We’ve all heard about President Obama’s Irish roots, and we know his
father came from Kenya. But a research team from Ancestry.com, the
world's largest online family history resource, has also concluded that
the nation's 44th president is also the 11thgreat-grandson of John Punch, the first documented African enslaved for life in American history.
And what’s more, the connection comes through President Obama’s Caucasian mother’s family.
This discovery follow years of research by Ancestry.com genealogists who, using early Virginia records and DNA analysis, linked Obama to John Punch. Punch was an indentured servant in Colonial Virginia who fled to escape servitude in 1640. After he was caught, his punishment was enslavement for life. Punch’s is the first documented case of slavery for life in the colonies, occurring decades before slavery laws were enacted in Virginia.
And what’s more, the connection comes through President Obama’s Caucasian mother’s family.
This discovery follow years of research by Ancestry.com genealogists who, using early Virginia records and DNA analysis, linked Obama to John Punch. Punch was an indentured servant in Colonial Virginia who fled to escape servitude in 1640. After he was caught, his punishment was enslavement for life. Punch’s is the first documented case of slavery for life in the colonies, occurring decades before slavery laws were enacted in Virginia.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank You, for putting your ideas and thoughts into the Comments threads.