Birth Name: Jonathan Drew Groff
Place of Birth: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Date of Birth: March 26, 1985
Ethnicity:
*75% German
*25% English and Scottish
Jonathan Groff is an American actor and singer. His parents are Julie (Witmer), a physical education teacher, and Jim Groff, a harness horse trainer and driver. He has one older brother, David, and is a first cousin of singer James Wolpert, a semi-finalist on the fifth season of The Voice.
Jonathan’s father and maternal grandfather’s families were both Pennsylvania Dutch (German), with deep roots in Pennsylvania. Jonathan’s maternal grandmother, from Oklahoma, was of English and Scottish descent.
Jonathan’s paternal grandparents were J. Wade Groff (the son of Earl Leroy Groff and Helen Eby Garber) and Evelyn Herr Metzler (the daughter of Harvey Metzler and Bertha Mae Herr). Jonathan’s grandfather was a Mennonite minister.
Jonathan’s maternal grandparents were John B. Witmer (the son of John Huber Witmer and Emma Barbara Kreider) and Dolores Taylor (the daughter of John P. Taylor and Viola M. Cunningham).
Sources: Obituary of Jonathan’s paternal grandmother, Evelyn Herr (Metzler) Groff – http://www.findagrave.com
Jonathan’s maternal grandmother, Dolores Taylor, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Jonathan’s maternal grandmother, Dolores (Taylor) Witmer – http://lancasteronline.com
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