Jack Daniel, business man with a Welsh connection!

Jack Daniel

Creator of the famous Bourbon.

Connection: Misnomer. A second generation American. Born in Tennessee. Although there may be some truth in the 'Welsh connection legend' since we can not trace his family back beyond his grandfather, who was known to have lived in England.

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comment by:jackdanielsno7
This is not true he was born Lynchburg, Tennessee in 1850.

comment by:SanMan
Well, the full story I've been told is Jack Daniels made his whisky in Wales until the temperance movement, a strict church movement, banned all forms of alcohol from Wales. He decided to emigrate to the USA where he set up his company.

comment by:EdWelsh
Okay, I've written to the Jack Daniel's organisation and this is the reply:
'We appreciate your interest in Jack Daniel's. Jack Daniel himself was born in Tennessee and his father (Calaway Daniel) and his mother (Lucinda Cook), were born in the United States. Mr. Jack's grandfather, Joseph, was born and raised in England and he moved to the United States as a young man. However, nothing in our records indicates that Jack's family originated in Wales.
Janice and friends at Jack Daniel's'

So I guess that settles it, he was NOT born in Wales, indeed there's no Welsh connection that we can see. On the other hand, they mention that Jack's grandfather was from England and as we know (and without wishing to patronise), so often, to our American cousins Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton were also from England.

comment by:sanfrancisco
Hello, my family is from Wales on both sides, Mom and Dad. I can go back as far a five generations of lineage still in Wales. What my Dad said was, that the recipe that is Jack Daniels was a common recipe that everyone had and was in Wales seventy five years before it came to America.

comment by:RavenM
My own great grandparents were from Wales, yet "officially" they came in from England as Wales is part of England (It is my understanding that this is only as a legal definition, England is part of Wales by the same terms - Ed. ) This happens a lot, especially for those who came in between 1700-1900, the census information will list them as being English even though they may be of Irish, Welsh, Cornish or Scottish extraction.

comment by:pedroalesandro
Check wikipedia or icwales - definitely of welsh descent

I don't know about ICWales but wikipedia is complete BULL, don't trust a word you read on that pile of pants they have the gaul to call an encyclopedia. - Ed





link by: EdWelsh
Jack Daniel Family Tree
I'm not sure it goes back far enough to answer our question - check it out yourself!