Comment Central - Times Online - WBLG: Michelle's ancestry revealed In 1850, the elderly master of a South Carolina estate took pen in hand and painstakingly divided up his possessions. Among the spinning wheels, scythes, tablecloths and cattle that he bequeathed to his far-flung heirs was a 6-year-old slave girl valued soon afterward at $475. In his will, she is described simply as the “negro girl Melvinia.” Melvinia was ripped from her family, shipped to George and – while still only a teenager – gave birth to a son, fathered by an unknown white man. It’s unlikely he was proud of the association at the time. But perhaps he should have been. His great-great-great grandchild - this son's great-great grandchild – was Michelle Obama.