Week 28: Characters (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks)

The theme for Week 28 is "Characters." Every family has a person who might be described as a "character." But that's not the only way you might interpret this theme. What about someone named for a famous character, working through a language that uses characters other than what you're used to, or deciphering a character on a tombstone? Be creative and have fun! Click here to check out all the themes for 2022.

We all have characters in our family. Heck, we might be the character in our family. This week I decided to pick a relative who actually portrays characters, she was an actress. She is my mom’s 3rd cousin and thus she is my 3rd cousin once removed.

She was born Donna Belle Mullenger on Jan 27, 1921 in Denison, Crawford, Iowa, USA. The daughter of William Richard Mullenger and Hazel Jane Shives. Her grandparents were William George Mullenger and Mary Ann Johnson. Her great grandparents were William Reform Mullenger and Mary Tyler. Our common ancestor is her 2nd great grandparents of Peter Tyler and Sarah Anderson. Peter Tyler was born about 1798 in Buckinghamshire, England, on Oct 24, 1820 in England he married Sarah Anderson, born about 1801. Peter died in 1883 in Middlesex, England. They had 9 children. Their daughter Mary was their 6th child and she was born Nov 26 1835 in Buckinghamshire, England. While, I descend from their 7th Child, George William Tyler who was born May 14, 1839 in Buckinghamshire, England. George died on Jun 3, 1928 in Mason City, Cerro Gordo, Iowa, USA. 

George married Sarah Agnes Long who was born Dec 27, 1842 in Canada. She died Nov 18 1915 in Mason City, Cerro Gordo, Iowa, USA. They had 8 children. I descend from John Albert Tyler their 3rd child who was born May 4, 1870 in Sheffield, Franklin, Iowa. On Feb 22, 1894 in Lincoln, Cerro Gordo, Iowa, He married Isabel Bonson Pedelty who was born Aug 2, 1870 in Lincoln, Cerro Gordo, Iowa. She died on Feb 16, 1934 in Granada, Martin, Minnesota and he died on May 23, 1935 in Granada, Martin Minnesota. They had 5 children. I descend through their son Vern E Tyler, who was born Mar 4, 1903 in Buffalo Center, Winnebago, Iowa. He is the biological father of my mother. My mother was born out of wedlock and I don’t know if she had any contact with him, especially since she didn’t know about him until she turned 18. See my other blog post “My mother’s Secret” to learn more. 

Anyway, Donna Bell Mullenger was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years. Donna planned to become a teacher but was unable to pay for college. She moved to California to attend the Los Angeles City College on the advice of her aunt. Even though she had no plans to become an actress, while attending college she did performed in various stage productions. However, after receiving several offers to screen test for studios, Donna eventually signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). She insisted on completing her associate degree before she signed with an agent.

In 1941, Donna made her film debut in “The Get-Away” opposite Robert Sterling. She was billed as Donna Adams.

MGM soon changed her name to Donna Reed as there was anti-German feeling during World War II. The rest as they say is history. I know Donna from her role as Mary in the classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. I also remember watching reruns of the Donna Reed Show that ran from 1958 to 1966. 

Back row: Tony Owen and Penny Jane 
Seated from left to right: Tony Jr, 
Mary on Donna's lap and Tim.

From 1943-1945, Reed was married to make-up artist William Tuttle. Her second marriage was to producer Tony Owen and they raised four children together. The two older children were adopted. They divorced in 1971. In 1974, she married Grover Asmus and they remained married until her death in 1986. 

Remember to have fun and to Just do Genealogy!