Post by earl on Sept 5, 2008 14:29:25 GMT
John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin (44) can trace her ancestory to Ireland during the Famine times.
According to geneaologist Meghan Smolenyak, Palin's family on her mother's side (the Sheerans) emigrated from the Ireland to the US in the mid-1800s when the Great Famine had Ireland in its grip.
Mum-of-five Ms Palin, who is expected to become a first-time grandmother in four months time, was born Sarah Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho.
Her mother was Sarah Heath (nee Sheeran) who was married to Charles Heath.
The family moved to Alaska when Ms Palin was an infant.
Her mother's side of the family has been traced back to Ireland.
"After doing some poking around I found that Michael Sheeran emigrated in the 1840s," Smolenyak has revealed.
However, experts are still unable to trace what part of this country Michael Sheeran came from and are still unclear whereabouts in America he first arrived to.
What is known is that Michael and his wife Mary ended up in Vermont in 1852, before moving to Illinois and eventually settling in Minnesota.
Interestingly, Ireland is one of just three countries Ms Palin has listed as having visited.
