Michelle Obama Descended From Young Slave Girl and White Owner

A genealogist working with the New York Times has discovered a new page in the family history of First Lady Michelle Obama; her great-great-great grandmother, a teenage slave girl named Melvinia as young as 15 was impregnated by a white slave owner.

Genealogist Megan Smolenyak reconstructed this long-lost piece of the First Lady's family tree by using probate records, old photos and legal documents, and by interviewing senior citizens who remember the family of Melvinia's biracial son, Dolphus T. Shields (the Shields owned his young mother). Smoleynek said of the discovery: "Out of all of Michelle's roots, it is Melvinia who is screaming to be found."

Melvinia bore four children, three of whom were listed as 'mulatto.' It is doubtful that Melvinia's family tree will yield further results; on her death certificate the names of her parents are absent, listed by a relative as "don't know."

Melvinia's oldest son, the First Lady's great-great grandfather Dolphus, was said by those who remembered him to have been a light skinned, literate, church-going man. In an extraordinary linking of the past and future, Dolphus was heavily involved in the founding of two churches that figured in the history of the U.S. civil rights movement; he was co-founder of Trinity Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. and ran the Sunday school program at First Ebenezer Baptist Church of Birmingham.

"No one should be surprised anymore to hear about the number of rapes and the amount of sexual exploitation that took place under slavery; it was an everyday experience," said Jason A. Gillmer, a law professor at Texas Wesleyan University who researches the history of slaves and their owners. But Dolphus' story gains a special resonance with that of his direct descendant: the same country that looked upon Melvinia's slavery as legal now looks up to her great-great-great granddaughter as its First Lady.

Bobbie Holt, a 73-year-old woman raised by Dolphus and his wife who was interviewed for the article, said that despite the pain in Dolphus' own family history, he was always hopeful there would one day be equality. She quoted him saying, "It's going to come together one day."

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Comments

[Shayrae]

I was reading this and Norah O'Donnell of MSNBC was reporting on the story. Gives you goosebumps. Amazing

[Lee Andrew]

Brings tear to my dry eyes and makes me more determined and hopeful for us and this great nation.

LeeAndrew

[Auburn McCanta - Huffpost Blogger]

Amazing story, Marlene. You're one of my favorite HuffPo writers and I appreciate your good journalistic work. This news causes me to find even more favor with our beautiful First Lady.

[SusanPF]

Slaves were usually named in probate records when an estate was settled - it's possible that the line could be traced further, or at least the search could be narrowed down to possibilities.
It's especially sad to me that Dolphus Shields' tombstone is crumbling...I hope a new marker will be erected for him.

The country is dotted by early black cemeteries where perhaps 25% of the burials are identified with a marker; all other graves are unmarked or unidentifiable. All major libraries usually have death records on microfilm of burials by county, and a worthwhile project for anyone with the time is to identify the burials at these cemeteries and give a name to those who have been forgotten. Ancestry.com has many state death records, as well.

[hotseat]

Thanks for your informative comment. Much appreciated.