So Obama and Pitt are 9th cousins… So what? If you do the research, you’ll find that 9th cousinship is so common that you might be surprised that the relationship wasn’t closer. If you have colonial American ancestry, you can very-well be related to just about anyone else who has colonial ancestry.
I find it amusing how the media just can’t seem to let this stuff go. If you search the news for any genealogy-related terms, you almost always will find stuff currently dealing with Obama’s cousinship – and/or some town somewhere on the planet that claims a connection to him. There are too many reporters with too much time on their hands.
Following is an excerpt from an article in the March 10, 2009 edition of The Guardian.
When Mr Pitt went to Washington last week the official line was that Brad was there to talk to Obama about the Hollywood star’s plan to help rebuild New Orleans. All very worthy. But who were they trying to kid? It was obvious to any rightwing conspiracy theorist that the meeting was all part of a plot to forward the interests of Obama’s family. Surely you haven’t forgotten? Obama and Pitt are cousins.
Ninth cousins to be precise…
The link is Edwin Hickman, who died in Virginia in 1769. Obama is a direct descendant of Hickman’s son James through the president’s white Kansas-born mother, Ann Dunham Sutoro.
Hickman’s other son, Edwin Jr, James’s brother, is head of the line leading to William Bradley Pitt, known these days as Brad.