Birth Name: Donald Hugh Henley
Place of Birth: Gilmer, Texas, US
Date of Birth: July 22, 1947
Ethnicity: English, some Scottish and Irish
Don Henley is an American singer, songwriter, drummer, and producer. He is known as a founding member of the band The Eagles.
Don’s parents were Hughlene (McWhorter) and Con Junell “C. J.” Henley.
Don’s paternal grandparents were Ollie Haywood Henley (the son of Edmund Matthews Henley and Sarah Martha Elizabeth “Mattie” Page) and Giula/Guilda Frances “Fanny” Junell/Janell (the daughter of William A. “Bill” Junell and Mary Frances Taylor). William was the son of Robert Douglas Junell and Mary Long. Mary was evidently the daughter of Alexander Smith Taylor and Margaret Hays Davis.
Don’s maternal grandparents were Hugh Hall McWhorter (the son of John Dicks McWhorter and Nancy Hall) and Eula Estelle Davenport (the daughter of William Lawson Davenport and Rosa S. Morris).
Don stated in an interview: “I want to go to Como because my grandmother had Italian roots and her ancestors emigrated from Genoa to America and settled in a tiny town in Texas called Como… My father was born in Como, but Como is one in Texas… That’s why I want to see Lake Como, the real one”.
Don may have been misquoted. All Don’s traceable ancestors were born in Texas, Tennessee, or Arkansas. He has no documented Italian ancestry.
Sources: http://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com
Genealogy of Don Henley – http://www.genefiend.org
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