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Former President Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29 at age 100, had a surprising connection to a Black music legend.
In his 2017 book, "Ancestors of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter," Carter's son, Jeff, traced his family's roots to legendary producer and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy.
Their family ties reportedly date back to 1854, when James Thomas Gordy, a Georgia plantation owner, had a child with an enslaved woman. Their child was the grandfather of the acclaimed record executive who helped launch the careers of Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Michael Jackson, and more. James Thomas Gordy also had children with his wife and is the grandfather of Lillian Gordy, President Carter's mother.
Berry Gordy's family has also confirmed that their family tree is connected to the Carters.
“In 1978, my sister Esther commissioned a research institute to verify the Gordy family tree,” Gordy told The New York Times. “You can imagine the shock and pride I felt when I discovered that President Jimmy Carter and I were actually third cousins. We had such fun discussing this in 1980 at a Democratic fund-raiser in Los Angeles. From that point on, we started calling each other ‘cuz.’”
Jeff Carter said the connection wasn't a surprise to his father.
While the news of the Carter-Gordy connection is likely news to most of us, Jeff Carter says the results of his research weren’t a surprise to his dad. “When I found out about it, I asked Dad. He said, ‘Yeah, they all knew about it.’ It wasn’t a secret,” he told The New York Times.
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