambert.
Vic’s maternal grandfather was named William Lowngene/Luengene Moon/Moore. William was born in Pennsylvania.
Vic’s maternal grandmother was Anna Wallace “Annie” Sherrard/Sherwood (the daughter of John Sherrard and Martha Whittle). Anna was born in Northern Ireland. Martha was the daughter of William Whittle and Mary Williamson.
Sources: Genealogy of Vic Seixas (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com
Vic Seixas on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org Vic Seixas on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Marriage record of Vic’s parents – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogy of Vic’s father – https://www.familysearch.org
Vic’s mother on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org