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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: ancestry

ancestry stories: 8 news summaries

 First Lady's 
 Roots Linked 
 to Slave Girl 

Genealogist fills in gaps of her lineage

Oct 7, 09 5:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Michelle Obama can trace her lineage to a female slave sold as a young girl from a South Carolina plantation and sent to Georgia. As a teenager, Melvinia Shields became impregnated by a white man, possibly her master, and those two are the great-great-great grandparents of Michelle. A genealogist working... More »

MORE ABOUT:
African Americans • Michelle Obama • segregation • slavery • ancestry

Gates, Crowley Share Irish Ancestor

Better make that
White House beer
a Guinness

Jul 29, 09 9:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - The beer James Crowley and Henry Louis Gates have with the president should be a Guinness if genetics are anything to go by, Irish Central reports. The Harvard professor and the Cambridge cop—along with about 3 million other people—are distant cousins with shared Irish heritage, both descended from... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ireland • Irish • Irish Americans • ancestry • Henry Louis Gates Jr • James Crowley

(Newser) - President Obama today warned Africans that corruption and strong-arm tactics must be overcome if the continent is to see prosperity, and he promised US support to nations on the right path, Politico reports. “America will be with you,” Obama said in Ghana. “As a partner. As a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Africa • democracy • United States • corruption • Ghana • ancestry • President Obama • state visit

(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

(Newser) - Moneygall, Ireland, has two pubs, 298 people, and happens to be the birthplace of Barack Obama’s great-great-great-grandfather, the Los Angeles Times reports. The fact is not lost on the quaint hamlet, where one pub flies an American flag and the plumbing supply company uses the president’s face in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Moneygall • Ireland • ancestry • President Obama • family tree

Americans Use DNA Tests 
to Trace African Roots

Obama's rise could accelerate trend



Feb 18, 09 12:01 PM CST
(Newser) - As a kid, Isaiah Washington only knew Africans as the “natives running around with bones in their noses” on TV, “trying to put Tarzan in a pot.” Now, the former Grey’s Anatomy actor is chieftain of a village in Sierra Leone, thanks to a DNA... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Africa • African Americans • DNA • Isaiah Washington • ancestry • geneology

Who's Your Daddy? DNA Tests May Shock You

DNA tests can lead to unpleasant discoveries

Jan 18, 09 4:34 PM CST
(Newser) - A simple DNA test is enough to rend a family apart, the Los Angeles Times reports. As more people take genetic tests to uncover medical data or trace family roots, more are discovering that their biological father is someone else. It's an old issue in medicine—blood types, after all,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ethics • genetic testing • genetic disorders • ancestry • paternity

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

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