Ancestry of Jonathan Winters
This article written and copyright 2013 by Will Johnson, wjhonson@aol.com, Professional Genealogist
1 Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters was born 11 Nov 1925 in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio, the son of Jonathan Harshman Winters II and his wife Alice Rodgers. When he was seven, his parents separated. His mother took him to live with her mother in Springfield, Ohio. In 1943 he enlisted in the US Marine Corps for two years. He was married to Eileen Schauder on 11 Sep 1948. In 1950 as "Jonathan H Winters" he is listed in the Dayton City Directory as a Radio Announcer at WING, and then living with his wife Eileen at 154 West Fairview The first time I find him mentioned in a newspaper is the Lowell Sun, 18 May 1953 when one "Television Feature" is going to be the "Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts" where among other players I find "comedian Jonathan Winters". He was arrested in 1959 on San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf where he was acting very peculiar. He was put into a psychiatric ward, his wife flew in and had him released to her custody. In 1994 he was living at 945 Lilac Drive in Santa Barbara. His wife Eileen died in 2009 from breast cancel. He died of natural causes at his Montecito, Santa Barbara County, California home on 11 Apr 2013
Primary Sources for 1
1930 Census of Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio : "319 West First Street, Valentine Winters, Head, Owns Home, Worth $150,000, MW, 62, married first at 21, born OH/OH/OH, President, Inter Urban Co; Helen C Winters, wife, FW, 62, married first at 20, born OH/OH/OH, no occupation; Jonathan H, son, MW, 31, married first at 23, born OH/OH/OH, Agent, Insurance; Alice R, daughter-in-law, FW, 25, married first at 18, born OH/OH/OH, Agent, Insurance; Jonathan Jr, grandson, 4, born OH"
1950 City Directory for Dayton, Ohio
Secondary Sources for 1
2 Jonathan Harshman Winters
Jonathan Harshman Winters was born 27 Nov 1898 in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio, the son of Valentine Winters and his wife Helen Wood Clegg. On 6 Jan 1924 in Dayton, he married Alice Rodgers. They had a son, the future comedian Jonathan Winters. About 1932 they separated. In 1956 he is called the Vice-President of Gordon Graves Investment Company in Miami, Florida. Jonathan (Sr) died 3 Nov 1975 in Dayton, buried at the Woodland Cemetery there.
Primary Sources for 1
Sandusky Register, 21 Jul 1923, "State Stops Sale of Winters Co Stock"
Hamilton Evening Journal, 01 Nov 1929, "Jury to Probe Winters' Deals"
Lima News, 4 Dec 1929, "Dayton Firm is Under Probe of County's Jury"
Findlay Morning Republican, 12 Dec 1929, "Firm Accused of Padding Finances: Dayton Concern Made Book Accounts Appear Thrice Real Size, Charge"
Hamilton Evening Journal, 09 Jul 1930, "Winters Absolved in Dayton Trial"
1930 Census of Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio : "319 West First Street, Valentine Winters, Head, Owns Home, Worth $150,000, MW, 62, married first at 21, born OH/OH/OH, President, Inter Urban Co; Helen C Winters, wife, FW, 62, married first at 20, born OH/OH/OH, no occupation; Jonathan H, son, MW, 31, married first at 23, born OH/OH/OH, Agent, Insurance; Alice R, daughter-in-law, FW, 25, married first at 18, born OH/OH/OH, Agent, Insurance; Jonathan Jr, grandson, 4, born OH"
Miami News (FL), 13 Dec 1956, "Dad of Jonathan Winters Miami Investment Broker"
Secondary Sources for 2
3 Alice Rodgers
Alice Rodgers was born 4 Aug 1904 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, the daughter of Robert Sinclair Rodgers a banker, and his wife Edith Winwood. On 6 Jan 1924 at Dayton, she married Jonathan Harshman Winters. About 1932 they separated after having a son, the future comedian Jonathan Winters. She took her son to live with her own mother back in Springfield, her father Robert having died in 1926 in Baltimore, Maryland. She married secondly Richard W Bahman. In 1941 on station WIZE, she had a half-hour radio program called "For Women Only". It consisted of interviews, women's news and music. After her son had become famous, the two of them appeared together on the Jack Parr show in 1958. She died as "Alice Bahman" at the Mercy Medical Center in Springfield in 1970. She is buried next to her second husband in Ferncliff Cemetery.
Primary Sources for 3
1910 Census of Ward 1, Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, "Alice K Rodgers", age 5
World War I Draft Registration Cards, "Robert Sinclair Rodgers", born 9 Jul 1873, Superintendent, American Seeding Machine
Ohio Obituary Index, 1830s-2011, Rutherford B Hayes Presidential Center, "Robert S Rodgers" naming his wife as Edith Winwood
1930 Census of Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio : "319 West First Street, Valentine Winters, Head, Owns Home, Worth $150,000, MW, 62, married first at 21, born OH/OH/OH, President, Inter Urban Co; Helen C Winters, wife, FW, 62, married first at 20, born OH/OH/OH, no occupation; Jonathan H, son, MW, 31, married first at 23, born OH/OH/OH, Agent, Insurance; Alice R, daughter-in-law, FW, 25, married first at 18, born OH/OH/OH, Agent, Insurance; Jonathan Jr, grandson, 4, born OH"
"Alice Bahman", SSDI
"Alice Kilgore Rodgers Winters Bahman", Findagrave.com
Secondary Sources for 3
4 Valentine Winters
Primary Sources for 4
1930 Census of Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio : "319 West First Street, Valentine Winters, Head, Owns Home, Worth $150,000, MW, 62, married first at 21, born OH/OH/OH, President, Inter Urban Co; Helen C Winters, wife, FW, 62, married first at 20, born OH/OH/OH, no occupation; Jonathan H, son, MW, 31, married first at 23, born OH/OH/OH, Agent, Insurance; Alice R, daughter-in-law, FW, 25, married first at 18, born OH/OH/OH, Agent, Insurance; Jonathan Jr, grandson, 4, born OH"
5 Helen Wood Clegg
Primary Sources for 5
1930 Census of Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio : "319 West First Street, Valentine Winters, Head, Owns Home, Worth $150,000, MW, 62, married first at 21, born OH/OH/OH, President, Inter Urban Co; Helen C Winters, wife, FW, 62, married first at 20, born OH/OH/OH, no occupation; Jonathan H, son, MW, 31, married first at 23, born OH/OH/OH, Agent, Insurance; Alice R, daughter-in-law, FW, 25, married first at 18, born OH/OH/OH, Agent, Insurance; Jonathan Jr, grandson, 4, born OH"
6 Robert Sinclair Rodgers
7 Edith Winwood