Barack Obama and Sarah Palin are distant cousins
US President Barack Obama is related to former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and radio host Rush Limbaugh, according to the family history website Ancestory.Com that says Obama and Palin are distant cousins.
According to genealogists at Utah-based Ancestry.Com, Obama and Palin are "10th cousins" and have a common ancestor named John Smith, who was a pastor and early settler in 17th-century Massachusetts.
Mr Obama is related to Smith through his mother and so is Palin, genealogist at Ancestry.Com Anastasia Tyler said. Apparently, Mr Obama is also related to radio host and one of his relentless critics Limbaugh, who is a 10th cousin of the president.
The two have a common ancestor named Richmond Terrell, who was a large landowner in Virginia and arrived in America in the mid-17th century.
Tyler explained that Ancestory.Com examined family trees of the three, going back into history and looking for common surnames and locations, the Boston Globe said.
"It is not unusual to find family members on different ends of the political spectrum," said Tyler.
"This election season is an ideal time to look into the family trees of our candidates and their critics to learn more about the ties that make them all part of this great country."
The site also found that former President George Bush is related to both Obama and Palin. Obama and Bush are 11th cousins through common ancestor Samuel Hinckley, while Bush and Palin are 10th cousins one time removed, also through Hinckley.
The site said Hinckley was John Smith's father-in-law. Ancestry.Com has revealed in the past that Obama is related to investor Warren Buffett and actor Brad Pitt. It has also found that Palin is a distant cousin of both Franklin D Roosevelt and Princess Diana.
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