Barack Obama may be descendant of first African slave in colonial America | World news | guardian.co.uk: A study of Barack Obama's family history has revealed that he is likely to be a descendant of the first African enslaved in the American colonies.
Perhaps surprisingly, the line to the president's 11th great-grandfather was traced through the president's white mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, whose ancestors were some of the first African American settlers of colonial America.
According to the genealogy website Ancestry.com Dunham is a descendant of John Punch, who was an indentured servant in colonial Virginia and became enslaved for life in 1640 as punishment for an attempted escape. His case is the first documented proof of someone being enslaved for life in the colonies and happened before Virginia enacted slavery laws.
