Comments about ‘Utah-based Ancestry.com finds Obama could be descended from African slave’

SO WHAT??

He's got a slave among his ancestors. Perhaps you have a criminal among yours. Which is worse?

Wow, a bit touchy huh? I didn't see anything where they even said this was bad. Why do you assume it must be "worse" than something else? I think the point is that it's an interesting find that reveals a more complicated attitude towards race relations than a traditional history class might teach.

Given Obama's penchant for secrecy about his birth, his grades, his associates, and his mentors, why is this important?

This may be purely coincidental, but it sure is being played as part of Obama's "Look! A squirrel...." campaign seeking to generate daily talking points that will distract from the real issues.

Obama's economic policies are making our situation worse, and spending us into an irreversible debtor status. A form of economic slavery, one could say. He is gutting our national defense and multiplying the dependency class so they will vote for him, their Messiah.

At this point his lineage is irrelevant, his policies are what matter and they are being ignored despite their dreadful harm.

who cares?? Does the fact that someone in his mothers line was a slave justify 16 trillion in debt and 8.5% unemployment?????

@patriot: Did I miss where George W. Bush had slave lineage?

He could be related? It doesn’t work that way in real professional genealogy research. Thinking you’re connected doesn’t make it so, even with a 44 page almost-completely-documented genealogy. Every day we’re asked to trace people’s ancestry to prove a relationship so they’ll qualify for federal or social benefit. Unfortunately, wanting something Grandma told you was so, or because you have high cheeks bones, doesn't make it true. Almost so, doesn’t put you in the winner’s circle, or make you an Indian Princess who came over on the Mayflower with Christopher Columbus.

In professional genealogy research, it is all about the evidence and Ancestry.com has said this vital proof isn't there to establish the all-important link. This declaration of Obama’s maternal lineage is a classic example of Paparazzi Genealogy with a dash of good old propaganda thrown-in for news hype. As professionals, I'm sure Ancestry is doing all they can to find records to connect the dots. In the meantime, it is what it is: a great case study for the professional genealogy world.

Always interesting in the land where our state bird is the California Seagull that the leading press reports something from Ancestry.com (which is up for bids in the Capitalist Casinos) and in the context of the 2012 Presidential campaign. If anything this notation of slavery on the "white side" of the family really demonstrates how we truly are interrelated. Hope and Forward seem to capture what might make us move forward, together.

If its true, it think its a fascinating history, Think of it, some 11 generations later America's first documented black slave has a descendant that becomes President of the United States of America. The first black president.

Patriot, do you always have to find something negative about every story about Obama?? And, don't most of the problems you cite trace back to his predecessor????

So nothing was proved?

So, Mary E. Petty says that "It doesn’t work that way in real professional genealogy research."

Well Ms. Petty, the article did not say that the President is definitely a descendent of an African slave. What it did say is that he "could be" a descendent of an African slave, which is the main point of this article.

You must have missed the part where the article said that "The Ancestry dot com findings make for a tantalizing tale that wasn't uncommon in early colonial Virginia, and the team probably got it right, [Elizabeth Shown} Mills said. 'They did the best job possible', said Mills, who reviewed the findings at Ancestry dot com's request."

Also please note the article also stated, Elizabeth Shown Mills, is a former president of the American Society of Genealogists but maybe that former position is not "professional" enough for your appetite.

@ VST – quoting from my own comments above (MEP): "In professional genealogy research, it is all about the evidence and Ancestry.com has said this vital proof isn't there to establish the all-important link."

Elizabeth Shown Mills statements of "the team probably got it right” and “They did the best job possible" are great professional opinions. I highly respect and admire her and know the value of her work and contribution to genealogy. But, without the resolution of the missing link in this matrilineal lineage, that is all these statements are... expert opinions.

Such opinions might hold some weight in a court of law Forensic Genealogy Case for millions of dollars, but they won’t get you in a lineage society, or make you Native American, or related to the Queen of England, just because your last name is Stuart. For that you have to have evidence. Documented, sourced, cited, and reproducible!

Like I said before, this piece of Paparazzi Genealogy will make a great case study for the professional genealogy world.

@DN Subscriber: it must be kind of hard living with such conspiracy theories all the time. You act as if this research was paid for by the Obama campaign. He's the president. He's got an interesting lineage. They are professional genealogists. It's not that hard to see how these things came together. I'm pretty sure his economic policy has nothing to do with it.

I almost had the correct numbers in last weeks lottery. I wonder when my check will arrive?

Mary, you completely keep missing the point.

The total essence of this article is about the possibility that the President of the United States COULD BE a descendent of an African slave. Nothing in the article was trying to infer that this is PROOF-POSITIVE that he actually is a descendent of a slave. No one cares about taking this before a court of law or making more out of it than what it actually is.

This is a fascinating story from the standpoint that there is the possibility that a sitting President of the United States could very well be a descendent of an African slave – period. It is nothing more – nothing less.

VST:

I have appreciated your comments and insights, even though we come from different perspectives. As a professional genealogist who is very involved in the professionalization of genealogy and getting the truth about the family tree of man into the public domain, I see the elements of this article as a part of a wider genealogical discussion. My comments reflect that professional interest and are an abbreviation of what I have written previously in greater detail.

It appears to me your focus is on the possibility and ramification of this current research, while I am focused on the issues that are at the core of professional genealogy. I do wish we could talk in-depth as I agree that this is a most fascinating story about presidential genealogical possibilities, but unfortunately, we are limited to 200 words in this forum. I am looking forward to the professional genealogy case study for that in-depth conversation. The possibilities and ramifications for truth derived from that investigation and review are most intriguing.