Yep, I'm related to Barack Obama. Sure, it's about 12 generations ago, but it's interesting nonetheless. According to one genealogy website, millions of people can claim descendancy from the 75,000 people living in colonial America. So it's not surprising.
When you trace his mother's family - the Dunhams - back to New Jersey in the early 1600s, we do descend from a common ancestor. Notably, we trace back to the rogue Jonathan Singletary alias Dunham, and his father Richard Singletary. For more info on Jonathan Singletary alias Dunham and his spirited life, click here.
You can see Barack's full genealogy here:
http://www.wargs.com/political/obama.html
Anton Kristel came to America with his brothers Rudolph & Joseph in the early 1900s. They came from the small town of Lucacesti (also spelled Lukaczestie), Bukovina, which was part of the Austrian empire at the time. Today it is part of Romania.