View source for Ancestry of Rock Hudson

The ancestry of [[Rock Hudson]]
==Rock Hudson==
Rock Hudson was an American actor, born as Roy Harold Scherer, Jr in 1925 in Winnetka, Cook County, [[Illinois]], the son of [[#Roy Harold Scherer|Roy Harold Scherer, Sr]] an auto mechanic, and his wife [[#Katherine Wood|Katherine "Kay" Wood]] (d. 1977), who had just married the year before.

Roy Sr left the family in 1932 and went to California.  After Roy left, Kay started dating Wally FitzGerald who worked shoveling coal at the Winnetka Water Works.  Kay and Wally married and he adopted Roy who then became called Roy FitzGerald.

Roy FitzGerald went to New Trier High School.  Wally and Kay fought and he would beat her and Roy.  They divorced, Kay married him a second time, and they divorced again when Roy was fifteen.  Kay became a live-in housekeeper for a wealthy family.  For several years they lived above Walgreen's Drug Store.

In 1943 Rock enlisted in the U.S. Navy from which he was discharged in 1946.  To persue his dream of becoming an actor he decided to relocate to California.  For a short time he lived with his father who was then living with a wife and daughter in Long Beach, [[Los Angeles County, California]].

===Primary documents===
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&tips=0&gsfn=&gsln=scherer&sx=y&f12=Illinois&f4=cook&f7=&f15=&rg_81004011__date=1926&rs_81004011__date=0&f18=&f14__n=&_8000C002=&_80008002=&_80018002=&f10=&f16=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1930usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=24&recid=22884914&recoff=3+19+20 1930 New Trier, Cook County, Illinois] showing : "Raymond Scherer, 30, IL, married at age 24, Proprietor, Garage; Katherine, 30 IL/England/IL; Raymond H 4 1/12; Lloyd 23 brother, IL, Helper, Gas Station"

==Roy Harold Scherer==
Rock Hudson's father was Roy Harold Scherer born [[Jun 3]], 1899.  In 1924 Roy married Catherine "Kay" Wood and they had one child called then Roy Harold Scherer, Jr, but who would later be known as Rock Hudson.

It's unclear why he is called Raymond in the 1930 census, but his SSDI entry calls him Roy and biographers have since called him Roy as well.

When Rock Hudson was a small boy, Roy deserted the family and moved to California.  Meanwhile Kay started dating Wally FitzGerald.  They eventually married and Rock Hudson would now be known as Roy FitzGerald.  It was under this name that he was discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1946 and decided to relocate to California to persue his dream of being an actor.  At first he lived with his father in Long Beach, but after a short time he moved out.

Roy married thirdly Edith unknown who died shortly before he did.  Sara Davidson tells the story that Roy was mentally gone in his old age.  His last wife died and he thought she was sleeping, someone else determined that she had died.  Roy had an adopted daughter with whom he lived for a short time.  It's unclear if he died at her home.

===Primary documentation===
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&tips=0&gsfn=&gsln=scherer&sx=y&f12=Illinois&f4=cook&f7=&f15=&rg_81004011__date=1926&rs_81004011__date=0&f18=&f14__n=&_8000C002=&_80008002=&_80018002=&f10=&f16=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1930usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=24&recid=22884914&recoff=3+19+20 1930 New Trier, Cook County, Illinois] showing : "Raymond Scherer, 30, IL, married at age 24, Proprietor, Garage; Katherine, 30 IL/England/IL; Raymond H 4 1/12; Lloyd 23 brother, IL, Helper, Gas Station"
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&tips=0&gsfn=Roy&gsln=Scherer&sx=&f9=&f8=&f10=&f6=&f5=&f7=&f1=&f15=&f14=&f13=&f12=&f20=&f0=&prox=1&db=ssdi&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=7&recid=62969830&recoff=1+2 Social Security Death Index] showing : "Edith Scherer born 18 Jul 1913, died Aug 1982, last residence Grants Pass, Josephine County, Oregon; SSN issued by Michigan"
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&tips=0&gsfn=Roy&gsln=Scherer&sx=&f9=&f8=&f10=&f6=&f5=&f7=&f1=&f15=&f14=&f13=&f12=&f20=&f0=&prox=1&db=ssdi&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=7&recid=62969830&recoff=1+2 Social Security Death Index] showing : "Roy Scherer, born 3 Jun 1899, died Nov 1982, last residence Grants Pass, Josephine County, Oregon; SSN issued by California"

===Secondary sources===
* ''Rock Hudson, His Story'', by Rock Hudson and Sara Davidson; William Morrow and Company, New York. 1986 ISBN 0688064728 [http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Hudson-His-Story/dp/0688064728 Buy it] at Amazon

==Katherine Wood==
Katherine "Kay" Wood was born about 1900/1 in Illinois probably in [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] to James Wood and Mary Enright.

In 1924 she married [[#Roy Harold Scherer|Roy Harold Scherer]] and they had one son Roy Harold Scherer, Jr who would later become known as [[Rock Hudson]].  When Rock was a young boy, Roy Sr left the family and moved to California.  Kay began dating Wally FitzGerald.  They married, divorced and married again and divorced again when Roy was 15.  Wally adopted Roy who then became known as Roy FitzGerald.

Kay and her son Roy lived in Illinois until sometime after Roy joined the U.S. Navy in 1943.  When Roy was discharged in 1946 he went to live with his father in California for a short time.  It's not clear where Kay was during this period, but by the 50's she is seen in publicity photos with her son, now called Rock Hudson.

===Primary documentation===
*Illinois Statewide Marriage Index online at [http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/marriage.html Cyberdrive] showing : "James Wood to Mary E Enright Dec 2, 1891 Cook County"
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=James&gsln=Wood&sx=&f8=Illinois&f9=Cook&f10=&f20=&rg_fa5__date=&rs_fa5__date=0&f16__n=&rg_f19__date=&rs_f19__date=0&f18=&fa20=&f21=&fa18=&f22=&fa14=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1920usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=28&recid=18507238&recoff=1+2+20+21 1920 Census of New Trier, Cook County, Illinois] showing "James Wood, 53, b England/England/England; Mary 55, b Illinois/Ireland/Ireland; John H 22; Kathrine 19; David 18; John Anderson 34; Gustaw Shaw 42"
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&tips=0&gsfn=&gsln=scherer&sx=y&f12=Illinois&f4=cook&f7=&f15=&rg_81004011__date=1926&rs_81004011__date=0&f18=&f14__n=&_8000C002=&_80008002=&_80018002=&f10=&f16=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1930usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=24&recid=22884914&recoff=3+19+20 1930 New Trier, Cook County, Illinois] showing : "Raymond Scherer, 30, IL, married at age 24, Proprietor, Garage; Katherine, 30 IL/England/IL; Raymond H 4 1/12; Lloyd 23 brother, IL, Helper, Gas Station"
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=James&gsln=Wood&sx=&f12=Illinois&f4=Cook&f7=&f15=&rg_81004011__date=&rs_81004011__date=0&f18=&f14__n=&_8000C002=&_80008002=&_80018002=&f10=&f16=&gskw=&prox=1&db=1930usfedcen&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&fh=32&recid=22885883&recoff=1+2+20+21 1930 Census of New Trier, Cook County, Illinois] showing : "James Wood, 64, England, married at 25; Mary E 65, married at 26"

===Secondary sources===
* ''Rock Hudson, His Story'', by Rock Hudson and Sara Davidson; William Morrow and Company, New York. 1986 ISBN 0688064728 [http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Hudson-His-Story/dp/0688064728 Buy it] at Amazon