Distant Cousin: Tom Cruise

See also (on this website):
Genealogy Site Map
Distant Cousins

My family is distantly related to the family of the actor Tom Cruise. Most of my great-great-grandparents were German-speaking immigrants. Cruise's mother is descended from immigrants from the same regions. Cruise's immigrant great-great-great-grandfather George MERCKEL was born in Kutzenhausen, a village in Alsace, France, in 1817. My immigrant great-great-grandmother Catherine OTT was also born in Kutzenhausen, just a few years later. Comparing George Merckel's family tree to Catherine Ott's revealed two different ways in which they were related, which of course also shows how Tom Cruise and I are related. I also found in George Merckel's tree a common ancestor with my VOEGELE line.

The information that follows about Tom Cruise's ancestors comes from online family trees on Ancestry.com. I have not verified its accuracy.

Connection #1: 9th Cousin

Through this connection, Tom Cruise and I are 9th cousins. Our common ancestors are Francois ENNESER and Anna RIEDT, who lived in who lived in Kutzenhausen in 1700.

Here is how Tom Cruise is descended from this couple:

  1. Francois ENNESER (1644-1711) + Anna RIEDT (1660-1722)
  2. John ENNESER (1684-1764) + Anna MOSER (1690-1765)
  3. Jacob ENNESER (1730-?) + Catharina FISHER (1730-?)
  4. Maria Anna ENNESER (1760-1813) + John MERCKEL (1757-1813)
  5. John MERCKEL (1787-1860) + Madeleine ACKER (1792-?)
  6. George MERCKEL (1817-1900) + Barbara SCHÜTZ (1818-1886) [Immigrants]
  7. Catherine MERCKEL (1847-1908) + George RAMSER (1835-1906)
  8. Joseph RAMSER (1870-1938) + Susan MACKEY (1872-1947)
  9. Comala RAMSER (1896-1989) + Charles PFEIFFER (1894-1953)
  10. Mary Lee PFEIFFER (1936-2017) + Thomas Cruise MAPOTHER III (1934-1984)
  11. Thomas Cruise MAPOTHER IV (born 1962)

Here is how I am descended from this couple:

  1. Francois ENNESER (1644-1711) + Anna RIEDT (1660-1722)
  2. Anne Marie ENNESER + John Henry LUX (1679-1753)
  3. John Adam LUX (1710-1790) + Anne Marie JUCHS (1707-1779)
  4. Madeleine LUX (1739-1817) + Nicolas WEBER
  5. Catherine WEBER (1764-?) + John George OTT (1760?-1803)
  6. John OTT (1787-1844) + Mary Ann MEDER (1787-1865) [Immigrants]
  7. Catherine OTT (1826-1908) + Joseph VOEGELE (1823-1890) [Immigrants]
  8. Joseph VOEGELE (1862-1934) + Anna BALTHASAR (1864-1937)
  9. Josephine VOEGELE (1897-1991) + Frank STAEBELL (1890-1981)
  10. Alice STAEBELL (living) + William E SMITH (1925-2012)
  11. Brian SMITH & brothers, sisters, & cousins

Connection #2: 10th Cousin

Through this connection, Tom Cruise and my sons are 10th cousins. Our common ancestor Wendelin GRUSSENMEYER, who lived in who lived in Kutzenhausen in the late 1600's.

Here is how Tom Cruise is descended from Wendelin GRUSSENMEYER:

  1. Wendelin GRUSSENMEYER (1635-1689) + Anne Ursula HERMANN (1636-1700)
  2. Catherine GRUSSENMEYER + John George RAUCH
  3. Anna Maria RAUCH (1682-1757) + Mathias MERCKEL (1692-1770)
  4. John MERCKEL (1726-1763) + Anna Maria ACKER (1725-1792)
  5. John MERCKEL (1757-1813) + Maria Anna ENNESER (1760-1813)
  6. John MERCKEL (1787-1860) + Madeleine ACKER (1792-?)
  7. George MERCKEL (1817-1900) + Barbara SCHÜTZ (1818-1886) [Immigrants]
  8. Catherine MERCKEL (1847-1908) + George RAMSER (1835-1906)
  9. Joseph RAMSER (1870-1938) + Susan MACKEY (1872-1947)
  10. Comala RAMSER (1896-1989) + Charles PFEIFFER (1894-1953)
  11. Mary Lee PFEIFFER (1936-2017) + Thomas Cruise MAPOTHER III (1934-1984)
  12. Thomas Cruise MAPOTHER IV (born 1962)

Here is how I am descended from this same person:

  1. Wendelin GRUSSENMEYER (1635-1689) + Anna Maria JUNCKER (1642-1704)
  2. Anna Margaret GRUSSENMEYER + Jacob JUCHS
  3. Anne Marie JUCHS (1707-1779) + John Adam LUX (1710-1790)
  4. Madeleine LUX (1739-1817) + Nicolas WEBER
  5. Catherine WEBER (1764-?) + John George OTT (1760?-1803)
  6. John OTT (1787-1844) + Mary Ann MEDER (1787-1865) [Immigrants]
  7. Catherine OTT (1826-1908) + Joseph VOEGELE (1823-1890) [Immigrants]
  8. Joseph VOEGELE (1862-1934) + Anna BALTHASAR (1864-1937)
  9. Josephine VOEGELE (1897-1991) + Frank STAEBELL (1890-1981)
  10. Alice STAEBELL (living) + William E SMITH (1925-2012)
  11. Brian SMITH & brothers, sisters, & cousins
  12. The sons of Brian SMITH and their cousins

More research is needed here. Did Wendelin Grussenmeyer have two wives? That’s quite possible, but not if they died in the years shown here. Something needs correcting.

Connection #3: 11th Cousin

Through this connection, Tom Cruise and I are 11th cousins. Our common ancestors are Laurent MERCKEL and Agnes HEID, who lived in who lived in Surbourg in 1600's.

Here is how Tom Cruise is descended from this couple:

  1. Laurent MERCKEL (1590-1690) + Agnes HEID
  2. John George MERCKEL (1617-1676) + Odile
  3. Mathias MERCKEL + Elisabeth BRUNKANTER
  4. Mathias MERCKEL (1692-1770) + Anna Maria RAUCH (1682-1757)
  5. John MERCKEL (1726-1763) + Anna Maria ACKER (1725-1792)
  6. John MERCKEL (1757-1813) + Maria Anna ENNESER (1760-1813)
  7. John MERCKEL (1787-1860) + Madeleine ACKER (1792-?)
  8. George MERCKEL (1817-1900) + Barbara SCHÜTZ (1818-1886) [Immigrants]
  9. Catherine MERCKEL (1847-1908) + George RAMSER (1835-1906)
  10. Joseph RAMSER (1870-1938) + Susan MACKEY (1872-1947)
  11. Comala RAMSER (1896-1989) + Charles PFEIFFER (1894-1953)
  12. Mary Lee PFEIFFER (1936-2017) + Thomas Cruise MAPOTHER III (1934-1984)
  13. Thomas Cruise MAPOTHER IV (born 1962)

Here is how I am descended from this same couple:

  1. Laurent MERCKEL (1590-1690) + Agnes HEID
  2. Anna MERCKEL + Martin SIEGEL
  3. Johan Sebastian SIEGEL + Maria Eva PFOHL (1644-?)
  4. Johann Martin SIEGEL (1668-1743) + Maria Dorothea REIFFSTECK (1667-1745)
  5. Elisabeth SIEGEL (1696-1783) + Andreas VOEGELE (1690-1759)
  6. John VOEGELE + Catharina MEYER
  7. Joseph VOEGELE (1759-1832) + Margaretha GÖTZ (1761-1794)
  8. Joseph VOEGELE (1790-1868) + Catharine MÜLLER (1799-1867) [Immigrants]
  9. Joseph VOEGELE (1823-1890) + Catherine OTT (1826-1908) [Immigrants]
  10. Joseph VOEGELE (1862-1934) + Anna BALTHASAR (1864-1937)
  11. Josephine VOEGELE (1897-1991) + Frank STAEBELL (1890-1981)
  12. Alice STAEBELL (living) + William E SMITH (1925-2012)
  13. Brian SMITH & brothers, sisters, & cousins

_________________

Comments? Suggestions? Send a letter to Brian...