The family tree is a telling thing, and has revealed some surprises for President Obama. According to genealogy website Ancestry.com, two of Obama’s most outspoken critics, radio host Rush Limbaugh and former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin are distant relations of the President. The website also revealed that Obama is related to former President George W. Bush.
Obama and Tea Party icon Sarah Palin are in fact 10th cousins. They share a common ancestor John Smith, who is their 12th great-grandfather and was a Protestant preacher and settler in Massachusetts.
Obama and Limbaugh are slightly further apart, as 10th cousins once-removed through their common ancestor Richmond Terrel of Virginia.
Both Palin and Obama have familial ties to former president George W. Bush, through ties to Samuel Hinckley. Leadership may be a family trait, as Hinckley’s son, Thomas Hinckley was the Governor of Plymouth Colony prior to it merging with Massachusetts.
The Ancestry.com website, lead by genealogist Anastasia Tyler, also showed that Palin was related to Nevada Democrat Harry Reid as well as noted author Ann Coulter. Tyler’s team works out of Provo and focuses on finding famous relationships in order to show how people can build their own family trees through the website. “We are always looking for ways to show how interesting family history can be,” said Tyler of her work with Ancestry.com.
The site also shows that Obama has ancestral ties to actor Brad Pitt as well as Warren Buffett, while Palin is linked the People’s Princess, Princess Diana.
