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Biography

Walt Disney is Notable.

This profile is part of the Disney Name Study.

Walter Elias Disney was born on 5 Dec 1901 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois to Elias and Flora (Call) Disney. Elias was Irish-Canadian and Flora was of German and English descent. Walt's great-grandfather, Arundel Elias Disney, emigrated from Ireland where he was born in 1801. Arundel was a descendant of Robert d'Isigny, a Frenchman who had traveled to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. The family changed the d'Isigny name to "Disney" and settled in the English village now known as Norton Disney, south of the city of Lincoln, in the county of Lincolnshire.

Walter married Lillian M Bounds on 13 July 1925 in Nez Perce, Idaho.^[1]

Walt Disney is a cultural icon. He was an American entrepreneur, cartoonist, animator, voice actor, and film producer and known for his influence and contributions to entertainment during the 20th century. In 1923, he and his brother Roy O. Disney co-founded The Walt Disney Company.

Walt and his staff created numerous famous fictional characters including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. He was the original voice for Mickey. During his lifetime, he won 22 Academy Awards and received four honorary Academy Awards from a total of 59 nominations, including a record of four in one year.

Walt died from lung cancer on December 15, 1966 in Burbank, California, Just ten days after his 65th birthday. He was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California ^[2].

Due to popular demand, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 6-cent stamp in his honor less than two years after his death, at his childhood home of Marceline, Missouri. ^[3]

From 1906-1911, Disney spent his childhood playing on the family farm and learning to draw the barnyard animals. As an adult, he recalled his time in rural Marceline as the happiest years of his life, and even modeled Disneyland’s “Main Street U.S.A.” and the setting of “Lady and the Tramp” after the Missouri town.

He was posthumously inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2006.

Research Notes

Possible Canadian Birth?

There is a possibility that Walt was born in Ontario. Published material gives comments that Walt is said to have made. Also, the Canadian census of 1861 and 1871 shows that Walt had many relations in Huronia.

In appendix C of “The True Intrepid: Sir William Stephenson and the unknown agents” by Bill Macdonald, the Canadian author relates an encounter he had with Walt Disney. The two were traveling by train from Washington DC to New York city.

..he thought he was a Canadian as well. He was born in Canada...in Goderich I think. ...on Lake Huron...and he left there at the age of three…

A 1993 Disney biography, by Mark Elliott, implied that Disney was obsessed, much of his life, with not having a birth certificate to verify that he was born in Chicago in 1901. Reportedly, he cut a deal with J. Edgar Hoover to report on Hollywood communists in exchange for Hoover’s help proving his parentage. …

In the profile of Walt's great-grandfather Arundel Disney, the biography states that : A branch of the family traveled from Ireland (through New York city) to Goderich, Huron County, Ontario.

From "Walt Disney -- the Canadian Connection": ^[4]

In 1834, brothers Robert and Arundel Elias sailed to New York City. The party of seven on board the ship named “New Jersey” included their wives Jane and Maria as well as Francis and Elias, sons of Robert and Jane, and Kepple, son of Arundel Elias and Maria.

Elias's great grandparents (Arundel and Maria) setteled in Goderich, Huron South and Walt's father Elias, was born in Morris, Huron North. Elias grew up in Bluevale, Morris, a hamlet near Goderich and he attended the Goderich school.

The 1861 Morris house shows Walt's father, a 2 year old Elias. When Elias was about 18, his family moved to the United States. There he married and the family lived in several states. It's possible that Walt's parents went to visit with relatives in Huronia. And while there, Walt was born.

1861 Morris house: Caple 28y, Mary 22y, Elias 2y. ^[5]

1861 Goderich house: Erusidel E 58y, Maria 46y, Mary 22y, Elias 17y, Charolette 11y, Thomas 10y, James 8y, Hariett 5y, Arundel R 3y. ^[6]

Note: Arundel and Maria must have migrated to Canada West just before their son Robert was born in Godrich in 1837.

cc1871 Morris house: Cathel 37y, Mary 33y, Elias 12y, Robert 9y, Anne 7y, Edward 4y, Bertha 2y.^[7]

Note: names are spelled as they appear in the census.

Sources

1. ↑ "Idaho, U.S., County Marriages, 1864-1950", Original data: Idaho, County Marriages, 1864-1950. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013; FHL Film Number: 1516570, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 60269 #177720 (accessed 27 May 2024), Walter E Disney marriage to Lillian M Bounds on 13 Jul 1925 in Nez Perce, Idaho.
2. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #284
3. ↑ Holly Chisholm, "Honoring Marceline’s Favorite Son: The Walt Disney Commemorative Stamp, 1968," Smithsonian National Postal Museum. June 11. 2018.
4. ↑ "Walt Disney -- the Canadian Connection", AllEars by Gary Cruise. June 24, 2012.
5. ↑ 1861 Canada Census, Province: Canada West (Ontario), District Name: Huron, Sub-District Name: Morris, page#29, lines#23-25
6. ↑ 1861 Canada Census, Province: Canada West (Ontario), District Name: Huron, Sub-District Name: Goderich, page#71, lines#20-28
7. ↑ Mary through Bertha are listed on page#76, lines 1-6, in the 1871 Canada Census, Ontario, District Name: Huron North, Sub-District Name: Morris, "Cathel" Disney is listed in the 1871 Ontario Agricultural Census, Huron North, Morris, on page 75 -- farmer, 37y, born in Ireland

• Walt Disney on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

• US Federal Census; Year: 1910; Census Place: Marceline, Linn, Missouri; Roll: T624_795; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0084; FHL microfilm: 1374808 (Ancestry.com link)

• US Federal Census; Year: 1920; Census Place: Kansas City Ward 10, Jackson, Missouri; Roll: T625_926; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 166; Image: 1146 (Ancestry.com link)

• US Federal Census; Year: 1930; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 132; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0004; Image: 172.0; FHL microfilm: 2339867 (Ancestry.com link)

• US Federal Census; Year: 1940; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T627_393; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 60-78A (Ancestry.com link)

• "U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947", National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For California, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 466, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 2238 #18163522 (accessed 27 May 2024), Name: Walter Elias Disney; Gender: Male; Race: White; Age: 40; Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head); Birth Date: 5 Dec 1901; Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA; Residence Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; Registration Date: 15 Feb 1942; Registration Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; Employer: Walt Disney Productions; Height: 5 10; Weight: 165; Complexion: Ruddy; Hair Color: Brown; Eye Color: Brown; Next of Kin: Roy G Disney; Household Members (Name) Relationship: Walter Elias Disney Self (Head).

• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925; Roll #: 628; Volume #: Roll 0628 - Certificates: 45250-45499, 14 Nov 1918-15 Nov 1918

• State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. (Ancestry.com link)

See also

See also:

• Wikipedia: Walt Disney
• Disney family
• IMDB: Walt Disney
• Disney Wiki: Walt Disney
• WikiTree: Classic Disney Project
• Wikidata: Item Q8704