It is common for Americans who descend from 17th century American colonists to be related to famous people and to descend from old royal ancestral lines, many of which go back to medieval times..
Obama Genealogy
The gateway to President Obama’s shared ancestors with President James Madison, and to one of their royal lineages, is through Martha Eltonhead, who was born in England more than 400 years ago. This is their shared descent:
- Edwin Conway married Martha Eltonhead
- Eltonhead Conway married Henry Thacker
- Martha Thacker married Thomas Hickman
- Edwin Hickman married Eleanor Elliott
- James Hickman (1723-1816) married Hannah Lewis (1722-1822), 1743, Albemarle Co., VA
- Susanna Hickman (ca. 1745-ca. 1815) of Culpepper Co., VA, married James Browning and died in Harrison Co., KY
- Annie Browning married Robert Overall in 1801
- George Washington Overall (1820-1871) married, 1841, Louisiana Duvall; both died in Nelson Co., KY
- Susan Catherine Overall (1849-1906) in 1870 married Civil War soldier Christopher Columbus Clark (1845-1937) in KY; they went to Missouri.
- Gabriella Clark (1876-1966) married Harry Ellington Armour (1874-1953) in 1899, Lewis Co., MO
- Ruth Lucille Armour (1900-1926) in 1915 married Ralph W. E. Dunham (1894-1970) at Wichita, KS; she committed suicide.
- Stanley Armour Dunham (1918-1992) and Madelyn L. Payne (1922-2008) were wed in 1940 at Eldorado, KS and later moved to Hawaii.
- Stanley Ann Dunham m. Dr. Barack Hussein Obama, 1961, Maui, Hawaii; divorced 1964
- Barack Hussein Obama (b. 1961) m. Michelle L. Robinson, 1992, Chicago, IL
President Madison Lineage
This is the Madison descent from Martha Eltonhead and Edwin Conway:
- Edwin Conway m. Martha Eltonhead
- Edwin Conway m. Elizabeth Thornton
- Francis Conway m. Rebecca Catlett
- Eleanor Rose Conway m. James Madison
- James Madison (1758-1831), US President
Royal Pedigrees
The best royal descent of Martha Eltonhead Conway is, according to professional genealogist Gary Boyd Roberts, from King Edward I (died 1307) through the Bohun, FitzAlan, Goushill, Stanley, Savage, Bold, Gerard, and Eltonhead families of medieval and early modern England. Through his FitzRandolph ancestry, Obama also descends from William I, King of Scots.
At least 22 former American presidents are believed to have royal ancestry. Those who would like detailed pedigrees for these royal lines should consult Gary Boyd Roberts‘ 2004 book, The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants. There is additional information on the ancient FirtRandolph family inThe Magna Charta Sureties (third edition, 1979) by Frederick Lewis Weis.
Relationship to Other Presidents
This summarizes President Obama’s common link with other presidents with whom he shares ancestry:
- Harry S. Truman via the Mareen Duval family
- Gerald Ford - the Holley/Allen family
- Lyndon Johnson - the Ament/Schmidt family
- Jimmy Carter - The Gordy/Disharoone family
- The Bush presidents - the Hinckley family
- The wife of President Woodrow Wilson, through the FitzRandolph family
(A companion article gives the shared ancestry of President Obama, the two Bush presidents and Sarah Palin.)
Sources:
An amalgam of contributions from several professional genealogists and other family researchers that was put in final form by William Addams Reitwiesner, a Library of Congress staff member and avid genealogist.
Rosemary E. Bachelor - Rosemary Bachelor, a prize-winning journalist, has had a career as an editor, feature writer, magazine publisher and author. Her latest ...
