First lady's relatives eager to meet her

NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Two distant white relatives of U.S. first lady Michelle Obama say they are proud to be a part of her heritage and hope someday to meet her.

Debbie Shields, who has blonde hair and blue eyes, looks nothing like the first lady but they share a common lineage -- Shield's great, great grandfather is Obama's great, great, great grandfather, the television program "Inside Edition" reported Monday.

Obama's great, great, great grandmother was a slave named Melvinia, who was 6 years old when she was sent to live on a 200-acre farm in Rex, Ga. At age 15, Melvinia became pregnant by a white man presumed to be Charles Marion Shields.

Melvinia's last name and the last names of four of her children are listed as Shields in an 1870 census, "Inside Edition" reported.

Debbie Shields said it filled her with "pride" to be related to Obama, while her 17-year-old son, Brandon Shields, said he finds it remarkable that he is Obama's fourth cousin.

"I think it is incredible. The history of it. To go from slavery to the White House in a few generations," Brandon Shields said.