One of Don Rosa’s most notorious illustrations is the Duck Family Tree, a genealogical representation of Donald Duck’s family. Being one of the most influential writers/artists to have contributed to the development of the mythology surrounding the legendary Scrooge McDuck and his relatives, Rosa added more than a few ducks to the tree. Of course, the one who really planted the seed and helped it grow to a massive size was Carl Barks.
Their stories are classics—and you can take a look at our reading order for the Fantagraphics collection to see if you missed some of them—and took us through time and around the world more than once. During the small and big adventures of Donald, Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, we met more Ducks, MacDucks, Coots, Gooses, and Ganders.
But who are all those characters who are represented in the famous “Duck Family Tree”?
Who’s on the Duck’s Family Tree?
Donald Duck is a creation of Dick Lundy and Walt Disney who made his first appearance in 1931 in the storybook The Adventures of Mickey Mouse—by name only. In fact, Donald really entered the scene three years later in the 1934 animated short The Wise Little Hen. He is known for sporting his famous sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie, but also for his short temper and his distinctive voice (originally performed by Clarence Nash for 50 years). Donald was a hit from the start, kids loved him, and this success led to a lot of apparitions and developments, on the screen and the pages of comics—he also made his first appearance in a comic strip in 1934 in the Silly Symphony comic strip and quickly became one of the main characters of the strip drawn by Al Taliaferro.
After a while, Donald was joined by members of his family, his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, but also his cousin Gus Goose, grandmother Elvira Coot, and new rival girlfriends Donna and Daisy Duck. The tree started to grow.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Al Taliaferro and Carl Barks—who worked on the animated cartoon Donald’s Nephews while Taliaferro who had the original idea was drawing the strip. The famous triplets who finished each other’s sentences first appeared in Silly Symphonies featuring Donald Duck Sunday newspaper strip in 1937. Huey, Dewey, and Louie are the sons of Donald’s sister Della Duck who were visited their uncle while their father was at the hospital. They were not supposed to stay long, but they stayed in Duckburg. There, they famously became proud members of the Junior Woodchuck and went on a lot of adventures with Unca Donald and Unca Scrooge!
Scrooge McDuck is now a more famous duck than his daughter’s son, but he started his adventures more discreetly in the pages of Four Color #178, in the story “Christmas on Bear Mountain” by Carl Barks (published 1947). He is the richest duck in the world, and he stays rich by always making a benefit and never spending a lot—he is known for his frugality and for underpaying his own nephew.
With his money now “safely” stored in his iconic Money Bin in Duckburg, Scrooge McDuck always wants to make more, but he didn’t start rich. On the contrary, he started by polishing and shining boots in his native Glasgow and, after someone paid him with a US dime (quite useless in Scotland), he famously vows to never be taken advantage of again. What followed is an epic story told in the now-classic comic book series The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, written and drawn by Don Rosa. A must-read.
In the family tree, Scrooge McDuck is next to his two sisters, Matilda and Hortense (the mother of Donald and Della, and wife of Quackmore Duck). They are the last representatives of the Clan McDuck, full of Scottish Ducks like Sir Eider McDuck, Sir Roast McDuck, Sir Stuft McDuck, and more!
Elvira Duck (aka “Grandma Duck”) is from the other side of the tree, the one that originated with Cornelius Coot, the historical hero who’s known as Duckburg’s founder. Grandma Duck is the mother of Eider, Daphne, and Quackmore Duck—Donald’s father. She is a good influence on Huey, Dewey, and Louie whom she helped raise. She also was the main caretaker of Donald when he was a child.
Gladstone Gander is Donald’s cousin and he is his total opposite. Gladstone possesses exceptionally good luck, unlike Donald. As a result, everything also turns good in his favor, which makes him quite a lazy duck. Obviously, Donald hates him, and with Gladstone being a rival of his for the affection of Daisy Duck, this will not change. Gladstone is the son of Goostave Gander and Daphne Duck—at one point in time, it was established that he was the son of Luke the Goose and Daphne Duck who died by overeating at a free-lunch picnic, and was subsequently adopted by Matilda McDuck and Goosetave Gander. Carl Barks who created the character decided to delete that part of the story. Anyway, Scrooge McDuck is his mother’s brother’s brother-in-law, as he put it. Also, Gladstone is not the only lucky duck, as his nephew Shamrock Gladstone is quite lucky himself—do not confuse him with Gladstone’s con artist cousin, Disraeli (from the other side of the family). And finally, Grandma Duck is obviously his grandma.
Daisy Duck is not a member of the same Duck family as Donald. Well, almost, as Daisy’s brother had married Donald’s twin sister, Della Duck. As a result, she’s the aunt of Huey, Dewey, and Louie—they are not the only triplets connected to Daisy as she’s also the aunt of April, May, and June (their link to the rest of the family is unknown). But Daisy is mostly known for her relationship with Donald.
Gus Goose is a member of the extended family, the son of Luke the Goose and Fanny Coot, Grandma Duck’s niece. In fact, he is living and working on Grandma’s farm, despite being quite inefficient and always wanting to eat. He is also Grandma’s chauffeur.
Gyro Gearloose is not a member of the Duck family and doesn’t have a place on the family tree, but he is considered to be a friend of the family anyway (that’s where Don Rosa put him “on the tree”). Simply put, Gyro is Duckburg’s most genius inventor and a lot of his inventions put Scrooge, Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie in complicated situations.
