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Obama related to Pitt, Clinton to Jolie
By DENISE LAVOIE
Associated Press Writer
Tue Mar 25, 6:53 PM ET



BOSTON - This could make for one odd family reunion: Barack Obama is a distant cousin of actor 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 them, 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.

Obama has a prolific presidential lineage that features Democrats and Republicans. His distant cousins include President George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry S. Truman and James Madison. Other Obama cousins include Vice President Dick Cheney, British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and Civil War General Robert E. Lee.

Obama often jokes about his cousin Cheney at campaign appearances.

"His kinships are across the political spectrum," Child said.

Child has spent the last three years tracing the candidates' genealogy, along with senior research scholar Gary Boyd Roberts, author of the 1989 book, "Ancestors of American Presidents."

Clinton's distant cousins include beatnik author Jack Kerouac and Camilla Parker-Bowles, wife of Prince Charles of England.

McCain's ancestry was more difficult to trace because records on his relatives were not as complete as records for the families of Obama and Clinton, Child said.

Obama and President Bush are 10th cousins, once removed, linked by Samuel Hinkley of Cape Cod, who died in 1662.

Pitt and Obama are ninth cousins, linked by Edwin Hickman, who died in Virginia in 1769. Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, declined to comment on the senator's ancestry.

Clinton and Jolie are ninth cousins, twice removed, both related to Jean Cusson who died in St. Sulpice, Quebec, in 1718.

The New England Historic Genealogical Society, founded in 1845, is the oldest and largest nonprofit genealogical organization in the country.

I can't decide if this article is pointless, is it disturbing, or does it simply note some odd coincidence?

Interesting pieces of coincidental trivia.

My family tree in America is more like a potted plant as all of my grandparents parents came to America in the 1840s. tracing your family tree in America back to the 17th or 18th C. is amazing to me.

I knew absolutely nothing about my family until I dug into our genealogy. Turns out family on both my mother's and father's sides fought in the revolutionary war, and can be dated back to the early formation of the country. I have family all over the U.S., concentrated particularly in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but literally in almost every state. That's just through the branches that are known. Through documentation, my family traces back to 17th century Switzerland and 16th century Germany on my mother's side, and to 17th century France on my father's, father's side. The roots obviously go back much further but growing up in Ohio, it was only me, my mother and my half sister, and that was all we knew. The intense feelings that were generated were amazing seeing all those names on the tree. I even discovered that my great grandparents, who the family lost contact with in the 1920s, had moved out here to California where they died in the 40's. They are buried less than fifteen miles from where I live now. Finding that out was a little freaky.

I'd been told that there was a lot of Irish in our family. I was led to believe that this was on my mother's father's side, their name was Dubbs. Turns out Dubbs is derived from Dupps, which is Swiss, not Irish. The Irish comes from Mary O'Leary, my great-great grandmother on my mother's side. It's simply fascinating the things you can discover about your family. Believing that Obama, Clinton, McCain, Angelina or Brad are related in some way doesn't surprise me a bit considering how the planet populates itself. At the end of the day, we're all related to each other.

Well gee if you go back far enough, we all have great great great great great......grandparents named Adam and Eve.

Cal, where did you find all that data about your genealogy? I've been interested in finding out some information about my heritage, as no one on my dads side has any clue. I've tried some of those websites, but they are both extremely expensive and confusing, especially if you don't have any real starting point.

Start at the library, That is a good place to get going.

Do you think something like my university library would have the sufficient information, or should I go more towards a state library?

Either, they can help you get statrted, Good luck

Wow, Cal, you and I might have some common roots. My family dates back to the revolution in America, mostly settling in Ohio and Pennsylvania, with roots in Ireland, Germany, and Switzerland.

Shoot, maybe you are me.

Didn't want to start a new thread but found this really funny.....


this could be our president...

That's because its 3 AM (Note the clock)

It's three in the afternoon. Note the light coming through the window.