According to parish records uncovered by experts at the genealogy Web site Ancestry.com, Mr Obama's 6th great-grandfather Johann Conrad Woelflin was born Jan 29, 1729, in Besigheim, a small town north of Stuttgart on the Enz river where it feeds into the Neckar.

He sailed aboard a ship called 'Patience' in 1750 to America, changing his last name to 'Wolfley' upon arrival and eventually settling in Middletown, Pennsylvania, according to head genealogist Anastasia Tyler, who oversaw the research.

In Middletown, he married Anna Catherine Schockey in 1756 and had at least six children, including Ludwig Lewis Wolfley - Mr Obama's 5th great grandfather - who was born in 1766, Ms Tyler said. -- AP