Ancestry of Amelia Earhart

Portrait of Amelia Earhart

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

One of the world's most celebrated aviators, Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas on July 24, 1897. The daughter of a railroad company attorney, she lived with her maternal grandparents in Atchison until the age of 12. She then moved around with her family for several years, living in Des Moine, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; and Medford, Massachusetts.

Amelia saw her first airplane in 1908 at the Iowa State Fair, but her love of flying lay dormant until Christmas Day 1920, when her father took her to the opening of a new airfield in Long Beach, CA. Three days later, she took her first ride with barnstormer Frank M. Hawks. Amelia Earhart set several aviation records, including the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, before disappearing over the Pacific on an around-the-world flight in 1937.

Learn about Earhart's relatives with this family tree, which is organized by generation.

First Generation

1. Amelia Mary EARHART was born 24 Jul 1897 in Atchison, Atchison County, Kansas, to Edwin Stanton Earhart and Amelia "Amy" Otis in the home of her maternal grandparents. Amelia Earhart married George Palmer Putman, born 7 September 1887 in Rye, Westchester County, New York, on 7 Feb 1931 in Noank, New London County, Connecticut. Amelia died after 2 Jul 1937 in on a pioneering flight around the world and was declared legally dead on 1 January 1939.

Second Generation (Parents)

2. Edwin Stanton EARHART was born on 28 Mar 1867 in Atchison, Kansas to the Rev. David Earhart Jr. and Mary Wells Patton. Edwin Stanton EARHART and Amelia OTIS were married on 18 Oct 1895 in Trinity Church, Atchison, Kansas. After a brief separation during 1915, the Earharts reunited in Kansas City in 1916 and moved to Los Angeles, although Edwin and Amy eventually divorced in 1924. Edwin S. Earhart married a second time to Annie Mary "Helen" McPherson on 26 August 1926 in Los Angeles. Edwin died on 23 Sep 1930 in Los Angeles, California.

3. Amelia (Amy) OTIS was born about March 1869 in Atchison, Kansas, to Judge Alfred G. and Amelia (Harres) Otis. She died on 29 Oct 1962 in Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, at the age of 95.

Edwin Stanton EARHART and Amelia (Amy) OTIS had the following children:

  • i. Infant EARHART was born and died in Aug 1896.
  • 1 ii. Amelia Mary EARHART
  • iii. Grace Muriel EARHART was born 29 Dec 1899 in Kansas City, Clay County, Missouri and died 2 March 1998 in Medford, Massachusetts. In June 1929, Muriel married World War I veteran Albert Morrissey, who died in 1978.

Third Generation (Grandparents)

4. Rev. David EARHART was born 28 Feb 1818 on a farm in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. David studied theology and was licensed by the East Ohio Synod in 1844, eventually serving seven different congregations in Western Pennsylvania, three of which he organized, and six for which he was involved in building the house of worship.

In January 1845 the Rev. David Earhart assisted in organizing the Pittsburgh Synod and was known for being one of the first Lutheran pastors in the state to use the English language almost exclusively. He and his family relocated to Sumner, near Atchison, Kansas in early 1860 where they stayed until 1873. At that point, David and Mary returned to Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and then later moved as he served congregations in Donegal, Westmoreland County (1876) and Armstrong County (1882), also in Pennsylvania.

Following the death of his wife in 1893, David moved to Philadelphia to live with his daughter, Mrs. Harriet Augusta (Earhart) Monroe. His final years then found him living with another daughter, Mary Louisa (Earhart) Woodworth in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, where he died on 13 Aug 1903. David Earhart is buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery, Atchison, Kansas.

5. Mary Wells PATTON was born on 28 Sep 1821 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania to John Patton and Harriet Wells. She died on 19 May 1893 in Pennsylvania and is buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery, Atchison, Kansas.

Rev. David EARHART and Mary Wells PATTON were married on 16 Nov 1841 in Trinity Lutheran Church, Somerset, Somerset County, Pennsylvania and had the following children:

  • i. Harriet Augusta EARHART was born on 21 Aug 1842 in Pennsylvania and married Aaron L. Monroe about . Harriet died 16 July 1927 in Washington, D.C. and is buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery in Atchison, Kansas.
  • ii. Mary Louisa EARHART was born on 2 Oct 1843 in Pennsylvania. She married Gilbert Mortiere Woodworth, who died in Philadelphia on 8 Sep 1899. Mary died 29 Aug 1921 in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri.
  • iii. Martin Luther EARHART was born on 18 Feb 1845 in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, and died 18 Oct 1925 in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee.
  • iv. Phillip Melancthon EARHART was born on 18 Mar 1847 and died sometime prior to 1860.
  • v. Sarah Katherine EARHART was born on 21 Aug 1849 and died sometime prior to 1860.
  • vi. Josephine EARHART was born on 8 Aug 1851. She died in 1853.
  • vii. Albert Mosheim EARHART was born about 1853.
  • viii. Franklin Patton EARHART was born about 1855.
  • ix. Isabella "Della" EARHART was born about 1857.
  • x. David Milton EARHART was born on 21 Oct 1859. He died in May 1860.
  • xi. Kate Theodora EARHART was born on 9 Mar 1863.
  • 2 xii. Edwin Stanton EARHART

6. Judge Alfred Gideon OTIS was born on 13 Dec 1827 in Cortland, Cortland County, New York. He died on 9 May 1912 in Atchison, Atchison County, Kansas, and is buried in Atchison's Mount Vernon Cemetery, alongside his wife, Amelia.

7. Amelia Josephine HARRES was born in Feb 1837 in Philadelphia. She died on 12 Feb 1912 in Atchison, Kansas. Alfred Gideon OTIS and Amelia Josephine HARRES were married on 22 Apr 1862 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and had the following children, all born in Atchison, Kansas:

  • i. Grace OTIS was born on 19 Mar 1863 and died on 3 Sep 1864 in Atchison.
  • ii. William Alfred OTIS was born on 2 Feb 1865. He died from diphtheria on 8 Dec 1899 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
  • iii. Harrison Gray OTIS was born on 31 Dec 1867 and died on 14 Dec 1868 in Atchison.
  • 3 iv. Amelia (Amy) OTIS
  • v. Mark E. OTIS was born about Dec 1870.
  • vi. Margaret Pearl OTIS was born about Oct 1875 in Atchison and died on 4 Jan 1931 in Germantown, Pennsylvania.
  • vii. Theodore H. OTIS was born on 12 Nov 1877 and died on 13 Mar 1957 in Atchison and is buried in the city's Mount Vernon Cemetery.
  • viii. Carl Spenser OTIS was born about Mar 1881, also in Atchison.

Sources

Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon. Amelia: The Centennial Biography of an Aviation Pioneer. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, 1997.

"Navy Ends Search for Miss Earhart," The New York Times, 19 July 1937, page 1, col. 5. Goldstein & Dillon, Amelia: The Centennial Biography, 264.

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Powell, Kimberly. "Ancestry of Amelia Earhart." ThoughtCo, Sep. 8, 2021, thoughtco.com/ancestry-of-amelia-earhart-1422871. Powell, Kimberly. (2021, September 8). Ancestry of Amelia Earhart. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/ancestry-of-amelia-earhart-1422871 Powell, Kimberly. "Ancestry of Amelia Earhart." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/ancestry-of-amelia-earhart-1422871 (accessed March 29, 2024).