1 00:00:04,843 --> 00:00:06,709 GATES: I'm Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2 00:00:06,709 --> 00:00:09,543 Welcome to "Finding Your Roots." 3 00:00:09,543 --> 00:00:12,343 In this episode, we'll meet actors 4 00:00:12,343 --> 00:00:15,443 Claire Danes and Jeff Daniels. 5 00:00:15,443 --> 00:00:18,243 Two Americans whose family trees are filled with 6 00:00:18,243 --> 00:00:21,376 primal scenes from our nation's past. 7 00:00:21,943 --> 00:00:26,076 DANIELS: "Captured by the enemy at Gettysburg." 8 00:00:26,843 --> 00:00:28,343 GATES: Captured. 9 00:00:28,343 --> 00:00:30,409 DANIELS: You're growing up in a hurry on that day. 10 00:00:30,409 --> 00:00:32,476 DANES: That's astonishing. 11 00:00:32,476 --> 00:00:34,843 These are really dramatic stories. 12 00:00:34,843 --> 00:00:37,076 I feel very humbled by all of them. 13 00:00:38,009 --> 00:00:41,909 GATES: To uncover their roots, we've used every tool available. 14 00:00:41,909 --> 00:00:44,443 Genealogists combed through the paper trail 15 00:00:44,443 --> 00:00:46,309 their ancestors left behind, 16 00:00:46,309 --> 00:00:49,476 while DNA experts utilized the latest advances in 17 00:00:49,476 --> 00:00:53,643 genetic analysis to reveal secrets hundreds of years old. 18 00:00:53,643 --> 00:00:57,876 And we've compiled everything into a book of life. 19 00:00:57,876 --> 00:00:59,943 A record of all of our discoveries. 20 00:00:59,943 --> 00:01:01,009 DANES: What? 21 00:01:01,009 --> 00:01:02,076 GATES: That's right. 22 00:01:02,076 --> 00:01:03,243 DANES: That's amazing. 23 00:01:03,243 --> 00:01:06,176 GATES: And a window into the hidden past. 24 00:01:06,176 --> 00:01:09,209 This document is from the year 1656. 25 00:01:09,209 --> 00:01:10,509 DANIELS: Ah! 26 00:01:10,509 --> 00:01:13,676 DANES: Wow, that's very moving, actually. 27 00:01:14,676 --> 00:01:15,809 Yeah. 28 00:01:15,809 --> 00:01:18,043 It's like the most vital stuff, right? 29 00:01:18,609 --> 00:01:19,909 DANIELS: Salem Witch Trials? 30 00:01:19,909 --> 00:01:21,476 GATES: You got it. 31 00:01:21,476 --> 00:01:23,343 DANIELS: Okay. 32 00:01:23,343 --> 00:01:24,576 (laughs). 33 00:01:24,576 --> 00:01:26,076 All right. Sure. 34 00:01:26,076 --> 00:01:28,643 Bring it. Bring it. 35 00:01:28,643 --> 00:01:31,643 GATES: My two guests have family trees that stretch back 36 00:01:31,643 --> 00:01:35,409 to this nation's founding, and well beyond. 37 00:01:35,409 --> 00:01:38,643 In this episode, the stories of their ancestors will 38 00:01:38,643 --> 00:01:42,009 transport them into this shared past, 39 00:01:42,009 --> 00:01:44,176 challenging their preconceptions, 40 00:01:44,176 --> 00:01:48,709 and inspiring them to look at themselves in a new way. 41 00:01:59,743 --> 00:02:05,276 (theme music plays) 42 00:02:06,443 --> 00:02:12,343 ♪ ♪ 43 00:02:20,509 --> 00:02:25,576 ♪ ♪ 44 00:02:31,809 --> 00:02:34,576 GATES: Claire Danes is a human dynamo. 45 00:02:35,176 --> 00:02:38,509 From her breakout in the cult hit "My So-Called Life", 46 00:02:38,509 --> 00:02:41,709 to her renaissance in the smash "Homeland", 47 00:02:41,709 --> 00:02:44,876 Claire has shown the ability to work in any genre, 48 00:02:44,876 --> 00:02:47,676 and embody any character. 49 00:02:49,343 --> 00:02:54,443 Surveying it all, one might think she was born to be a star, 50 00:02:54,443 --> 00:02:57,009 and, in a sense, she was. 51 00:02:59,243 --> 00:03:01,909 Claire grew up in New York City's SoHo neighborhood 52 00:03:01,909 --> 00:03:03,309 in the 1980s, 53 00:03:03,309 --> 00:03:07,243 a cultural hotbed, galleries and theaters 54 00:03:07,243 --> 00:03:10,243 lined the streets just outside her doors. 55 00:03:10,943 --> 00:03:15,509 More importantly, behind those doors were Claire's parents, 56 00:03:15,509 --> 00:03:19,076 a visual artist and a photographer, providing a 57 00:03:19,076 --> 00:03:22,476 steady stream of inspiration and support. 58 00:03:25,509 --> 00:03:27,243 DANES: Oh, look how sweet they are. 59 00:03:27,243 --> 00:03:28,309 GATES: They are. 60 00:03:28,309 --> 00:03:29,409 DANES: I love my parents. 61 00:03:29,409 --> 00:03:30,676 (laughs). 62 00:03:30,676 --> 00:03:32,143 GATES: Do you think that growing up around artists 63 00:03:32,143 --> 00:03:34,343 particularly shaped the person you became? 64 00:03:34,343 --> 00:03:35,776 DANES: Hugely. Hugely. 65 00:03:35,776 --> 00:03:37,043 GATES: How so? 66 00:03:37,043 --> 00:03:41,976 DANES: They're just really creative people and, uh, that, 67 00:03:41,976 --> 00:03:44,043 I mean, we didn't really have religion. 68 00:03:44,043 --> 00:03:46,276 We had art, right? 69 00:03:46,276 --> 00:03:47,543 GATES: Mm-hmm. 70 00:03:47,543 --> 00:03:49,143 DANES: And we would go to museums like we went to church 71 00:03:49,143 --> 00:03:50,243 kind of, right? 72 00:03:50,243 --> 00:03:51,443 GATES: That's nice. 73 00:03:51,443 --> 00:03:56,809 DANES: It was nice, and they were loose and open and 74 00:03:56,809 --> 00:04:00,876 exploratory, and we lived in a loft, and all of our furniture 75 00:04:00,876 --> 00:04:04,709 was borrowed from what the factories were, um, 76 00:04:04,709 --> 00:04:06,643 uh, expelling, right? 77 00:04:06,643 --> 00:04:10,543 And so, it was, it was raw, and at, you know, 78 00:04:10,543 --> 00:04:13,209 when I was really little, all I wanted was to be 79 00:04:13,209 --> 00:04:14,343 like my cousins in New Jersey... 80 00:04:14,343 --> 00:04:15,343 GATES: Oh, of course. 81 00:04:15,343 --> 00:04:16,409 DANES: On a cul-de-sac, and, you know. 82 00:04:16,409 --> 00:04:17,443 GATES: Right. 83 00:04:17,443 --> 00:04:18,476 DANES: So I was sort of embarrassed by... 84 00:04:18,476 --> 00:04:19,509 GATES: Right. 85 00:04:19,509 --> 00:04:21,376 DANES: All of our found furniture. 86 00:04:21,376 --> 00:04:23,843 And then it was only later that I realized what 87 00:04:23,843 --> 00:04:26,576 a huge gift that was. 88 00:04:26,976 --> 00:04:29,109 GATES: Safe in this nurturing environment, 89 00:04:29,109 --> 00:04:32,009 Claire's artistic spirit blossomed. 90 00:04:32,009 --> 00:04:35,376 She was studying acting and dance before she was ten, 91 00:04:35,376 --> 00:04:38,676 and while the arts were a hobby for many children, 92 00:04:38,676 --> 00:04:42,076 Claire was no ordinary child. 93 00:04:42,076 --> 00:04:44,243 When the city opened a new middle school for 94 00:04:44,243 --> 00:04:48,309 young performers, she was among the first to enroll. 95 00:04:48,309 --> 00:04:51,943 That experience changed her life. 96 00:04:51,943 --> 00:04:55,209 DANES: I met other professional actors, and... 97 00:04:55,209 --> 00:04:56,543 GATES: This was sixth and seventh grade? 98 00:04:56,543 --> 00:04:57,543 DANES: Yes. 99 00:04:57,543 --> 00:04:58,809 GATES: Yeah. 100 00:04:58,809 --> 00:05:01,176 DANES: And so, discovered from them what a headshot was, 101 00:05:01,176 --> 00:05:05,176 what an agent was, and how to kind of procure them. 102 00:05:05,176 --> 00:05:11,343 And actually, my best friend, Ariel, uh, whose mom is a 103 00:05:11,709 --> 00:05:14,776 choreographer, uh, had done a student film... 104 00:05:14,776 --> 00:05:16,043 GATES: Mm-hmm. 105 00:05:16,043 --> 00:05:17,243 DANES: And that same director was going to make another 106 00:05:17,243 --> 00:05:21,276 student film, and, uh, asked Tamar, her mother, 107 00:05:21,276 --> 00:05:23,243 if she had any refer... 108 00:05:23,243 --> 00:05:25,309 you know, she had anybody in mind who might be good. 109 00:05:25,309 --> 00:05:26,743 She recommended me. 110 00:05:26,743 --> 00:05:28,176 She was like my first agent. 111 00:05:28,176 --> 00:05:32,176 And so I did this little movie and had just 112 00:05:32,176 --> 00:05:35,109 the best time ever, you know? 113 00:05:35,109 --> 00:05:36,976 It was, it was profound for me. 114 00:05:36,976 --> 00:05:39,043 Um, and um... 115 00:05:39,043 --> 00:05:40,176 GATES: A star is born. 116 00:05:40,176 --> 00:05:41,409 DANES: Yeah! 117 00:05:41,409 --> 00:05:44,609 But people responded and I started going on auditions, 118 00:05:44,609 --> 00:05:46,909 rollerblading from audition to audition... 119 00:05:46,909 --> 00:05:51,309 As a kid, a sweaty mess, and started getting jobs. 120 00:05:51,309 --> 00:05:52,443 GATES: Mm-hmm. 121 00:05:52,443 --> 00:05:54,976 DANES: And I just always knew, innately and, and 122 00:05:54,976 --> 00:05:59,976 inexplicably, that this was, I, that this was it for me. 123 00:06:01,243 --> 00:06:03,909 GATES: Claire's instincts would prove correct beyond 124 00:06:03,909 --> 00:06:07,076 anything she possibly could have imagined. 125 00:06:07,076 --> 00:06:09,409 By the time she was 14, 126 00:06:09,409 --> 00:06:12,276 she was starring in "My So-Called Life", 127 00:06:12,276 --> 00:06:14,409 which is still routinely cited as one of the 128 00:06:14,409 --> 00:06:17,176 best TV shows ever made. 129 00:06:18,076 --> 00:06:21,476 Just four years later, she was among the most sought-after 130 00:06:21,476 --> 00:06:23,609 actors in Hollywood. 131 00:06:23,609 --> 00:06:27,209 A dizzying ascent that brought an array of challenges. 132 00:06:27,209 --> 00:06:30,976 But Claire was up to the task. 133 00:06:32,709 --> 00:06:34,143 What kept you grounded? 134 00:06:34,143 --> 00:06:35,376 DANES: Well, my parents. 135 00:06:35,376 --> 00:06:36,809 Um, my family. 136 00:06:36,809 --> 00:06:40,776 Um, and, and that we were all being kind of initiated 137 00:06:40,776 --> 00:06:42,909 together was very helpful. 138 00:06:42,909 --> 00:06:44,143 GATES: Mm-hmm. 139 00:06:44,143 --> 00:06:45,543 DANES: But I think it did take us by surprise. 140 00:06:45,543 --> 00:06:46,843 GATES: Mmm. 141 00:06:46,843 --> 00:06:49,076 DANES: You know, suddenly a limo was pulling up to take my 142 00:06:49,076 --> 00:06:52,009 dad and me to LA to screentest for something. 143 00:06:52,009 --> 00:06:54,376 It'd be like, "What is this?!" You know? 144 00:06:54,376 --> 00:06:55,409 GATES: Yeah. 145 00:06:55,409 --> 00:06:57,976 DANES: So none of us were prepared. 146 00:06:57,976 --> 00:06:59,243 GATES: Mm-hmm. 147 00:06:59,243 --> 00:07:02,176 DANES: And they were very, very generous to give so much 148 00:07:02,176 --> 00:07:06,676 of themselves to me and this wild adventure. 149 00:07:06,676 --> 00:07:08,809 I'm forever grateful. 150 00:07:08,809 --> 00:07:09,809 GATES: They believed in you. 151 00:07:09,809 --> 00:07:10,809 DANES: They did. 152 00:07:10,809 --> 00:07:11,843 GATES: Yeah. 153 00:07:11,843 --> 00:07:15,409 DANES: I mean, yeah. I owe everything to them. 154 00:07:17,109 --> 00:07:20,276 GATES: My second guest is Jeff Daniels. 155 00:07:20,743 --> 00:07:24,809 A star of both stage and screen, Jeff has won two Emmys 156 00:07:24,809 --> 00:07:28,543 and been nominated for three Tonys, including one for his 157 00:07:28,543 --> 00:07:32,443 magisterial performance in Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of 158 00:07:32,443 --> 00:07:34,709 "To Kill A Mockingbird"... 159 00:07:34,709 --> 00:07:37,376 All told, Jeff's been in the limelight for 160 00:07:37,376 --> 00:07:40,143 more than four decades. 161 00:07:40,143 --> 00:07:43,276 But that's a very long way from where he started. 162 00:07:44,409 --> 00:07:48,809 He grew up in Chelsea, a tiny city in a rural corner of 163 00:07:48,809 --> 00:07:53,009 Michigan where he found his calling almost by accident. 164 00:07:55,309 --> 00:07:58,443 DANIELS: The choir teacher I had, she was bored on a 165 00:07:58,443 --> 00:08:01,576 Friday afternoon and said, "Let's just do skits. 166 00:08:01,576 --> 00:08:05,209 Jeff, you're a politician who's giving a speech, and 167 00:08:05,209 --> 00:08:08,609 your pants are falling down, go ahead." 168 00:08:08,609 --> 00:08:11,909 And with not a clue as to what improv was, I got up there and 169 00:08:11,909 --> 00:08:13,909 probably did 3 or 4 minutes. 170 00:08:13,909 --> 00:08:14,976 GATES: That's great. 171 00:08:14,976 --> 00:08:16,443 DANIELS: And the whole class was cracking up. 172 00:08:16,443 --> 00:08:18,676 She went to my parents and said, "Keep an eye on this 173 00:08:18,676 --> 00:08:20,476 one, there's something going on." 174 00:08:20,476 --> 00:08:21,976 GATES: But she had to know, already. 175 00:08:21,976 --> 00:08:23,043 She didn't call on you randomly? 176 00:08:23,043 --> 00:08:24,076 DANIELS: That's when she knew. 177 00:08:24,076 --> 00:08:25,109 GATES: Mm-hmm. 178 00:08:25,109 --> 00:08:26,409 DANIELS: And then I just got put in musicals. 179 00:08:26,409 --> 00:08:27,943 I was Tevye on "Fiddler on the Roof". 180 00:08:27,943 --> 00:08:29,076 I know, I know. 181 00:08:29,076 --> 00:08:31,276 Fagin. Uh, Harold Hill. 182 00:08:31,276 --> 00:08:35,143 She, she, she gave me every experience a young actor could 183 00:08:35,143 --> 00:08:39,076 possibly want in order to get better by doing. 184 00:08:40,109 --> 00:08:42,176 GATES: While Jeff's teacher may have seen his potential 185 00:08:42,176 --> 00:08:46,076 immediately, his parents would need some persuading. 186 00:08:47,409 --> 00:08:50,343 Jeff's father ran a lumber yard in Chelsea, and the 187 00:08:50,343 --> 00:08:53,709 expectation was for Jeff to take over the business, 188 00:08:53,709 --> 00:08:57,309 it would take some time for his parents to accept that 189 00:08:57,309 --> 00:08:59,976 he wanted to go his own way. 190 00:08:59,976 --> 00:09:03,076 Fortunately, the evidence was right in front of them, 191 00:09:03,076 --> 00:09:06,309 on the local stage. 192 00:09:07,643 --> 00:09:09,243 DANIELS: You know, you do two weekends in a high school 193 00:09:09,243 --> 00:09:12,043 musical, and then you come home on a Friday night, and 194 00:09:12,043 --> 00:09:14,443 you got, you know, and you just did the show, and they 195 00:09:14,443 --> 00:09:18,109 were in the audience again, and it was like dissecting 196 00:09:18,109 --> 00:09:20,476 the football game that you played in. 197 00:09:20,476 --> 00:09:23,343 I thought that song went really well. 198 00:09:23,343 --> 00:09:25,576 I thought that one scene where you have with Dodger, 199 00:09:25,576 --> 00:09:28,076 Artful Dodger, I just thought that was terrific. 200 00:09:28,076 --> 00:09:30,843 He, he, they didn't have a clue as to how to talk it. 201 00:09:30,843 --> 00:09:35,609 But, uh, as I look back, that was them just seeing if 202 00:09:35,609 --> 00:09:40,209 I was really, uh, special 203 00:09:40,209 --> 00:09:44,376 or at least different enough to try, uh, 204 00:09:44,376 --> 00:09:46,176 and I think that's when they decided that if he 205 00:09:46,176 --> 00:09:48,576 wants to go, we should let him go. 206 00:09:50,309 --> 00:09:53,676 GATES: Jeff was soon acting at Central Michigan University. 207 00:09:53,676 --> 00:09:57,676 But his path to success was by no means a straight one, and, 208 00:09:57,676 --> 00:10:00,343 ironically, he'd be relying on his parents 209 00:10:00,343 --> 00:10:03,176 more than he imagined. 210 00:10:03,809 --> 00:10:05,743 During his junior year of college, 211 00:10:05,743 --> 00:10:08,976 he dropped out of school after he was invited to join the famed 212 00:10:08,976 --> 00:10:12,009 Circle Repertory Company in New York City. 213 00:10:13,309 --> 00:10:16,376 Suddenly, Jeff found himself with a plum role, 214 00:10:16,376 --> 00:10:19,509 in the theater capital of the world, 215 00:10:19,509 --> 00:10:22,709 where unexpectedly, he bombed. 216 00:10:24,076 --> 00:10:27,809 DANIELS: I got murdered in that play, just crucified. 217 00:10:28,676 --> 00:10:30,443 I shut down creatively. 218 00:10:30,443 --> 00:10:33,209 I just, it was just fear. 219 00:10:33,209 --> 00:10:34,843 I'm 21. 220 00:10:34,843 --> 00:10:36,976 I'm out of a cornfield in Michigan. 221 00:10:36,976 --> 00:10:38,909 And now I'm what? 222 00:10:38,909 --> 00:10:40,076 Where? 223 00:10:40,076 --> 00:10:43,909 In a play with the New York Times going... this? 224 00:10:43,909 --> 00:10:47,109 GATES: What kept you from going back to Central? 225 00:10:47,109 --> 00:10:49,409 DANIELS: I remember calling home. 226 00:10:49,409 --> 00:10:54,376 I would call on Sunday nights, collect, and I told them, 227 00:10:54,376 --> 00:10:56,209 I said, "I don't think this is working out, 228 00:10:56,209 --> 00:10:58,043 I don't want to be here." 229 00:10:58,043 --> 00:11:01,576 And they could hear it. 230 00:11:01,576 --> 00:11:03,809 And dad was on one line, and he said, 231 00:11:03,809 --> 00:11:07,709 "Well, you know, it's not easy, and uh, 232 00:11:07,709 --> 00:11:11,043 you might, you might have a point, you know? 233 00:11:11,043 --> 00:11:13,443 You might, maybe you gave it a try, and you know, of course, 234 00:11:13,443 --> 00:11:15,743 the lumber yard's here, but I'm not saying that. 235 00:11:15,743 --> 00:11:17,743 I'm just saying that, you know, I mean, if, if, 236 00:11:17,743 --> 00:11:20,376 you have options. And you know?" 237 00:11:20,376 --> 00:11:21,643 GATES: That's a good dad. 238 00:11:21,643 --> 00:11:22,876 DANIELS: "I mean, at the end of the day, it's your decision, 239 00:11:22,876 --> 00:11:25,443 but Marge, what do you think?" 240 00:11:25,443 --> 00:11:28,909 She said: "Find a way to stay." 241 00:11:28,909 --> 00:11:30,143 And she hung up. 242 00:11:30,143 --> 00:11:32,176 GATES: Hmm. Well, god bless her. 243 00:11:32,176 --> 00:11:35,109 DANIELS: Yeah. She, she saved my career. 244 00:11:35,843 --> 00:11:38,976 GATES: Jeff and Claire both exude a deep sense of security 245 00:11:38,976 --> 00:11:43,209 that flows out of their tightly-knit childhood homes. 246 00:11:43,209 --> 00:11:46,209 But as we turned to their roots, I soon discovered that 247 00:11:46,209 --> 00:11:49,376 their families, as bonded as they may have been, 248 00:11:49,376 --> 00:11:52,743 had lost track of some incredible history. 249 00:11:53,743 --> 00:11:57,509 It was time to bring that history back to light. 250 00:11:58,643 --> 00:12:01,776 I started with Claire Danes. 251 00:12:01,776 --> 00:12:05,209 Her paternal grandmother, Claire Tomowske, died of a 252 00:12:05,209 --> 00:12:08,876 brain aneurysm when she just was just 42 years old, 253 00:12:08,876 --> 00:12:11,776 and while Claire bears her grandmother's name, 254 00:12:11,776 --> 00:12:14,943 she knows very little about her life. 255 00:12:16,043 --> 00:12:17,043 In the archives of the 256 00:12:17,043 --> 00:12:19,009 Washington State University libraries, 257 00:12:19,009 --> 00:12:22,343 we discovered that the two had a shared a passion: 258 00:12:22,343 --> 00:12:24,143 theater. 259 00:12:24,143 --> 00:12:26,176 Indeed, Claire's grandmother wrote a 260 00:12:26,176 --> 00:12:29,076 master's thesis on Shakespeare. 261 00:12:30,843 --> 00:12:32,776 What's it like for you to see that? 262 00:12:32,776 --> 00:12:34,276 DANES: Uh, profound. 263 00:12:34,276 --> 00:12:35,843 That's really, really meaningful. 264 00:12:35,843 --> 00:12:37,109 It, it just is. 265 00:12:37,109 --> 00:12:40,943 I mean, I, I mean, obviously I'm named after her and, uh, 266 00:12:40,943 --> 00:12:43,576 I wonder about her a lot. 267 00:12:43,576 --> 00:12:47,709 I've, I have a portrait of her that my parents loaned me... 268 00:12:47,709 --> 00:12:48,909 GATES: Mm-hmm. 269 00:12:48,909 --> 00:12:50,843 DANES: And I stare at it all the time, you know? 270 00:12:50,843 --> 00:12:52,276 "Who were you?" 271 00:12:52,276 --> 00:12:53,276 GATES: Hmm. 272 00:12:53,276 --> 00:12:55,809 DANES: But I think we would get along. 273 00:12:55,809 --> 00:12:56,809 GATES: Absolutely. 274 00:12:56,809 --> 00:12:58,209 DANES: I think we have common interests. 275 00:12:58,209 --> 00:12:59,376 GATES: And no one ever mentioned this? 276 00:12:59,376 --> 00:13:00,576 DANES: No. 277 00:13:00,576 --> 00:13:01,643 GATES: I wonder, do you think your father knew? 278 00:13:01,643 --> 00:13:02,676 DANES: No. 279 00:13:03,776 --> 00:13:06,443 GATES: The connection between Claire and her grandmother was 280 00:13:06,443 --> 00:13:10,243 even deeper than it first appeared, as evidenced by two 281 00:13:10,243 --> 00:13:14,976 newspaper articles we found from 1939, written while 282 00:13:14,976 --> 00:13:17,443 her grandmother was still in school... 283 00:13:17,909 --> 00:13:21,643 DANES: "Claire Tomowske, a graduate student, is directing." 284 00:13:21,643 --> 00:13:24,976 Oh, snap. Yeah. 285 00:13:24,976 --> 00:13:26,943 GATES: And that one? 286 00:13:26,943 --> 00:13:29,809 DANES: Wow. Wow. 287 00:13:29,809 --> 00:13:34,176 "Former Spokane Girl Chosen for Play Role. 288 00:13:34,176 --> 00:13:38,276 Claire Tomowske Danes has been selected to supervise the 289 00:13:38,276 --> 00:13:41,109 construction of the costumes for Chekhov's 290 00:13:41,109 --> 00:13:42,576 "The Cherry Orchard." 291 00:13:42,576 --> 00:13:44,443 Mrs. Danes has been outstanding in the technical 292 00:13:44,443 --> 00:13:47,209 field of the theater while working toward her 293 00:13:47,209 --> 00:13:48,676 master's degree." 294 00:13:48,676 --> 00:13:50,409 Oh my goodness. 295 00:13:50,409 --> 00:13:52,143 GATES: How about that? 296 00:13:52,143 --> 00:13:53,609 DANES: Wow. 297 00:13:53,609 --> 00:13:55,509 Um, that's very moving, actually. 298 00:13:55,509 --> 00:13:57,243 GATES: Mm. 299 00:13:57,776 --> 00:14:02,509 (cries) 300 00:14:03,209 --> 00:14:04,876 DANES: It's really, it's really amazing. 301 00:14:04,876 --> 00:14:07,076 Sorry. It's very provocative, all this. 302 00:14:07,076 --> 00:14:08,576 GATES: It is. 303 00:14:08,576 --> 00:14:09,609 DANES: Yeah. 304 00:14:09,609 --> 00:14:11,443 It's like the most vital stuff, right? 305 00:14:11,443 --> 00:14:13,076 GATES: Oh, it is. 306 00:14:13,076 --> 00:14:14,776 And it's right there in your family tree. 307 00:14:14,776 --> 00:14:16,243 It's just remarkable. 308 00:14:16,243 --> 00:14:18,209 DANES: It really is. It really is. 309 00:14:18,209 --> 00:14:19,309 GATES: It was hiding in the branches. 310 00:14:19,309 --> 00:14:23,176 DANES: Yeah. Wow. Wow. 311 00:14:23,176 --> 00:14:26,409 Um, "The Cherry Orchard", talking of branches, yeah. 312 00:14:26,409 --> 00:14:27,476 GATES: Yeah. 313 00:14:27,476 --> 00:14:29,809 DANES: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. 314 00:14:29,809 --> 00:14:31,343 I had the release. Thank you. 315 00:14:31,343 --> 00:14:32,543 GATES: You're Claire, Jr. 316 00:14:32,543 --> 00:14:33,776 DANES: Yeah. Yeah. 317 00:14:33,776 --> 00:14:35,076 GATES: Yeah. You know? 318 00:14:35,076 --> 00:14:36,109 DANES: Hot damn. 319 00:14:36,109 --> 00:14:37,109 GATES: I think it's cool. 320 00:14:37,109 --> 00:14:38,676 DANES: It's so cool. 321 00:14:40,509 --> 00:14:42,143 GATES: This branch of Claire's tree had more 322 00:14:42,143 --> 00:14:44,609 surprises in store. 323 00:14:44,609 --> 00:14:48,709 Moving back one generation, we came to two people who were 324 00:14:48,709 --> 00:14:51,743 completely unknown to her. 325 00:14:52,809 --> 00:14:53,843 Have you ever seen those photos before? 326 00:14:53,843 --> 00:14:55,043 DANES: No. 327 00:14:55,043 --> 00:14:56,409 GATES: You're looking at your grandmother's parents. 328 00:14:56,409 --> 00:14:57,443 DANES: Wow. 329 00:14:57,443 --> 00:14:58,809 GATES: You just met your great-grandparents. 330 00:14:58,809 --> 00:14:59,809 DANES: Wow. 331 00:14:59,809 --> 00:15:00,976 GATES: Elva May Bittner and... 332 00:15:00,976 --> 00:15:02,109 DANES: Elva? 333 00:15:02,109 --> 00:15:03,609 GATES: Elva. E-L-V-A. 334 00:15:03,609 --> 00:15:04,976 DANES: That's a wild name! 335 00:15:04,976 --> 00:15:07,109 GATES: Elva May. DANES: Elva May. 336 00:15:07,109 --> 00:15:09,543 GATES: Elva May Bittner and Ernest Tomowske. 337 00:15:09,543 --> 00:15:11,876 Do you see any family resemblance? 338 00:15:11,876 --> 00:15:17,043 DANES: Yes. I see my dad's eyes in Ernie. 339 00:15:17,043 --> 00:15:21,043 And, that pointy chin. 340 00:15:21,043 --> 00:15:22,409 GATES: Mm-hmm. 341 00:15:22,409 --> 00:15:23,976 DANES: That's my pointy chin. 342 00:15:23,976 --> 00:15:25,943 GATES: I'm looking at it. Yeah. 343 00:15:25,943 --> 00:15:28,209 DANES: Yeah. Yeah. 344 00:15:29,443 --> 00:15:33,709 GATES: As it turns out, Elva and Ernest were a fascinating pair, 345 00:15:33,709 --> 00:15:36,843 soon after marrying, Ernest founded the 346 00:15:36,843 --> 00:15:40,609 first advertising agency in Spokane, Washington 347 00:15:40,609 --> 00:15:44,576 then grew it into a national business. 348 00:15:44,576 --> 00:15:47,409 Along the way, he got help from his wife and daughter 349 00:15:47,409 --> 00:15:51,709 Claire, both of whom worked as copywriters at the firm. 350 00:15:51,709 --> 00:15:54,809 But then tragedy stuck. 351 00:15:55,776 --> 00:16:00,909 Ernest passed away in 1936, when he was just 48 years old, 352 00:16:01,909 --> 00:16:05,076 and Elva was left to pick up the pieces of her family, 353 00:16:05,076 --> 00:16:09,609 and its business, at a time when women were largely excluded 354 00:16:09,609 --> 00:16:12,343 from corporate America. 355 00:16:12,343 --> 00:16:16,276 It was a daunting challenge, but Elva met it head-on. 356 00:16:18,043 --> 00:16:21,743 DANES: "Tomowske Advertising Agency, Spokane, now headed by 357 00:16:21,743 --> 00:16:25,509 Mrs. Elva Tomowske as president and general manager 358 00:16:25,509 --> 00:16:27,743 following the death of the founder of the firm." 359 00:16:27,743 --> 00:16:28,943 GATES: Elva took over... 360 00:16:28,943 --> 00:16:29,943 DANES: Wow. 361 00:16:29,943 --> 00:16:30,943 GATES: As president of the company. 362 00:16:30,943 --> 00:16:31,943 DANES: That can't have been... 363 00:16:31,943 --> 00:16:32,943 GATES: Common. 364 00:16:32,943 --> 00:16:33,976 DANES: Typical. 365 00:16:33,976 --> 00:16:35,376 GATES: No. Not in the 1930s? 366 00:16:35,376 --> 00:16:36,476 DANES: These are some impressive broads. 367 00:16:36,476 --> 00:16:37,509 GATES: Yeah. That's right. 368 00:16:37,509 --> 00:16:38,776 DANES: Yeah. 369 00:16:38,776 --> 00:16:40,109 GATES: Your great-grandmother was way ahead of her time. 370 00:16:40,109 --> 00:16:41,543 DANES: That's amazing. 371 00:16:41,543 --> 00:16:43,476 GATES: What's it like to learn this? 372 00:16:43,476 --> 00:16:49,709 DANES: Um, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm like, kvelling. 373 00:16:49,709 --> 00:16:50,843 (laughs). 374 00:16:50,843 --> 00:16:52,143 GATES: Yeah. 375 00:16:52,143 --> 00:16:55,209 DANES: No, I do, I feel, um, yeah, what a, what a wonderful 376 00:16:55,209 --> 00:16:57,809 thing to have inherited. 377 00:16:57,809 --> 00:17:01,976 GATES: Under Elva's watch, the agency continued to prosper, 378 00:17:01,976 --> 00:17:05,343 she ran it for more than a decade before handing over the 379 00:17:05,343 --> 00:17:08,143 reins and retiring to Hawaii, 380 00:17:08,143 --> 00:17:10,743 where she lived to be 79 years old, 381 00:17:10,743 --> 00:17:13,943 and passed on a sizable estate. 382 00:17:15,409 --> 00:17:17,709 Do you feel a connection to Elva? 383 00:17:17,709 --> 00:17:19,409 DANES: Yes. I mean, you know what? 384 00:17:19,409 --> 00:17:21,643 It's interesting, my dad, my mom always says, 385 00:17:21,643 --> 00:17:23,809 "Your dad's a better feminist than I am!" 386 00:17:23,809 --> 00:17:29,709 But he really loves women and he really respects women, and, 387 00:17:29,709 --> 00:17:35,009 uh, I, I knew that in my bones, right? 388 00:17:35,009 --> 00:17:36,243 GATES: Mm-hmm. 389 00:17:36,243 --> 00:17:39,876 DANES: So, this is interesting in relationship to that. 390 00:17:39,876 --> 00:17:45,943 Like, I can see how that was probably true in, you know, 391 00:17:46,343 --> 00:17:49,509 his family and, and the families that preceded them, right? 392 00:17:49,509 --> 00:17:50,876 GATES: Yes. It was in the air. 393 00:17:50,876 --> 00:17:51,909 DANES: It was in the air. 394 00:17:51,909 --> 00:17:52,943 GATES: Right. 395 00:17:52,943 --> 00:17:55,676 DANES: Yeah, which is...wonderful. 396 00:17:57,176 --> 00:18:00,509 GATES: Much like Claire, Jeff Daniels was about to find 397 00:18:00,509 --> 00:18:04,743 an inspiring story hidden in his father's family tree. 398 00:18:06,443 --> 00:18:08,709 It begins with his great-great-grandfather, 399 00:18:08,709 --> 00:18:12,509 a man named Melvin Storms. 400 00:18:12,509 --> 00:18:18,076 Melvin was born around 1841, so he was prime age to fight 401 00:18:18,076 --> 00:18:20,509 when the Civil War broke out. 402 00:18:21,276 --> 00:18:24,009 Jeff, who played famed Union Colonel 403 00:18:24,009 --> 00:18:27,576 Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain in the film "Gettysburg", 404 00:18:27,576 --> 00:18:30,176 has a keen interest in the war, 405 00:18:30,176 --> 00:18:33,209 and was eager to see whether his ancestor served. 406 00:18:35,343 --> 00:18:38,709 We found our answer in the national archives. 407 00:18:40,743 --> 00:18:43,976 DANIELS: "Volunteer enlistment, I, Melvin W. Storm, 408 00:18:43,976 --> 00:18:46,709 State of Michigan, Town of Nankin, 409 00:18:46,709 --> 00:18:48,043 born in Chicago, Illinois, 410 00:18:48,043 --> 00:18:51,176 aged 21 years, do hereby acknowledge to have 411 00:18:51,176 --> 00:18:55,176 volunteered this 11th day of August, 1862, to serve as a 412 00:18:55,176 --> 00:18:58,043 soldier in the Army of the United States of America for a 413 00:18:58,043 --> 00:19:00,043 period of three years." 414 00:19:00,043 --> 00:19:01,743 GATES: Your great-great-grandfather 415 00:19:01,743 --> 00:19:04,209 volunteered to defend the Union. 416 00:19:04,209 --> 00:19:06,809 DANIELS: Yes! Way to be. 417 00:19:06,809 --> 00:19:09,443 GATES: Can you imagine going off to war at the age of 21 418 00:19:09,443 --> 00:19:10,709 and volunteering to do it? 419 00:19:10,709 --> 00:19:11,909 DANIELS: No, but it was different, and when doing 420 00:19:11,909 --> 00:19:13,009 Gettysburg, it was the same thing with 421 00:19:13,009 --> 00:19:15,209 Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, is that this, 422 00:19:15,209 --> 00:19:16,576 there were no sports teams. 423 00:19:16,576 --> 00:19:17,776 GATES: Right. 424 00:19:17,776 --> 00:19:19,509 DANIELS: There were no, this is what guys did to be 425 00:19:19,509 --> 00:19:21,109 thought of as heroic. 426 00:19:21,109 --> 00:19:22,409 GATES: Uh-huh. 427 00:19:22,409 --> 00:19:23,809 DANIELS: Yes, maybe to defend it, and all that, and maybe 428 00:19:23,809 --> 00:19:27,076 Lincoln was going "We need people," but this is where you 429 00:19:27,076 --> 00:19:28,476 go off to be a hero. 430 00:19:28,476 --> 00:19:29,476 GATES: Mm-hmm. 431 00:19:29,476 --> 00:19:30,676 DANIELS: And then you come back a hero. 432 00:19:30,676 --> 00:19:31,709 GATES: Right. 433 00:19:31,709 --> 00:19:34,309 DANIELS: That was a call, I can be somebody. 434 00:19:35,276 --> 00:19:38,543 GATES: Melvin wasn't the only member of his family to feel 435 00:19:38,543 --> 00:19:42,809 this call, his younger brother Abram also volunteered. 436 00:19:43,643 --> 00:19:47,909 But their dreams of glory would soon collide with cold reality. 437 00:19:51,776 --> 00:19:53,643 In December of 1862, 438 00:19:53,643 --> 00:19:57,376 Melvin's regiment fought in the battle of Fredericksburg, 439 00:19:57,376 --> 00:20:00,876 one of the worst Union defeats of the entire war, 440 00:20:01,476 --> 00:20:05,443 a bloodbath that claimed over 12,000 casualties. 441 00:20:07,076 --> 00:20:09,843 Jeff had seen the battle recreated up close 442 00:20:09,843 --> 00:20:13,143 when he played Chamberlain, giving him some idea of 443 00:20:13,143 --> 00:20:16,109 what his ancestor endured. 444 00:20:17,576 --> 00:20:19,109 DANIELS: You know, you're shooting a movie. 445 00:20:19,109 --> 00:20:21,343 So, there's, you know, that, factor that in, 446 00:20:21,343 --> 00:20:22,943 but I remember the cannons. 447 00:20:22,943 --> 00:20:24,109 GATES: Uh-huh. 448 00:20:24,109 --> 00:20:25,709 DANIELS: Uh, they had real cannons, 449 00:20:25,709 --> 00:20:27,409 and they were on a hill, 450 00:20:27,409 --> 00:20:30,343 seemingly a mile away, maybe half a mile. 451 00:20:30,343 --> 00:20:32,709 When they went off, you could feel the 452 00:20:32,709 --> 00:20:35,009 concussive pfffm thing come through. 453 00:20:35,009 --> 00:20:36,043 GATES: Oh wow. 454 00:20:36,043 --> 00:20:37,743 (explosion sounds) 455 00:20:37,743 --> 00:20:39,009 DANIELS: And we're just shooting a movie. 456 00:20:39,009 --> 00:20:40,476 GATES: Right. 457 00:20:40,476 --> 00:20:41,743 DANIELS: Yeah. 458 00:20:41,743 --> 00:20:45,109 GATES: That was likely the first time Melvin saw combat, 459 00:20:45,109 --> 00:20:47,443 and this would not be the last time. 460 00:20:47,443 --> 00:20:50,043 Would you please turn the page? 461 00:20:50,776 --> 00:20:53,343 This is another muster roll for Melvin's regiment. 462 00:20:53,343 --> 00:20:55,376 Would you please read the transcribed section? 463 00:20:55,376 --> 00:20:59,409 DANIELS: Oh, "Melvin H. Storms, private, appears on 464 00:20:59,409 --> 00:21:02,709 company muster roll for July and August 1863, 465 00:21:02,709 --> 00:21:05,043 present or absent: absent. 466 00:21:05,043 --> 00:21:07,909 Remarks... 467 00:21:09,209 --> 00:21:12,876 captured by the enemy at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 468 00:21:12,876 --> 00:21:15,976 July 1, 1863." 469 00:21:15,976 --> 00:21:17,876 Captured. 470 00:21:17,876 --> 00:21:19,509 GATES: Captured. 471 00:21:19,509 --> 00:21:21,543 DANIELS: Wow. 472 00:21:22,343 --> 00:21:24,576 Boy. 473 00:21:25,943 --> 00:21:27,376 It ain't fun now. 474 00:21:27,376 --> 00:21:28,743 GATES: Mm-mm. 475 00:21:28,743 --> 00:21:31,776 DANIELS: You're growing up in a hurry on that day. 476 00:21:32,976 --> 00:21:35,676 GATES: Melvin was part of the first set of Union infantry 477 00:21:35,676 --> 00:21:39,543 regiments to engage the rebels at Gettysburg. 478 00:21:39,543 --> 00:21:42,976 And we believe he was captured during in the initial fighting. 479 00:21:43,809 --> 00:21:47,343 It was a terrible time to fall into enemy hands, 480 00:21:47,343 --> 00:21:50,376 within a month, prisoner exchanges between the 481 00:21:50,376 --> 00:21:54,343 north and the south would be suspended indefinitely... 482 00:21:55,443 --> 00:21:58,643 So, this meant that your ancestor stood almost no 483 00:21:58,643 --> 00:22:03,643 chance of being exchanged, as would've happened previously, 484 00:22:03,643 --> 00:22:08,076 which meant he was being marched South. 485 00:22:09,143 --> 00:22:10,943 You know anything about Confederate 486 00:22:10,943 --> 00:22:13,043 prisoner of war camps? 487 00:22:13,043 --> 00:22:14,876 DANIELS: Uh, very little. 488 00:22:14,876 --> 00:22:17,643 GATES: Could you please turn the page? 489 00:22:18,176 --> 00:22:21,076 Would you please read the transcribed section? 490 00:22:21,076 --> 00:22:23,409 DANIELS: "Name: Storms, Melvin H., 491 00:22:23,409 --> 00:22:25,609 Company D Regiment 24" 492 00:22:25,609 --> 00:22:28,909 GATES: That is your great-great-grandfather 493 00:22:28,909 --> 00:22:34,309 and his prison record from Andersonville prison. 494 00:22:34,309 --> 00:22:36,776 DANIELS: That, I've heard of. 495 00:22:36,776 --> 00:22:39,109 GATES: The infamous Andersonville. 496 00:22:39,109 --> 00:22:40,376 DANIELS: A hell on earth. 497 00:22:40,376 --> 00:22:43,109 GATES: Hell on earth in Georgia. 498 00:22:47,609 --> 00:22:51,243 Andersonville was the largest and most brutal of 499 00:22:51,243 --> 00:22:54,176 all confederate prisons. 500 00:22:54,743 --> 00:22:58,909 Built to house 10,000 men, its population soon swelled to 501 00:22:58,909 --> 00:23:02,076 three times that number. 502 00:23:02,076 --> 00:23:04,976 Conditions were appalling. 503 00:23:04,976 --> 00:23:08,176 When Jeff's ancestor arrived, the confederates were losing 504 00:23:08,176 --> 00:23:11,076 the war, and running out of food. 505 00:23:11,743 --> 00:23:15,109 Hunger and disease spread like wildfire through the camp. 506 00:23:16,109 --> 00:23:20,809 A diary written by one of the inmates reads like a passage 507 00:23:20,809 --> 00:23:23,676 from Dante's "Inferno"... 508 00:23:24,076 --> 00:23:28,043 DANIELS: "Men puff out of human shape and are perfectly 509 00:23:28,043 --> 00:23:30,276 horrible to look at. 510 00:23:30,276 --> 00:23:33,576 Philo Lewis died today. 511 00:23:33,576 --> 00:23:36,143 Could not have weighed at the time of his death 512 00:23:36,143 --> 00:23:38,443 more than 90 pounds. 513 00:23:38,443 --> 00:23:42,876 May 28, it seems as if everybody were bound to die here. 514 00:23:42,876 --> 00:23:44,943 The scurvy getting hold of me. 515 00:23:44,943 --> 00:23:48,176 My teeth are becoming loose and mouth very sore. 516 00:23:48,176 --> 00:23:50,443 Stormy weather. 517 00:23:50,443 --> 00:23:54,343 June 4, I have not been dry for nearly a week, 518 00:23:54,343 --> 00:23:56,443 raining continually. 519 00:23:56,443 --> 00:23:59,043 Very small rations of poor molasses, cornbread, 520 00:23:59,043 --> 00:24:02,143 and bean soup, or bug soup, rather." 521 00:24:02,143 --> 00:24:03,909 GATES: Mmm. 522 00:24:03,909 --> 00:24:07,209 What's it like for you to learn that your ancestor was there? 523 00:24:07,209 --> 00:24:11,643 DANIELS: What people go through, and assuming 524 00:24:11,643 --> 00:24:17,943 he comes out of this, allows me to be here. 525 00:24:18,509 --> 00:24:19,709 GATES: Uh-huh. 526 00:24:19,709 --> 00:24:24,609 DANIELS: Had he not, nor would I. 527 00:24:24,609 --> 00:24:26,309 GATES: Uh-huh. 528 00:24:26,309 --> 00:24:29,776 DANIELS: And you look at what, in this case, 529 00:24:29,776 --> 00:24:32,976 Melvin had to overcome. 530 00:24:32,976 --> 00:24:35,776 Except for soldiers in the military nowadays, 531 00:24:35,776 --> 00:24:40,209 people have no idea what people had to go through 532 00:24:40,209 --> 00:24:42,576 so that you could be here. 533 00:24:42,576 --> 00:24:45,209 No idea. 534 00:24:46,243 --> 00:24:49,909 GATES: The death rate at Andersonville was roughly 30%. 535 00:24:49,909 --> 00:24:54,543 Melvin, incredibly, not only survived, he did so alongside 536 00:24:54,543 --> 00:24:59,909 his brother Abram, who likely arrived in May of 1864. 537 00:25:01,776 --> 00:25:05,709 The brothers remained together in the camp for almost a year, 538 00:25:05,709 --> 00:25:08,176 until prisoner exchanges were resumed in the 539 00:25:08,176 --> 00:25:10,776 final weeks of the war. 540 00:25:10,776 --> 00:25:15,043 But this seemingly miraculous story has a complicated ending. 541 00:25:16,943 --> 00:25:21,176 In 1874, less than a decade after returning home, 542 00:25:21,176 --> 00:25:25,876 Melvin died of heart disease, leaving his wife Mary and their 543 00:25:25,876 --> 00:25:28,376 two young children behind, 544 00:25:29,076 --> 00:25:31,443 and when Mary applied for a widow's pension, 545 00:25:31,443 --> 00:25:34,609 she was denied, because the government claimed 546 00:25:34,609 --> 00:25:37,476 that Melvin's death was caused by an ailment that 547 00:25:37,476 --> 00:25:40,143 preceded his service. 548 00:25:41,009 --> 00:25:43,076 DANIELS: "So, we're not going to give you a dime. 549 00:25:43,076 --> 00:25:44,876 Good luck." 550 00:25:44,876 --> 00:25:46,009 Right? 551 00:25:46,009 --> 00:25:48,009 GATES: You got it. 552 00:25:48,009 --> 00:25:49,776 DANIELS: Save money where you can save money. 553 00:25:49,776 --> 00:25:52,109 GATES: Can you imagine? 554 00:25:52,109 --> 00:25:54,076 DANIELS: "Thanks for your service." 555 00:25:54,076 --> 00:25:55,576 GATES: Yeah. 556 00:25:55,576 --> 00:25:58,176 DANIELS: "Great. Next." 557 00:25:59,209 --> 00:26:01,776 Okay. 558 00:26:01,776 --> 00:26:04,876 Now, Mary's got to deal with that. 559 00:26:04,876 --> 00:26:06,643 GATES: Mm-hmm. 560 00:26:06,643 --> 00:26:10,809 DANIELS: I mean, what these people had to survive. 561 00:26:10,809 --> 00:26:12,909 GATES: Imagine opening that envelope. 562 00:26:12,909 --> 00:26:17,076 DANIELS: Oh, needing it, hoping for it. 563 00:26:17,076 --> 00:26:19,209 GATES: Mm-hm. 564 00:26:21,343 --> 00:26:23,576 (sighs) 565 00:26:25,476 --> 00:26:29,409 GATES: Mary was just 28 years old when she lost Melvin, 566 00:26:29,409 --> 00:26:32,243 and she had two young children to raise, including 567 00:26:32,243 --> 00:26:35,309 Jeff's great-grandfather Frank, 568 00:26:35,309 --> 00:26:38,843 fortunately, she was able to carry on. 569 00:26:39,476 --> 00:26:43,543 In 1880, she remarried, settling down with a farmer in 570 00:26:43,543 --> 00:26:47,876 eastern Michigan, not far from where Melvin had grown up. 571 00:26:51,076 --> 00:26:53,076 DANIELS: 1880? So, that's, that's uh... 572 00:26:53,076 --> 00:26:54,243 GATES: In 1880. 573 00:26:54,243 --> 00:26:56,309 DANIELS: Ten years after Melvin passed? 574 00:26:56,309 --> 00:26:57,309 GATES: Uh-huh. 575 00:26:57,309 --> 00:26:58,343 DANIELS: All right. So... 576 00:26:58,343 --> 00:26:59,776 GATES: He died in 1874, so six years. 577 00:26:59,776 --> 00:27:00,976 DANIELS: It wasn't like the next weekend. 578 00:27:00,976 --> 00:27:02,043 But all right. 579 00:27:02,043 --> 00:27:03,543 GATES: Six years, Six years later. 580 00:27:03,543 --> 00:27:04,876 DANIELS: Okay. 581 00:27:04,876 --> 00:27:06,776 GATES: She raised her children with her second husband. 582 00:27:06,776 --> 00:27:07,876 DANIELS: Good for her. 583 00:27:07,876 --> 00:27:08,909 GATES: Yeah. 584 00:27:08,909 --> 00:27:11,609 DANIELS: There's hope. Sun came out. Good. 585 00:27:11,609 --> 00:27:15,709 GATES: What's it been like for you to learn this story? 586 00:27:16,543 --> 00:27:18,543 DANIELS: I have a much better understanding, 587 00:27:18,543 --> 00:27:20,076 having not served in the military... 588 00:27:20,076 --> 00:27:21,343 GATES: Mm-hm. 589 00:27:21,343 --> 00:27:24,209 DANIELS: It makes me have a much better understanding of 590 00:27:24,209 --> 00:27:27,509 what the word patriotic actually means, 591 00:27:27,509 --> 00:27:31,476 not only in talk or deed 592 00:27:31,476 --> 00:27:34,643 but in what you do, 593 00:27:34,643 --> 00:27:38,076 what you stand for, and what you go through. 594 00:27:38,076 --> 00:27:39,176 GATES: Mm-hmm. 595 00:27:39,176 --> 00:27:45,409 DANIELS: And I, I, I feel uh, uh, closer to them. 596 00:27:45,976 --> 00:27:47,376 You've probably heard this, 597 00:27:47,376 --> 00:27:49,476 but I feel like, in a way, I know them... 598 00:27:49,476 --> 00:27:50,843 GATES: Mm-hm. 599 00:27:50,843 --> 00:27:54,309 DANIELS: Even though I've never known them, 600 00:27:54,309 --> 00:27:59,343 and I think that Gettysburg and the Civil War connection, 601 00:28:00,676 --> 00:28:03,276 we could have... 602 00:28:03,276 --> 00:28:06,343 I'd give anything to sit down with Melvin and Abram and talk 603 00:28:06,343 --> 00:28:09,443 about the Civil War, 604 00:28:09,443 --> 00:28:13,676 and what it means to be patriotic and then just listen. 605 00:28:17,643 --> 00:28:21,043 GATES: Turning from Jeff to back to Claire, I had another 606 00:28:21,043 --> 00:28:24,343 story of patriotism and sacrifice to share. 607 00:28:25,609 --> 00:28:28,109 Claire's maternal great-grandfather, 608 00:28:28,109 --> 00:28:30,443 a man named Peter Ebbert, 609 00:28:30,443 --> 00:28:32,509 died in World War I, 610 00:28:32,509 --> 00:28:35,643 leaving behind a wife and an unborn child: 611 00:28:35,643 --> 00:28:38,243 Claire's grandmother Catherine. 612 00:28:38,243 --> 00:28:41,276 Growing up, Claire knew Catherine well and spent a 613 00:28:41,276 --> 00:28:45,243 great deal of time with her, but Claire had no idea 614 00:28:45,243 --> 00:28:48,276 what her grandmother had experienced as a child. 615 00:28:49,709 --> 00:28:50,943 DANES: Wow. 616 00:28:50,943 --> 00:28:55,243 "Vet's Baby Unveils Tablet to Daddy She Never Saw." 617 00:28:55,709 --> 00:28:58,109 How's that for a headline? 618 00:28:58,109 --> 00:29:01,109 "Catherine Ebbert, three years old, never saw her father, 619 00:29:01,109 --> 00:29:04,209 Captain Peter W. Ebbert of Glen Rock, New Jersey, 620 00:29:04,209 --> 00:29:05,843 the first man from that town 621 00:29:05,843 --> 00:29:08,043 to be killed during the World War." 622 00:29:08,043 --> 00:29:09,309 Huh. 623 00:29:09,309 --> 00:29:11,509 GATES: Almost three years after Peter's death, 624 00:29:11,509 --> 00:29:15,209 Catherine helped unveil a memorial plaque called the 625 00:29:15,209 --> 00:29:17,109 Glen Rock Honor Roll. 626 00:29:17,109 --> 00:29:18,109 DANES: Oh, wow. 627 00:29:18,109 --> 00:29:19,543 GATES: What's it like to see that? 628 00:29:19,543 --> 00:29:21,509 DANES: Yeah, quite, quite poignant. 629 00:29:21,509 --> 00:29:25,343 I mean, it's particularly striking to see her as such 630 00:29:25,343 --> 00:29:27,976 a little girl wrapped in an American flag. 631 00:29:27,976 --> 00:29:29,143 GATES: Oh, yeah. 632 00:29:29,143 --> 00:29:32,876 DANES: That's a, that's a powerful image. 633 00:29:32,876 --> 00:29:35,876 GATES: Yeah, well, they were pulling out all the stops. 634 00:29:35,876 --> 00:29:37,409 DANES: They sure were. 635 00:29:37,409 --> 00:29:39,009 Nothing subtle about that. 636 00:29:39,009 --> 00:29:43,676 But I'm struck by, you know, the complexity of that, right? 637 00:29:43,676 --> 00:29:44,976 How layered that is. 638 00:29:44,976 --> 00:29:46,843 GATES: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 639 00:29:46,843 --> 00:29:49,076 DANES: There's a lot going on there. 640 00:29:49,076 --> 00:29:50,276 (laughs). 641 00:29:52,009 --> 00:29:54,809 GATES: Despite all the fanfare, the actual details of 642 00:29:54,809 --> 00:29:57,443 Peter's death were not passed down, 643 00:29:57,443 --> 00:30:00,909 but they are worth a plaque of their own. 644 00:30:00,909 --> 00:30:04,409 Peter died on the front lines in France, all because he 645 00:30:04,409 --> 00:30:07,943 volunteered to spot the location of enemy artillery, 646 00:30:07,943 --> 00:30:12,509 a high-risk job that was not part of his assignment. 647 00:30:14,309 --> 00:30:17,143 We found an account of his heroism in a letter, 648 00:30:17,143 --> 00:30:20,876 written to his young wife Marion by a fellow soldier who was 649 00:30:20,876 --> 00:30:23,143 with him at the end. 650 00:30:24,009 --> 00:30:26,276 DANES: "I asked Peter if he was going to return, and he 651 00:30:26,276 --> 00:30:30,843 said, no, he was going to the church tower to observe the 652 00:30:30,843 --> 00:30:35,309 artillery fire and report from which points it was coming. 653 00:30:35,309 --> 00:30:38,343 He had not been in the tower ten minutes before 654 00:30:38,343 --> 00:30:40,576 a large shell struck it. 655 00:30:40,576 --> 00:30:43,709 I at once rushed up and found that a piece of shrapnel had 656 00:30:43,709 --> 00:30:46,843 struck your husband, killing him instantly. 657 00:30:47,409 --> 00:30:50,809 The shock to me was great, for I loved him. 658 00:30:50,809 --> 00:30:56,343 Your only consolation is that he died as a brave soldier should 659 00:30:56,343 --> 00:30:59,209 and had been recommended for exceptional bravery. 660 00:30:59,209 --> 00:31:02,509 Major Thompson M Baird." 661 00:31:02,776 --> 00:31:05,976 Oh, it's very moving. It's all very moving. 662 00:31:05,976 --> 00:31:07,176 GATES: It is. 663 00:31:07,176 --> 00:31:11,276 DANES: Yeah. That's the stuff of movies, right? 664 00:31:11,276 --> 00:31:12,643 GATES: What do you think Marion felt when she 665 00:31:12,643 --> 00:31:14,076 received that letter? 666 00:31:14,076 --> 00:31:17,043 I mean, all these years later, 100 years later it's emotional. 667 00:31:17,043 --> 00:31:19,476 DANES: Yeah. Well, what an act of kindness. 668 00:31:19,476 --> 00:31:20,609 GATES: Mm. 669 00:31:20,609 --> 00:31:23,943 DANES: To know that there was somebody near him who 670 00:31:23,943 --> 00:31:27,609 valued him, loved him... 671 00:31:27,609 --> 00:31:29,043 GATES: Yeah. 672 00:31:29,043 --> 00:31:31,976 DANES: Was a friend, was probably reassuring. 673 00:31:31,976 --> 00:31:33,743 GATES: Oh, yeah, and said nice things about him. 674 00:31:33,743 --> 00:31:35,009 DANES: Said nice things. 675 00:31:35,009 --> 00:31:38,576 You know, that, that he was supported very close to the 676 00:31:38,576 --> 00:31:43,243 point at which he died, right, must have been 677 00:31:43,243 --> 00:31:45,643 an important thing to hear. 678 00:31:46,509 --> 00:31:49,876 GATES: Marion was just 21 years old when she received 679 00:31:49,876 --> 00:31:53,243 this news, and she was pregnant. 680 00:31:54,109 --> 00:31:56,443 Claire's grandmother Catherine 681 00:31:56,443 --> 00:32:00,309 would be born just a few weeks later. 682 00:32:01,676 --> 00:32:04,109 GATES: What's it like to learn that? 683 00:32:04,109 --> 00:32:06,509 (sighs). 684 00:32:06,509 --> 00:32:12,776 DANES: Um, well, I'd like to think that... 685 00:32:15,976 --> 00:32:18,676 yeah, that she brought joy to Marion. 686 00:32:18,676 --> 00:32:21,176 GATES: Mm. 687 00:32:22,409 --> 00:32:24,976 DANES: I don't know. That's really, it's very sad. 688 00:32:24,976 --> 00:32:26,509 GATES: It's very sad. 689 00:32:26,509 --> 00:32:29,376 DANES: Yeah. 690 00:32:29,376 --> 00:32:31,143 That must have been very difficult. 691 00:32:31,143 --> 00:32:32,876 GATES: Well, she was a 21-year-old widow. 692 00:32:32,876 --> 00:32:34,743 DANES: Yeah. 693 00:32:34,743 --> 00:32:37,743 It's provocative, right, because there's so many 694 00:32:37,743 --> 00:32:40,076 contradictory forces at play, feelings at play. 695 00:32:40,076 --> 00:32:41,376 GATES: Yeah, mm-hmm. 696 00:32:41,376 --> 00:32:45,176 DANES: Relief and, and kind of the ultimate happiness, and, 697 00:32:45,176 --> 00:32:48,276 uh, and the ultimate loss. 698 00:32:48,276 --> 00:32:49,843 GATES: And then every time she looks at Catherine... 699 00:32:49,843 --> 00:32:51,843 DANES: Yeah. GATES: She thinks of Peter. 700 00:32:51,843 --> 00:32:53,909 DANES: Yes. GATES: Yeah. 701 00:32:53,909 --> 00:32:55,376 DANES: Yeah. 702 00:32:56,643 --> 00:32:59,676 GATES: Peter was buried in a cemetery about 80 miles 703 00:32:59,676 --> 00:33:03,409 northeast of Paris, along with thousands of other 704 00:33:03,409 --> 00:33:07,109 American soldiers who perished in the war, 705 00:33:07,643 --> 00:33:10,709 we don't know if Marion ever visited his grave, 706 00:33:10,709 --> 00:33:14,743 but Catherine did in July of 1932, 707 00:33:14,743 --> 00:33:18,776 she and her grandmother, Peter's mother, crossed the 708 00:33:18,776 --> 00:33:23,843 Atlantic on a journey sponsored by the United States government. 709 00:33:25,176 --> 00:33:26,543 DANES: Wow. 710 00:33:26,543 --> 00:33:27,843 GATES: Catherine was 13 years old. 711 00:33:27,843 --> 00:33:29,143 Did she ever talk about that trip? 712 00:33:29,143 --> 00:33:31,043 DANES: No. No. 713 00:33:31,043 --> 00:33:33,309 I wish I had known. I would have asked her. 714 00:33:33,309 --> 00:33:34,709 GATES: I can't believe she didn't tell you. 715 00:33:34,709 --> 00:33:36,543 DANES: Yeah, that's very surprising that that wouldn't 716 00:33:36,543 --> 00:33:39,476 have made it back to me, or maybe I've just forgotten. 717 00:33:39,476 --> 00:33:40,776 It's just so striking. 718 00:33:40,776 --> 00:33:42,076 GATES: It is. I don't think you'd forget. 719 00:33:42,076 --> 00:33:43,243 "I went to France, baby. 720 00:33:43,243 --> 00:33:44,976 On a ship, you know, when I was 13." 721 00:33:44,976 --> 00:33:45,976 DANES: Yeah. 722 00:33:45,976 --> 00:33:46,976 GATES: "You did, Grandma?" 723 00:33:46,976 --> 00:33:48,009 DANES: On a ship. 724 00:33:48,009 --> 00:33:49,076 GATES: Yeah. 725 00:33:49,076 --> 00:33:50,409 DANES: Huh. 726 00:33:50,409 --> 00:33:51,409 GATES: What do you imagine it meant to her to see the grave 727 00:33:51,409 --> 00:33:53,409 of the father she never met? 728 00:33:53,409 --> 00:33:57,043 DANES: Well, I'm, I'm, I'm sure it was a, 729 00:33:57,043 --> 00:34:00,843 a useful pilgrimage, right? 730 00:34:00,843 --> 00:34:02,276 A useful ceremony. 731 00:34:02,276 --> 00:34:03,543 GATES: Mmm. 732 00:34:03,543 --> 00:34:06,776 DANES: But it's abstract, because how do you experience 733 00:34:06,776 --> 00:34:09,176 grief of someone you never knew, right? 734 00:34:09,176 --> 00:34:10,443 GATES: Right. Yeah. 735 00:34:10,443 --> 00:34:11,709 DANES: Yeah. 736 00:34:11,709 --> 00:34:13,009 GATES: You have to experience an emotion without memory. 737 00:34:13,009 --> 00:34:14,043 DANES: Exactly. 738 00:34:14,043 --> 00:34:15,143 GATES: Yeah. 739 00:34:15,143 --> 00:34:17,643 DANES: That's very confusing. 740 00:34:19,909 --> 00:34:22,809 GATES: We had one more detail to share with Claire 741 00:34:22,809 --> 00:34:25,276 regarding her grandmother, 742 00:34:25,276 --> 00:34:29,543 we found Catherine's high school yearbook, from 1936. 743 00:34:30,476 --> 00:34:33,576 It showed that she, too, had a taste for the arts, and was 744 00:34:33,576 --> 00:34:37,109 involved in a number of theatrical organizations. 745 00:34:38,743 --> 00:34:42,576 DANES: Aww. That's really lovely. 746 00:34:43,509 --> 00:34:45,109 I really loved her. 747 00:34:45,109 --> 00:34:47,309 She was a wonderful grandmother. 748 00:34:47,309 --> 00:34:49,609 GATES: And she was a performer, just like you. 749 00:34:49,609 --> 00:34:51,576 DANES: I did not know that. 750 00:34:51,576 --> 00:34:53,276 I knew she was a reader. 751 00:34:53,276 --> 00:34:55,009 She was a librarian later in life. 752 00:34:55,009 --> 00:34:56,343 GATES: Mm. 753 00:34:56,343 --> 00:35:00,609 DANES: But I didn't know she, uh, was in the Dramatic Club. 754 00:35:00,609 --> 00:35:01,809 And the Cabaret! 755 00:35:01,809 --> 00:35:04,309 GATES: Yeah. So, you, you came by it naturally. 756 00:35:04,309 --> 00:35:05,343 DANES: Both sides. 757 00:35:05,343 --> 00:35:07,376 GATES: On both sides. DANES: Yeah. Both sides. 758 00:35:07,376 --> 00:35:11,209 GATES: It was inevitable. DANES: Yeah. Yeah. 759 00:35:11,209 --> 00:35:13,643 GATES: We'd already revealed Jeff Daniels' connection to 760 00:35:13,643 --> 00:35:15,476 the Civil War. 761 00:35:15,476 --> 00:35:19,676 Now, following his father's family further back in time, 762 00:35:19,676 --> 00:35:23,276 we came to another primal scene from America's past. 763 00:35:24,376 --> 00:35:26,909 We found Jeff's eighth-great-grandfather, 764 00:35:26,909 --> 00:35:31,109 a man named Thomas Chandler, listed among the earliest 765 00:35:31,109 --> 00:35:34,509 settlers of what would become the town of North Andover, 766 00:35:34,509 --> 00:35:37,076 in colonial Massachusetts. 767 00:35:38,176 --> 00:35:39,876 DANIELS: Okay. What year are we talking about? 768 00:35:39,876 --> 00:35:41,143 GATES: 1656. 769 00:35:41,143 --> 00:35:43,043 DANIELS: Okay. 770 00:35:43,276 --> 00:35:44,809 Columbus was 1492. 771 00:35:44,809 --> 00:35:46,209 Okay. All right. Got it. 772 00:35:46,209 --> 00:35:49,043 GATES: The Battle of Concord and Lexington was 1775. 773 00:35:49,043 --> 00:35:50,209 So, this is... 774 00:35:50,209 --> 00:35:51,309 DANIELS: Wow. 775 00:35:51,309 --> 00:35:52,743 GATES: Over 100 years before. 776 00:35:52,743 --> 00:35:54,776 DANIELS: So, America is just...? 777 00:35:54,776 --> 00:35:57,309 GATES: It's a colony of England, I mean, barely. 778 00:35:57,309 --> 00:36:00,676 Massachusetts Bay Co...look, the Mayflower's 1620. 779 00:36:00,676 --> 00:36:02,043 This is... 780 00:36:02,043 --> 00:36:03,209 DANIELS: And this is 30 years after that? 781 00:36:03,209 --> 00:36:05,509 GATES: 36 years after the Mayflower. 782 00:36:05,509 --> 00:36:07,243 DANIELS: So, they didn't have the sewer lines laid. 783 00:36:07,243 --> 00:36:08,409 They had nothing going on there. 784 00:36:08,409 --> 00:36:09,643 GATES: Yeah. They had nothing going on there. 785 00:36:09,643 --> 00:36:12,109 DANIELS: It was just, wow. 786 00:36:12,809 --> 00:36:14,576 GATES: Thomas arrived in Massachusetts as a 787 00:36:14,576 --> 00:36:16,609 nine-year-old boy. 788 00:36:16,609 --> 00:36:20,543 He eventually became the owner of a successful iron works, 789 00:36:20,543 --> 00:36:24,009 and one of the most prominent members of his community. 790 00:36:25,376 --> 00:36:28,909 But by the end of Thomas' life, his community was 791 00:36:28,909 --> 00:36:33,476 struggling mightily, beset by religious conflict as well as 792 00:36:33,476 --> 00:36:36,309 economic turmoil. 793 00:36:36,309 --> 00:36:38,476 And Thomas became embroiled in the infamous 794 00:36:38,476 --> 00:36:41,409 outcome of that struggle. 795 00:36:43,076 --> 00:36:45,709 Jeff, you're looking at two court records from the year 796 00:36:45,709 --> 00:36:50,243 1692, from Essex County, Massachusetts. 797 00:36:50,243 --> 00:36:53,476 They were recorded in September 1692. 798 00:36:53,476 --> 00:36:58,176 DANIELS: "The examination and confession of Samuel Wardwell. 799 00:36:58,176 --> 00:37:03,076 Samuel Wardwell saith that at that time when the devil 800 00:37:03,076 --> 00:37:08,376 appeared and told him he was a prince of the air, 801 00:37:08,376 --> 00:37:10,509 that then he signed his book 802 00:37:10,509 --> 00:37:13,076 by making a mark like a square with a black pen 803 00:37:13,076 --> 00:37:16,843 and that the devil brought him the pen and ink. 804 00:37:18,076 --> 00:37:22,109 The testimony of Thomas Chandler, aged about 65, 805 00:37:22,109 --> 00:37:27,043 who saith that I have often heard Samuel Wardwell of 806 00:37:27,043 --> 00:37:31,676 Andover tell young persons their fortune, 807 00:37:31,676 --> 00:37:35,443 and he was much addicted to that." 808 00:37:36,343 --> 00:37:39,809 GATES: Your ancestor's testifying about a man named 809 00:37:39,809 --> 00:37:40,943 Samuel Wardwell and saying, 810 00:37:40,943 --> 00:37:43,976 "I've heard him say these things." 811 00:37:43,976 --> 00:37:46,809 GATES: You know why he would be testifying at 812 00:37:46,809 --> 00:37:49,043 this particular time? 813 00:37:49,043 --> 00:37:51,209 DANIELS: Salem Witch Trials? 814 00:37:52,443 --> 00:37:55,676 (laughs). 815 00:37:55,676 --> 00:37:57,243 No. 816 00:37:57,243 --> 00:37:58,309 Oh, God. 817 00:37:58,309 --> 00:38:00,009 Okay. 818 00:38:00,009 --> 00:38:02,043 Now the Salem Witch Trials are my fault. 819 00:38:02,043 --> 00:38:05,076 Okay. All right. Sure. 820 00:38:05,076 --> 00:38:08,009 Bring it. Bring it. I can handle it. 821 00:38:08,009 --> 00:38:10,276 I can persevere through that. 822 00:38:11,976 --> 00:38:14,476 GATES: Jeff's ancestor testified against a man named 823 00:38:14,476 --> 00:38:19,643 Samuel Wardwell, one of the roughly 150 people who were 824 00:38:19,643 --> 00:38:23,376 accused in what became known as the Salem Witch Trials. 825 00:38:24,643 --> 00:38:28,276 Wardwell was a self-professed fortune teller, and he fell 826 00:38:28,276 --> 00:38:32,109 victim to the hysteria that had gripped his fellow colonists. 827 00:38:33,476 --> 00:38:35,643 Now, according to scholars with whom we spoke, 828 00:38:35,643 --> 00:38:39,343 your ancestor's testimony in this trial is fairly mild. 829 00:38:39,343 --> 00:38:42,843 But this was not his only involvement in the affair. 830 00:38:42,843 --> 00:38:44,909 DANIELS: No. No. 831 00:38:44,909 --> 00:38:46,709 GATES: Would you please turn the page? 832 00:38:46,709 --> 00:38:48,843 (sighs). 833 00:38:49,543 --> 00:38:51,176 This is an indictment handed down around the 834 00:38:51,176 --> 00:38:53,809 16th of September, 1692. 835 00:38:53,809 --> 00:38:56,443 Will you please read the transcribed section? 836 00:38:56,443 --> 00:39:00,076 DANIELS: "That Mary Parker of Andover, in the year aforesaid 837 00:39:00,076 --> 00:39:03,843 and diverse other days and times, as well as before as 838 00:39:03,843 --> 00:39:07,776 after certain detestable arts, called witchcraft and 839 00:39:07,776 --> 00:39:12,876 sorceries, wickedly, maliciously, and feloniously 840 00:39:12,876 --> 00:39:17,509 hath used, practiced, and exercised aforesaid in upon 841 00:39:17,509 --> 00:39:23,609 and against one Sarah Phelps of Andover and against one 842 00:39:23,609 --> 00:39:28,076 Hannah Bigsbee of Andover in the County aforesaid 843 00:39:28,076 --> 00:39:32,709 inquired of Captain Thomas Chandler." 844 00:39:33,309 --> 00:39:35,743 GATES: Mary Parker was a well-off 50-year-old widowed 845 00:39:35,743 --> 00:39:38,476 mother of 10 children. 846 00:39:38,476 --> 00:39:42,376 So, unlike Samuel Wardwell, who was something of a social 847 00:39:42,376 --> 00:39:46,043 outcast, because he was a self-described fortune-teller. 848 00:39:46,043 --> 00:39:47,243 DANIELS: He's on the street with a couple of a, 849 00:39:47,243 --> 00:39:48,543 you know with a pack of cards. 850 00:39:48,543 --> 00:39:49,876 Okay. 851 00:39:49,876 --> 00:39:52,609 GATES: Here Thomas is accusing a neighbor and a peer. 852 00:39:52,609 --> 00:39:55,576 What do you guess was driving this? 853 00:39:55,576 --> 00:39:57,609 DANIELS: I have no idea. 854 00:39:57,609 --> 00:39:58,809 No idea. 855 00:39:58,809 --> 00:40:00,476 GATES: Can you read, again, the names of the persons 856 00:40:00,476 --> 00:40:03,276 Mary Parker ostensibly afflicted? 857 00:40:03,276 --> 00:40:07,476 DANIELS: Sarah Phelps of Andover and Hannah Bigsbee of Andover. 858 00:40:08,043 --> 00:40:12,443 GATES: Hannah Bigsby was born Hannah Chandler. 859 00:40:13,343 --> 00:40:14,643 DANIELS: So, daughter? 860 00:40:14,643 --> 00:40:16,943 GATES: Hannah Chandler was Thomas' daughter. 861 00:40:16,943 --> 00:40:20,009 DANIELS: Daughter, married a Bigsby. 862 00:40:20,009 --> 00:40:21,143 GATES: Mm-hmm. 863 00:40:21,143 --> 00:40:22,843 So, he was defending his daughter. 864 00:40:22,843 --> 00:40:24,409 DANIELS: Defending his daughter. 865 00:40:24,409 --> 00:40:28,376 GATES: And Sarah Phelps was Thomas' granddaughter. 866 00:40:29,709 --> 00:40:34,943 DANIELS: So, Mary Parker is practicing witchcraft and 867 00:40:34,943 --> 00:40:37,743 sorcery on his daughter and granddaughter? 868 00:40:37,743 --> 00:40:40,076 GATES: That's right, against two generations of his family. 869 00:40:40,076 --> 00:40:41,676 DANIELS: And we're going to put a stop to that. 870 00:40:41,676 --> 00:40:44,476 GATES: That's right. We're going to put her lights out. 871 00:40:44,476 --> 00:40:46,376 (sighs). 872 00:40:47,876 --> 00:40:53,576 GATES: On September 22nd, 1692, just weeks after their trials, 873 00:40:53,576 --> 00:40:56,643 Mary Parker and Samuel Wardwell, 874 00:40:56,643 --> 00:40:59,976 along with six others, were hanged. 875 00:41:00,476 --> 00:41:04,243 Both went to their deaths professing their innocence. 876 00:41:05,609 --> 00:41:07,809 DANIELS: Ah, man. 877 00:41:07,809 --> 00:41:09,476 Great. 878 00:41:09,476 --> 00:41:11,276 GATES: How do you think your 8th great-grandfather felt 879 00:41:11,276 --> 00:41:13,143 about his involvement in this when the smoke cleared? 880 00:41:13,143 --> 00:41:16,509 DANIELS: Well, I would guess thrilled, happy as a clam, 881 00:41:16,509 --> 00:41:18,009 look what I did. 882 00:41:18,009 --> 00:41:19,543 GATES: Uh-huh. Got rid of the evil people. 883 00:41:19,543 --> 00:41:20,843 DANIELS: Got rid of the evil people. 884 00:41:20,843 --> 00:41:21,976 GATES: Uh-huh. 885 00:41:21,976 --> 00:41:24,576 DANIELS: Which he believed to his soul, I guess. 886 00:41:24,576 --> 00:41:27,276 I would...I would like to think that it wasn't just 887 00:41:27,276 --> 00:41:30,209 something he did to enjoy, that it was something that he 888 00:41:30,209 --> 00:41:34,409 actually believed in, but that doesn't make it a bit better. 889 00:41:36,009 --> 00:41:38,709 GATES: There's a twist to this story. 890 00:41:38,709 --> 00:41:41,576 In the waning days of the trials, a minister named 891 00:41:41,576 --> 00:41:45,309 Francis Dane began to argue argue against the validity 892 00:41:45,309 --> 00:41:48,743 of the evidence being used by the prosecutors... 893 00:41:48,743 --> 00:41:52,109 In response, accusations started to swirl around 894 00:41:52,109 --> 00:41:55,143 Dane and his children. 895 00:41:55,143 --> 00:41:58,176 Ironically, Dane was the brother-in-law of 896 00:41:58,176 --> 00:42:02,143 Jeff's ancestor, and, perhaps convinced that the situation 897 00:42:02,143 --> 00:42:04,309 was getting out of hand, 898 00:42:04,309 --> 00:42:06,309 Thomas risked his own safety 899 00:42:06,309 --> 00:42:09,976 to sign a petition, in support of the accused. 900 00:42:12,276 --> 00:42:13,476 Isn't that wild? 901 00:42:13,476 --> 00:42:14,976 DANIELS: Yeah, and he's, he's, Francis, 902 00:42:14,976 --> 00:42:16,376 maybe Francis has a point. 903 00:42:16,376 --> 00:42:17,609 GATES: Yeah. 904 00:42:17,609 --> 00:42:18,509 DANIELS: You know, "Before you hang him from a tree..." 905 00:42:18,509 --> 00:42:19,976 GATES: Right. 906 00:42:19,976 --> 00:42:21,643 "Maybe these other people really were witches, 907 00:42:21,643 --> 00:42:22,809 but I know Francis is not." 908 00:42:22,809 --> 00:42:23,809 DANIELS: I... 909 00:42:23,809 --> 00:42:25,009 GATES: "Because he is my family." 910 00:42:25,009 --> 00:42:28,976 DANIELS: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 911 00:42:28,976 --> 00:42:30,243 GATES: And get this. 912 00:42:30,243 --> 00:42:32,009 Your 8th great-grandfather was one of the only people who 913 00:42:32,009 --> 00:42:36,243 signed this petition, this is good for him, who didn't have 914 00:42:36,243 --> 00:42:39,343 a direct family member accused of witchcraft. 915 00:42:39,343 --> 00:42:41,776 DANIELS: All the other ones, it was inside the family, and 916 00:42:41,776 --> 00:42:43,243 it's going to stop here, and we're going to stop 917 00:42:43,243 --> 00:42:44,509 killing people for witchcraft? 918 00:42:44,509 --> 00:42:47,209 GATES: This is a relative, but it wasn't a daughter or a, 919 00:42:47,209 --> 00:42:48,476 you know, a granddaughter. 920 00:42:48,476 --> 00:42:49,643 DANIELS: Okay. 921 00:42:49,643 --> 00:42:50,843 GATES: What do you make of this? 922 00:42:50,843 --> 00:42:53,609 Do you think it shows remorse, or fear, or courage? 923 00:42:53,609 --> 00:42:55,009 DANIELS: I'm going to guess fear. 924 00:42:55,009 --> 00:42:56,609 I'm going to guess he's probably thinking that 925 00:42:56,609 --> 00:42:58,876 "If they're coming after him, well, that means they're one 926 00:42:58,876 --> 00:43:01,043 step removed from me, and maybe they're going to come 927 00:43:01,043 --> 00:43:03,309 after me next," because it is a mob. 928 00:43:03,309 --> 00:43:05,343 GATES: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. 929 00:43:05,343 --> 00:43:06,709 DANIELS: And, it's a mob. 930 00:43:06,709 --> 00:43:09,376 As Aaron Sorkin and Harper Lee write in Mockingbird, you know? 931 00:43:09,376 --> 00:43:10,709 GATES: Yeah. 932 00:43:10,709 --> 00:43:12,309 DANIELS: A mob's a place where people go to take a break from 933 00:43:12,309 --> 00:43:13,643 their conscience. 934 00:43:13,643 --> 00:43:14,809 GATES: Yeah. 935 00:43:14,809 --> 00:43:17,676 DANIELS: And uh, and we're going to stop them from 936 00:43:17,676 --> 00:43:18,976 coming after me. 937 00:43:18,976 --> 00:43:21,709 Or, or maybe he, maybe Francis made a good point, 938 00:43:21,709 --> 00:43:23,676 and he was having second thoughts. 939 00:43:23,676 --> 00:43:25,043 That's, but remorse? 940 00:43:25,043 --> 00:43:27,843 Maybe, but you know, a little late, Thomas. 941 00:43:27,843 --> 00:43:29,643 GATES: But he did stand up for Francis Dane. 942 00:43:29,643 --> 00:43:31,543 And that was good. You have to say. 943 00:43:31,543 --> 00:43:33,776 DANIELS: He did that. GATES: He did that. 944 00:43:33,776 --> 00:43:35,876 DANIELS: He did that. GATES: Yeah. 945 00:43:35,876 --> 00:43:37,776 DANIELS: He did that. I think Melvin and Abram would've 946 00:43:37,776 --> 00:43:39,276 done something different, but okay. 947 00:43:39,276 --> 00:43:40,276 All right. 948 00:43:40,276 --> 00:43:41,476 But they weren't in... 949 00:43:41,476 --> 00:43:43,209 (sighs) 950 00:43:43,209 --> 00:43:45,376 his, his shoes, I guess. 951 00:43:45,376 --> 00:43:47,409 GATES: What do you think your dad would've made of all this? 952 00:43:47,409 --> 00:43:53,576 DANIELS: Hmm. 953 00:43:56,343 --> 00:43:58,143 It would've blown his mind. 954 00:43:58,909 --> 00:44:01,676 It would've blown his mind. 955 00:44:01,676 --> 00:44:06,009 Uh... 956 00:44:06,743 --> 00:44:09,009 he'd have been proud of the things to be proud of, 957 00:44:09,009 --> 00:44:11,976 and he would've been ashamed of the things that happened that 958 00:44:11,976 --> 00:44:14,709 he wished he could've changed. 959 00:44:16,676 --> 00:44:19,443 GATES: Remarkably, just like Jeff, 960 00:44:19,443 --> 00:44:23,143 Claire Danes had an ancestor at the Salem Witch Trials, 961 00:44:23,143 --> 00:44:25,443 but on the other side. 962 00:44:25,976 --> 00:44:29,343 Her 9th great-grandmother, a woman named Margaret Scott, 963 00:44:29,343 --> 00:44:32,743 was one of the defendants, accused of "crimes" that make 964 00:44:32,743 --> 00:44:36,409 clear the full insanity of the proceedings... 965 00:44:37,776 --> 00:44:41,843 DANES: "Soon after this, one of my cattle was dead in the stall 966 00:44:41,843 --> 00:44:46,709 and stood up on his hind feet and kneeled on his knees afore." 967 00:44:46,709 --> 00:44:48,443 Whoa. 968 00:44:48,443 --> 00:44:51,709 This is really quite overwhelming. 969 00:44:52,076 --> 00:44:53,909 GATES: Thomas Nelson, one of Margaret's neighbors, 970 00:44:53,909 --> 00:44:57,343 testified that in the winter of 1686, Margaret had asked 971 00:44:57,343 --> 00:45:00,676 him several times for wood, a request he had denied. 972 00:45:00,676 --> 00:45:03,509 Later, he discovered one of his cattle dead in its stall, 973 00:45:03,509 --> 00:45:05,676 standing on its hind legs. 974 00:45:05,676 --> 00:45:06,943 Part of me wanted to... 975 00:45:06,943 --> 00:45:08,143 DANES: A clear connection. 976 00:45:08,143 --> 00:45:09,343 GATES: Part of me wants Margaret to have done this. 977 00:45:09,343 --> 00:45:10,443 DANES: How could you argue with that? 978 00:45:10,443 --> 00:45:11,709 GATES: Yeah. 979 00:45:11,709 --> 00:45:13,676 Another of his cattle was found dead with its neck under 980 00:45:13,676 --> 00:45:16,176 a plank, as if it had been choked to death. 981 00:45:16,176 --> 00:45:18,709 This, he believed, showed that your ninth great-grandmother 982 00:45:18,709 --> 00:45:20,943 was a witch. 983 00:45:21,909 --> 00:45:23,543 (sighs). 984 00:45:23,543 --> 00:45:24,809 DANES: Wow. 985 00:45:24,809 --> 00:45:30,009 I, I wish it felt more alien, I have to say. 986 00:45:30,009 --> 00:45:34,243 Like, I mean, sure, this is all very colorful, but I think 987 00:45:34,243 --> 00:45:40,276 that we're still, um, you know, vulnerable to these, 988 00:45:40,743 --> 00:45:42,643 uh, to this magical thinking. 989 00:45:42,643 --> 00:45:43,743 GATES: Big time. 990 00:45:43,743 --> 00:45:45,376 DANES: Yeah. 991 00:45:47,843 --> 00:45:51,843 GATES: All told, 11 people testified against Margaret, 992 00:45:51,843 --> 00:45:54,509 almost all of them her neighbors, 993 00:45:54,509 --> 00:45:57,376 we can't say for certain what motivated them, 994 00:45:57,376 --> 00:45:59,943 but Margaret was a elderly widow, 995 00:45:59,943 --> 00:46:05,009 likely impoverished, and she suffered a horrible fate. 996 00:46:07,043 --> 00:46:10,343 GATES: Claire, one of those hanging bodies is 997 00:46:10,343 --> 00:46:14,009 a representation of your ninth great-grandmother. 998 00:46:14,943 --> 00:46:16,409 DANES: Wow. 999 00:46:16,409 --> 00:46:19,209 That's really, um, terrible. 1000 00:46:20,309 --> 00:46:23,109 Gosh. 1001 00:46:23,743 --> 00:46:24,776 Ugh. 1002 00:46:24,776 --> 00:46:27,243 We can be so awful to each other, right? 1003 00:46:27,243 --> 00:46:28,409 It's, uh... 1004 00:46:28,409 --> 00:46:29,443 GATES: Inexcusable. 1005 00:46:29,443 --> 00:46:30,443 DANES: Yeah. Yeah. 1006 00:46:30,443 --> 00:46:35,243 It's just amazing, uh, our duality. 1007 00:46:35,243 --> 00:46:36,543 (laughs). 1008 00:46:36,543 --> 00:46:39,543 Uh, we're capable of, uh, of a lot. 1009 00:46:39,543 --> 00:46:40,909 GATES: We're capable of anything. 1010 00:46:40,909 --> 00:46:42,009 Yeah. 1011 00:46:42,009 --> 00:46:43,076 DANES: In both directions, right? 1012 00:46:43,076 --> 00:46:45,576 GATES: Yeah. DANES: Yeah. 1013 00:46:45,576 --> 00:46:48,309 Well, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry that she had to 1014 00:46:48,309 --> 00:46:50,509 leave the world in that way. 1015 00:46:50,509 --> 00:46:54,709 That's, um, about as grim an exit as I can imagine. 1016 00:46:55,409 --> 00:46:58,476 GATES: And she alleged her innocence to the very end, 1017 00:46:58,476 --> 00:47:01,943 of course, because of course she was innocent, you know? 1018 00:47:01,943 --> 00:47:03,076 (laughs). 1019 00:47:03,076 --> 00:47:04,909 DANES: Yeah. 1020 00:47:04,909 --> 00:47:07,943 Oh. How awful. 1021 00:47:09,243 --> 00:47:11,409 GATES: Margaret was one of the last victims of the 1022 00:47:11,409 --> 00:47:13,776 Salem Witch Trials. 1023 00:47:13,776 --> 00:47:15,143 Following her death, 1024 00:47:15,143 --> 00:47:17,143 spurred on by voices of reason, 1025 00:47:17,143 --> 00:47:21,176 many of the primary accusers began to recant their testimony, 1026 00:47:21,176 --> 00:47:24,743 and the colony began to reconsider its actions. 1027 00:47:26,509 --> 00:47:31,809 In 1710, a full 18 years after Margaret's execution, 1028 00:47:31,809 --> 00:47:35,409 a committee was sent to Salem to make restitution to the 1029 00:47:35,409 --> 00:47:37,909 victims and their families. 1030 00:47:37,909 --> 00:47:42,576 Unfortunately, no relative came forward on Margaret's behalf. 1031 00:47:44,343 --> 00:47:47,576 DANES: I wonder why there was nobody to receive it. 1032 00:47:47,576 --> 00:47:48,609 Anyway... 1033 00:47:48,609 --> 00:47:49,843 GATES: Well, she had family. 1034 00:47:49,843 --> 00:47:50,876 DANES: Yeah. 1035 00:47:50,876 --> 00:47:52,009 GATES: So, obviously, because you're here. 1036 00:47:52,009 --> 00:47:53,176 DANES: Yeah. Yeah. 1037 00:47:53,176 --> 00:47:54,643 GATES: So, why do you think they wouldn't show up? 1038 00:47:54,643 --> 00:47:57,409 DANES: Maybe it was too risky still... 1039 00:47:57,409 --> 00:47:58,576 GATES: Mm-hmm. 1040 00:47:58,576 --> 00:48:00,209 DANES: Even to be associated with somebody who, uh, 1041 00:48:00,209 --> 00:48:02,209 whose name was being cleared... 1042 00:48:02,209 --> 00:48:03,276 GATES: Right. 1043 00:48:03,276 --> 00:48:04,476 DANES: Well after the fact. 1044 00:48:04,476 --> 00:48:05,509 GATES: We don't know for sure. 1045 00:48:05,509 --> 00:48:07,276 Perhaps her family was embarrassed by the 1046 00:48:07,276 --> 00:48:10,176 whole ordeal and wanted to remain as removed... 1047 00:48:10,176 --> 00:48:11,209 DANES: Uh-huh. 1048 00:48:11,209 --> 00:48:12,243 GATES: From this event... 1049 00:48:12,243 --> 00:48:13,276 DANES: Sure. 1050 00:48:13,276 --> 00:48:14,309 GATES: And her as they possibly could. 1051 00:48:14,309 --> 00:48:15,343 DANES: Well... 1052 00:48:15,343 --> 00:48:16,676 GATES: Her daughter, Mary, who was your eighth 1053 00:48:16,676 --> 00:48:20,276 great-grandmother, had died in 1700, ten years before, so she 1054 00:48:20,276 --> 00:48:22,576 wasn't alive at the time, but she was alive when 1055 00:48:22,576 --> 00:48:24,043 her mother was executed. 1056 00:48:24,043 --> 00:48:25,276 DANES: Mm-hmm. 1057 00:48:25,276 --> 00:48:26,709 GATES: But Margaret had a number of living descendants 1058 00:48:26,709 --> 00:48:29,409 in Massachusetts, including her son Benjamin, 1059 00:48:29,409 --> 00:48:31,343 and they just didn't show up, so... 1060 00:48:31,343 --> 00:48:33,443 DANES: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. 1061 00:48:33,443 --> 00:48:37,109 Well, I guess it was a very effective threat, right? 1062 00:48:37,109 --> 00:48:38,143 GATES: Yeah. 1063 00:48:38,143 --> 00:48:39,509 DANES: It worked. 1064 00:48:39,509 --> 00:48:40,609 GATES: I want to show you one last thing. 1065 00:48:40,609 --> 00:48:41,643 DANES: Mm-hmm. 1066 00:48:41,643 --> 00:48:43,009 GATES: Uh, would you please turn the page? 1067 00:48:43,009 --> 00:48:44,309 DANES: Mm-hmm. 1068 00:48:44,309 --> 00:48:45,476 GATES: Take a look at that. 1069 00:48:45,476 --> 00:48:48,076 Any idea what you're looking at? 1070 00:48:48,076 --> 00:48:49,676 DANES: It looks like a tombstone or just a 1071 00:48:49,676 --> 00:48:52,076 recognition of her death. 1072 00:48:52,076 --> 00:48:53,843 GATES: It's a memorial bench dedicated to your 1073 00:48:53,843 --> 00:48:55,743 ninth great-grandmother Margaret. 1074 00:48:55,743 --> 00:48:57,676 DANES: Wow. 1075 00:48:57,676 --> 00:49:00,976 GATES: It was dedicated in August of 1992. 1076 00:49:00,976 --> 00:49:02,143 DANES: Huh! 1077 00:49:02,143 --> 00:49:04,176 GATES: Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel spoke... 1078 00:49:04,176 --> 00:49:05,343 DANES: Wow. 1079 00:49:05,343 --> 00:49:06,743 GATES: At the memorial's dedication. 1080 00:49:06,743 --> 00:49:09,543 What's it like to see that? 1081 00:49:10,409 --> 00:49:14,076 DANES: Um, well, um, 1082 00:49:14,076 --> 00:49:15,609 it helps, actually. 1083 00:49:15,609 --> 00:49:16,743 GATES: Yeah. 1084 00:49:16,743 --> 00:49:19,576 DANES: You know, I, uh, this is a ride. 1085 00:49:19,576 --> 00:49:21,343 GATES: It is, yeah. 1086 00:49:21,343 --> 00:49:26,476 DANES: But uh, it, it, uh, it's relevant, right? 1087 00:49:26,476 --> 00:49:31,709 That, that somebody acknowledged in a meaningful way, 1088 00:49:31,709 --> 00:49:35,576 at least at some point, that this was a, 1089 00:49:35,576 --> 00:49:39,043 this was a tragic happening. 1090 00:49:39,043 --> 00:49:41,143 GATES: It was wrong. DANES: It was wrong. 1091 00:49:41,143 --> 00:49:43,243 GATES: And they said... DANES: They said so. 1092 00:49:43,243 --> 00:49:44,276 GATES: They were sorry. 1093 00:49:44,976 --> 00:49:48,343 GATES: The paper trail had now run out for each of my guests, 1094 00:49:48,343 --> 00:49:51,243 it was time to unfurl their family trees... 1095 00:49:51,243 --> 00:49:54,043 DANES: Oh, wow. This is beautiful. 1096 00:49:54,043 --> 00:49:57,543 GATES: Now filled with names they'd never heard before... 1097 00:49:57,543 --> 00:49:59,276 DANIELS: Oh my God. 1098 00:49:59,276 --> 00:50:02,043 GATES: Stretching deep into our nation's past... 1099 00:50:02,043 --> 00:50:04,276 These are all your people. 1100 00:50:04,276 --> 00:50:05,843 DANIELS: Wow. 1101 00:50:05,843 --> 00:50:07,543 DANES: All this effort, all this life. 1102 00:50:07,543 --> 00:50:09,409 GATES: Yeah. 1103 00:50:09,409 --> 00:50:13,409 Offering each the chance to see how their own lives fit 1104 00:50:13,409 --> 00:50:16,743 into the larger patterns of our nation's history in a 1105 00:50:16,743 --> 00:50:20,043 deeply personal way. 1106 00:50:21,176 --> 00:50:26,643 DANIELS: To have something so specific, to me, that maybe, 1107 00:50:26,643 --> 00:50:31,143 in some way, in the DNA that I, I've brought some of, of 1108 00:50:31,143 --> 00:50:34,843 what you've given me to today, 1109 00:50:35,609 --> 00:50:39,309 because of all of these people, 1110 00:50:39,309 --> 00:50:42,609 their strengths and their weaknesses... 1111 00:50:45,976 --> 00:50:49,709 uh, it's cheaper than going to therapy. 1112 00:50:49,709 --> 00:50:50,843 I'll tell you that. 1113 00:50:50,843 --> 00:50:51,843 (laughs). 1114 00:50:51,843 --> 00:50:53,776 You kind of go, oh, oh, 1115 00:50:53,776 --> 00:50:55,809 and they're behind, they're, they're back here now. 1116 00:50:55,809 --> 00:50:56,809 GATES: Oh yeah. 1117 00:50:56,809 --> 00:50:57,843 DANIELS: They weren't there before. 1118 00:50:57,843 --> 00:50:58,876 GATES: No. 1119 00:50:58,876 --> 00:51:00,209 DANIELS: It was just all right here, in my dad, 1120 00:51:00,209 --> 00:51:01,509 and maybe my grandfather. 1121 00:51:01,509 --> 00:51:04,676 That was, now, all of a sudden, it's, there's a whole journey 1122 00:51:04,676 --> 00:51:08,643 that happened to get to today, with you, 1123 00:51:08,643 --> 00:51:12,043 that came in the room with me, and I just didn't know that. 1124 00:51:12,443 --> 00:51:15,076 DANES: I mean, there's something really, uh, 1125 00:51:15,076 --> 00:51:21,143 heartening about realizing that my family has endured, 1126 00:51:21,143 --> 00:51:25,476 um, mm, a, a, 1127 00:51:25,476 --> 00:51:28,109 a great amount of struggle 1128 00:51:28,109 --> 00:51:30,776 and often come out the other side, 1129 00:51:30,776 --> 00:51:32,876 and I guess, you know, we can extrapolate 1130 00:51:32,876 --> 00:51:36,009 and, and, and think about the country as a whole 1131 00:51:36,009 --> 00:51:37,443 in that way. 1132 00:51:37,443 --> 00:51:38,776 GATES: Yes. 1133 00:51:38,776 --> 00:51:42,709 DANES: And we're not having an easy time right this second. 1134 00:51:42,709 --> 00:51:43,943 GATES: Mm. 1135 00:51:43,943 --> 00:51:47,609 DANES: And this gives me a little more confidence that 1136 00:51:47,609 --> 00:51:50,209 we will ride this through. 1137 00:51:50,209 --> 00:51:52,709 GATES: We've seen worse things and worse times 1138 00:51:52,709 --> 00:51:53,976 on your own family tree. 1139 00:51:53,976 --> 00:51:55,776 DANES: Yes. 1140 00:51:56,209 --> 00:51:58,509 GATES: That's the end of our journey with Claire Danes 1141 00:51:58,509 --> 00:52:00,376 and Jeff Daniels. 1142 00:52:00,376 --> 00:52:01,843 Join me next time 1143 00:52:01,843 --> 00:52:04,609 when we unlock the secrets of the past 1144 00:52:04,609 --> 00:52:05,743 for new guests 1145 00:52:05,743 --> 00:52:08,043 on another episode of 1146 00:52:08,043 --> 00:52:10,209 "Finding Your Roots."