Coot Kin
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.
Coot Kin members featured in Don Rosa's Duck Family Tree
Cornelius Coot
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]
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 Thelma 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.
Elvira "Grandma Duck" Coot
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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
Other Coots
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. It has been suggested[by whom?] that his father could be a sibling of Cuthbert Coot and Fanny Coot. This would make him a grandson of Casey Coot and his wife Gretchen Grebe, Elvira's brother and sister-in-law respectively.
References
- ^ a b Rosa, Don. "Birth And Death Dates Of The Ducks, Coots And McDucks". Don Rosa on himself. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
- ^ Rosa, Don. "The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck - Episode 10". The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
I wrote this story during the last presidential election. That explains why Grandma Duck's father is named Clinton Coot.