Rand's family tree

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:30:57 -0400

"I said, 'Great God, that's got to be us.'"

— Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, after watching a documentary on a black family that he realized was a distant relation. Quoted on July 29, 2008.

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Tony Rand shakes the family tree

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:25:53 -0400

Tony Rand would not expect to find his kinfolk in a TV documentary called "Black in America."

But there he was Saturday night, half-watching the tail end of the CNN show while reading a book when he heard a familiar last name.

At first, the Senate majority leader was intrigued by the story of the "mighty Rands" — a sprawling African-American extended family that holds a giant reunion in Atlanta each year. After all, he says, it's an unusual name.

Then matriarch RubyStein McGhee appeared onscreen, noting that her great-great-grandfather, William Harrison Rand, was a white man who was reportedly run out of North Carolina for living with a black woman.

Rand recognized the name. William Harrison Rand was the first cousin of one of his ancestors.

"I said, 'Great God, that's got to be us,'" he said.

Rand intends to connect with the black branch of his family, and he and his son, Ripley, already are making plans to go to the next reunion.

"You start shaking your family tree, and it's always really interesting," he said. "I can't wait to meet some of these relatives and find out more about all the people involved."

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled McGhee's name.

genealogy

Rand's family tree

Tony Rand shakes the family tree