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The ancestors of the rock'n'roll legend Elvis Presley were winemakers from Hochstadt near Landau in the Palatinate. This was claimed by Donald W. Presley, the singer's cousin, in a recently published book according to the news agency epd. A DNA-test has clearly proven the direct relationship to the Pressler family of winegrowers from Hochstadt an der Weinstraße.
His ancestor Valentin Pressler emigrated with his family to America in 1709 as a Protestant religious refugee. The reason was the violent recatholicization of the region by French occupation troops, writes epd. The family history of Elvis could be proven beyond doubt by means of church books, school prescriptions and interest lists, said Gerd Pressler, who as a genealogist has been working together with Donald W. Presley for a long time. According to his statement, the DNA test of an institute in Houston (Texas) showed "significant matches" between direct relatives of the pop legend and the Presslers' descendants.
In addition, Elvis possessed a family Bible in which the names of the Pressler family from the wine village Hochstadt are found. His grandmother Minnie Mae had forgotten the Bible when she visited him in Friedberg in 1960 during his military service in Germany.
(uka / Photo: Ollie Atkins / The White House)