Coot Kin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Coot Kin is a fictional family in the Scrooge McDuck universe. The surname "Coot" had been used on several ducks by various artists, usually for characters who were relatives of Donald Duck but weren't Ducks or McDucks. When Don Rosa created his Duck Family Tree in 1993, he included the Coots used by Carl Barks and himself as Grandma Duck's family are descendants of Cornelius Coot. It was Rosa's idea to use Coot as Grandma's maiden name, and to have Cornelius Coot as an ancestor of Donald.
Contents |
[edit] Coot Kin members featured in Don Rosa's Duck Family Tree
[edit] Cornelius Coot
| Cornelius Coot | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #138 Statuesque Spendthrifts, 1952 |
| Created by | Carl Barks |
Cornelius Coot is the founder of Duckburg, Calisota and Toontown Fair (according to a statue in the land at the Magic Kingdom), and Donald Duck's great-great-grandfather. He first appeared as a statue in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #138 in the story "Statuesque Spendthrifts" by Carl Barks. His statue and legacy has later appeared in many stories.
Although Cornelius was a well-known figure to readers of Disney comics, his character history was not told until Don Rosa began using the character in the late 1980s. The following history is mainly based on Rosa's stories, especially "His Majesty, McDuck", first published in Uncle Scrooge Adventures #14.
Cornelius Coot (1790-1880) was born in 1790 as an American citizen. His ancestors had been in America for quite some time and his roots are believed to reach to the colonization of Jamestown, Virginia (1607) and the voyage of the Mayflower (1620). But he is the first member of the Coot Kin to gain prominence. His birthplace is unknown and before reaching Duckburg he lived the life of a wandering hunter. He apparently had travelled all the way from the East to the West coast making his living by trading furs from the animals he killed.
He arrived at Fort Drake Borough, a British military base in Calisota, in 1818. He was apparently only looking for some trading with the soldiers but his life took some unexpected turns. During his stay the Fort was attacked by Spanish Troops from neighbouring California (the fictional Calisota includes parts historically belonging to Northern California. The Duck's version of California only includes the historical Southern California). The small British garrison couldn't defend the Fort and decided to retreat. In order to save face the commander made a deal with young Cornelius. The Fort would pass into his possession and if the Spanish managed to conquer it, he and his troops had nothing to do with the failure other than trusting an insane American to guard. Cornelius agreed. After the escape of the British he managed to frighten the Spanish away by making them believe that British reinforcements were approaching by popping some sweetcorn. (His statue depicts this fact.) The abandoned Fort was now Cornelius' and he had big plans for it.
He renamed it Fort Duckburg and turned it into a trading camp for hunters. Soon enough, some of them began to settle down and start their own families. Cornelius started his own farm and started acting as the leader of the new settlement. Pretty soon, a village was flourishing in Duckburg. Calisota was annexed into the new independent state of Mexico in 1821 but Duckburg acted much as a city state. It had its own laws, its own leaders and thanks to Cornelius its own defense force. Cornelius organized the citizens that could carry weapons into the Woodchuck Militia, a force that would guard the territory from any threat, including any conflicts with the Native Americans of the area. Cornelius turned the old Fort into the militia's base. He personally supervised the repairs to the Fort and had the idea to build underground tunnels under the Fort so that even during a siege they could still move in and out of the Fort. Besides the tunnel they made, they found an already existing one, the tunnel built by Fenton Penworthy and his men in 1579 after the building of the Fort. Cornelius explored the tunnel. He found the body of the long-dead Fenton and gave him a proper burial. He also found the info on the Guardians of the Lost Library. He found and kept the book written by Fenton and containing the secret knowledge of the Guardians. Apparently he appointed himself the next Guardian, the first after Fenton.
Cornelius had managed to pipe mountain water into the village. He was a capable leader and managed to improve his settlers' relationships with the Native Americans over time and Cornelius himself married an Native American woman. They had their only known son Clinton Coot in 1830. Throughout the rest of his life Cornelius continued to act as Duckburg's unofficial leader. Even when Calisota and neighbouring California were annexed to the USA in 1848 nothing truly changed in Duckburg. When Cornelius died in 1880, aged 90, he was a very respected family man but over time he has been honored by the citizens of Duckburg as the "father" of the city. The old hunter has gained legendary status in Calisota.
He is the father of Clinton Coot, grandfather of Elvira Coot, (also known as Grandma Duck) and Casey Coot, great-grandfather Quackmore Duck, Daphne Duck, Eider Duck, Cuthbert Coot and Fanny Coot, great-great-grandfather of Donald Duck, Della Duck, Gladstone Gander, Abner Duck, Fethry Duck and Gus Goose, and finally great-great-great-grandfather of Huey, Dewey and Louie.
A statue of Cornelius holding an ear of corn is present in Mickey's Toontown Fair in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Prior to 1996, the land was known as Mickey's Birthdayland/Starland, and was set in the city of Duckburg.
[edit] Clinton Coot
Clinton Coot was first mentioned in Uncle Scrooge Adventures #27 in the story "Guardians of the Lost Library", first published in July, 1994. There he was introduced as the son of Cornelius Coot and the founder of The Junior Woodchucks, inspired by the book given to him by his father.
In The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck it is revealed that he is the father of Grandma Duck. In Don Rosa's Duck Family Tree, Clinton is married to Gertrude Gadwall and their two children are Grandma Duck (Elvira Coot) and Casey Coot. According to Rosa's story Last Sled to Dawson, it was Clinton who sold Fort Duckburg to Scrooge McDuck in 1899.
According to Rosa's timelines, Clinton Coot was born in 1830, and died in 1910, aged 80.[1]
He is named after Bill Clinton, who was running for President of the United States when Don Rosa created the character.[2]
[edit] Gertrude Gadwall
Gertrude Gadwall is the wife of Clinton Coot, mother of Elvira Coot (also known as Grandma Duck) and Casey Coot, grandmother of Quackmore Duck, Daphne Duck, Eider Duck, Cuthbert Coot and Fanny Coot, great-grandmother of Donald Duck, Della Duck, Gladstone Gander, Abner Duck, Fethry Duck, Gus Goose and possibly Kildare Coot, and finally great-great-grandmother of Huey, Dewey and Louie and possibly Dugan Duck.
[edit] Elvira "Grandma Duck" Coot
[edit] Casey Coot
Casey Coot first appeared in "Last Sled to Dawson", first published in June, 1988. He is introduced as an unsuccessful gold prospector and friend of Scrooge McDuck during his years in Klondike. In need of money he sold to the significantly more successful Scrooge McDuck his share in Duckburg, Calisota, USA. His share included "Killmule Hill" which renamed to "Killmotor Hill" comprises the land where Scrooge's money bin stands on. He later appeared in The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Part 8 and Hearts of the Yukon. In The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Part 10 it is revealed that he and Grandma Duck are brother and sister.
In Don Rosa's Duck Family Tree he is featured as a grandson of Cornelius Coot, a son of Clinton Coot and his wife Gertrude Gadwall. According to the tree he was married to Gretchen Grebe and they had at least two kids named Fanny Coot and Cuthbert Coot. He is also the grandfather of Gus Goose. It has been suggested that he is also the grandfather of Kildare Coot although Rosa has not used the latter in his stories or tree.
According to Don Rosa's unofficial timelines, Casey Coot was born in 1860 and died sometimes before 1970.[1]
[edit] Gretchen Grebe
Gretchen Grebe is the wife of Casey Coot, mother of Cuthbert Coot and Fanny Coot and grandmother of Gus Goose. It has also been suggested that she is the grandmother of Kildare Coot.
[edit] Fanny Coot
Fanny Coot was first mentioned in the Donald Duck comic strip of May 9, 1938 where Gus Goose first appeared. She is Gus's mother and Donald Duck's father's cousin. In Don Rosa's Duck Family Tree she is featured as a daughter of Casey Coot and his wife Gretchen Grebe, and so a niece of Elvira Coot, Donald's paternal grandmother. She also had a brother named Cuthbert Coot. Fanny married Luke the Goose and so became the mother of Gus Goose.
[edit] Luke the Goose
Luke the Goose is the father of Gus Goose.
He was originally supposed to be Gladstone Gander's father[citation needed], Daphne Duck's husband and Gus's uncle, but Carl Barks later changed his mind about that matter, making Goosetave Gander (who was originally Gladstone's adoptive father after Luke and Daphne "overate at a free-lunch picnic") Gladstone's biological father and Daphne's husband. Luke the Goose disappeared from the tree.
When Don Rosa created his Duck Family Tree, he used Luke Goose (removing the "the" in his name) and made him the husband of Fanny Coot and Gus Goose's father.
[edit] Cuthbert Coot
Cuthbert Coot was introduced in the story "Webfooted Wrangler," first published in April 1945, as a distant cousin of Donald Duck and a rancher. In Don Rosa's Duck family tree he is included as a member of the Coot Kin and more specifically as son of Casey Coot and his wife Gretchen Grebe, which makes him a nephew of Elvira Coot, a brother of Fanny Coot, a first cousin of Quackmore Duck, and an uncle of both Donald Duck and Gus Goose.
[edit] Other Coots
[edit] Kildare Coot
Kildare Coot was introduced by artist Romano Scarpa as a highly eccentric fourth cousin of Donald Duck in the story "Sgrizzo, il papero più balzano del mondo" (roughly translated as "Kildare Coot, the weirdest duck in the world"), first published on October 25, 1964. Though his exact relationship to Donald remains uncertain his last name suggests he belongs to the Coot Kin and that he is related to Donald through Elvira Coot, Donald's paternal grandmother.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Rosa, Don. "Birth And Death Dates Of The Ducks, Coots And McDucks". Don Rosa on himself. http://stp.ling.uu.se/~starback/dcml/creators/rosa-on-himself.html#dates. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
- ^ Rosa, Don. "The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck - Episode 10". The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck. http://personal.sdf.bellsouth.net/d/a/danshane/scroopage/los294_1.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-25. "I wrote this story during the last presidential election. That explains why Grandma Duck's father is named Clinton Coot."
