Obama Not First U.S. President Of African Ancestry
Research shows at least five U.S. presidents had black ancestors and Thomas Jefferson, the nation's third president, was considered the first black president, according to historian Leroy Vaughn, author of Black People and Their Place in World History.
Vaughn's research shows Jefferson was not the only former black U.S. president. Who were the others? Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. But why was this unknown? How were they elected president? All five of these presidents never acknowledged their black ancestry.
Jefferson, who served two terms between 1801 and 1809, was described as the "son of a half-breed Indian squaw and a Virginia mulatto father," as stated in Vaughn's findings. Jefferson also was said to have destroyed all documentation attached to his mother, even going to extremes to seize letters written by his mother to other people.
President Andrew Jackson, the nation's seventh president, was in office between 1829 and 1837. Vaughn cites an article written in The Virginia Magazine of History that Jackson was the son of an Irish woman who married a black man. The magazine also stated that Jackson's oldest brother had been sold as a slave.
Lincoln, the nation's 16th president, served between 1861 and 1865. Lincoln was said to have been the illegitimate son of an African man, according to Leroy's findings. Lincoln had very dark skin and coarse hair and his mother allegedly came from an Ethiopian tribe. His heritage fueled so much controversy that Lincoln was nicknamed "Abraham Africanus the First" by his opponents.
President Warren Harding, the 29th president, in office between 1921 and 1923, apparently never denied his ancestry. According to Vaughn, William Chancellor, a professor of economics and politics at Wooster College in Ohio, wrote a book on the Harding family genealogy. Evidently, Harding had black ancestors between both sets of parents. Chancellor also said that Harding attended Iberia College, a school founded to educate fugitive slaves.
Coolidge, the nation's 30th president, served between 1923 and 1929 and supposedly was proud of his heritage. He claimed his mother was dark because of mixed Indian ancestry. Coolidge's mother's maiden name was "Moor" and in Europe the name "Moor" was given to all blacks just as "Negro" was used in America. It later was concluded that Coolidge was part black.
Source
Vaughn's research shows Jefferson was not the only former black U.S. president. Who were the others? Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. But why was this unknown? How were they elected president? All five of these presidents never acknowledged their black ancestry.
Jefferson, who served two terms between 1801 and 1809, was described as the "son of a half-breed Indian squaw and a Virginia mulatto father," as stated in Vaughn's findings. Jefferson also was said to have destroyed all documentation attached to his mother, even going to extremes to seize letters written by his mother to other people.
President Andrew Jackson, the nation's seventh president, was in office between 1829 and 1837. Vaughn cites an article written in The Virginia Magazine of History that Jackson was the son of an Irish woman who married a black man. The magazine also stated that Jackson's oldest brother had been sold as a slave.
Lincoln, the nation's 16th president, served between 1861 and 1865. Lincoln was said to have been the illegitimate son of an African man, according to Leroy's findings. Lincoln had very dark skin and coarse hair and his mother allegedly came from an Ethiopian tribe. His heritage fueled so much controversy that Lincoln was nicknamed "Abraham Africanus the First" by his opponents.
President Warren Harding, the 29th president, in office between 1921 and 1923, apparently never denied his ancestry. According to Vaughn, William Chancellor, a professor of economics and politics at Wooster College in Ohio, wrote a book on the Harding family genealogy. Evidently, Harding had black ancestors between both sets of parents. Chancellor also said that Harding attended Iberia College, a school founded to educate fugitive slaves.
Coolidge, the nation's 30th president, served between 1923 and 1929 and supposedly was proud of his heritage. He claimed his mother was dark because of mixed Indian ancestry. Coolidge's mother's maiden name was "Moor" and in Europe the name "Moor" was given to all blacks just as "Negro" was used in America. It later was concluded that Coolidge was part black.
Source
This is info that was posted on a site that I research my ancestry on.
Interesting...
Kimberly Lunde
Written by : Kimberly | 22 November 2008 at 03:44
I came across this blog as I was researching my personal ancestry (geneanet.org).
I am a big fan of your show!
Fan from Fargo, ND
klunde1@msn.com
Written by : Kimberly Lunde | 22 November 2008 at 04:19
I came across this blog while researching my personal ancestry. I am a big fan of yours!
The irony is that these presidents were elected based on who they were, not ethnicity (their ethnicity was hidden). Obama was elected based on his ethnicity/people's ethnic pride and their expression of civil rights. (I have friends in the African American Community and this is my consensus.) This has been at the expense of having elected a president of PROVEN honesty, integrity and character...not to mention experience! McCain was willing to discuss his associations, whereas Obama was simply evasive.
Interesting...
Sean Hannity, I agreed with everything you reported!
Fan from Fargo, ND
klunde1@msn.com
Written by : Kimberly Lunde | 22 November 2008 at 04:41
Documentation, Documentation, Documentation.
And article in a magazine does not prove anything. Why write something that might or might not be true without showing real documentation! With out it this is just a bunch of gossip.
Written by : Wildduck | 22 November 2008 at 08:18
Would it be possible to run DNA on their descendants? Could this prove or disprove some of the speculation?
Written by : Barbara | 22 November 2008 at 20:28
Wildduck said it all, really: some wild assertions based on supposed news clippings of what someone said a century ago isn't worth the paper it's written in. Someone who writes "Black People and Their Place in World History" will surely be more than happy to turn wild speculation into "facts" in order to advance his agenda.
There are others with the same objective that have claimed that Shakespeare, Colombus, Vasco da Gama, Robin Hood and Goethe were all black, and only the vast conspiracy supported by Europeans "hides" this. This seems along the same lines.
Written by : Lutecia | 4 January 2009 at 05:38
Do not believe this information about Abraham Lincoln is true. While doing some geneology research I came across some documentation claiming that Abraham Lincoln was the son of a country squire named Ensloe in North Carolina- he was illegitimate- his mother was an indentured servant on his estate.Squire Ensloe was well educated and loved reading.He bore a strong resemblance to Abraham Lincoln.The Squire was already married.He eventually arranged a marriage between Lincoln's mother and a man named Lincoln,giving him money and some cattle on the condition that he marry her and go to the Illinois country.There is a photograph showing Lincoln ,his mother and the man she married on the wedding day. Abraham Lincoln looks to be between 5 and 9 years old in this photo.I believe the information to be quite credible.
Written by : Nancy Thompson | 10 January 2009 at 03:36
This from a Genealogy blog
Written by : jason | 17 January 2009 at 04:27
These assertions are examples of sloppy history and there is no professional consensus on these claims. For instance, Vaughn says that Coolidge's mother's name of Moor was related to her being black. The first meaning of Moor/Moore as a surname was for people associated with moors or bogs, which appeared as landscape features in England, Scotland and Ireland where the name is widely found. People living near landscape features adopted them as surnames in the 14th c. Yes, Moor was also a name for dark-skinned people in Europe, but it's not sufficient reason for claiming Coolidge was part black..
Written by : Parkwells | 20 January 2009 at 22:36
Nancy Thompson's claim that there is a photograph of Nancy Hanks, a 9 year old Lincoln and "the man she married" is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. Nancy Hanks Lincoln died 5 October, 1818. August Daguerre didn't invent and didn't announce his invention of photography until 7 January, 1839 and didn't divulge the process until 19 August, 1839. Where on earth did that foolishness come from? Unbelievable!!!!
Written by : Uncle Bunce | 24 January 2009 at 14:07
Here is a recent article from MPC, Inc. about:
President Lincoln and President Obama share ancestors
http://familyforest.wordpress.com/2...
They have also had AP stories and NPR and major newpapers pick up on their ancestral connections of political candidates and hollywood stars
for many years now.
The message Walt Disney had so long ago " It's a small world afterall" and that NPR used in their story " Some Politicians are cut from the same cloth"
is ever so much more relevant today when you can actual see those family ties generation by generation in the Family Forest.
http://www.familyforest.com
Written by : Alexis | 26 January 2009 at 21:53