Claim:
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris released photos purporting to be her paternal grandmother who passed four years prior to Harris being born, which they claimed as evidence against them for misusing public funds for political campaign contributions.
Ignorance. Rather, they used misleading language like ‘I never said she died until after birth.” They have no other evidence in regards to Harris claiming this woman to be her grandma either way and claim it’s their mother instead
Harris lost her paternal grandmother when he was 31, while an unrelated individual who centered the claim died of natural causes in 1960.
At a press conference held late September 2024 by Candace Owen, conspiracy theorist Candace Owen claimed she had made an astounding discovery: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2019 memoir “The Truths We Hold,” contained a photo with “a Black-looking grandmother”, though this individual had died four years prior to Harris being born, as per Owens.
Owens used evidence that suggested Harris’ grandmother died in 1960 but referenced an individual born a different year with different last names.
Owens’ coverage of this “scoop” cast an additional shadow over Harris and his grandmother; suggesting documents demonstrate she married someone other than Harris’ grandfather while noting a discrepant lack of documentation regarding Donald Harris, Stanford economist.
Snopes provides proof that Owens’ claim that Kamala Harris could never meet her paternal grandmother is false, explaining its source and adding context to any innuendo suggesting Donald Harris is born of unknown parents based upon innuendo from pundits such as himself; we have reached out to Mr Harris directly, so as soon as any more information becomes available we will update this article accordingly.
Beryl Magdaline Finegan Died in 1995
Owens found in several YouTube videos an official document likely showing Kamala Harris’ grandmother was born on November 20, 1917 as “Beril” Magdaline Allen; this information coincides with information found online regarding their mother “Iris Finegan formerly Allen”.
Though this document doesn’t explicitly name either parent, Jamaican marriage records reveal that Orah “Iris” Allen married Patrick A. Finegan nine years prior in St Ann Parish in Jamaica; other records (such as local newspaper articles ) point towards “Beryl Finegan”, with an “Y”, being Donald Harris’ mother; they then married Shyamala Gopalan on 10 May 1964:
Donald Harris wrote of the impactful influences both his grandmothers had in shaping his life in “Reflections of a Jamaican Father”, including their influence over both of their mothers: Beryl for his mother and Iris as his maternal grand-mothers.
My early upbringing was heavily shaped by both of my grandmothers (aside from those already mentioned: Miss Beryl & Maas Oscar).
[…]Iris was one of eight children. On the surface she appeared gentle but, beneath that gentle facade was an astute farming woman who managed a cane farm at Thatch Walk near Aenon Town jointly owned with Mr Christie; Miss Iris died in 1981.
All evidence points towards Beril Magdalene Finegan being Kamala Harris’ paternal grandmother; however, Owens made a quick turnaround and presented evidence proving this is false by showing a 1960 death certificate as proof. Here is what Owens provided as proof:
Owen asserted in her YouTube video, without evidence to back it up, that Beryl Christie is Harris’ grandmother. This contention rests upon an incorrect assumption about whether Beryl Finegan ever used this name; unfortunately, Snopes has found no primary documents attesting to it being so.
Even though open genealogy websites sometimes claim Christie was used by Harris’ grandmother, this seems to have arisen due to misreadings in Donald Harris’ 2018 essay in which he identified her husband as “Mr. Christie,” referring to their cane farm at Thatch Walk near Aenon Town as operated by them.
Around the time of Donald Harris’ essay, individuals started editing open-source genealogy profiles of Beryl Finegan Harris to include an unknown and previously unrecorded “Christie” as a potential father figure, leading some people to mistakenly conclude that Beryl would eventually take on Christie as her surname – something which simply is not true.
Iris Allen married Patrick A. Finegan when she was 19 in 1908. Unfortunately he died three or four years later at 39 or 40, leaving Iris Finegan alone and possibly marrying “Mr. Christie”, making him Beryl Harris’ stepfather; though this does not leave his genetic influence upon Beryl Finegan or any descendants.
Evidence indicates that “Mr. Christie” could refer to Carlton Christie. A 1977 newspaper article mentioned a business owned by such an individual located on Thach Road in Aenon Town, Jamaica that had become embroiled in several robberies at Thach Road in Aenon Town – where Donald Harris mentioned being at this property referenced by Mr. Christie himself.
Find a Grave records do not indicate exact birth or death dates for Carlton B. Christie; however, they indicate he was laid to rest at St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Aenon Town – this church being the one described by Donald Harris in his essay. Regardless of who Mr. Christie may have been in reality, no evidence suggests Beryl, his stepdaughter took up his name either way.
Beryl Christie died in 1960 in St. Ann, though they both shared similar names, though at different ages and with differing birthdates and last names; her father passed away in 1946 while living abroad and she has been mentioned numerous times by local news reports, even writing an open letter addressed to an aunt whom she lost touch with, also in 1946. If this Beryl Christie is indeed who Owens identified in their record search, however, then it does not appear she married nor had children before dying at age 39 in a Kingston hospital.
Beryl Finegan who had Donald Harris died in 1995 in Alexandria where she had been born; this death certificate, with its spelling of Finnegan rather than Christie, more closely aligns to Beril Finegan than Beryl Christie despite discrepancies that suggest either that Finegan may have been born prior to 1914 (if recorded) or was actually not as old at her time of passing;
Owens raiseds the question: “Kamala Harris meets Grandma Beryl nearly 20 years after Grandma Beryl has died?” Owens inquired. The answer to Owens’ inquiry lies within Beryl Finegan herself who remained alive during that period of time.
Beryl Christie who died in 1960 differed significantly from Beryl Finegan who passed away in 1995; therefore there is no discrepancies between photographs depicting an adult Kamala Harris with Beryl Finegan and historical documentation of Beryl Finegan’s passing away in 1995.
Owens asserted the Lawford Newland Claim Owens presented evidence which contradicted Harris’ “narrative,” such as a 1944 marriage certificate between Beryl Finegan and Lawford Newland that had taken place three months earlier.
Though this record cites Beryl Finegan as being born between 1914 and 1917 (hence her connection with Harris), this Beryl did indeed come from that area and her father Patrick Finegan also shared this name.
“Apparently Beryl married multiple times since Lawford Newland isn’t Donald Harris’s biological father; instead she gave birth to him four years before marrying Lawford Newland at 25,” according to Owens’ video. Owens finds this revelation especially odd as Kamala Harris had already been born during this marriage with Lawford Newland! She added, “That would seem highly suspicious to me!”
Owens does not explain what was so peculiar about this record of Beryl Finegan being Donald Harris’ grandmother; it could simply indicate she gave birth prior to marrying Newland or unknowingly out-of-wedlock.
Don Harris never mentions Oscar Harris being his mother’s husband in his essay; rather, he states only that “the Harris name comes from my paternal grandfather Joseph Alexander Harris (landowner and agricultural ‘produce’ exporter who died one year before I was born).” Oscar Harris himself can often be found among photos shared among family and friends that depict Joseph Alexander Harris; such images usually feature Oscar’s image with her family:
Note how this photo does not depict Oscar Harris with Beryl Finegan at this time despite both of them still living, which seems to indicate they had parted ways by this point. This supports the theory that they had grown apart.
Owens noted a lack of documentation concerning Newland, whom Finegan claims as her second husband. There are, in fact, various documents regarding Newland that provide important details. We know from American immigration records that Lawford Newlands from St Ann Jamaica traveled multiple times into America – as did their marriage. We know from other records as well that their union did not last.
Public notice published by the Kingston Gleaner states that Beryl Newland and Lawford Newland received their divorce decree in 1957; perhaps this explains why members of Harris family don’t comment much on Newland.
Notably, though it might appear unlikely, two Beryl Finegans with fathers named Patrick Finegan could easily exist in St. Ann Parish of Jamaica during the 1940s if both families share this surname; Patrick Finegan himself being particularly prolific due to having arrived from Ireland as a plantation owner who resided there between the 1830s-1840s.
Beryl Finegan was fathered by Patrick Alhanasous Finegan, one of several mixed race children of Patrick Finegan the immigrant. According to Jim McNiff (genealogist), Beryl’s Irish connection is undeniable: in 2020 stories on Beryl, she described their Irish ties.
Owens fails to present anything by Owens that counteracts McNiff’s conclusion or Donald Harris and Kamala Harris’ essay or book.
Owens’ primary contention, that Kamala Harris’ grandmother died before she was born, rests upon an inaccurate death record belonging to someone else. Owens’ additional questions regarding Harris “narrative” appear suspicious when combined with apparent ignorance regarding divorce or birth out-of-wedlock issues.
Therefore, claims that Harris “fabricated her Black grandparents,” in general or staged a photo with an individual not related to her grandmother specifically are baseless and false.
