The New York Times has an extraordinary story about Michelle Obama’s ancestors, tracing one of them all the way back to slavery. The earliest ancestors are shrouded in the mist of time, nearly vanished. But with the help of census records and other tools, the paper has done some amazing detective work.

The piece is somewhat voyeuristic and uncomfortable to read, but also compellingly written and impossible to put down. And, of course, it has a happy ending, which helps.

The article alludes to faith a few times in a matter-of-fact way, acknowledging the role it played in part of Michelle Obama’s family tree.

But the story really reaches its peak toward the end. The paper managed to track down some really elderly folks who could remember some of Michelle Obama’s long-dead ancestors — including one who had been dead nearly six decades.

And this quote really grabbed me:

Today, [Michelle Obama's great-great-grandfather] Dolphus Shields lies in a neglected black cemetery, where patches of grass grow knee-high and many tombstones have toppled.

Mrs. Holt, a retired nursing assistant, said he came to her in a dream last month. She dug up his photograph, never guessing that she would soon learn that Dolphus Shields was a great-great-grandfather of the first lady.

“Oh, my God,” said Mrs. Holt, gasping at the news. “I always looked up to him, but I would never have imagined something like this. Praise God, we’ve come a long way.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 11:04 am and is filed under Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.