Thomas Pynchon

Birth Name: Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr.

Place of Birth: Glen Cove, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: May 8, 1937

Ethnicity: English, one quarter Irish, smaller amounts of Scottish and Welsh

Thomas Pynchon is an American novelist. He is known for his postmodern fiction. He has written the novels V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity’s Rainbow, Slow Learner, Vineland, Mason & Dixon, Against the Day, Inherent Vice, Bleeding Edge, and Shadow Ticket.

Thomas is the son of Catherine/Katherine Frances, a nurse, and Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, an engineer and politician. On his father’s side, he has deep Colonial American ancestry in New England. He is married to literary agent Melanie Jackson, with whom he has one child. Melanie is a paternal granddaughter of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, and a maternal great-granddaughter of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.

Thomas’s patrlineal line can be traced to William Pynchon, who was born, c. 1590, in Springfield, Essex, England, the son of John Pynchon and Frances Brett.

Thomas’s paternal grandfather was William Henry Chichele Pynchon (the son of William Lyon Pynchon and Annie Payne Cogswell). Thomas’s grandfather William was born in Plainfield, Windham, Connecticut. Thomas’s great-grandfather William was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of William Henry Ruggles Pynchon and Mary Murdock/Murdoch, whose father was from Stirling, Scotland. Thomas’s great-grandmother Annie was born in Plainfield, the daughter of William Henry Cogswell, whose maternal grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War; and of Lucretia Anne Payne, whose paternal grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War.

Thomas’s paternal grandmother was Carrie Susan Moyses (the daughter of Joseph Moyses and Elizabeth A. Woodworth). Carrie was born in New York. Joseph was born in Kings County, New York, the son of English parents, Samuel Moyses and Jane Farrow. Elizabeth was born in Connecticut, the daughter of Giles Woodworth and Philury/Philena Hyde.

Thomas’s maternal grandfather was Charles P. Bennett (the son of Pulaski B. Bennett and Hannah A. Edwards). Charles was born in Amagausett, Long Island, New York. Pulaski was born in New York, and was a fisherman. He was the son of Nathan M. Bennett and Susan A. Hannah was born in New York, the daughter of Jonathan Edwards and Emeline M. Shepard.

Thomas’s maternal grandmother was Margaret T. Donovan (the daughter of Jeremiah Donovan and Annie Mahoney). Margaret was Irish.

Thomas is a descendant of Mayflower pilgrims William Brewster (c. 1566-1644), Stephen Hopkins (c. 1581-1644), and William Bradford (c. 1590-1657). Among many of William’s other descendants are actors Jordana Brewster, Paget Brewster, Austin Butler, Chevy Chase, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Taylor Lautner, Seth MacFarlane, and Elisabeth Shue, actors and models Noah Mills and Brandon Routh, director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer Zack Snyder, singer Buffy Sainte-Marie, soccer player Clint Dempsey, novelist Margaret Atwood, Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, U.S. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of Arkansas Winthrop Rockefeller, and soldier, civil engineer, and politician George B. McClellan.

Sources: Genealogies of Thomas Pynchon – https://www.geni.com
https://www.wikitree.com

Genealogies of Thomas’s parents – https://www.findagrave.com

Genealogy of Thomas Pynchon (focusing on his father’s side) – https://famouskin.com

Thomas’s mother on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Thomas’s mother on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Marriage record of Thomas’s maternal grandparents, Charles P. Bennett and Margaret T. Donovan – https://www.familysearch.org

Thomas’s maternal great-grandfather, Pulaski B. Bennett, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org