Genealogists Trace Obama's Roots to Germany

President Obama’s trip to Germany is a bit of a homecoming for him, according to a Utah-based genealogy group. Ancestry.com’s researchers traced his family tree back to his eighth great-grandfather on his mother’s side and found a German ancestor, after tracing , the Salt Lake Tribune reports. That antecedent was a politician, too—mayor of the town of Orsingen.

That ancestor's grandson left Besigheim, Germany, for Pennsylvania in 1750. Besigheim’s deputy mayor was delighted by the news, enthusiastically inviting Obama to visit the city of 11,400 people. "f he would come and visit at some stage, it would be a great joy for the city and for the people," he said.