| The Chicago Sun Times wrote that Catherine Goodnight Dunham is one of the links between Barack Obama and Harry S. Truman.
She was Obama's great-great-great-great grandmother, and her first cousin once removed was Rachael Goodnight Young, Truman's great-grandmother.
She was Obama's great-great-great-great grandmother, and her first cousin once removed was Rachael Goodnight Young, Truman's great-grandmother.
If you're keeping score, that makes Truman Obama's fourth cousin four times removed.
Barack Obama is distantly related to former President Harry S. Truman.
Robert Duvall, well-known American actor, says Barack Obama is distantly related to him.
Actor Kevin Bacon completes the six degrees of separation for Barack Obama.
If you're keeping score, that makes Truman, Obama's fourth cousin four times removed.
Catherine Goodnight is the grandniece of George Goodnight, who is the great-grandfather of famed cattle pioneer Charles Goodnight, according to family genealogies.
A former Texas ranger, Charles Goodnight drove cattle from Texas to New Mexico and invented the chuckwagon along the way.
He is said to be part of the inspiration for the character Woodrow Call in Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer-Prize winning novel "Lonesome Dove."
Coincidentally, Call's partner, Augustus McCrae, was played in the movie version of the book by actor Robert Duvall, is also a distant relation to Obama through Obama's ninth-great grandfather, Mareen Duvall of 17th century Maryland.
And, according to research by William Addams Reitwiesner, Mareen Duvall is also a direct ancestor of - you guessed it - Harry S. Truman.
It seems that just about everyone in Calhoun County has some connection to the Goodnight Family, whether it be a relative, friend, or acquaintance, says Kristen (Nutt) Goodnight and her husband is Ronnie Goodnight.
Ronnie is the son of Ronzel and Maxine (Jones) Goodnight. Ronzel's parents were Lawrence Hale and Dessie (Richards) Goodnight.
Hale's parents were Franklin Pierce & Ocie Blanche (Wilt) Goodnight.
Franklin was born in Calhoun County in 1877. He was one of 17 children. That is why there are so many relations to the Goodnight family in the area.
Franklin's parents were William Joseph and Joanna Elizabeth (Guthrie) Goodnight, who settled in the Yellow Creek area near the Goodnight Cemetery.
William was from Shenandoah County, Virginia, born in 1815, the
son of Christian & Susanna (Barr) Goodnight. He was from Augusta County, Virginia in 1788.
This is where the Obama connection comes in.
William had a brother named Samuel who had a daughter named Catherine (Goodnight) Dunham. She is the great great great great grandmother of Barack Obama.
Christian Goodnight had a daughter named Rachel who is also a link to Harry Truman's family.
Therefore, Christian Goodnight is the 5th great grandfather of Barack Obama.
Christian Goodnight is also 4th great grandfather of Ronnie Goodnight. (He says this does not mean that he voted for him, though)
The family has a rich background dating back to brothers being slain by Indians enroute from North Carolina to Kentucky.
Some of the others were also kidnapped by the Indians and later reunited. Gutknecht is the German version of the Goodnight name which changed once the family arrived near Philadelphia.
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