Meet Your Cousin, the First Lady: DNA gives new insights into Michelle Obama's roots

The New York Times ^ | 17 Jun 2012 | Rachel L Swarns

[Cronos]

Joan Tribble held tightly to her cane as she ventured into the overgrown cemetery where her people were buried. There lay the pioneers who once populated north Georgia’s rugged frontier, where striving white men planted corn and cotton, fought for the Confederacy and owned slaves

The settlers interred here were mostly forgotten over the decades as their progeny scattered across the South, embracing unassuming lives. But one line of her family took another path, heading north on a tumultuous, winding journey that ultimately led to the White House

The white men and women buried here are the forebears of Mrs. Tribble, a retired bookkeeper who delights in her two grandchildren and her Sunday church mornings. They are also ancestors of Michelle Obama, the first lady.

...The bloodlines of Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Tribble extend back to a 200-acre farm that was not far from here. One of their common ancestors was Henry Wells Shields, Mrs. Tribble’s great-great-grandfather. He was a farmer and a family man who grew cotton, Indian corn and sweet potatoes. He owned Mrs. Obama’s maternal great-great-great-grandmother, Melvinia Shields, who was about 8 years old when she arrived on his farm sometime around 1852.

The DNA tests and research indicate that one of his sons, Charles Marion Shields, is the likely father of Melvinia’s son Dolphus, who was born around 1860. Dolphus T. Shields was the first lady’s maternal great-great-grandfather.

Melvinia was a teenager, perhaps around 15, when she gave birth to her biracial son. Charles was about 20.

..Contemporary America emerged from that multiracial stew, a nation peopled by the heirs of that agonizing time who struggled and strived with precious little knowledge of their own origins. By 1890, census takers counted 1.1 million Americans of mixed ancestry.

All four of Mrs. Obama’s grandparents had multiracial forebears.

[mountainlion]

One theory says Malcom X. The Russians nave nothing to hold over our heads but 0 is a different story.

[Ditter]

My brother delved back into our family history recently. My paternal grandfathers side, the side we knew came out of Arkansas and Tennessee but knew nothing before that. It seems they were in the Isle of Wight Virginia in the 1650’s WOW!

Our earliest ancestor had his ear mutilated by the Presbyterians. Who knew Presbyterians were vicious back then and what did my ancestor do to provoke them? I found that in some collected data from William and Mary College. I am still chuckling over that. :D

[mountainlion]

One theory says Malcolm X. The Russians nave nothing to hold over our heads but 0 is a different story.

[Ditter]

As far as I can tell I received nothing from the labor of the slaves my family owned. No land, no money not even the wooden clock.

[RegulatorCountry]

Kashyyyk.

[Ditter]

Everytime I see a picture of Mooche’s face I am reminded of my mother in laws house keeper of many years. They had to have come from the same tribe. Same height, same body type, same high cheekbones!

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Cronos. The bloodlines of Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Tribble... Star Trek ping! To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[RegulatorCountry]

You go back that far into the colonial era and you encounter persecution of “dissenters,” which were those Christians who did not profess to belong to the Church Of England, variously known as Anglican or Episcopalian.

These dissenters, in Virginia at least, were first and foremost Presbyterian, followed by Baptists, Quakers, and then a plethora of Continental European groups such as Lutheran, Huguenot, on down to fairly obscure such as Dunkards.

The dissenters were treated poorly by the establishment, there were rebellions and conflicts that are now poorly understood by most if they're even aware at all, but the seeds for the founding of our nation were planted in those conflicts. King George and others referred to our Revolution as the Presbyterian Rebellion. Scotch-Irish for the most part, forced west into the Shenandoah Valley and beyond due to this persecution.

I'd suggest that the mutilation you encountered spun off of this, especially since the religion of the perpetrator was deemed noteworthy. Your ancestor Very likely professed the established state religion, Anglican. His attacker did not, and likely suffered for it. I'd suggest retaliation of some sort.

In other words, there is quite likely much more to that story, imho, if you care to pursue it. It may not reflect well upon your ancestor. My attitude is, it's history, I'll be thankful toward every one of those ancestors I discover regardless of whether or not they had a highly favorable reputation. Some will, some won't, but without them all, there would be no “you.”

One of my most illustrious ancestors was nearby the area of which you speak. Robert “King” Carter, the wealthiest man in all the colonies at that time, rivalled only by the Rennselaers of New York. I descend through his second wife Elizabeth Landon. Landon Carter was my fourth great grandfather, fought in the revolution and achieved a level of authority while so doing, opened a land office in the western reaches of North Carolina distributing land grants to veterans of the Revolution and other settlers of what soon became Tennessee.

Some underhandedness there, his legacy was not all squeaky clean. Let's just say he saw an opportunity and took advantage to become rather well off. Too bad none of it filtered down to me, lol, other than a fairly grand family history for just one of my many lines, most of which would be best described as humble.

It's a fascinating pursuit, and you'll learn some history along the way that unfortunately gets short shrift these days,

[Colorado Cowgirl]

You are correct, Frank Marshall Davis is his dad. Dunham and Davis were playing hide the pickle. Barack Obama build his political career upon a fairy tale of “My father was from Kenya, he grew up herding goats”. He has been misdirecting Americans away from a deeply disturbing family background and a Marxist political foundation, like all leftist!

[Anvilhead]

We are conservatives. We are only allied with republicans. Republicans are bending over backwards to demonstrate the need for a third party.

[ruesrose]

Oh-Oh, maybe she is no longer proud to be an American.

[Ditter]

All of my ancestors, on all sides, were here early. So early that I have no idea when or how they arrived. On my mothers side, her mother and father's families, were in Texas by the late 1820’s. People like that don't leave many tracks, but I do know that her maternal side fought in the American Revolution (on the American side). There are records of them in both North Carolina and South Carolina I believe.

[Anvilhead]

AWESOME!

[hotshu]

I wonder how the wookie feels about being 1/16 honkie?

[Col Freeper]

The white men and women buried here are the forebears of Mrs. Tribble, a retired bookkeeper who delights in her two grandchildren and her Sunday church mornings. They are also ancestors of Michelle Obama, the first lady.

Little did they know that they would be the ancestors of one of the two biggest grifters ever to reside in the Whitehouse!

[RegulatorCountry]

Their surname, occupation, the sort of places they settled along the way all can point to origin. Who they migrated with can be a major clue.

If it was central NC or upstaTe SC, I’d suggest Jamestown first for English surnames, followed by Maryland especially if they were tobacco planters. German, Swiss surnames could have come down from PA, look around Bucks County, Easton, etc., or possibly New Bern in coastal NC. French, back to VA and Manakintowne which later became Richmond, various ports of entry. I suppose Charleston is a possibility too, but I’ve never encountered that with any of mine, enter at Charleston means staying Low Country in my exposure, not heading inland.

[Oztrich Boy]

‘Obama is related to Alexander the Great’ /s

Bearach Ossain O'Bama is related to Brian Boru, High King of Ireland (all Irish claim to be)

[Vinnie]

LOL

[Ditter]

The family of my mothers mother first showed up in records in 1700’s Virginia. I can't come up with the city name right now I'd have to find my notes. I can trace this family fairly well to Texas in the late 1820’s. The thing that makes me dizzy is they use the same names over again. There was an Elijah and an Elisha Issacks (twins). Then another set of twins with the same names. On my mother's father's side so many were named Stephen Matlock. I remember being so confused that I ended up putting it all away. I am sure it was my fault for not being more organized.