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Susan Walsh / AP file
President Barack Obama walks from Marine One after returning to the White House on the South Lawn in Washington, DC, on July 27, 2012.
CHICAGO -- A family history website claims it has linked President Barack Obama to the first documented African slave in the American colonies.
Research by Ancestry.com from early Virginia records and DNA analysis shows Obama is the 11th great-grandson of John Punch, an indentured servant in Colonial Virginia who became enslaved for life after trying to escape in 1640, according to the website.
The findings were released about 100 days out from the presidential election. Obama's campaign headquarters are based in Chicago.
"Remarkably, the connection was made through President Obama's Caucasian mother's side of the family," the site said in a statement.
View NBCChicago.com's story on Ancestry.com claims
Ancestry.com genealogists researched Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, and discovered her land-owner ancestors descended from Punch. According to the site, Punch had children with a white woman who passed her free status to her children, who went on to become successful land owners in Colonial Virginia.
"Two of the most historically significant African Americans in the history of our country are amazingly directly related," said Ancestry.com genealogist Joseph Shumway in a statement. "John Punch was more than likely the genesis of legalized slavery in America. But after centuries of suffering, the Civil War, and decades of civil rights efforts, his 11th great-grandson became the leader of the free world and the ultimate realization of the American Dream."
Ancestry.com called on a past Board for Certification of Genealogists president to perform a third-party review of the research.
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"A careful consideration of the evidence convinces me that the Y-DNA evidence of African origin is indisputable," said Elizabeth Shown Mills in a statement, "and the surviving paper trail points solely to John Punch as the logical candidate."
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Leave a Comment:
So how exactly did they get the DNA of all those Obama predecessors? I calling total BS on this one. I have trouble going back a few generations of my family in records (only about 120 years back), yet they can find a correlation going back 11 generations by paperwork?
Seriously, where did all this supposed "DNA" come from? Give me a break...
the only imposters i see here are the people claiming to love america and freedom, but would be the first to exclude anyone who does not look like them from partaking in that same freedom and love of country. my american dream is for one day, all of you rebel flag flying closet racist to all die off so this country can realize it's true potential ....and yes the civil war was all about slavery, and rich southern land owners not wanting to ever give up all that free labor they got for hundreds of years. just like now, if all the 1%'ers could do away with minimum wage they would, cause they only care about themselves and their money ...not america ,or any of you broke racist dummies whom they pitch their race baiting rhetoric too.....go to hell, to all of you racist pigs!! you're the ones that dont belong here! and god bless this free country that i love ....the u. s. of america!!!! obama 2012
Pulling the race card is so irrelevant in this day and age. The people who claim to be victim of "racism" are usually racists themselves. Also, our country has gone so downhill and why do you think that is? Because we have become more conservative? No, because liberals have an everything goes mentality. So before you claim people are unhappy because we have a black president and we're all racists, perhaps you should consider how much of a failure said "black president" has been. Maybe that's why people are unhappy.
F.Holloway, You do realize that those evil top 5% already pay 95% of the taxes in this country, right? They are also the ones who own most small businesses in this country.
actually the civil war was NOT all about slavery. ONly a part of the issues. F. Holloway, maybe you should take a chill pill. Your rant was endless and was really quite pointless.
Just goes to show you, if you go back far enough, we are all related in one way or another. What a great story.
Funny how the Media Elite can "figure out" who is related to the "First Slave" yet can not figure out a Forged Birth Certificate. First of all, Slavery been around thousands of years while Obama's released BC in April 2011 was a simple Adobe Print job. Media Elite so dumb to know a relation to an ancient slave yet so dumb to figure a simple forged document? Amazing what the Media Elite can conviently "figure out" while ignore the facts of much simpler things
Noticed no mention of the DNA of Obama's Paternal side as that would have to come from Frank Marshall Davis.
Liberals are like Ostrich. They love to bury their heads in the sand when things get difficult and pretend all is well. After hiding they want to add another 50 million dollar program to protect the bird from harm while it's hiding in plain sight. More government help and spending will solve all our problems. Please tell me where I have made error in writing instead of arguing content. Oh that's right bcs you have no real arguments except we are dumb. So original
In Louisiana, they call someone who is part white and part black "high yellow" in reference to their light tan tone. In Obama's case, they just call him yellow.
It's sort of amazing how having a black President stirred up so much deep seated animosity in people.
Its all because he's Black... You nailed it.... Therefore forget thae fact that he and his policies have been complete failures.. No need to focvus on that since he's black and we should all be happy with that fact alone...
You know Morgan Freeman was asked, what do you think of the first black president? His reply was, I don't know, I will tell you when we get one. He was refering to the fact he is mixed race.
We can blame Morgan Freeman for this one for sure. The first "not black enough" president just became a little blacker.
Pandering, pandering, pandering. I wonder why they didn't list a direct lineage, mother's father's father, etc. 14 names or so would not have taken to long to write. The lineage of 10 names in my family tree makes my family American before 1760.
Unless, of course, it's another last minute effort to gain votes from another select group of Americans, and those names can not be proven real.
So now they can find the fathers of the kids in Baltimore Md. and make them pay child support.And get some people off welfare.
ROMNEY AND ? 2012
LOL Ritter !! Heard the height of confusion is father's day in Baltimore (or was it D C) ?
And iin other breaking news, Ancestry.com genealogist Joseph Shumway is discovered to be a blood relation of TV celebrity Gordon Shumway...
Yawn... Who cares
@ some befuddledperson your name fits you ...i love when ignorant people talk about slavery as if it were just a fact of life and their are no residual effects of slavery today on the African American community...yes technically slavery ended in 1865. but lets not forget jim crow , the kkk, segregation, the 3/5 rule , the termoil otf the civil rights movement , and not getting the right to vote until 1968. so by my calculations thats 103yrs after slavery "ended"
know your history before you try to defend the hatred that has benn purpotrated to just one group of minorities in this country. you should be ashamed to even think that something like slavery is something you can just "GET OVER" ...YOU ARE TRULY BEFUDDLED.......SMH ....LEARN YOUR HISTORY
Racism is not defined as white vs the rest as you seem to think Holloway. Until some of you on this earth take reigns on your part in the racist cycle then it can not end. I don't hate any race creed or culture, I hate those who perpetuate the cycle like your doing unwittingly.
You also help prove my earlier points...the civil war was not about slavery like you learned in grade school
Thats right you should learn your history......I find it funny how everytime someone talks about race and slavery its always the bad white man and what he did to the black man without knowing the true history of events.....the fact that the slaves that where brought to this country where captured and sold by thier own country men and not by the white man.....in fact everytime someone wants to talk about how bad the white man was for enslaving your ancestors you tend to forget that your ancestors where enskaved by thier own kind....also kindly forgetting that it was your ancestors who did some enslaving and selling of thier own....see if you actually did know your history you would know that your ancestors and our ancestors arent really all that different.......The fact is the white man never left the docks in Africa, beyond what Alex Haley whould like you to believe the white man did not go running through the jungle trapping your ancestors, your ancestors trapped, enslaved and sold thier enemies and thier perceived enemies and sold them to the white man to get the competition out of the country......I am so sick and tired of constantly hearing this uneducated dribble adn talk aobut what my ancestors did (whom by they way werent even in this country yet at the time) when in fact it was your own ancestors that enslaved and sold you....shut up already and get over it......we will never move forward until people stop looking backwards
sdog... time for a history lesson for you. In africa, slavery was meant to pay off debt and as soon as it was done, the slaves could leave and live a normal life. at what point did american slave owners say "ok your debt is paid, feel free to go live a normal life?" the difference between what was done in africa and what was done in america is the voluntary part. And what about raising children in slavery? That did not happen in Africa. Please don't white-wash what happened to African-Americans. It was cruel and it went on entirely too long because it was not voluntary for slaves. They did not have the option to go back to Africa or to be with their families to to pay off a debt. It was not voluntary.
F. Holloway go learn history for yourself. Slavery has been widespread world wide long before there ever was an America and all races have been victims of slavery. Fact-blacks were selling blacks into slavery before there ever was an America. Look it up for yourself and while your at it check into indentured servitude, a nicer word for slavery.
Mindyabusiness.......History lesson for you.....I've actually been to Africa....Stood in Elmyra Castle in Elmyra, Ghana...the hub of the slave trade, the place where over 90% of all slaves that where brought to this country passed through, located in a country that listed slaves as its main export for over 200 years. I'm not white-washing anything, go there sometime and learn what really occured. The rival tribes trapped thier enemies and sold them into slavery to get rid of them, plain and simple.
Impossible. He's Kenyan Indonesian Alpha Centurian. Ask Beck.
Gangus, a deep recession is NOT the time for austerity. We need our social safety net now more than ever. If you want a tax reduction, ask the rich old lady next door to give up her social security check and medicare. That's where most of your taxes are going. And if you want a fair wage, ask Mitt and his friends to stop lining their pockets with all the spoils of your labor and share the wealth.
And then, put a question mark at the end of your second to last sentence so we can understand when you're asking a question.
Children under 18 were all indentured servants since beginning of time - cry me an "Old Man River". Only in the last 50 years minors are protected in the US.
Like i give a S***
Oh...really? And where else would you find this "new" glorious news about the Prez? Why...right here...on MSNBC...what a shock. And so what? Someone looking for the pity vote?
Who cares, I am white and some of my ancestry were slaves. I am not whining about it!
I don't understand why some people think the President is an imposter? What does he have to do to convince one that he is an American.....Change his skin colour?
No, actually he should stop invoking his socialism on this country!!
People who continue to insist President Obama is "not an American" should take this into consideration. His ancestry goes way back to the start of this nation. So he is American, after all.
Whether people agree or disagree with his politics, they need to stop this foolish claim that he is "not a citizen."
Boy, are you gullible. Are you in the market for a nice bridge? I have one in Brooklyn, real cheap.
Sure, he is a "citizen", afterall, his father is Frank Marshall Davis. To bad his mother and Step Father officially changed his citizenship from AMerican to Indonesian at age 10. But no known official documents him changing back from Indonesian to American. Nice to know we have an Indonesian Citizen illegally occupying the Oval Office
Gee since he can't win on his record is the media going after the pity factor, 180 yrs ago one of my relatives got robbed in africa, and when they pay my family back then we can pay obama your welfare momma back.
1 Thing we can all agree on and that is obama your welfare mommma is an idiot !!!
He wants a second term, what a joke, how about we fill the titanic up with passengers and give it another shot at crossing the ocean, it hit an iceburg and our economy was hit by an idiot, inexperienced unprepared over his head obama your welfare momma
according to the bible, we are all the descendants of Adam and Eve (if you believe that nonsense). And people think Kevin Bacon is "connected"...
Well, well. Just before the election, somebody connects Obama to the very first slave to hit American shores. Coincidence? How convenient!
Every election cycle, we hear that some candidate or other is a 14th cousin of Queen Elizabeth or the ninth great-nephew of a founding father. So what?
OH MY GOD! REALLY??? That is so amazing....AND conveniently timed. <sarcasm> What a joke!
And we are supposed to care about this revelation, why!!!!!!