Family Ties


March 26, 2008 -- This could make for one odd family reunion: Barack Obama is a distant cousin of Brad Pitt, and Hillary Rodham Clinton is related to Pitt's girlfriend, Angelina Jolie.

Researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society found some remarkable family connections for the three presidential candidates -- Democratic rivals Obama and Clinton, and Republican John McCain.

Clinton, who is of French-Canadian descent on her mother's side, is also a distant cousin of singers Madonna, Celine Dion and Alanis Morissette. Obama, the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, can call six U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush, his cousins. McCain is a sixth cousin of first lady Laura Bush.

"You'd think with all that singing talent in the family she'd be able to carry a tune," Clinton's senior adviser Philippe Reines said. "But now it makes much more sense how she snagged a Grammy."

Clinton won for best spoken word Grammy in 1997 for "It Takes a Village." Obama also won a Grammy in that category this year for the audio version of his book, "The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream."

Genealogist Christopher Child said that while the candidates often focus on pointing out differences between each other, their ancestry shows they are more alike than they think.

"It shows that lots of different people can be related, people you wouldn't necessarily expect," Child said.

Source: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/03/26/clinton-obama-relatives.html


These days everybody is related to obama me sef dey related to Obama his uncle is my father's mother's cousin's son

Nothing interesting or newsy about it. If you think about this, all humans are related to each other tracing out family tree to Adam and Eve.

I read a magazine article today about some people finding out they were related through DNA testing.

They dont understand how, why or where they're linked but just "know" they have some DNA matches from somewhere.


Should this kind of thing be considered a "real" extended family relationship? I dont think so. Its too vague, and its not like people are trying to find their missing dads or something.

[center]Are You My Cousin?[/center]



How the new DNA technology can solve mysteries in your family tree… and help you discover relatives you never knew you had

I started hearing sensational stories about DNA tests: Norwegians who discovered they were really Chinese, for example.


I recently received an e-mail from a cousin of mine out on Long Island—we’ll call him Harry—who was writing to invite me to a family reunion. It was an offer I couldn’t resist, even though, as family reunions go, this one is a bit unusual. For one thing, Harry and I have never met. I didn’t even know he existed before he e-mailed me. In fact, though I know for certain that he and I are related, I don’t know exactly how. Neither does he. For that matter, the entire family gathering is composed of people who know we are related, but little else. The guest list isn’t set—actually, it’s growing all the time—but that’s okay, because we don’t have to rent a space, or figure out how much potato salad to make. This reunion, you see, is happening online. It’s virtual. And perpetual.

Welcome to the astonishing, edifying, and sometimes perplexing world of tracing your roots using DNA.


http://www.aarpmagazine.org/family/genetic_genealogy.html

@Tpia thanks for that piece of information