Birth Name: Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr.
Place of Birth: Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Date of Birth: November 4, 1916
Place of Death: New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Death: July 17, 2009
Ethnicity: German, 1/8 Scottish, English, distant Dutch
Walter Cronkite was an American journalist, news anchor, and television and radio broadcaster. He was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the son of Walter Leland Cronkite, Sr. and Helen Lena/Lina (Fritsche).
Walter’s father has Scottish, German, English, and distant Dutch ancestry. His mother is of German descent.
His paternal grandfather was Frederick Cronkite. His parents were Spencer Cronkite (the son of Tunis Cronkite and Caroline Curtis) and Ruth Ann Pierce.
His paternal grandmother was Anna Louise Prussia. Her parents were Jessie Benham Prussia (the son of William Kephart Prusia and Salome Benham) and Anna Boyd.
Anna Boyd was originally from Scotland. William’s father, Christian Prusia, was German.
Walter also has distant Dutch ancestry through his surname “Cronkite”, on his patrilineal line. His ancestor Herx Siboutzen Krankheijdt, from Frisia, got married, c. 1642, to Wijntje Theunis, from Naarden, in the New Amsterdam Colony (now a part of Manhattan, New York City).
His maternal grandfather was Edward C. Fritsche/Fritschie. He was the son of Edward Charles Fritschie and Magdalena “Lina” Gerold, both of which hailed from Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany.
His maternal grandmother was Mathilda Renz. She was the daughter of August Renz and Helen Greiss/Graeif. August was from Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Helen was from Prussia.
Sources: Genealogy of Walter Cronkite – https://www.geni.com/
Obituary of Walter Cronkite’s maternal grandmother, Mathilda (Renz) Fritsche – https://www.findagrave.com/
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