Former high school history teacher and renowned Huron County historian, David Yates, says stories circulating on social media claiming a connection between actress Betty White and the town of Wingham appear to be true.
Yates heard about the story from a friend and did a little research, including looking into Canada census records. “Her maternal grandmother was Margaret Hobbs and she was born on March 5th 1877, in Wingham. Her father is listed as Thomas Hobbs. He was a wood turner according to her birth certificate and sometime, about 1879 – 80, the Hobbs family emigrated to Chicago.”
Yates says the family settled in the Chicago area, but maintained contact with the friends and family in Wingham.
“The family was kind of rooted in the Chicago area until Betty White was born in January, 1922 and then they moved to L-A where her father was some sort of an electrical engineer. Her paternal grandmother was Canadian as well, belonged to the Lundy family and is buried in the Aurora Cemetery.”
Betty White passed away on December 31st, 2021, less than a month before her 100th birthday.