The First Lady's roots are a fascinating glimpse into the challenges (and rewards) of African-American genealogy and reconstructing a past rooted in slavery. They present a story both ordinary and amazing, with it's end (so far) in the White House.
The NY Times, who pieced together the family tree with the aid of Megan Smolenyak, a professional genealogist, is hoping to fill in the blanks. And that's where you can help.
Anything you can add? The NY Times wants to hear from you.
Have a look at Michelle Obama's family tree, and see if you think you might have information on the places, people, and events that mark her heritage, both African American and Caucasian. The family tree is interactive...hovering over an item will pop-up additional information, and often has links to images of original documents. The Times will review any new information submitted to them, for possible inclusion in a future update to Ms. Obama's family history.
Perhaps you can add to this wonderful piece of work.
Visit the main page of Free Genealogy Tools for more, umm, free genealogical tools.
And don't forget to also check for your family history at Ancestry.com and NewspaperArchive.com. These are subscription databases, but they are among the most powerful research tools available for looking into family roots.
2 comments :
I read about this on Google news the other day, David. Very interesting. I am following this story with great interest, hoping someone can determine who fathered Dolphus.
BTW: I had a humanities professor many years back who said that if everyone were able to trace their family tree back far enough, we'd all find we had African roots. It made sense when he explained it....
Obviously that is right. Can you show me where can I get some more info on this matter?
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