Birth Name: Daniel Christopher Smyers
Place of Birth: Wexford, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of Birth: August 16, 1987
Ethnicity: Japanese (paternal grandmother), Irish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, English, German
Dan Smyers is an American singer and songwriter. He is one half of the country duo Dan + Shay, along with Shay Mooney.
Dan is the son of Patricia “Patty” (Callenda) and Daniel David “Dave” Smyers.
Dan’s paternal grandfather was Edward Calvin Smyers (the son of Edward Calvin Smyers and Ethel Marie Bennett). Dan’s Edward had Scots-Irish (Northern Irish), English, and German ancestry and was the son of Bertrand Hunter Smyers, an attorney, known as the co-founder of the University of Pittsburgh’s football program, and Flora Bell Hays. Ethel was the daughter of Thomas Joseph Bennett and Mary Catherine Cannon, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania, to Irish parents.
Dan’s paternal grandmother was Michiko “Angle” Ohashi. Michiko was of Japanese descent.
Sources: Genealogy of Dan Smyers – https://www.genealogy.com
Obituary of Dan’s great-grandmother, Ethel Marie Bennett – http://www.legacy.com
Genealogy of Dan’s paternal grandfather, Edward Calvin Smyers – https://www.ancestry.com
Genealogy of Dan’s great-grandfather, Edward Calvin Smyers – https://www.findagrave.com
Dan’s great-grandmother, Ethel Marie Bennett, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
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