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Article: White slave-owner roots of Michelle Obama unearthed
- Article from:
- The Irish Times
- Article date:
- October 9, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Irish Times. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WHEN HE drew up his will in 1850, the owner of First Lady
Michelle Obama's great-great-great-grandmother Melvinia valued the
six-year-old slave girl at $475.
Mrs Obama's ancestry, as researched by genealogist Megan
Smolenyak and the New York Times, shows again the extraordinary
mixed-race legacy of the United States.
In March 2008, then presidential candidate Barack Obama referred
to his wife's heritage. "I am married to a black American who
carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners," he said.
But until yesterday, when the New York Timespublished its
research, the presence of a white man in Michelle Obama's family
tree was merely a family rumour.
Ms Smolenyak is the genealogist ...