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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: genealogy

genealogy stories: 8 news summaries

 Meet Michelle Obama's 
 White 4th Cousin 

First Lady and Debbie Shields share great, great-grandfather

Nov 9, 09 1:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Some long-lost relatives of Michelle Obama have recently been identified, and they’re blond and blue-eyed. First a genealogist made headlines with the news that the first lady's great, great-grandmother was a slave from George named Melvinia. Inside Edition now reports on tonight's show that Melvinia was impregnated at 15... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Michelle Obama • genealogy • relatives • Melvinia • Debbie Shields

(Newser) - President Obama’s trip to Germany is a bit of a homecoming for him, according to a Utah-based genealogy group. Ancestry.com’s researchers traced his family tree back to his eighth great-grandfather on his mother’s side and found a German ancestor, after tracing , the Salt Lake Tribune... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Germany • genealogy • ancestry • President Obama

DNA Tests Solve Man's 26-Year Search for His Dad

Testing helped adopted man discover his birth father through his surname

May 2, 09 10:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Michigan man's decades-long search for his biological father was fulfilled with an assist from DNA-based genealogy tests, the Wall Street Journal reports. Richard Hill—who didn't know he was adopted until his adoptive father revealed the truth from his deathbed—discovered his birth mother's identity fairly easily but hit... More »

MORE ABOUT:
adoption • genetic testing • DNA • family • genealogy

 Posh
 Related
 to Marx
 Comrade

Revolutionary who fled to England is Victoria Beckham's great-great-great-grandfather

Aug 6, 08 11:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Victoria Beckham’s girl-power roots go a lot further back than her Spice Girls days: The pop icon is the great-great-great-granddaughter of a 19th-century communist who worked with Karl Marx, Reuters reports. A German historian discovered the link between Posh and revolutionary Carl Heinrich Pfaender who was chummy with Marx... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Victoria Beckham • celebrity • Communism • genealogy • Karl Marx

Aussie PM
Gains Cachet From Thieving Ancestors

Preteen convict adorns Rudd's family tree

Jul 31, 08 5:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Australia’s history as a penal colony is no laughing matter, but some Aussies have come to appreciate, and even relish, their hardscrabble beginnings. Case in point: PM Kevin Rudd, whose family tree includes ancestors convicted of stealing sugar (in 1801) and underwear (in 1788). The release of some details... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Australia • convict • Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints • Kevin Rudd • genealogy • penal colony • ancestry

Candidates' Family Trees Have Far-Flung Limbs

Jolie-Pitt family could be split by ties to Clinton, Obama, genealogist finds

Mar 25, 08 5:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt household might have trouble choosing a Democratic candidate: It turns out Barack Obama is a distant cousin of Pitt’s and Hillary Clinton is a relative of Jolie’s. The author of a new genealogical survey cautions voters not to be too swayed—but it seems... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • John McCain • Angelina Jolie • Brad Pitt • Lyndon Johnson • Laura Bush • George HW Bush • Gerald Ford • genealogy • George W. Bush

'McCain the Bruce' Claims are Baloney

Genealogists ridicule senator's alleged links to Scottish king

Mar 21, 08 6:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain might be a sure thing to be crowned the GOP nominee, but experts say claims that his family is related to a Scottish king are pure fiction. McCain wrote in a 1999 memoir that his great-aunt was descended from Robert the Bruce, who reclaimed Scottish independence in 1314.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
John McCain • Scotland • royalty • historian • genealogy • Robert the Bruce

Genealogy Site Wants to Swab Your Cheek

New service will allow members to submit DNA samples for comparison

Oct 23, 07 12:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Now even dead ancestors can join the social networking craze. Their descendants, today’s consumers, can submit cheek swabs to genetics company GeneTree, which compares the DNA to its database and creates an interactive digital family tree. Users can post videos, photos, and link up with other members of their... More »

MORE ABOUT:
social networking • user generated content • genes • gene pool • DNA database • genealogy

8 Stories


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