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The British version of Who Do You Think You Are shocks Lord Coe with revelations of a philandering forefather who fathered six illegitimate children with his slaves seven generations ago - the salacious 18th century sugar baron, George Hyde Park.
Hyde Park's plantations were in the parish of Trelawny, home of Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt.
Coe's ancestor owned 297 slaves who were listed as inventory, all valued at 700,000 pounds in today's currency.
He fathered a daughter with the slave, Sarah Lee. His daughter, Elizabeth Lee Clarke was listed as a beneficiary in his will.
Lord Coe is the descendant of an illegitimate offspring, Hyde John Clarke.
Lord Coe's family line is rich, it includes a marriage by his maternal grandmother Vera Swan to Sardari Lal of the Punjab which accounts for his Anglo-Indian roots.
Another relative was the lieutenant governor of NY state in 1730 and 1740.
Famous Hyde Hall in upstate NY was his family's seat and is now a museum. A town in Cheshire is named for his family.
His grandmother had always told him of their long line of minor aristocrats, quite grand, he wishes he had listened to her then.
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