I have figured out why Willy is sitting on the fence concerning our election! Could this be a long lost cousin who crossed the pond? Only Willy and Scottish Rob know for sure! Romney's English roots surprise cousins left behind Maria Golovnina Reuters 12:49 p.m. CDT, October 8, 2012
BARROW-IN-FURNESS, England (Reuters) - Mitt Romney's fight to become America's next president has the backing of one enthusiastic group of supporters, although they don't actually have a vote: his relatives in England.
Few associate the Republican candidate with Britain but it was in England's industrial northwest that his ancestors lived for generations and converted to Mormonism before leaving for the United States in 1841 in search of the promised land.
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A sign for Romney Road is seen on a street in Dalton-in-Furness in northwestern England where relatives of U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney were born and bred -
Locals enjoy a mid morning stroll in the sun through Dalton-in-Furness in northwestern England where relatives of U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney were born and bred It was a bold escape for a family of lowly carpenters. By sailing for the New World they took a step that eventually brought the Romney clan to the fore of American politics.
But some of them stayed and their descendants still live along Britain's rainy western coast - a world away from the intrigue and glamour of Washington.
One is a 69-year-old English widow who discovered just a few weeks ago that she is a distant cousin of the former governor of Massachusetts.
"It's all come out of the blue," Jennie Iveson told Reuters in her modest home in Barrow-in-Furness, a shipyard town once at the heart of Britain's industrial revolution. "It's a surprise really. Quite a surprise. Big surprise."
Iveson's link to Romney came to light when her inquisitive grandson-in-law began tracing back their family history by delving into archives in their home county of Lancashire.
Records show that Iveson is Mitt Romney's fourth cousin - they share a great-great-great grandfather, George Romney, who died in 1859. And now she can't help but notice that her distant American relative does bear a striking family resemblance.
"I saw him on the telly twice the other day, last week I think. He looks a bit like my brother," said Iveson, a retired factory worker, most of whose children have no jobs.
"(My brother) looks quite like him. He had dark hair like him. It's all grey now. He (Romney) looks like our Mike. Same sort of face and everything."
She offers a shrug and a smile when asked about Romney's wealth and privileged status in the United States, where he is sometimes accused by critics of being out of touch with poor people. "I wish him luck and everything else," she said.
ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST
Romney is one of the wealthiest Americans ever to run for the White House. He has estimated his fortune at between $190 million and $250 million.
But for Romney, his faith and English roots remain a sensitive issue, partly because his Mormon religion is still regarded with suspicion by some American voters.
When he came to Britain in July this year, Romney did not visit the area where his family have their roots - unusual since emphasizing a European heritage is often seen as an electoral plus in U.S. politics.
Barack Obama, who faces Romney in the November 6 presidential election, went down well last year when he toured an Irish village where one of his forebears once lived.
Romney's campaign spokeswoman made no comment when asked how the Republican challenger felt about his English origins.
In Lancashire, the county the candidate's ancestors left behind, Romney enthusiasts offered their own explanation.
"He is Mormon and this is Mormon central," said Christopher Nelson, a local vicar with an interest in Romney's heritage. "Perhaps he would perceive (coming here) as highlighting his Mormonism more than highlighting his roots."
