Five Hollywood Stars with Westerly Roots
Many familiar with the history of Westerly know the names of those who played large roles in the founding of the town, however, not everyone realizes just how many notable actors and actresses are descended from these founders. Below are some of the most famous descendants of Westerly residents and founders.
1. Lucille Ball, Descendant of Elder John Crandall
Lucille Désirée Ball (1911-1989) was one of Hollywood’s most iconic stars throughout her six-decade-long career on both the stage and the screen. Through her mother, Désirée (Hunt) Ball, Lucille Ball was a direct descendant of Elder John Crandall (1618-1676), one of the original European settlers of Westerly. John Crandall’s great-grandson and Lucille’s great-great-great-great-grandfather, David Sprague (1732-1822), left his home in Exeter, Rhode Island, and eventually settled in Greenwich, Washington, New York. Sprague’s grandson, Elvin Hunt (1791-1871), moved his family to the far western corner of New York, settling in the town of Jamestown, the same town where his great-great-granddaughter, Lucille Ball, would later be born in 1911.
2. Robert Redford, Son of Charles Robert Redford Sr.
While Lucille Ball’s Westerly roots can be traced back several centuries, the Westerly connection for another Hollywood legend is much more recent. Charles Robert Redford Sr., the father of famed actor, (Charles) Robert Redford Jr., was born on November 19, 1914. Many sources, including his obituary, claim he was a native of Westerly, and while a birth record could not be located in Westerly, it is quite possible he was born nearby. He was raised first in Westerly and then Pawcatuck before removing to New London, Connecticut. The Redford family was descended from Elisha Redford, an Englishman who settled in Stonington in 1849. In the early 1930’s, Charles Redford Sr. relocated to Santa Monica, California, where he would live with his second wife, Martha Hart (1914-1955), and where his second son, Charles Jr. was born in 1936.
3. Amy Adams, Probable descendant of Rhoda (Greene) Spencer
The descent of another Hollywood star with Westerly roots, Amy Adams, is marked as “probable” due largely to the uncertain, but likely, parentage of her great(4) grandmother, Alzina Spencer (c. 1810-1843). What is known with certainty is that Rhoda Greene, who was born in Westerly in 1756, married Colonel Randall Spencer and that couple had a son, Randall Spencer (c. 1785- before 1860), the husband of Amy Stillman of Hopkinton (1783- aft 1860). It is largely believed that Randall and Amy (Stillman) Spencer were the parents of Alzina Spencer, who married Nathaniel Robinson Hammond (1807-1881). Alzina died in 1843, and five years later, her husband and their son, Milton Datus Hammond (1831-1905), became early pioneers in the western United States. They had originally intended to travel to California but after arriving in Salt Lake City in 1850, the Hammonds remained in Utah for the rest of their lives. The great-granddaughter of Milton D. Hammond, Colleen Hammond (1929-2016), was also born in Utah where she married Joseph Hugh Hicken (1926-2000). Around 1960, Colleen’s daughter, Kathryn, married Richard Kent Adams, and in 1974, their daughter, Amy Lou Adams, was born.
4. David Carradine, a descendant of Cyrus Richmond
Although known for his work in films much different than the individuals discussed thus far, David Carradine shares a common trait in his descent from a Westerly native. Carradine was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Cyrus Richmond, who was born in Westerly on May 26, 1748. When Cyrus was four years old, his family removed to New York state, where he would eventually marry Rachel Vincent (c. 1757-1833) and the couple was the parents of eleven children. The sixth of these children, Benjamin Richmond (1786-1866), was the great-great-great-grandfather of David Carradine. Benjamin’s grandson, Horace Culver Richmond (1847-1926), was a private for the Union Army in the Civil War out of central New York. Horace was wounded during his service in 1864, however, he would make a recovery and would live until 1926. Horace’s daughter, Genevieve Winifred Richmond (1886-1967) would go on to marry William Reed Carradine (1872-1909) and would eventually become the grandparents of John Arthur “David” Carradine in 1936.
5. Marilyn Monroe, a probable descendant of James Bliven
Unlike the case of Amy Adams discussed above, the uncertainty of the line of descent between James Bliven and Marilyn Monroe is much more recent. The identity of Marilyn Monroe’s biological father is unknown, however, biographers have stated that they believe her father to be Charles Stanley Gifford, a man with whom her mother was known to have had an affair shortly before Marilyn’s birth. If this is to be considered accurate, then Marilyn Monroe would have a strong connection to both Westerly and Newport through her descent from James Bliven (b. 1760 in Westerly). James Bliven’s granddaughter, Mary Lawton Bliven (1818-1886), was born in Newport in 1818 after her parents had settled there in the early 19th century. Mary would marry William Congdon Tennant (1815-1889) in Newport and they would go on to become the grandparents of an Elizabeth Easton Tennant of Newport (b. 1866) who would be the mother of Charles Stanley Gifford, also born in Newport in 1898. Given that Marilyn Monroe herself would claim Gifford to be her biological father, it is extremely likely that she is yet another Hollywood star with Westerly roots.
