Walt Disney — the Canadian Connection

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I am an amateur genealogist; I have been at it for over 25 years and I find it a fascinating hobby. Over those many years I have uncovered some interesting facts about several branches of my family, my wife Carol’s family and even a few families I have researched for friends.

The Cruise family hails from Ireland and they are descended from a Norman named “de Crues” who arrived from France in 1066 with William the Conqueror. He was rewarded for his military service with a gift of land and he and his descendants were considered to be nobility in the area of Cruisetown, County Louth.

My documented history of the Cruise family goes back to Banagher, County Offaly, Ireland in the 1830’s when my great-great-great grandmother Joyce Cruise (maiden name Shane, a widow of my g-g-g grandfather Peter Cruise) gathered her eight children and moved the family to Canada. The clan landed in Quebec in 1836 and settled just a few miles west of Montreal. Within a few years Joyce and her family moved to Ontario and settled in south-western Ontario, north of the present day city of London. My g-g grandfather William, son of Peter and Joyce, moved from the London area and settled in Norfolk County in 1843; that is where I was born a little over a century later.

I am a Disney fan and over the years I had heard a few snippets of Disney family history. One of these snippets was that there was a Canadian connection so I decided to take a look and see if I could find that Canadian link. Here’s what I found!

My first find was an online family tree, several of them in fact, which state that the Disney family hails from Ireland and they are descended from a Norman named Robert d’Isigny who arrived in England in 1066 with William the Conqueror. They go on to say that a branch of the family travelled in 1834 from County Kilkenny, Ireland to Liverpool, England where they sailed on the ship “New Jersey”. They landed October 3, 1834 in New York City. After a few years they moved to Clinton, Huron County in south-western Ontario. Does this sound somewhat familiar? Banagher to Kilkenny is a mere 48 miles and the Cruise and Disney families settled a mere 30 miles apart in Canada. I was getting excited . . . could there be a connection between our families? I love the challenge of a riddle or a mystery!

The two maps below show where the families originated in Ireland and where they settled in Canada. The red arrows are the Disney family and the blue arrows represent the Cruise family.

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Of course, I started my research with a bit of skepticism . . . it’s my nature. Many people digging for family history will believe everything they read, but I do not. I need to verify what I find. I need factual evidence that what I read is correct. So I needed to verify the Canadian connection. Those family trees I referred to above showed Walt Disney’s g-g-g grandparents, Robert Disney (1746 – 1808) and Mary Kepple (1750 – 1815). They were married on February 2, 1775 in Carlow, Ireland. Their son Kepple Disney was born in 1776 in Aharney Parish, County Laois, Ireland and married Frances Best, born in 1776, on February 17, 1795 in Carlow.

Kepple and Frances had eight children:
1. Mary Ann Disney, b. 1795 in Clone, Kilkenny, Ireland, d. 5 Nov 1875 in Louisville, St Lawrence, NY. She married William Powers, 20 Apr 1815 in Ireland, b. 1790 in Garrintaggart, Laois, Ireland, d. 7 Feb 1869 in Louisville, St Lawrence, NY.
2. Robert Disney, b. 9 Jul 1797 in Clone, Kilkenny, Ireland, d. 18 Apr 1872 in Goderich, Huron County, ON. He married Jane Cooke, 1829 in Ireland, b. 4 Nov 1810 in Ireland, d. 29 Dec 1893 in Goderich, ON.
3. Charlotte Disney, b. 1801 in Clone, Kilkenny, Ireland, d. Jan 1882 in London, England.
4. Arundel Elias Disney, b. 1803 in Clone, Kilkenny, Ireland, d. May 31 1880 in Goderich, Huron County, ON. He married Maria Swan, 1 Sep 1832 in Clone, Kilkenny, Ireland, b. 1816 in Ireland, d. 26 Sep 1896 in Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, United States.
5. Kepple Disney b. 5 Sep 1806 in Kilkenny, Ireland, d. 1875. He married Mary E., b. 1830 in England.
6. James Disney, b. 1807 in Ireland, d. 1840.
7. Frances Disney, b. 1816 in Ireland.
8. Henry Disney, b. 10 May 1816, d. 12 Apr 1877.

Unfortunately I have not been able to verify any of the data on Robert Disney and Mary Kepple and their children which appears above. It may or may not be correct but I include it so that if you wish to investigate further you will have a starting point.

Now let’s move on to what I have been able to confirm! In 1834 children Robert and Arundel Elias (number two and four above) 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.

Here is an extract of the passenger manifest from the ships records.

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The brothers had intended to settle in America, but did not stay there long; they moved to the Township of Goderich in the wilderness of south-western Ontario, Canada, just off Lake Huron and bordering on the Maitland River.

Robert Disney and Jane Cooke had nine children:
1. Francis Disney, b. 1830 in Ireland.
2. Elias Disney, b. 1832 in Ireland, d. 23 Dec 1883 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
3. Elizabeth Disney, b. 1839 Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
4. Keppel Disney b. Aug 1841 Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
5. William Disney, b. 1843 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
6. Jane Disney, b. 1845 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
7. Robert Disney, b. 1846 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
8. Charles James Disney b. Aug 11 1851 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
9. Henry Disney, b. 1852 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.

I had some difficulty confirming when they moved to Ontario. They appear in the 1861 Census but proof of their presence before that time was elusive.

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I wanted to see if they were in Canada at the time of the 1851 Census, unfortunately the census records for that particular township have been lost. So I looked for the 1852 Agricultural Census records for Goderich Township . . . they were lost too! I kept searching, scouring a number of online resources and finally had a major breakthrough! There was a Huron County Tax Assessment done in 1842 and there I found our two brothers . . . misspelled but it was definitely our two brothers Robert and Arundel Elias Disney. Hooray!

Here’s a transcription of the assessment record.

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I still don’t know exactly when they arrived but in 1842 Robert owned lots 36 and 37, a 93 acre parcel, and in the household were one male and one female over 16 years of age and four males and two females under sixteen. Immediately next door was Elias Disney on lots 38 and 39. He farmed 149 acres and the household included one male and one female over 16 years of age and three males and two females under sixteen. Both properties are on the Maitland River.

That area of Ontario was just being settled or homesteaded at that time so it is quite likely that they acquired their farms under a Crown Grant, meaning that they were the first owners of the lands. A trip to the Land Registry Office could prove this but since it’s a six hour drive from where I live it will have to wait.

Huron County was heavily wooded territory with gently rolling hills at the time. The brothers must have been industrious souls since settlers had to work for a few decades felling trees and pulling stumps to expand the arable land. Those who persevered, like the Disney brothers, were rewarded with very fertile farm lands.

This family stayed in the same area of south-western Ontario for several generations and there are still a number of direct descendants in Huron County and the neighbouring municipalities. There is even a Disney Road about four miles from the shore of Lake Huron, between the towns of Goderich and Clinton.

Robert and Jane are buried in the Maitland Cemetery in Goderich Township.

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An 1872 Atlas for Huron County shows two Disney farms, the arrows mark the farms of Charles Disney on the left and Kepple Disney on the right. The arrow in the centre points to the road which is now known as “Disney Road”. In 1872 the cousins were less than a mile apart. Charles was the son of Robert and was living on lot 36 which his father had owned. Kepple was the son of Elias.

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Arundel Elias Disney and Maria Swan had eight children:
1. Kepple Disney b. 2 Nov 1832 in Clone, Kilkenny, Ireland, d. 24 May 1891 in Ellis, Ellis, KS. He married Mary Richardson, Mar 18 1858 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON, b. 30 Mar 1838 in Aghaboe Parish, Queens County, Ireland (daughter of Robert Richardson and Ruth Lark), d. 10 Mar 1909 in Ellis, KS.
2. Mary Disney, b. 6 Aug 1839 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON. She married Israel E. Forsyth, b. 1840 in Dumfries Township, Middlesex County, ON (son of George Forsyth and Estacia), d. 1900 in New York, USA
3. Elias Disney, b. 4 Apr 1843 in Strathroy, ON, d. 3 Mar 1913 in Hutchinson, Reno, KS
4. Charlotte Disney, b. 1850 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
5. Thomas Disney, b. 1851 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
6. James Disney, b. 1853 in Ontario, Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
7. Harriet Disney, b. 1856 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON. d. 10 Jul 1881 in Ellis, Ellis, Kansas, USA. She married Walter White Martin, 28 Apr 1875 in Chicago, Cook County, IL, b. 28 Mar 1850 in Cincinnati, Madison, OH, d. 14 Dec 1927 in Denver, Adams, CO.
8. Arundel Robert Disney, b. 1858 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON. d. 1910.

In a story I have not been able to substantiate it is suggested that Arundel Elias built the area’s first grist mill and a saw mill while farming and raising a family.

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Kepple Disney and Mary Richardson had nine children:
1. Elias Disney b. Feb 6, 1859 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON. d. Sep 13, 1941 in North Hollywood, CA. He married Flora Call, 1 Jan 1888 in Kismet, Lake County, FL, b. Apr 22, 1868 in Steuben, Huron, OH (daughter of Charles Call and Henrietta Gross), d. Nov 6, 1938 in North Hollywood, CA.
2. Robert Disney b. 7 Aug 1861 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON d. 28 Jul 1953 in Los Angeles, CA.
3. Annie Disney, b. abt 1864 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
4. Edward Disney, b. Dec 1867 in in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON.
5. Alberta Mary Disney b. 20 Feb 1869 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON , d. 17 May 1954 in Blackwell, Kay, OK. She married John Charles Fremont Johnson, 5 Feb 1891 in Ellis, KS, b. 29 May 1858 in Saginaw, MI, d. 22 Aug 1942 in Blackwell, Kay, OK.
6. Kepple Disney b. 28 Jan 1872 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON d. 13 Dec 1939. He married Mary A. Mullen, 1897, b. 24 Mar 1872 in Iowa City, Wright, IA (daughter of Thomas Mullen and Annie), d. 11 Mar 1956.
7. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Disney, b. 3 Mar 1874 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON. d. 3 Dec 1906 in Kansas, USA. She married Harry S. Saunders, 1894, b. Aug 1862 in Illinois, USA.
8. Addie Disney, b. 18 Feb 1876 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON. d. 23 Mar 1932. She married Benjamin F Jones, 1895, b. 15 Apr 1872 in Jasper, Jasper County, MO.
9. William Henry Disney b. 7 Mar 1878 in Goderich Township, Huron County, ON d. 17 Apr 1958. He married Lydia M., b. abt 1886 in Missouri, USA.

In 1878 Kepple and Mary along with their children moved to Ellis, KS and appeared in the 1880 census.

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By the time of the 1885 census in Florida their eldest son Elias Disney, born 1859, was living in Orange County Florida. Here you see him on the second line:

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In that census you will see a 17 year old girl, F. (Flora) Call, about twelve lines below Elias Disney. Just three years later, in 1888 Elias married Flora at Kismet, Lake County Florida a mere 50 miles north of the site where their son Walt would, about 80 years later, build Walt Disney World. Kismet is now a ghost town in the middle of the Ocala National Forest.

Elias and Flora had five children:
1. Herbert Arthur Disney b. Dec 8, 1888 in Kismet, FL, d. Jan 29, 1961 in Los Angeles, CA. He married Louise J. Rost, 14 Aug 1913 in Kansas City, Jackson, MO, b. 15 Sep 1891 in Missouri (daughter of William A. Rost and Julia A. Rhedanz), d. 21 Apr 1953 in Los Angeles, CA.
2. Raymond Arnold Disney, d. May 24, 1989 in Santa Monica, CA, b. Dec 30, 1890 in Chicago, Cook, IL.
3. Roy Oliver Disney b. Jun 24, 1893 in Chicago, Cook, IL, d. 20 Dec 1971 in North Hollywood, CA. He married Edna Francis, 11 Apr 1925 in Los Angeles, CA, b. 16 Jan 1890 in Wichita, Sedgwick, KS (daughter of Edward S. Francis and Lettye Montana Milbourn), d. 18 Dec 1984 in North Hollywood, CA.
4. Walter Elias Disney b. Dec 5, 1901 in Chicago, Cook, IL, d. Dec 15, 1966 in Burbank, CA. He married Lillian Marie Bounds, 13 Jul 1925 in Lewiston, Nez Perce, ID (daughter of Willard Pehall Bounds and Jeanette Short), b. 15 Feb 1899 in Spalding, Nez Perce, ID, d. 16 Dec 1997 in Los Angeles, CA.
5. Ruth Flora Disney b. Dec 6, 1903 in Chicago, Cook, IL, d. Apr 7, 1995 in Multnomah, Multnomah, OR. She married Theodore John Beecher, 29 Nov 1938, b. 20 Feb 1906 in Chicago, Cook, IL, d. 21 May 1995 in Multnomah, OR.

Elias and Flora have a well documented history due to their son Walt’s amazing life. They lived in Chicago IL, Marceline MO and Kansas City MO during Walt’s youth.

Although I cannot confirm that Robert Disney and Mary Kepple were the parents of the Robert and Elias Disney who came to Canada I have based my search on the presumption that the information is correct. I have found detailed information covering 213 of their descendants. You might be wondering how I discovered all of this information. Well it was quite simple really. I used Ancestry.com and did it all from my home in about 12 hours.

When I first started out in genealogy a search like this would have taken a few years and involved many visits to libraries and museums to pore through dusty old books or endless rolls of microfilm. In this new digital age it is almost all digitized, indexed and searchable online. Wow . . . what a treat compared to the old days.

If you watch the television series “Who Do You Think You Are” which is sponsored by Ancestry.com and you wonder, “Is Ancestry.com as good as they make it sound?” The answer is yes. Definitely yes! All of the pictures in this blog, including the census records and the cemetery headstones, were downloaded from Ancestry.com. They are all “public domain” documents and are easily found through the web service. If you are considering tracing your family history this is a tool you must try!

So that’s the story of Walt’s Canadian connection! Walt’s father and grandfather were born in Canada and his great grandfather and great-great grandfather moved from Ireland to Canada, via New York, sometime before 1842.

And no, I did not find a connection to my Cruise clan . . . at least not yet! Genealogy is never finished; there is always another riddle or mystery ahead of you. So someday, when I least expect it, I may just stumble over a connection . . . wouldn’t that be something? It’s highly improbable – but it sure would be fun to find that I’m relatived to such an amazing man!

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Gary hails from Canada and he’s a lifelong Disney fan. In the 1950s he watched the original Mickey Mouse Club and The Wonderful World of Disney on a snowy old black-and-white television. Gary was mesmerized by the Disneyland that Walt introduced to the world during those Sunday night shows! In 1977 he took his young family to Walt Disney World for the first time and suddenly that Disney magic he experienced as a child was rekindled. Since then Gary and his wife Carol have enjoyed about 70 trips to Walt Disney World, 11 trips to Disneyland and 11 Disney Cruises.

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12 Replies to “Walt Disney — the Canadian Connection”

  1. I was interested to read your fascinating article, particularly as it confirms a family “legend” I’ve been told since I was a child. My grandfather, Edgar Munnings, was born on the family farm near Holmesville in 1887 to a 2nd-generation English Canadian father and an Irish mother (she’d been orphaned at the age of five on one of the infamous “coffin ships”).
    Apparently, the family fell grievously ill with pneumonia during their first winter on their plot of Crown Land. Their neighbour had befriended my great-grandmother (I suspect it was the shared Irish ancestry), and purportedly saved my baby grandfather and his family by boiling onions, and hanging them from the ceilings!
    I was told that this lady was Walt Disney’s grandmother. I didn’t quite believe this fabulous story, until I also did a little research and discovered much of the evidence you’ve found on ancestry. I also found one of the crown land maps (which I have sadly since lost, and isn’t the one you include in your article), showing that the Munnings homestead and one of the Disney homesteads were side by side.
    Thanks again for the fascinating article!

  2. I live here in Co Kilkenny in the old parish of Rathbeagh. In the 1801 Griffith Valuation census it shows the families of Arundel and Kepple Disney living here. Our family have been here for 5 generations.often spelled. Lannen.

    [Gary writes: Thanks for the information Tony. Have a very merry Christmas!]

  3. Hi Gary. First of all I have to say that your research on the Disney family is outstanding. Very thorough. However, I will need to correct you on part of it. You mentioned Ruth F. Disney (Walt sister). Ruth was married to Theodore Charles Beecher, not Theodore John Beecher. Also, the two of them died in Portland, Oregon. It is in Multnomah County. Also, I am quite sure that Theodore was born in Portland, not Chicago. But, I could be mistaken about that last fact. I know these facts because these are my grandparents. They had one child, Teddy Jr. That is my father. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Thank you.

    [Gary writes: Thanks for the information Dan. All of my data was gathered using records available in the public domain and my main source was Ancestry.com.

    We are traveling at the moment and I cannot recheck my sources. I’ll have a second look in a month or so when we get home. Thanks again!]

  4. Hi Gary.
    My grandmother’s family was Disney and I am 2nd cousin 1R to Walt Disney. I have much information on the line and pictures of Jane Cooke, the wife of Robert Disney (1797-1872) and pictures of he farm in the Holmsville area.
    Please feel free to contact me if you want to share what I have.
    Cheers
    John

  5. This was interesting!

    My mother once told me that my grandmother was first cousins with Walt Disney, but I haven’t looked too hard yet to see if it was true.

    She does hail from that area of Ontario and it looks like there were probably all kinds of cousins floating around … maybe I’ll see if I can find out more!

  6. If Disney ever does want to build in Canada, I would suggest those same farms outside of Goderich. What a come back from the tornado devastation of 2011.
    Notice all Disney parks like Goderich have that center hub. Coincidence????

    My family is from the area as well.

    Great Blog!
    tlcparky

  7. Gary: Wonderful article! I’ve always been interested in researching my family but have been a little intimidated.

    I’ll have to try the website you mentioned. We have a new genealogy library a few miles down the road put together by the Mormons. Will have to make a trip.

    The Disneys really liked large families!

    See you in October.

    [Gary adds: Back in those days all families were large . . . it took many hands to run a farm!
    Jane B. – is that you? See you in October!]

  8. Hi Gary,

    Some of the history you mention is talked about in “Walt Disney : An American Original ” by Bob Thomas.

    Since the book is put out by Disney, I assume he researched it with their support.

    It’s a good read and I recommend it.

    [Gary adds: Thanks for the suggestion Anna, I’ll look for the book.]

  9. Great blog Gary. I grew up not too far from Goderich.

    Way Cool!!!

    [Gary adds: For those not familiar with that part of Ontario, downtown Goderich is 10 miles from Disney Road and those original Disney homesteads.]

  10. Awesome blog! Funny enough I did exactly the same thing you did about three weeks ago, wondering if any of my family from the same area might have been related to the Disney clan!

    Searching on Ancestry.com is a lot of fun and I now know so much more about my family!