1 00:00:04,876 --> 00:00:06,809 GATES: I'm Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2 00:00:06,809 --> 00:00:10,009 Welcome to  Finding Your Roots. 3 00:00:10,009 --> 00:00:12,276 In this episode, we'll meet actors 4 00:00:12,276 --> 00:00:15,276 Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry, 5 00:00:15,276 --> 00:00:19,009 each will explore America's complex history 6 00:00:19,009 --> 00:00:21,776 in a deeply personal way. 7 00:00:23,109 --> 00:00:26,109 CRUDUP: It's coming rushing in, you know, the, um, 8 00:00:26,109 --> 00:00:29,309 feeling of being part of a literal tradition. 9 00:00:29,309 --> 00:00:32,043 GATES: This is your family 151 years ago. 10 00:00:32,043 --> 00:00:34,776 CRUDUP: Immediately, my imagination, um, 11 00:00:34,776 --> 00:00:38,709 is, ignited considering them as people. 12 00:00:38,709 --> 00:00:41,509 MOWRY: This is what's crazy about being biracial. 13 00:00:42,243 --> 00:00:45,276 I have blood that started it, 14 00:00:46,209 --> 00:00:49,509 and then I have blood that was enslaved by it. 15 00:00:50,543 --> 00:00:52,343 GATES: To uncover their roots, 16 00:00:52,343 --> 00:00:55,409 we've used every tool available... 17 00:00:55,409 --> 00:00:57,409 Genealogists combed through the paper trail 18 00:00:57,409 --> 00:00:59,276 their ancestors left behind, 19 00:00:59,276 --> 00:01:01,243 while DNA experts utilized 20 00:01:01,243 --> 00:01:03,843 the latest advances in genetic analysis 21 00:01:03,843 --> 00:01:06,676 to reveal secrets hundreds of years old. 22 00:01:07,676 --> 00:01:09,443 Your book of life. 23 00:01:09,443 --> 00:01:12,576 And we've compiled it all into a book of life. 24 00:01:12,576 --> 00:01:15,576 A record of all of our discoveries. 25 00:01:15,576 --> 00:01:17,843 MOWRY: Oh, my God! 26 00:01:17,843 --> 00:01:20,343 CRUDUP: How could this not have been passed down? 27 00:01:20,343 --> 00:01:23,343 GATES: And a restoration of lost history. 28 00:01:23,343 --> 00:01:25,776 This is the first Thanksgiving. 29 00:01:25,776 --> 00:01:28,343 Your 13th great-grandfather was there. 30 00:01:28,343 --> 00:01:29,576 MOWRY: Oh my gosh. 31 00:01:29,576 --> 00:01:31,609 This is so, whoa. 32 00:01:31,609 --> 00:01:33,309 Okay. Mind blown. 33 00:01:33,309 --> 00:01:35,909 CRUDUP: It's a gift to be handed something that says 34 00:01:35,909 --> 00:01:39,943 you should continue to take life seriously. 35 00:01:39,943 --> 00:01:43,409 GATES: My guests have spent decades in the limelight, 36 00:01:43,409 --> 00:01:46,576 without knowing anything at all about the ancestors who 37 00:01:46,576 --> 00:01:48,609 helped get them there. 38 00:01:48,609 --> 00:01:51,143 But that is about to change. 39 00:01:52,009 --> 00:01:55,509 In this episode, Billy and Tamera are going to meet 40 00:01:55,509 --> 00:01:59,376 a cast of characters every bit as dramatic as the people 41 00:01:59,376 --> 00:02:03,243 they played on camera, all hidden in the branches 42 00:02:03,243 --> 00:02:05,376 of their family trees. 43 00:02:10,976 --> 00:02:16,543 (theme music playing). 44 00:02:23,109 --> 00:02:26,776 ♪ ♪ 45 00:02:27,443 --> 00:02:28,476 (book closes) 46 00:02:32,009 --> 00:02:37,943 ♪ ♪ 47 00:02:50,343 --> 00:02:54,509 GATES: Actor Billy Crudup is the consummate craftsman. 48 00:02:54,509 --> 00:02:58,509 Since he first came to fame in 1995 as the star of 49 00:02:58,509 --> 00:03:00,909 Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, 50 00:03:00,909 --> 00:03:04,543 Billy has moved fluidly between Broadway and Hollywood, 51 00:03:04,543 --> 00:03:07,843 creating a dizzying array of characters, 52 00:03:07,843 --> 00:03:10,409 with a meticulous precision. 53 00:03:10,409 --> 00:03:14,276 Winning an Emmy, a Tony, and countless accolades. 54 00:03:15,309 --> 00:03:17,409 From a distance, you might think Billy 55 00:03:17,409 --> 00:03:19,443 was born to the stage. 56 00:03:19,443 --> 00:03:22,143 But the truth is more complicated. 57 00:03:24,243 --> 00:03:27,509 Growing up, Billy was surrounded by drama, 58 00:03:27,509 --> 00:03:29,909 but of the wrong kind. 59 00:03:30,609 --> 00:03:32,043 During his childhood, 60 00:03:32,043 --> 00:03:35,809 his parents divorced and re-married twice, 61 00:03:35,809 --> 00:03:39,309 largely because his father was prone 62 00:03:39,309 --> 00:03:42,309 to some highly erratic behavior. 63 00:03:43,143 --> 00:03:46,409 CRUDUP: My dad, you know, as much as he wanted to, 64 00:03:46,409 --> 00:03:50,676 was not capable of being a reliable, responsible parent. 65 00:03:50,676 --> 00:03:53,709 Uh, he was loving, and empathetic, and joyous 66 00:03:53,709 --> 00:03:55,976 and all those things, but um, 67 00:03:55,976 --> 00:03:58,509 that left a big burden on my mom, 68 00:03:58,509 --> 00:04:00,776 my mom really like, she did it all. 69 00:04:00,776 --> 00:04:02,309 GATES: Was it devastating more 70 00:04:02,309 --> 00:04:03,709 the second time or the first time? 71 00:04:03,709 --> 00:04:04,743 CRUDUP: The second time, yeah. 72 00:04:04,743 --> 00:04:05,776 GATES: The second time. Yeah. 73 00:04:05,776 --> 00:04:06,809 CRUDUP: Yeah, for sure. I can remember it. 74 00:04:06,809 --> 00:04:08,676 The first time I don't remember so much, 75 00:04:08,676 --> 00:04:12,776 but the remarriage felt kind of like a dream. 76 00:04:12,776 --> 00:04:14,809 I remember getting a call from my dad saying, you know, 77 00:04:14,809 --> 00:04:17,376 hey, how would you feel about it if we got remarried, 78 00:04:17,376 --> 00:04:19,676 and of course, we're like that would be amazing. 79 00:04:19,676 --> 00:04:20,909 GATES: Yeah. 80 00:04:20,909 --> 00:04:22,643 CRUDUP: But you could see pretty quickly why it wasn't 81 00:04:22,643 --> 00:04:24,443 going to be amazing, once they did. 82 00:04:24,443 --> 00:04:26,343 Uh, you know, he gambled, 83 00:04:26,343 --> 00:04:28,709 and he was a loan shark and a bookie, 84 00:04:28,709 --> 00:04:32,076 and um, so there were a lot of things that left 85 00:04:32,076 --> 00:04:35,343 uh, were, were left to be desired for, 86 00:04:35,343 --> 00:04:36,843 from my mom's perspective. 87 00:04:36,843 --> 00:04:37,909 GATES: If you take me back, 88 00:04:37,909 --> 00:04:39,409 I'll change, I'll change, baby, I promise. 89 00:04:39,409 --> 00:04:40,509 And nobody changes. 90 00:04:40,509 --> 00:04:41,809 CRUDUP: And he was always saying it was happening. 91 00:04:41,809 --> 00:04:44,009 Well, and then, meanwhile, you know, 92 00:04:44,009 --> 00:04:45,043 we'd be in the middle of dinner 93 00:04:45,043 --> 00:04:46,476 and the lights would go out and he'd be 94 00:04:46,476 --> 00:04:50,709 "Ah, that mail, ah, dagnabbit, 95 00:04:50,709 --> 00:04:53,143 I sent the check and I'll be! God!" 96 00:04:53,143 --> 00:04:54,176 And you can hear my mom 97 00:04:54,176 --> 00:04:56,376 stomping up the stairs, you know. 98 00:04:58,643 --> 00:05:01,076 GATES: The chaos of his parents' marriage was 99 00:05:01,076 --> 00:05:03,409 compounded by the fact that the family was 100 00:05:03,409 --> 00:05:06,676 constantly on the move. 101 00:05:06,676 --> 00:05:09,543 Billy recalls attending at least eight different schools 102 00:05:09,543 --> 00:05:14,076 in Texas, New York, and Florida before finally 103 00:05:14,076 --> 00:05:18,043 heading off to college at the University of North Carolina. 104 00:05:20,109 --> 00:05:23,076 Through it all, he received little career guidance, 105 00:05:23,076 --> 00:05:25,843 and came to embrace his acting talents 106 00:05:25,843 --> 00:05:28,276 almost by chance. 107 00:05:29,343 --> 00:05:31,009 CRUDUP: Whenever a teacher, 108 00:05:31,009 --> 00:05:33,409 from as far back as I can remember, 109 00:05:33,409 --> 00:05:38,043 would say we're going to do the pageant of so and so, 110 00:05:38,043 --> 00:05:41,376 who wants to put the, uh, costume on, it was, 111 00:05:41,376 --> 00:05:43,676 oh, my hand was up, always, first. 112 00:05:43,676 --> 00:05:46,843 So there was a part of performing that was woven 113 00:05:46,843 --> 00:05:48,743 into much of my childhood. 114 00:05:48,743 --> 00:05:50,076 GATES: Mmm-hmm. 115 00:05:50,076 --> 00:05:51,476 CRUDUP: But when I got to the University of North Carolina, 116 00:05:51,476 --> 00:05:53,943 I didn't know what my major was going to be, 117 00:05:53,943 --> 00:05:56,743 so I started with business because apparently my dad 118 00:05:56,743 --> 00:05:59,476 was a businessman, and um, 119 00:05:59,476 --> 00:06:01,976 it didn't take more than a semester to realize 120 00:06:01,976 --> 00:06:04,809 that I was not going to achieve uh, 121 00:06:04,809 --> 00:06:08,643 the expected grades uh, as a business major. 122 00:06:08,643 --> 00:06:12,609 And at the same time, I was taking, I took a class called 123 00:06:12,609 --> 00:06:15,009 oral interpretation of prose and poetry. 124 00:06:15,009 --> 00:06:16,143 GATES: Oh, yeah? 125 00:06:16,143 --> 00:06:17,076 CRUDUP: In the speech communications department. 126 00:06:17,076 --> 00:06:18,376 GATES: Oh, that's cool. 127 00:06:18,376 --> 00:06:20,176 CRUDUP: And I discovered that there was an outlet for this 128 00:06:20,176 --> 00:06:23,976 creative expression that I, 129 00:06:23,976 --> 00:06:26,743 um, was drawn to. 130 00:06:26,743 --> 00:06:28,143 GATES: Mmm-hmm. 131 00:06:28,143 --> 00:06:30,509 CRUDUP: You know, I felt for the first time like, 132 00:06:30,509 --> 00:06:31,809 oh yeah, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. 133 00:06:31,809 --> 00:06:33,576 GATES: You felt at home. 134 00:06:34,143 --> 00:06:37,843 Billy's discovery would prove transformative... 135 00:06:37,843 --> 00:06:42,109 over the last three decades, he's become legendary for 136 00:06:42,109 --> 00:06:46,143 his ability to immerse himself in any role, 137 00:06:46,843 --> 00:06:51,576 from a capricious rock star, to a scheming TV executive, 138 00:06:51,576 --> 00:06:56,243 from a Russian intellectual, to the Elephant Man. 139 00:06:57,276 --> 00:06:59,176 But to hear Billy tell it, 140 00:06:59,176 --> 00:07:01,643 he's only following his instincts, 141 00:07:01,643 --> 00:07:05,243 and his achievements are happy accidents, 142 00:07:05,243 --> 00:07:08,876 the byproduct of his devotion to his quixotic profession. 143 00:07:09,676 --> 00:07:13,143 CRUDUP: I think the life of an actor is you, you, 144 00:07:13,143 --> 00:07:14,843 you know you can make it, 145 00:07:14,843 --> 00:07:18,376 and then, you feel you can never make it, 146 00:07:18,376 --> 00:07:21,409 and then, you are confident you can make it, and then, 147 00:07:21,409 --> 00:07:23,043 you should retire. 148 00:07:23,043 --> 00:07:24,309 That's the sort of like, 149 00:07:24,309 --> 00:07:26,309 you can count on it like the motion of the stars. 150 00:07:26,309 --> 00:07:30,143 Those feelings are going to, um, ebb and flow, 151 00:07:30,143 --> 00:07:33,109 and you never really know, you just kinda discover 152 00:07:33,109 --> 00:07:34,643 at a certain point that you've been able to 153 00:07:34,643 --> 00:07:36,209 make a career for yourself, 154 00:07:36,209 --> 00:07:37,543 most of the bills are paid, 155 00:07:37,543 --> 00:07:40,409 you, um, have been engaged in things that have 156 00:07:40,409 --> 00:07:45,243 lifted your spirit and drawn aspects of your, um, 157 00:07:45,243 --> 00:07:48,043 expression out of you that you didn't think were possible, 158 00:07:48,043 --> 00:07:50,643 and um, that you're 53 159 00:07:50,643 --> 00:07:52,976 and in a position to get to talk to you, 160 00:07:53,676 --> 00:07:56,243 and I think, my gosh, you know, that is, 161 00:07:56,243 --> 00:08:01,343 um, it's, uh, it's incredibly gratifying. 162 00:08:02,543 --> 00:08:05,876 GATES: My second guest is actor and talk show host 163 00:08:05,876 --> 00:08:08,543 Tamera Mowry. 164 00:08:08,543 --> 00:08:12,609 Unlike Billy, Tamera took a very direct path to fame. 165 00:08:13,943 --> 00:08:16,143 Growing up on an army base in Texas, 166 00:08:16,143 --> 00:08:19,676 Tamera and her twin sister Tia became fascinated 167 00:08:19,676 --> 00:08:22,343 by show business as children, 168 00:08:22,343 --> 00:08:24,676 soon, the two were pressuring their mother 169 00:08:24,676 --> 00:08:27,076 for opportunities. 170 00:08:27,076 --> 00:08:30,376 But when Tamera began performing in beauty pageants, 171 00:08:30,376 --> 00:08:34,043 she quickly realized that they were a dead end, 172 00:08:34,043 --> 00:08:36,576 and set her sights higher. 173 00:08:37,843 --> 00:08:41,209 MOWRY: I only did it for about two or three years because 174 00:08:41,209 --> 00:08:43,743 I saw that it was fixed. 175 00:08:43,743 --> 00:08:45,009 GATES: Uh-huh. 176 00:08:45,009 --> 00:08:47,276 MOWRY: Like, the same people were winning 177 00:08:47,276 --> 00:08:50,343 over and over again, and I knew, at a very young age, 178 00:08:50,343 --> 00:08:54,143 wait, they're not picking any Black people. 179 00:08:54,143 --> 00:08:55,876 GATES: Oh, right. 180 00:08:55,876 --> 00:08:57,576 MOWRY: This doesn't feel good. 181 00:08:57,576 --> 00:08:59,443 Uh, so I said I didn't want to do that anymore. 182 00:08:59,443 --> 00:09:03,209 I wanted to now act, 183 00:09:03,209 --> 00:09:06,576 and that's when my mom, and Tia wanted to do it, too. 184 00:09:06,576 --> 00:09:07,976 We packed up our bags. 185 00:09:07,976 --> 00:09:10,376 She quit her job, and we moved to Los Angeles. 186 00:09:10,376 --> 00:09:11,509 I was 11 years old. 187 00:09:11,509 --> 00:09:12,543 GATES: Really? 188 00:09:12,543 --> 00:09:13,809 MOWRY: Uh-huh. 189 00:09:13,809 --> 00:09:15,209 GATES: Because she recognized that you had some talent? 190 00:09:15,209 --> 00:09:16,276 MOWRY: Yes. 191 00:09:16,276 --> 00:09:17,376 GATES: She believed that you could pull this off? 192 00:09:17,376 --> 00:09:19,109 MOWRY: Yes. Yes. She made a bet with us, actually. 193 00:09:19,109 --> 00:09:20,676 GATES: What was the bet? 194 00:09:20,676 --> 00:09:24,309 MOWRY: The bet was you want me to quit my job. 195 00:09:24,309 --> 00:09:28,376 And move somewhere, you know, Texas, we could afford, 196 00:09:28,376 --> 00:09:31,309 because we were in the Army, 197 00:09:31,309 --> 00:09:33,043 government housing and all that. 198 00:09:33,043 --> 00:09:34,243 GATES: Right. Sure. 199 00:09:34,243 --> 00:09:35,876 MOWRY: You want me to quit my job, so we can go out 200 00:09:35,876 --> 00:09:37,376 to a more expensive place, and do what? 201 00:09:37,376 --> 00:09:38,543 GATES: Right. 202 00:09:38,543 --> 00:09:40,476 MOWRY: I need to make sure we are doing this wisely. 203 00:09:40,476 --> 00:09:42,809 So, she said I'm going to give you girls a month. 204 00:09:42,809 --> 00:09:44,543 You go out there. 205 00:09:44,543 --> 00:09:46,476 I'll save money. You go out there. 206 00:09:46,476 --> 00:09:49,309 You book one, like, national commercial, 207 00:09:49,309 --> 00:09:53,743 one like big job, then I know we can do this. 208 00:09:53,743 --> 00:09:55,643 And we did. 209 00:09:56,343 --> 00:09:59,509 GATES: Tamera and her sister booked a Chrysler commercial, 210 00:09:59,509 --> 00:10:03,209 and the family resettled in Los Angeles, 211 00:10:03,209 --> 00:10:06,509 with the girls' mother as their manager, 212 00:10:06,509 --> 00:10:09,443 but landing a commercial was one thing, 213 00:10:09,443 --> 00:10:12,176 building a career quite another. 214 00:10:13,043 --> 00:10:16,443 When ABC approached the twins about appearing together 215 00:10:16,443 --> 00:10:17,809 in a sitcom, 216 00:10:17,809 --> 00:10:22,276 Tamera discovered that she still had a lot to learn. 217 00:10:24,376 --> 00:10:28,743 MOWRY: They had us do a presentation, and it was bad. 218 00:10:28,743 --> 00:10:30,776 (laughing) 219 00:10:30,776 --> 00:10:31,943 I'm not going to lie. 220 00:10:31,943 --> 00:10:34,443 I was, I was young, and I was like, oh, 221 00:10:34,443 --> 00:10:36,476 I got some work to do. 222 00:10:36,476 --> 00:10:37,676 GATES: Wait. Why was it bad? 223 00:10:37,676 --> 00:10:38,909 MOWRY: The acting. 224 00:10:38,909 --> 00:10:41,509 It was not, like, at a very young age, I could see... 225 00:10:41,509 --> 00:10:43,876 GATES: Were you reading your lines like this? 226 00:10:43,876 --> 00:10:45,176 MOWRY: No. Yeah. 227 00:10:45,176 --> 00:10:47,343 It was just, it wasn't natural. How about that? 228 00:10:47,343 --> 00:10:48,376 GATES: Uh-huh. Right. 229 00:10:48,376 --> 00:10:49,409 MOWRY: And but this is the cool thing. 230 00:10:49,409 --> 00:10:52,343 ABC saw our potential. 231 00:10:52,343 --> 00:10:56,476 They saw the talent and I guess the, the, the spark, 232 00:10:56,476 --> 00:11:00,076 the 'it factor', in these two girls, we were 14. 233 00:11:00,076 --> 00:11:01,376 GATES: Uh-huh. Hmm. 234 00:11:01,376 --> 00:11:02,376 MOWRY: And they gave us a shot. 235 00:11:02,376 --> 00:11:03,509 GATES: That's amazing. 236 00:11:03,509 --> 00:11:05,009 MOWRY: And boom. 237 00:11:05,009 --> 00:11:08,043 GATES: ABCknew what it was doing. 238 00:11:08,043 --> 00:11:12,876 Tamera and Tia were soon starring in Sister, Sister, 239 00:11:12,876 --> 00:11:16,876 a hit sitcom that ran for six seasons. 240 00:11:16,876 --> 00:11:21,409 When it ended Tamera was just 20 years old, 241 00:11:21,409 --> 00:11:25,843 but unlike many young stars, her career wasn't over. 242 00:11:26,676 --> 00:11:29,643 A string of television and film roles followed, 243 00:11:29,643 --> 00:11:31,876 along with a reality series, 244 00:11:31,876 --> 00:11:35,276 and an Emmy-award winning talk show. 245 00:11:35,276 --> 00:11:36,843 But looking back on it all, 246 00:11:36,843 --> 00:11:41,243 Tamera thinks her greatest success has been a private one. 247 00:11:42,109 --> 00:11:45,543 MOWRY: I'm proud the business hasn't changed me... 248 00:11:45,543 --> 00:11:47,309 GATES: Mm-hm. 249 00:11:47,309 --> 00:11:49,543 MOWRY: As a person, 250 00:11:49,543 --> 00:11:53,109 because being a child actor, 251 00:11:53,109 --> 00:11:54,876 there's so many different avenues 252 00:11:54,876 --> 00:11:57,109 I, I could've, I could've taken, 253 00:11:57,109 --> 00:12:02,443 and there are a lot of bad paths, 254 00:12:02,443 --> 00:12:05,876 because you go from people appearing to care, 255 00:12:05,876 --> 00:12:06,943 and then, all of a sudden, 256 00:12:06,943 --> 00:12:08,976 you don't have that show, to them not. 257 00:12:08,976 --> 00:12:10,809 GATES: What kept you grounded? 258 00:12:10,809 --> 00:12:14,543 MOWRY: I would say our faith, 259 00:12:15,943 --> 00:12:18,643 and our home life. 260 00:12:19,943 --> 00:12:23,609 One thing about our parents is they were very proud 261 00:12:23,609 --> 00:12:28,043 that we achieved our dream at a very young age, 262 00:12:28,043 --> 00:12:30,643 but they taught us the importance of not 263 00:12:30,643 --> 00:12:33,709 letting it define who we are. 264 00:12:33,709 --> 00:12:35,409 Our character does that. 265 00:12:35,409 --> 00:12:38,943 GATES: My two guests come from very different backgrounds, 266 00:12:38,943 --> 00:12:41,576 but share a common dilemma. 267 00:12:41,576 --> 00:12:45,643 both grew up in families that were closed off to the past, 268 00:12:45,643 --> 00:12:48,476 either by choice or by circumstance. 269 00:12:49,076 --> 00:12:52,476 as a result, both came to me with fundamental 270 00:12:52,476 --> 00:12:55,143 questions about their family trees. 271 00:12:55,143 --> 00:12:58,009 It was time to provide some answers. 272 00:12:58,543 --> 00:13:02,943 I started with Billy, and with his father, Thomas Crudup, 273 00:13:02,943 --> 00:13:07,243 a mercurial man who, despite all his flaws, 274 00:13:07,243 --> 00:13:10,609 had a powerful influence on his son. 275 00:13:12,476 --> 00:13:15,909 CRUDUP: He loved learning about somebody in a way 276 00:13:15,909 --> 00:13:18,643 that he was unpredictable to him. 277 00:13:18,643 --> 00:13:19,843 Tell me your story. 278 00:13:19,843 --> 00:13:21,309 I'd be really interested to hear what your story is. 279 00:13:21,309 --> 00:13:22,343 GATES: Hmm. 280 00:13:22,343 --> 00:13:24,243 CRUDUP: Uh, introduced himself, 281 00:13:24,243 --> 00:13:26,776 like we would go sit down at a diner when we were, 282 00:13:26,776 --> 00:13:28,676 you know, on some road trip with him, 283 00:13:28,676 --> 00:13:31,376 inevitably, he was, there was some scam going on, 284 00:13:31,376 --> 00:13:35,309 but he packaged it as a vacation for us, um, 285 00:13:35,309 --> 00:13:39,409 and um, you know we'd roll up to the Howard Johnson's 286 00:13:39,409 --> 00:13:42,276 or the Best Western, Denny's, whatever it was and 287 00:13:42,276 --> 00:13:46,709 sit down for a dinner and he'd say tell me your name. 288 00:13:46,709 --> 00:13:50,043 Rosalyn, I want to introduce you to Tommy. 289 00:13:50,043 --> 00:13:52,909 That is my oldest there, we call him Quatro, number four. 290 00:13:52,909 --> 00:13:55,109 Right there in the middle, that's, that's my middle one. 291 00:13:55,109 --> 00:13:57,209 Disco we call him. He likes to dance. 292 00:13:57,209 --> 00:13:58,709 Right there, bringing up the rear is Brooks. 293 00:13:58,709 --> 00:14:02,709 Uh, so your attitude will be reflected in your gratuity. 294 00:14:02,709 --> 00:14:04,443 Tell me something about yourself. 295 00:14:04,443 --> 00:14:07,109 That was everywhere, all the time, 296 00:14:07,109 --> 00:14:10,009 and he was so interested in people, 297 00:14:10,009 --> 00:14:11,843 and I've inherited some of that. 298 00:14:11,843 --> 00:14:14,009 Certainly, the curiosity with characters and 299 00:14:14,009 --> 00:14:15,209 the character work. 300 00:14:15,209 --> 00:14:18,543 Uh, he's able to find that with somebody in a room 301 00:14:18,543 --> 00:14:21,676 and I need to go into a room myself with a character to find 302 00:14:21,676 --> 00:14:23,376 it but it's, I think they're 303 00:14:23,376 --> 00:14:26,243 different sides of the same coin. 304 00:14:27,176 --> 00:14:28,776 GATES: While Billy may have inherited 305 00:14:28,776 --> 00:14:31,909 his father's curiosity, it didn't extend to the 306 00:14:31,909 --> 00:14:34,676 subject of their family history. 307 00:14:35,543 --> 00:14:38,509 Indeed, Billy knew almost nothing about his father's 308 00:14:38,509 --> 00:14:42,509 roots beyond the fact that they lay in North Carolina. 309 00:14:43,809 --> 00:14:46,943 We focused first on Billy's grandmother, 310 00:14:46,943 --> 00:14:49,809 a woman named Priscilla Parham. 311 00:14:50,176 --> 00:14:55,576 Priscilla was born in Henderson, North Carolina in 1922, 312 00:14:56,876 --> 00:15:00,809 moving back two generations, we came to her grandfather, 313 00:15:00,809 --> 00:15:03,176 Samuel Parham... 314 00:15:03,176 --> 00:15:07,176 Samuel was born in that same state in 1834, 315 00:15:07,176 --> 00:15:10,009 meaning that he was roughly 26 years old 316 00:15:10,009 --> 00:15:12,576 when the Civil War broke out. 317 00:15:12,909 --> 00:15:14,876 We wondered how he responded, 318 00:15:14,876 --> 00:15:18,476 and found the answer in the National Archives. 319 00:15:19,309 --> 00:15:21,643 CRUDUP: "Confederate, Samuel J. Parham. 320 00:15:21,643 --> 00:15:25,343 Captain, 54th Regiment, North Carolina infantry. 321 00:15:25,343 --> 00:15:28,476 Period, three years or the war." 322 00:15:28,743 --> 00:15:30,743 GATES: Samuel joined the Confederate Army. 323 00:15:30,743 --> 00:15:32,676 CRUDUP: This is my grandmother's grandfather? 324 00:15:32,676 --> 00:15:34,709 GATES: Grandfather. That's right. 325 00:15:35,576 --> 00:15:36,976 CRUDUP: Wow. 326 00:15:36,976 --> 00:15:38,243 GATES: So, is it a surprise? 327 00:15:38,243 --> 00:15:40,843 CRUDUP: It's not a, a surprise, I mean, it doesn't take 328 00:15:40,843 --> 00:15:44,043 much imaginative speculation to think that they must have 329 00:15:44,043 --> 00:15:46,243 participated in the Civil War one way or the other, 330 00:15:46,243 --> 00:15:47,743 and if you were in North Carolina, it was likely 331 00:15:47,743 --> 00:15:49,009 that you were going to be on the Confederate side. 332 00:15:49,009 --> 00:15:50,143 GATES: Yeah. 333 00:15:50,143 --> 00:15:51,243 CRUDUP: But my grandmother's grandfather? 334 00:15:51,243 --> 00:15:53,709 GATES: Grandfather, yeah. 335 00:15:53,709 --> 00:15:57,309 CRUDUP: To think about that. The stories that she heard. 336 00:15:57,309 --> 00:15:58,776 GATES: Yeah. 337 00:15:58,776 --> 00:16:04,043 CRUDUP: And what she inherited, um, 338 00:16:04,043 --> 00:16:06,343 they never, never passed down. 339 00:16:06,343 --> 00:16:09,776 That was not a part of our, um, dialogue. 340 00:16:11,209 --> 00:16:14,043 GATES: Samuel served as a captain in the North Carolina 341 00:16:14,043 --> 00:16:17,343 infantry for over a year. 342 00:16:17,343 --> 00:16:22,076 During that time, he fought in at least one major battle and 343 00:16:22,076 --> 00:16:26,843 in the records of his father, a man named Asa Parham, 344 00:16:26,843 --> 00:16:30,876 we saw exactly what Samuel was fighting for. 345 00:16:32,109 --> 00:16:34,743 His family's human property. 346 00:16:35,743 --> 00:16:38,976 CRUDUP: "I, Asa Parham, do grant to the said 347 00:16:38,976 --> 00:16:42,043 Thomas V. Bobbitt and his heirs the following slaves to wit, 348 00:16:42,043 --> 00:16:44,843 a Negro girl by the name of Sally 349 00:16:44,843 --> 00:16:49,476 now about the age of 15 or 17 years, 350 00:16:49,476 --> 00:16:53,243 a Negro girl by the name of Susan about 10 or 12 years old, 351 00:16:53,243 --> 00:16:55,776 to have and to hold the said slaves 352 00:16:55,776 --> 00:16:58,109 Sally and Susan to him, 353 00:16:58,109 --> 00:17:02,743 the said Thomas V. Bobbitt and his heirs forever. 354 00:17:02,743 --> 00:17:04,943 Asa Parham." 355 00:17:04,943 --> 00:17:06,343 GATES: Forever. 356 00:17:06,343 --> 00:17:07,809 Asa Parham, your third great-grandfather 357 00:17:07,809 --> 00:17:09,576 was a slave owner. 358 00:17:09,576 --> 00:17:11,609 In this document, he's giving his son-in-law, 359 00:17:11,609 --> 00:17:13,576 a man named Thomas Bobbitt, 360 00:17:13,576 --> 00:17:16,143 two enslaved females: Sally and Susan. 361 00:17:16,143 --> 00:17:18,176 What's it like to see that? 362 00:17:18,176 --> 00:17:21,143 CRUDUP: It's obviously incredibly moving, 363 00:17:21,143 --> 00:17:25,176 and, and um, 364 00:17:25,176 --> 00:17:27,209 heart wrenching to see the, 365 00:17:27,209 --> 00:17:28,809 the actual writing, the handwriting, 366 00:17:28,809 --> 00:17:31,676 of somebody who is, doing that is, 367 00:17:31,676 --> 00:17:34,843 it's pretty astonishing. 368 00:17:36,276 --> 00:17:39,943 GATES: This document led us to a remarkable discovery. 369 00:17:41,343 --> 00:17:44,809 In 1933, Sally Parham, 370 00:17:44,809 --> 00:17:49,043 the enslaved woman whom Asa gifted to his son in-law, 371 00:17:49,043 --> 00:17:51,009 was interviewed for an article in a 372 00:17:51,009 --> 00:17:53,109 North Carolina newspaper. 373 00:17:54,009 --> 00:17:59,109 At the time, Sally was over 90 years old. 374 00:17:59,109 --> 00:18:00,576 In her interview, 375 00:18:00,576 --> 00:18:03,109 she describes how she worked for the Parham family 376 00:18:03,109 --> 00:18:05,443 her entire life, 377 00:18:05,443 --> 00:18:08,509 both during and after slavery, 378 00:18:08,509 --> 00:18:11,476 and claims that she thought well of them. 379 00:18:12,509 --> 00:18:15,543 Articles like this were not uncommon during 380 00:18:15,543 --> 00:18:18,143 the Jim Crow era. 381 00:18:18,143 --> 00:18:21,843 But even so, Sally's words were shocking to read. 382 00:18:23,209 --> 00:18:26,809 CRUDUP: "Black mammy tells graphic story of slavery. 383 00:18:27,143 --> 00:18:30,476 Her name is Sally Parham, and she belonged to Asa Parham, 384 00:18:30,476 --> 00:18:34,043 who owned a large plantation five miles from Oxford. 385 00:18:34,043 --> 00:18:36,709 She has served five generations of the family, 386 00:18:36,709 --> 00:18:39,843 and now, totally blind, is being cared for by a 387 00:18:39,843 --> 00:18:42,409 great-granddaughter of her master." 388 00:18:42,409 --> 00:18:44,743 GATES: After the South lost the war, 389 00:18:44,743 --> 00:18:46,843 they engaged in the narrative war. 390 00:18:46,843 --> 00:18:47,976 The war of interpretation. 391 00:18:47,976 --> 00:18:49,043 CRUDUP: Ahh. 392 00:18:49,043 --> 00:18:50,776 GATES: One of the crucial aspects was that 393 00:18:50,776 --> 00:18:51,943 slavery wasn't that bad. 394 00:18:51,943 --> 00:18:53,009 CRUDUP: Right. 395 00:18:53,009 --> 00:18:54,176 GATES: The slaves loved their masters, 396 00:18:54,176 --> 00:18:55,243 masters weren't cruel. 397 00:18:55,243 --> 00:18:56,409 CRUDUP: Yeah. 398 00:18:56,409 --> 00:18:58,009 GATES: So what's it like to read this? 399 00:18:58,009 --> 00:19:00,043 CRUDUP: Well, I'm having, obviously, 400 00:19:00,043 --> 00:19:01,476 a lot of different reactions. 401 00:19:01,476 --> 00:19:03,376 Part of it, um, is a personal experience 402 00:19:03,376 --> 00:19:06,243 I'm having processing the story and, and then, 403 00:19:06,243 --> 00:19:09,643 there's the material thing of actually thinking of her as a, 404 00:19:09,643 --> 00:19:13,976 a girl being sold to my great-great-great-grandfather, 405 00:19:13,976 --> 00:19:19,009 um, as a child and being so, 406 00:19:19,009 --> 00:19:25,443 um, entrenched in that system 407 00:19:25,443 --> 00:19:27,876 that there could be parts of her that were 408 00:19:27,876 --> 00:19:29,576 clinging to it still... 409 00:19:29,576 --> 00:19:30,609 GATES: Absolutely. 410 00:19:30,609 --> 00:19:31,609 CRUDUP: As it was falling apart. 411 00:19:31,609 --> 00:19:34,109 GATES: Yeah, and 60 odd years later, 412 00:19:34,109 --> 00:19:35,976 she's still working for the same family. 413 00:19:35,976 --> 00:19:38,443 CRUDUP: Exactly, and getting into characters and 414 00:19:38,443 --> 00:19:42,276 thinking about people, and if you're Asa, 415 00:19:42,276 --> 00:19:44,976 you've got two ways of imagining slavery, 416 00:19:44,976 --> 00:19:46,376 that I can think of. 417 00:19:46,376 --> 00:19:48,776 One, you diminish the people who you're enslaving. 418 00:19:48,776 --> 00:19:51,843 The other is you tell yourself you're a good person and that 419 00:19:51,843 --> 00:19:54,343 your slavery exists and 420 00:19:54,343 --> 00:19:57,343 you're doing the best version of it possible, 421 00:19:57,343 --> 00:20:02,143 so I'm imagining that... 422 00:20:02,143 --> 00:20:04,376 for even this to be reported, 423 00:20:04,376 --> 00:20:07,443 he must have been selling the story to himself and others 424 00:20:07,443 --> 00:20:09,643 that he was one of the good. 425 00:20:09,643 --> 00:20:12,476 GATES: Yeah, indeed, that's a great way to put it. 426 00:20:12,476 --> 00:20:14,443 CRUDUP: Slavery must have been a kind of religion 427 00:20:14,443 --> 00:20:15,743 in some way. 428 00:20:15,743 --> 00:20:18,309 To be able to believe that you could, uh, that somebody was 429 00:20:18,309 --> 00:20:20,676 less of a person enough that you could own them, 430 00:20:20,676 --> 00:20:26,909 that's a kind of leap of faith, uh, that seems fanatical to me. 431 00:20:26,909 --> 00:20:28,376 GATES: Yeah, absolutely. 432 00:20:28,376 --> 00:20:31,609 CRUDUP: But that's part of our legacy. 433 00:20:33,276 --> 00:20:36,843 GATES: Asa Parham embodies one of the ugliest chapters 434 00:20:36,843 --> 00:20:39,976 in our nation's past, 435 00:20:39,976 --> 00:20:43,709 but we soon saw a far nobler side of that past emerge 436 00:20:43,709 --> 00:20:47,109 on a different branch of Billy's father's family. 437 00:20:47,876 --> 00:20:51,376 The story concerns Billy's fifth great-grandfather, 438 00:20:51,376 --> 00:20:54,409 a man named Nathan Boddie... 439 00:20:55,543 --> 00:20:59,876 Nathan was born in colonial Virginia in 1732, 440 00:20:59,876 --> 00:21:01,943 so he was in his early 40's 441 00:21:01,943 --> 00:21:04,909 when the American Revolution began. 442 00:21:05,809 --> 00:21:08,909 It was a time of great uncertainty in the colonies, 443 00:21:08,909 --> 00:21:11,576 but not for Nathan. 444 00:21:11,576 --> 00:21:15,843 He embraced the patriot cause wholeheartedly, 445 00:21:15,843 --> 00:21:19,409 voting for what became known as the Halifax Resolves, 446 00:21:19,409 --> 00:21:23,543 the first official state action for independence 447 00:21:23,543 --> 00:21:25,943 in the colonies. 448 00:21:25,943 --> 00:21:29,343 It was a bold decision, and a dangerous one. 449 00:21:29,976 --> 00:21:32,276 If he'd been captured by the British, 450 00:21:32,276 --> 00:21:35,509 Nathan would likely have been hanged, 451 00:21:36,943 --> 00:21:40,243 And knowing this left Billy with a host of questions 452 00:21:40,243 --> 00:21:42,743 about his ancestor. 453 00:21:43,276 --> 00:21:44,676 CRUDUP: What could he have possibly been thinking? 454 00:21:44,676 --> 00:21:45,709 GATES: Yeah, right. 455 00:21:45,709 --> 00:21:46,743 CRUDUP: Right? 456 00:21:46,743 --> 00:21:48,643 Did he have a vested interest in some property 457 00:21:48,643 --> 00:21:50,143 that he wanted to protect? 458 00:21:50,143 --> 00:21:53,276 Was it the notion of, uh, escaping some kind of 459 00:21:53,276 --> 00:21:55,043 religious persecution? 460 00:21:55,043 --> 00:21:58,943 Uh, was it the ideals of freedom that they would 461 00:21:58,943 --> 00:22:03,076 start to manifest in documents over the coming years? 462 00:22:03,076 --> 00:22:07,943 Uh, my wish would be that it's the latter of those, 463 00:22:07,943 --> 00:22:09,043 but who knows. 464 00:22:09,043 --> 00:22:10,309 GATES: Who knows? 465 00:22:10,309 --> 00:22:12,909 CRUDUP: And he's in his 40's, so he's not going to be as 466 00:22:12,909 --> 00:22:15,109 fit a fighter as the people who he's going to be 467 00:22:15,109 --> 00:22:16,143 battling against. 468 00:22:16,143 --> 00:22:17,176 GATES: That's true. 469 00:22:17,176 --> 00:22:18,943 CRUDUP: And I wonder what was in his head. 470 00:22:19,609 --> 00:22:21,176 GATES: After the revolution, 471 00:22:21,176 --> 00:22:23,909 Nathan continued to make history. 472 00:22:23,909 --> 00:22:25,343 He ultimately helped found 473 00:22:25,343 --> 00:22:28,009 what became Nash County, North Carolina, 474 00:22:28,009 --> 00:22:30,509 first by working to build a courthouse 475 00:22:30,509 --> 00:22:32,743 to act as the county seat, 476 00:22:32,743 --> 00:22:36,276 then by serving as the county's justice of the peace 477 00:22:36,276 --> 00:22:38,743 and representing it as a member of 478 00:22:38,743 --> 00:22:41,509 the North Carolina state legislature. 479 00:22:43,876 --> 00:22:49,076 CRUDUP: Wow, he really had a profound impact on the, the... 480 00:22:49,076 --> 00:22:52,243 codifying of an American community. 481 00:22:52,243 --> 00:22:53,576 GATES: He did. 482 00:22:53,576 --> 00:22:56,343 So, what's it like to learn this? 483 00:22:59,676 --> 00:23:02,443 CRUDUP: It's incredible to see the agency and 484 00:23:02,443 --> 00:23:05,209 I'm flabbergasted that this was not the lead 485 00:23:05,209 --> 00:23:06,643 from the time I was born. 486 00:23:06,643 --> 00:23:07,909 GATES: I know. 487 00:23:07,909 --> 00:23:10,943 CRUDUP: I mean, I feel like they would've put me in that 488 00:23:10,943 --> 00:23:13,709 costume as soon as I came out of the womb and 489 00:23:13,709 --> 00:23:16,043 say never forget that this happened, okay. 490 00:23:16,043 --> 00:23:17,309 GATES: Why do you think that was lost? 491 00:23:17,309 --> 00:23:20,609 CRUDUP: That's a great question, I, I... 492 00:23:20,609 --> 00:23:23,743 There's a quote in the Tom Stoppard play Arcadia 493 00:23:23,743 --> 00:23:25,643 that I always reflect upon in moments of this 494 00:23:25,643 --> 00:23:29,676 when the young girl that I'm tutoring is in 495 00:23:29,676 --> 00:23:34,076 absolute despair imagining all that was lost 496 00:23:34,076 --> 00:23:38,076 in the Library of Alexandria, and so, as the tutor, 497 00:23:38,076 --> 00:23:41,643 I explain to her that in the march of humanity, 498 00:23:41,643 --> 00:23:44,709 it's all progress and some things are dropped along the way 499 00:23:44,709 --> 00:23:46,876 but they'll be picked up by generations that come, 500 00:23:46,876 --> 00:23:50,376 so there is no information on our um, our journey 501 00:23:50,376 --> 00:23:53,909 that is ever lost forever, 502 00:23:53,909 --> 00:23:55,576 but I suspect there are some that are dropped for 503 00:23:55,576 --> 00:23:58,743 a while and you have picked it up and returned it, uh, 504 00:23:58,743 --> 00:24:02,176 in a way that uh, I'm profoundly grateful. 505 00:24:03,976 --> 00:24:07,243 GATES: My second guest, Tamera Mowry, came to me 506 00:24:07,243 --> 00:24:09,609 knowing little about her family tree 507 00:24:09,609 --> 00:24:12,476 beyond the fact that it was diverse. 508 00:24:12,476 --> 00:24:16,776 Her mother's roots stretch to Africa via the Bahamas, 509 00:24:16,776 --> 00:24:19,343 her father is of European descent, 510 00:24:19,343 --> 00:24:22,576 and while Tamera has always been comfortable 511 00:24:22,576 --> 00:24:24,109 with her identity, 512 00:24:24,109 --> 00:24:28,276 she hasn't always been able to explain it to others. 513 00:24:29,843 --> 00:24:32,343 So, when people ask you, do you say uh 514 00:24:32,343 --> 00:24:34,743 I'm part West Indian, I'm part Bahamian, 515 00:24:34,743 --> 00:24:37,009 or I'm mixed, or, you know 516 00:24:37,009 --> 00:24:39,043 because you could be from the Mediterranean. 517 00:24:39,043 --> 00:24:40,709 You could be from the Dominican Republic. 518 00:24:40,709 --> 00:24:41,909 I bet you get that a lot, you know? 519 00:24:41,909 --> 00:24:43,043 MOWRY: Oh my gosh! 520 00:24:43,043 --> 00:24:47,343 What I would say is I am, you know, I identify, 521 00:24:47,343 --> 00:24:48,743 I'm Black. 522 00:24:48,743 --> 00:24:52,643 But when I visited Egypt, literally, they would go 523 00:24:52,643 --> 00:24:53,809 Egyptian, Egyptian? 524 00:24:53,809 --> 00:24:54,909 GATES: Oh, yeah. Sure. 525 00:24:54,909 --> 00:24:56,209 MOWRY: And I'm like no. 526 00:24:56,209 --> 00:24:58,109 Then when I would go to Italy, 527 00:24:58,109 --> 00:24:59,543 they're like do you have Italian in you? 528 00:24:59,543 --> 00:25:01,709 I'm like no. 529 00:25:01,709 --> 00:25:04,676 And when I would go to New York, they would always say... 530 00:25:04,676 --> 00:25:05,676 GATES: You'd be Puerto Rican. 531 00:25:05,676 --> 00:25:07,143 MOWRY: They're like you're Boriqua, huh? 532 00:25:07,143 --> 00:25:08,176 I'm like, no. 533 00:25:08,176 --> 00:25:10,276 They're like, no, you're Puerto Rican. 534 00:25:10,276 --> 00:25:14,009 I'm like, "I swear I'm not." But yeah. 535 00:25:14,009 --> 00:25:15,309 GATES: So, you spent a lot of time saying, 536 00:25:15,309 --> 00:25:16,909 no, I'm not, no, I'm not. 537 00:25:16,909 --> 00:25:19,609 Well, we're going to see what you are, what you are. 538 00:25:19,609 --> 00:25:21,476 MOWRY: Wow. 539 00:25:22,443 --> 00:25:25,509 GATES: We began with the maternal side of 540 00:25:25,509 --> 00:25:27,043 Tamera's family tree. 541 00:25:27,043 --> 00:25:29,243 She knew that her mother's mother, 542 00:25:29,243 --> 00:25:33,243 a woman named Cloretha Flowers, had roots in the Bahamas. 543 00:25:35,943 --> 00:25:38,843 And we were able to identify the man who brought those roots 544 00:25:38,843 --> 00:25:41,443 to America: 545 00:25:41,443 --> 00:25:46,009 Tamera's great-grandfather, Rolly Flowers. 546 00:25:48,209 --> 00:25:51,576 We found him on the passenger manifest of a ship 547 00:25:51,576 --> 00:25:57,409 that arrived in Miami on February 23rd, 1917. 548 00:25:58,509 --> 00:26:02,943 MOWRY: "Name, Rolle Flowers, age, 23, 549 00:26:02,943 --> 00:26:05,676 occupation, farm laborer, 550 00:26:05,676 --> 00:26:10,176 nationality, Bahamas, Bahamian, race, African. 551 00:26:10,176 --> 00:26:11,709 GATES: Mmm-hmm. 552 00:26:11,709 --> 00:26:15,776 MOWRY: Whether going to join a relative or a friend, none, 553 00:26:15,776 --> 00:26:20,676 whether in possession of $50 and if less, how much, $7." 554 00:26:21,009 --> 00:26:22,676 GATES: He had $7 in his pocket 555 00:26:22,676 --> 00:26:24,709 when he migrated to the United States. 556 00:26:24,709 --> 00:26:25,976 MOWRY: And he was by himself? 557 00:26:25,976 --> 00:26:27,343 GATES: He was all by himself. 558 00:26:27,343 --> 00:26:30,643 He arrived in this country alone, at the age of 23... 559 00:26:30,643 --> 00:26:33,943 MOWRY: Oh my gosh, this is so cool! 560 00:26:34,943 --> 00:26:37,209 GATES: This manifest would prove a gold mine 561 00:26:37,209 --> 00:26:39,543 to our research. 562 00:26:39,543 --> 00:26:42,576 It told us that Raleigh was from Andros Island, 563 00:26:42,576 --> 00:26:46,009 the largest of the roughly 700 islands 564 00:26:46,009 --> 00:26:48,743 that make up the Bahamas. 565 00:26:49,243 --> 00:26:51,376 And in the archives of Andros, 566 00:26:51,376 --> 00:26:54,843 we uncovered Raleigh's baptismal certificate, 567 00:26:54,843 --> 00:26:57,976 which lists the names of his parents: 568 00:26:57,976 --> 00:27:00,943 Joshua and Christiana Flowers. 569 00:27:02,243 --> 00:27:05,109 They're Tamera's great-great-grandparents, 570 00:27:05,109 --> 00:27:09,676 and learning their names opened a window onto their lives. 571 00:27:11,109 --> 00:27:15,343 MOWRY: "1895 marriages solemnized at Mangrove Cay 572 00:27:15,343 --> 00:27:18,309 in the Parish of All Saints, Andros Island, 573 00:27:18,309 --> 00:27:22,476 when married, July 10, 1895, 574 00:27:22,476 --> 00:27:26,609 Joshua Cuthbert Flowers, age, 27, bachelor, 575 00:27:26,609 --> 00:27:28,676 rank or profession, sponger?" 576 00:27:28,676 --> 00:27:29,809 GATES: Sponger. 577 00:27:29,809 --> 00:27:32,543 MOWRY: "Christiana Monica Hall, age, 26, spinster." 578 00:27:32,543 --> 00:27:34,509 GATES: Uh-huh. That means she was single. 579 00:27:34,509 --> 00:27:35,509 MOWRY: Okay. 580 00:27:35,509 --> 00:27:36,776 GATES: Yeah. 581 00:27:36,776 --> 00:27:38,676 MOWRY: Okay. I was like, whoa, she, whoa, what was that? 582 00:27:38,676 --> 00:27:39,909 GATES: This is a marriage certificate for 583 00:27:39,909 --> 00:27:40,976 your great-great-grandparents. 584 00:27:40,976 --> 00:27:42,443 (screams) 585 00:27:42,443 --> 00:27:45,609 MOWRY: Oh my gosh! 586 00:27:45,809 --> 00:27:47,243 GATES: And as you could see, your great-great-grandfather's 587 00:27:47,243 --> 00:27:49,976 occupation was listed as a sponger. 588 00:27:49,976 --> 00:27:51,076 MOWRY: Sponger. 589 00:27:51,076 --> 00:27:52,743 GATES: And since I had no idea what a sponger was. 590 00:27:52,743 --> 00:27:53,843 MOWRY: Okay. 591 00:27:53,843 --> 00:27:55,209 GATES: And from your expression, you have no idea. 592 00:27:55,209 --> 00:27:56,276 MOWRY: No. 593 00:27:56,276 --> 00:27:57,376 GATES: Turn the page, 594 00:27:57,376 --> 00:27:58,843 and we're going to find out about spongers. 595 00:27:58,843 --> 00:28:00,943 MOWRY: Okay, spongers. 596 00:28:01,309 --> 00:28:05,676 GATES: Simply put: a sponger was a man with a grueling job. 597 00:28:07,176 --> 00:28:10,576 Sponges were plentiful in the waters around the Bahamas, 598 00:28:10,576 --> 00:28:14,843 but to make a living harvesting them was no easy task. 599 00:28:16,109 --> 00:28:18,609 Thousands of local men spent months every year 600 00:28:18,609 --> 00:28:23,043 in small boats, armed with 30 foot poles, 601 00:28:23,043 --> 00:28:27,043 spearing sponges on the open sea, 602 00:28:27,043 --> 00:28:31,176 and that was just the beginning of an arduous process. 603 00:28:32,876 --> 00:28:35,576 MOWRY: "On their return, all hands enter the crawl 604 00:28:35,576 --> 00:28:39,409 and beat out the now rotted fleshly parts of the sponges. 605 00:28:39,409 --> 00:28:41,709 When enough sponges have been gathered and cleaned, 606 00:28:41,709 --> 00:28:43,543 they are sorted by the crew, 607 00:28:43,543 --> 00:28:46,376 strung in rings from one to two dozen. 608 00:28:46,376 --> 00:28:50,876 In this way, they are sold at auction 609 00:28:50,876 --> 00:28:53,609 in the sponge exchange." 610 00:28:53,609 --> 00:28:55,409 GATES: That's how you get sponges. 611 00:28:55,409 --> 00:28:57,376 You know they are organic life, 612 00:28:57,376 --> 00:28:59,176 and somebody has to harvest these. 613 00:28:59,176 --> 00:29:00,376 And that's one hell of a job. 614 00:29:00,376 --> 00:29:01,909 MOWRY: Wait a minute. I didn't know. 615 00:29:01,909 --> 00:29:02,976 GATES: Yeah. 616 00:29:02,976 --> 00:29:04,009 MOWRY: I didn't know that. 617 00:29:04,009 --> 00:29:05,043 GATES: Yes. 618 00:29:05,043 --> 00:29:06,343 (gasps). 619 00:29:06,343 --> 00:29:08,543 And the sponge industry was one of the largest industries 620 00:29:08,543 --> 00:29:11,376 in the Bahamas from the middle of the 19th century 621 00:29:11,376 --> 00:29:13,076 until the 1930s. 622 00:29:13,076 --> 00:29:15,509 What's it like to learn this to imagine that your ancestor 623 00:29:15,509 --> 00:29:20,609 made a living by harvesting sponges with a pole? 624 00:29:20,609 --> 00:29:21,943 You know? 625 00:29:21,943 --> 00:29:24,776 MOWRY: I would've never thought that in a million years. 626 00:29:26,676 --> 00:29:31,209 GATES: This story was about to darken significantly. 627 00:29:32,476 --> 00:29:37,776 Moving back one generation, we came to Joshua's mother, 628 00:29:38,209 --> 00:29:41,376 a woman named Margaret Rolle. 629 00:29:42,276 --> 00:29:45,209 She was born around 1825, 630 00:29:45,209 --> 00:29:49,276 when the Bahamas was a part of the British empire, 631 00:29:49,276 --> 00:29:52,443 with an economy driven by slave labor. 632 00:29:53,776 --> 00:29:56,443 And searching for evidence of Margaret's life, 633 00:29:56,443 --> 00:30:00,676 we discovered that she was a victim of that economy. 634 00:30:02,776 --> 00:30:08,243 MOWRY: "Return of slaves on the 31st day of July, 1834, 635 00:30:08,243 --> 00:30:13,576 number 136, Margaret Rolle, age, 9 years and 7 months, 636 00:30:13,576 --> 00:30:18,476 Black, Creole, field laborer on owner's land." 637 00:30:21,476 --> 00:30:23,143 Wow. 638 00:30:23,143 --> 00:30:25,309 GATES: What's it like to see a 9-year-old child listed as a 639 00:30:25,309 --> 00:30:28,576 field laborer on an official document? 640 00:30:28,576 --> 00:30:32,209 MOWRY: You know, when you're that young, I know my kids, 641 00:30:32,209 --> 00:30:36,209 you want to protect them, 642 00:30:36,209 --> 00:30:39,343 keep that, you want them to keep that innocence. 643 00:30:39,343 --> 00:30:41,209 GATES: Yeah. 644 00:30:41,209 --> 00:30:46,609 MOWRY: But for Margaret, that, that did not exist. 645 00:30:46,609 --> 00:30:48,109 GATES: That innocence was long gone. 646 00:30:48,109 --> 00:30:50,643 MOWRY: Yes. 647 00:30:51,309 --> 00:30:53,043 (sighs). 648 00:30:53,443 --> 00:30:55,976 GATES: Slavery was abolished throughout the British empire 649 00:30:55,976 --> 00:30:59,576 the year that this document was recorded, 650 00:30:59,576 --> 00:31:02,876 but Margaret's life likely didn't change much, 651 00:31:02,876 --> 00:31:05,843 at least not at first. 652 00:31:05,843 --> 00:31:08,809 The law that freed her also established 653 00:31:08,809 --> 00:31:10,909 an "apprenticeship" period, 654 00:31:10,909 --> 00:31:14,476 four years during which formerly enslaved people 655 00:31:14,476 --> 00:31:18,509 had to work for their former owners with no pay. 656 00:31:19,943 --> 00:31:24,343 So Margaret was likely at least 13 years old before 657 00:31:24,343 --> 00:31:28,676 she was able to truly experience emancipation. 658 00:31:33,809 --> 00:31:35,209 MOWRY: Wow. 659 00:31:35,209 --> 00:31:36,476 GATES: Let me ask you this. 660 00:31:36,476 --> 00:31:39,576 What do you think Margaret would've made of you? 661 00:31:53,209 --> 00:31:55,376 MOWRY: She'd be proud. 662 00:31:55,376 --> 00:31:57,543 GATES: Oh, no question, she would be proud. 663 00:31:57,543 --> 00:31:59,076 MOWRY: But you just feel so, 664 00:31:59,076 --> 00:32:00,643 you know, she had to go through that. 665 00:32:00,643 --> 00:32:01,643 GATES: Yeah. 666 00:32:01,643 --> 00:32:03,976 MOWRY: As a child. 667 00:32:06,476 --> 00:32:11,609 You know, I wonder what she did 668 00:32:11,609 --> 00:32:14,443 to escape her current situation. 669 00:32:14,443 --> 00:32:16,976 GATES: Right. Uh-huh. 670 00:32:16,976 --> 00:32:19,576 MOWRY: What were her thoughts of hope? 671 00:32:19,576 --> 00:32:20,976 GATES: What's her flights of fancy? 672 00:32:20,976 --> 00:32:22,076 MOWRY: Yes. 673 00:32:22,076 --> 00:32:23,243 GATES: Yeah, you know? 674 00:32:23,243 --> 00:32:28,843 MOWRY: Yeah, and then to, you know, finally be free, 675 00:32:28,843 --> 00:32:31,076 and what that felt like. 676 00:32:31,076 --> 00:32:32,609 That first breath. 677 00:32:32,609 --> 00:32:34,909 GATES: Uh-huh, and she was old enough to be conscious of... 678 00:32:34,909 --> 00:32:35,976 MOWRY: That's, yes. 679 00:32:35,976 --> 00:32:36,976 GATES: I was this. 680 00:32:36,976 --> 00:32:38,143 MOWRY: Was this, and now there's this. 681 00:32:38,143 --> 00:32:39,243 GATES: And now, I'm that. Yeah. 682 00:32:39,243 --> 00:32:40,809 MOWRY: And that's what I'm feeling, right now. 683 00:32:40,809 --> 00:32:42,143 GATES: Yeah. Uh-huh. 684 00:32:42,143 --> 00:32:44,509 MOWRY: You know just that, that moment of... 685 00:32:44,509 --> 00:32:47,443 (deep breath) 686 00:32:50,009 --> 00:32:52,476 GATES: We had one more detail to share with Tamera 687 00:32:52,476 --> 00:32:55,676 regarding this branch of her mother's family. 688 00:32:57,343 --> 00:33:01,309 Records show that Margaret was enslaved by a British Baron 689 00:33:01,309 --> 00:33:04,043 named John Rolle, 690 00:33:04,043 --> 00:33:08,243 her parents, Tamera's unnamed fourth-great-grandparents, 691 00:33:08,243 --> 00:33:11,443 were likely enslaved by Rolle as well. 692 00:33:12,943 --> 00:33:18,109 And this ties Tamera's family to a major historical event. 693 00:33:19,176 --> 00:33:24,443 In 1830, enslaved people on Rolle's estate rose up 694 00:33:24,443 --> 00:33:28,743 in what became known as Pompey's revolt. 695 00:33:28,743 --> 00:33:30,743 Though they didn't win their freedom, 696 00:33:30,743 --> 00:33:33,809 the rebels won some concessions, 697 00:33:33,809 --> 00:33:36,209 and their actions lived on in memory 698 00:33:36,209 --> 00:33:40,509 providing inspiration and hope to generations. 699 00:33:42,209 --> 00:33:43,809 But what's it like to learn this, 700 00:33:43,809 --> 00:33:45,909 to think that your ancestors lived through 701 00:33:45,909 --> 00:33:48,009 this important moment in the history of the Bahamas? 702 00:33:48,009 --> 00:33:49,876 This is like Nat Turner's rebellion. 703 00:33:49,876 --> 00:33:51,843 MOWRY: Beautiful. 704 00:33:52,509 --> 00:33:54,309 That's beautiful. 705 00:33:54,309 --> 00:33:56,843 GATES: Well, the enslaved people, maybe including 706 00:33:56,843 --> 00:33:59,343 your fourth great-grandparents on Rolle's estate continued to 707 00:33:59,343 --> 00:34:01,943 resist their condition after Pompey's revolt. 708 00:34:01,943 --> 00:34:03,309 They refused to work, 709 00:34:03,309 --> 00:34:05,209 openly spoke up against their condition, 710 00:34:05,209 --> 00:34:07,976 were found to have gathered arms and ammunition, 711 00:34:07,976 --> 00:34:10,043 and even assaulted their overseer, 712 00:34:10,043 --> 00:34:12,609 requiring troops to be sent to the island 713 00:34:12,609 --> 00:34:14,109 on multiple occasions. 714 00:34:14,109 --> 00:34:15,143 MOWRY: Wow. 715 00:34:15,143 --> 00:34:16,443 GATES: So, they were some rebellious Negroes. 716 00:34:16,443 --> 00:34:17,776 MOWRY: Yes. 717 00:34:17,776 --> 00:34:18,943 GATES: Do you think that this will change the way 718 00:34:18,943 --> 00:34:20,909 you see yourself? 719 00:34:20,909 --> 00:34:23,176 MOWRY: You know when you always say "I got it from my mama"? 720 00:34:23,176 --> 00:34:25,243 GATES: Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure. 721 00:34:25,243 --> 00:34:26,376 There you go. 722 00:34:26,376 --> 00:34:30,176 MOWRY: Well, I definitely see that line of strength 723 00:34:30,176 --> 00:34:33,009 picking up and carrying on. 724 00:34:33,009 --> 00:34:34,343 GATES: Uh-huh. 725 00:34:34,343 --> 00:34:38,076 MOWRY: That's, that's, that's what I get out of all of this. 726 00:34:41,243 --> 00:34:44,076 GATES: We'd already traced Billy Crudup's father's roots, 727 00:34:44,076 --> 00:34:47,243 telling stories of slave-owners and patriots. 728 00:34:47,743 --> 00:34:51,209 Now, turning to his mother's ancestry, 729 00:34:51,209 --> 00:34:54,976 we encountered a very different cast of characters. 730 00:34:56,309 --> 00:35:00,243 Billy's great-grandfather, a man named Walter Beisler, 731 00:35:00,243 --> 00:35:01,776 was a chemical engineer 732 00:35:01,776 --> 00:35:04,643 with a degree from Princeton University, 733 00:35:05,276 --> 00:35:08,209 his father Anthony Beisler was a jeweler. 734 00:35:09,443 --> 00:35:13,743 And in the 1870 census for New Jersey we found Anthony 735 00:35:13,743 --> 00:35:17,076 living in the household of his parents, 736 00:35:17,076 --> 00:35:21,376 Billy's 3rd great-grandparents, both of whom were immigrants. 737 00:35:22,709 --> 00:35:24,309 CRUDUP: "John Beisler, age 39. 738 00:35:24,309 --> 00:35:26,976 Occupation, shoemaker. Born... Hessen?" 739 00:35:26,976 --> 00:35:28,009 GATES: Uh-hum. 740 00:35:28,009 --> 00:35:29,076 CRUDUP: "Germany. 741 00:35:29,076 --> 00:35:32,443 Catharina, age 33. Occupation, keeping house. 742 00:35:32,443 --> 00:35:35,176 Born Nassau, Germany." 743 00:35:35,176 --> 00:35:37,409 Anton, age three. Born New Jersey." 744 00:35:37,409 --> 00:35:39,543 GATES: There is your great-great-grandfather Anthony, 745 00:35:39,543 --> 00:35:42,376 here named Anton, as a three-year-old boy 746 00:35:42,376 --> 00:35:44,876 living with his five siblings and his parents, 747 00:35:44,876 --> 00:35:46,876 and as you can see, his father was a shoemaker. 748 00:35:46,876 --> 00:35:47,909 How about that? 749 00:35:47,909 --> 00:35:50,009 CRUDUP: Wow, wow. 750 00:35:50,009 --> 00:35:51,509 GATES: Are you into shoes? Do you like shoes? 751 00:35:51,509 --> 00:35:52,809 CRUDUP: Not really. 752 00:35:52,809 --> 00:35:54,409 GATES: Could you, did you ever imagine you had a shoemaker 753 00:35:54,409 --> 00:35:55,443 in your family tree? 754 00:35:55,443 --> 00:35:56,743 CRUDUP: Never. 755 00:35:56,743 --> 00:35:58,443 Not for a second, and he, he would've been mortified by the 756 00:35:58,443 --> 00:36:02,243 shoes that I chose to wear for the first part of my career. 757 00:36:04,709 --> 00:36:08,843 GATES: According to this census, John and his wife Catharina 758 00:36:08,843 --> 00:36:11,176 were from a region in central Europe 759 00:36:11,176 --> 00:36:14,209 that's now part of Germany. 760 00:36:14,876 --> 00:36:17,543 Combing through the archives of this region, 761 00:36:17,543 --> 00:36:19,643 we were able to trace the couple from 762 00:36:19,643 --> 00:36:22,809 the German city of Mainz to London, 763 00:36:22,809 --> 00:36:27,443 where, in November of 1857, John and Catharina 764 00:36:27,443 --> 00:36:30,543 boarded a ship for New York, 765 00:36:30,543 --> 00:36:32,143 the beginning of a journey 766 00:36:32,143 --> 00:36:35,609 that would forever transform Billy's family. 767 00:36:36,609 --> 00:36:38,309 CRUDUP: That's them coming to? 768 00:36:38,309 --> 00:36:40,876 GATES: Leaving for the United States together. 769 00:36:42,009 --> 00:36:44,109 CRUDUP: Geez. 770 00:36:44,109 --> 00:36:45,709 GATES: What's it like to see that? 771 00:36:45,709 --> 00:36:47,476 CRUDUP: Well, I mean... 772 00:36:47,476 --> 00:36:48,876 Part of what I was sort of endowed with, 773 00:36:48,876 --> 00:36:51,109 when I was growing up, was that I'm an American, 774 00:36:51,109 --> 00:36:54,009 and that's a big part of my sense of identity, 775 00:36:54,009 --> 00:36:59,643 and there's a kind of blurry fiction 776 00:36:59,643 --> 00:37:02,176 to the rest of like, oh yeah, somebody must have 777 00:37:02,176 --> 00:37:03,376 come here at some point. 778 00:37:03,376 --> 00:37:04,576 GATES: Right. 779 00:37:04,576 --> 00:37:07,809 CRUDUP: But without the stories, you know, to reference, 780 00:37:07,809 --> 00:37:09,643 how would you ever know? 781 00:37:09,643 --> 00:37:13,409 So, to see that focus become sharp into a very 782 00:37:13,409 --> 00:37:17,643 specific thing like a shoemaker leaving, um, 783 00:37:17,643 --> 00:37:22,143 from London, it's cold. 784 00:37:22,143 --> 00:37:27,676 November 5, 1857, he and his wife with some idea to make 785 00:37:27,676 --> 00:37:30,843 a better life for themselves in New Jersey or maybe to leave 786 00:37:30,843 --> 00:37:33,209 something behind, I don't know what their story is, 787 00:37:33,209 --> 00:37:37,743 but I'm, immediately, my imagination, um, 788 00:37:37,743 --> 00:37:42,376 is, um, ignited considering them as people. 789 00:37:45,643 --> 00:37:48,043 GATES: Our researchers soon discovered that Billy's 790 00:37:48,043 --> 00:37:51,876 ancestors actually had a very unusual story, 791 00:37:51,876 --> 00:37:54,243 one that was more complicated 792 00:37:54,243 --> 00:37:57,376 than he likely could've imagined. 793 00:37:57,709 --> 00:38:01,476 Though John and Catharina immigrated to America together, 794 00:38:01,476 --> 00:38:05,409 records show that Catharina was traveling under the surname 795 00:38:05,409 --> 00:38:10,443 "Lauer", her maiden name, which could only mean one thing. 796 00:38:11,243 --> 00:38:12,909 Your ancestors were not yet married 797 00:38:12,909 --> 00:38:14,809 when they got on that ship. 798 00:38:14,809 --> 00:38:17,343 CRUDUP: I'll be darned. 799 00:38:17,776 --> 00:38:19,443 GATES: Do you have any idea why they'd be traveling 800 00:38:19,443 --> 00:38:21,109 together as an unmarried couple? 801 00:38:21,109 --> 00:38:23,243 CRUDUP: No, no idea at all. 802 00:38:23,243 --> 00:38:25,076 GATES: Well, as it turns out at this time, 803 00:38:25,076 --> 00:38:26,443 in this part of Germany, 804 00:38:26,443 --> 00:38:29,676 a marriage typically required government permission, 805 00:38:29,676 --> 00:38:32,109 and if the groom could not prove that he would 806 00:38:32,109 --> 00:38:35,509 be able to support a family, permission would be denied, 807 00:38:35,509 --> 00:38:37,143 so these regulations were intended to protect 808 00:38:37,143 --> 00:38:40,009 communities from having to support poor families, 809 00:38:40,009 --> 00:38:42,576 and we believe that this is likely what prevented your 810 00:38:42,576 --> 00:38:45,176 ancestors from getting married in Germany. 811 00:38:45,176 --> 00:38:49,276 CRUDUP: Hm. Incredible. 812 00:38:51,743 --> 00:38:55,743 GATES: John's troubles may have begun a generation earlier 813 00:38:55,743 --> 00:38:59,509 as his father, a man named Christoph Beisler, 814 00:38:59,509 --> 00:39:02,909 seems to have had financial struggles of his own. 815 00:39:03,576 --> 00:39:07,709 We found a contract that suggests that Christoph was 816 00:39:07,709 --> 00:39:11,443 forced to borrow significant sums of money from his relatives 817 00:39:11,443 --> 00:39:15,943 in order to run an inn in the small town of Salmünster. 818 00:39:17,543 --> 00:39:18,976 To make matters worse, 819 00:39:18,976 --> 00:39:22,209 the business was actually owned by another man, 820 00:39:22,209 --> 00:39:25,543 and Christoph was gambling on its success. 821 00:39:25,543 --> 00:39:28,076 He was leasing the inn. He didn't own it. 822 00:39:28,076 --> 00:39:29,109 CRUDUP: Oh. 823 00:39:29,109 --> 00:39:30,476 GATES: So, it seems likely to us 824 00:39:30,476 --> 00:39:32,409 that he took out a loan to help him pay the lease. 825 00:39:32,409 --> 00:39:33,576 CRUDUP: Right. 826 00:39:33,576 --> 00:39:34,776 GATES: Because he was just trying to get a leg up, 827 00:39:34,776 --> 00:39:35,876 and he needed some capital. 828 00:39:35,876 --> 00:39:37,176 CRUDUP: Right. Right. 829 00:39:37,176 --> 00:39:40,909 Most definitely, and um, my dad made a living doing this, 830 00:39:40,909 --> 00:39:44,676 I mean, he was always getting loans to try to, 831 00:39:44,676 --> 00:39:47,909 and one of the loans that he got was to open a sports bar. 832 00:39:47,909 --> 00:39:48,943 GATES: Oh, no kidding? 833 00:39:48,943 --> 00:39:49,976 CRUDUP: Yeah, in Dallas. 834 00:39:49,976 --> 00:39:51,043 GATES: Wow. Amazing. 835 00:39:51,043 --> 00:39:52,243 CRUDUP: What is that feature? 836 00:39:52,243 --> 00:39:58,309 I guess that there's an aspect of it, which is, um, 837 00:39:58,309 --> 00:40:01,143 ambitious, and idealist, and self-confident, and... 838 00:40:01,143 --> 00:40:02,243 GATES: Yeah. 839 00:40:02,243 --> 00:40:04,543 CRUDUP: It seems insane in so many other regards. 840 00:40:04,543 --> 00:40:05,843 GATES: But somebody has to stake you. 841 00:40:05,843 --> 00:40:07,076 CRUDUP: Right. 842 00:40:07,076 --> 00:40:08,109 GATES: You know, somebody staked Bill Gates, you know, 843 00:40:08,109 --> 00:40:09,276 somebody's gotta give you a leg up, right? 844 00:40:09,276 --> 00:40:10,476 CRUDUP: Yeah. Yeah. 845 00:40:10,476 --> 00:40:12,476 But not everybody imagines that they can get a leg up 846 00:40:12,476 --> 00:40:13,609 even if they asked. 847 00:40:13,609 --> 00:40:14,843 GATES: That's true. 848 00:40:14,843 --> 00:40:18,043 CRUDUP: So, there's, um, got to be something that says 849 00:40:18,043 --> 00:40:20,143 it's okay enough to ask. 850 00:40:21,809 --> 00:40:24,943 GATES: Christoph's efforts were not entirely in vain: 851 00:40:24,943 --> 00:40:29,043 the inn that he leased is still open today, 852 00:40:29,043 --> 00:40:30,576 but, tragically, 853 00:40:30,576 --> 00:40:35,143 Christoph was not able to reap the rewards of its success. 854 00:40:36,443 --> 00:40:38,476 CRUDUP: "Residence street and house number. 855 00:40:38,476 --> 00:40:40,843 Inn Salmünster Number 11. 856 00:40:40,843 --> 00:40:42,909 Name, Status, Origin of Deceased. 857 00:40:42,909 --> 00:40:44,809 Christoph Anton Beisler. 858 00:40:44,809 --> 00:40:49,176 Date and time of death, 8th of April at 3:00 in the afternoon. 859 00:40:49,176 --> 00:40:50,476 Time of burial, 860 00:40:50,476 --> 00:40:54,243 on the 10th of this month at 8:00 in the morning." 861 00:40:54,243 --> 00:40:57,143 GATES: Mmm, that's Christoph's death record. 862 00:40:57,143 --> 00:40:58,976 He was 39 years old. 863 00:40:58,976 --> 00:41:01,509 Your third great-grandfather, John, was only six 864 00:41:01,509 --> 00:41:03,176 when he lost his father. 865 00:41:03,176 --> 00:41:05,009 CRUDUP: Awe, yeah. 866 00:41:05,009 --> 00:41:06,709 GATES: What's it like to think that this tragedy, 867 00:41:06,709 --> 00:41:09,676 at least in part, drove your family to America. 868 00:41:09,676 --> 00:41:12,009 After all, if Christoph lives, 869 00:41:12,009 --> 00:41:14,176 maybe he turns everything around and becomes a wealthy man. 870 00:41:14,176 --> 00:41:15,643 CRUDUP: Right. 871 00:41:15,643 --> 00:41:18,843 GATES: Maybe then, John never gets on that boat. 872 00:41:18,843 --> 00:41:24,309 CRUDUP: These are the, um... 873 00:41:25,409 --> 00:41:27,409 the forces that shape our lives, 874 00:41:27,409 --> 00:41:31,143 you know, the unpredictable forces that shape our lives. 875 00:41:33,076 --> 00:41:35,843 GATES: There is a final beat to this story, 876 00:41:36,176 --> 00:41:38,209 in the archives of Salmünster, 877 00:41:38,209 --> 00:41:41,143 we uncovered the oldest record we could find 878 00:41:41,143 --> 00:41:44,443 for Billy's third-great-grandfather 879 00:41:44,443 --> 00:41:47,743 adding a poignant note to his ancestors' journey. 880 00:41:49,709 --> 00:41:51,809 Billy, we're back to 1797. 881 00:41:51,809 --> 00:41:54,076 This is Christoph's baptism record. 882 00:41:54,076 --> 00:41:55,209 (laughs). 883 00:41:55,209 --> 00:41:57,176 It's in Latin but we translated it for you. 884 00:41:57,176 --> 00:41:58,476 Would you please read it? 885 00:41:58,476 --> 00:42:02,343 CRUDUP: "Christophorus Antonius, 886 00:42:02,343 --> 00:42:04,243 illegitimate son, 887 00:42:04,243 --> 00:42:05,509 wow, right there, 888 00:42:05,509 --> 00:42:10,743 of Maria Eva Beislerin in Salmünster. 889 00:42:10,743 --> 00:42:14,409 Born and baptized on the 13th of June, 1796." 890 00:42:14,409 --> 00:42:16,243 GATES: Christoph was illegitimate. 891 00:42:16,243 --> 00:42:17,876 CRUDUP: And who, who was the father? 892 00:42:17,876 --> 00:42:19,976 GATES: We don't know, the record doesn't name his father. 893 00:42:19,976 --> 00:42:21,209 CRUDUP: Oh, wow. 894 00:42:21,209 --> 00:42:23,443 GATES: And we know that your fifth great-grandmother, 895 00:42:23,443 --> 00:42:26,543 Maria Eva Beisler never married. 896 00:42:26,543 --> 00:42:29,143 CRUDUP: Wow. 897 00:42:29,143 --> 00:42:31,509 GATES: Billy, think about this, your line starts here 898 00:42:31,509 --> 00:42:34,176 with an illegitimate child and ends up with a 899 00:42:34,176 --> 00:42:36,776 Princeton educated chemist, 900 00:42:36,776 --> 00:42:39,709 and then, you, a world class actor. 901 00:42:39,709 --> 00:42:42,076 You remember Don King. Remember Don King? 902 00:42:42,076 --> 00:42:43,409 CRUDUP: Sure. Who could forget Don King? 903 00:42:43,409 --> 00:42:44,543 GATES: Only in America. 904 00:42:44,543 --> 00:42:46,043 CRUDUP: Only in America. 905 00:42:46,043 --> 00:42:49,376 One of the reasons why I wanted to be here, Skip. 906 00:42:49,376 --> 00:42:52,043 It feels like a uniquely American story in a lot of ways. 907 00:42:52,043 --> 00:42:53,409 GATES: Isn't that incredible? 908 00:42:53,409 --> 00:42:56,943 CRUDUP: That's really, uh, that's really incredible. 909 00:42:56,943 --> 00:42:59,509 Uh, I'm left, rendered speechless, 910 00:42:59,509 --> 00:43:01,476 as I'm sure many of your guests are. 911 00:43:02,976 --> 00:43:05,543 GATES: We'd already traced Tamera Mowry's mother's roots 912 00:43:05,543 --> 00:43:07,176 in the Bahamas, 913 00:43:07,176 --> 00:43:10,909 a place she'd long associated with her family. 914 00:43:12,209 --> 00:43:14,743 Now, turning to Tamera's father's ancestry, 915 00:43:14,743 --> 00:43:18,843 we found ourselves on unfamiliar terrain, 916 00:43:18,843 --> 00:43:21,309 in Nottinghamshire, England, 917 00:43:21,309 --> 00:43:25,676 in the early 1600s. 918 00:43:26,009 --> 00:43:28,509 Here, a man named William Brewster, 919 00:43:28,509 --> 00:43:32,643 who we believe to be Tamera's 13th great-grandfather, 920 00:43:32,643 --> 00:43:35,843 began using his home as a church for an 921 00:43:35,843 --> 00:43:40,476 underground religious group known as the "separatists". 922 00:43:41,243 --> 00:43:44,309 Tamera, who's passionate about her own faith, 923 00:43:44,309 --> 00:43:46,809 was eager to hear more. 924 00:43:47,876 --> 00:43:49,209 The Separatists determined that 925 00:43:49,209 --> 00:43:51,276 the Church of England was corrupt, 926 00:43:51,276 --> 00:43:55,443 and they wanted to break away and form a new denomination. 927 00:43:55,443 --> 00:43:58,276 He was a religious radical. 928 00:43:58,276 --> 00:44:00,709 What's it like to find out that you had a religious radical 929 00:44:00,709 --> 00:44:03,476 in your family tree? 930 00:44:04,276 --> 00:44:07,443 MOWRY: I feel seen. 931 00:44:08,009 --> 00:44:10,576 That's insane. 932 00:44:10,576 --> 00:44:12,976 GATES: Please turn the page. 933 00:44:13,409 --> 00:44:14,643 Take a look at this. 934 00:44:14,643 --> 00:44:17,509 It comes from the court records of York, England. 935 00:44:17,509 --> 00:44:19,443 Read it for me. 936 00:44:19,443 --> 00:44:21,609 MOWRY: "Office of the Lord versus 937 00:44:21,609 --> 00:44:23,976 William Brewster of Scrooby." 938 00:44:23,976 --> 00:44:28,543 "1 December 1607, information is given that he is 939 00:44:28,543 --> 00:44:34,609 disobedient in matters, in matters of religion, 940 00:44:34,609 --> 00:44:37,043 said Lord decreed the apprehension 941 00:44:37,043 --> 00:44:40,676 of the said William Brewster." 942 00:44:40,676 --> 00:44:44,443 GATES: In December 1607, county officials got wind of 943 00:44:44,443 --> 00:44:47,343 the secret services that were taking place at 944 00:44:47,343 --> 00:44:50,009 your ancestor's home. 945 00:44:50,009 --> 00:44:52,609 They came after him and the others who practiced 946 00:44:52,609 --> 00:44:53,976 at his home. 947 00:44:53,976 --> 00:44:55,176 MOWRY: Oh my gosh. 948 00:44:55,176 --> 00:44:58,409 GATES: Your 13th-great grandfather was a wanted man. 949 00:44:59,109 --> 00:45:00,876 MOWRY: In the name of religion? 950 00:45:00,876 --> 00:45:02,676 GATES: In the name of religion. 951 00:45:02,676 --> 00:45:04,476 MOWRY: Ah. 952 00:45:04,476 --> 00:45:06,076 Okay. 953 00:45:07,843 --> 00:45:11,109 GATES: William and his fellow separatists would go to 954 00:45:11,109 --> 00:45:15,409 great lengths to worship as they chose. 955 00:45:15,409 --> 00:45:19,309 After English authorities discovered their church, 956 00:45:19,309 --> 00:45:22,509 they were arrested and briefly imprisoned. 957 00:45:23,509 --> 00:45:26,676 Upon release, they fled to Holland. 958 00:45:27,776 --> 00:45:29,643 But they didn't remain there for long. 959 00:45:31,543 --> 00:45:35,143 We next found William, along with his wife Mary 960 00:45:35,143 --> 00:45:37,143 and two of their sons, 961 00:45:37,143 --> 00:45:41,709 on the passenger list of a ship bound for the new world. 962 00:45:44,309 --> 00:45:46,243 Any idea what you're looking at? 963 00:45:46,243 --> 00:45:48,409 MOWRY: No. 964 00:45:48,409 --> 00:45:50,409 GATES: You just read a list of passengers 965 00:45:50,409 --> 00:45:53,043 who sailed on the Mayflower. 966 00:45:53,043 --> 00:45:54,876 MOWRY: You, I'm, I'm done. 967 00:45:54,876 --> 00:45:59,909 (Gates laughing) 968 00:45:59,909 --> 00:46:04,043 GATES: You're descended from the original English people 969 00:46:04,043 --> 00:46:07,109 who came on the Mayflower, direct. 970 00:46:07,109 --> 00:46:09,109 Your 13th great-grandfather, William Brewster, 971 00:46:09,109 --> 00:46:11,409 and his family, William's wife, Mary, 972 00:46:11,409 --> 00:46:13,409 is your 13th great-grandmother. 973 00:46:13,409 --> 00:46:15,843 They were there on the Mayflower. 974 00:46:15,843 --> 00:46:18,676 They were Pilgrims. 975 00:46:19,276 --> 00:46:22,943 They were here at ground zero for White people. 976 00:46:26,943 --> 00:46:32,243 MOWRY: This is what's crazy about being biracial. 977 00:46:32,609 --> 00:46:36,743 I have blood that started it, 978 00:46:36,743 --> 00:46:39,243 and then I have blood that was enslaved by it. 979 00:46:39,243 --> 00:46:42,643 GATES: Yeah, you represent in your family tree the complexity 980 00:46:42,643 --> 00:46:46,476 of race in the history of the United States. 981 00:46:46,476 --> 00:46:49,109 MOWRY: That's crazy. 982 00:46:50,043 --> 00:46:53,343 GATES: As it turns out, Tamera's ancestor was not just 983 00:46:53,343 --> 00:46:57,376 any Mayflower passenger, he was a leader. 984 00:46:58,543 --> 00:47:01,443 By the time the ship arrived in the new world, 985 00:47:01,443 --> 00:47:05,609 William had been selected as the separatist's ruling elder, 986 00:47:05,609 --> 00:47:10,943 the man they would look to for spiritual guidance. 987 00:47:10,943 --> 00:47:14,276 It proved to be a daunting task. 988 00:47:14,276 --> 00:47:16,243 William and his fellow settlers 989 00:47:16,243 --> 00:47:20,843 were entirely unprepared for the climate of New England. 990 00:47:21,609 --> 00:47:24,409 In their first four months in America, 991 00:47:24,409 --> 00:47:27,409 nearly half of them perished. 992 00:47:29,909 --> 00:47:32,976 MOWRY: "Mr. Ed. Winslow, his wife died the first winter, 993 00:47:32,976 --> 00:47:36,043 Mr. Allerton, his wife died with the first, 994 00:47:36,043 --> 00:47:39,076 John Crackston died in the first mortality, 995 00:47:39,076 --> 00:47:43,076 Captain Standish, his wife died in the first sickness, 996 00:47:43,076 --> 00:47:48,609 Mr. Martin, he and all his died in the first infection, 997 00:47:48,609 --> 00:47:51,176 Mr. Mullins and his wife, his son, and his servant 998 00:47:51,176 --> 00:47:52,776 died the first winter, 999 00:47:52,776 --> 00:47:54,609 Mr. White and his two servants died 1000 00:47:54,609 --> 00:47:57,009 soon after their landing." 1001 00:47:57,009 --> 00:47:58,576 GATES: Your 13th great-grandfather watched 1002 00:47:58,576 --> 00:48:01,109 helplessly as people perished all around him, 1003 00:48:01,109 --> 00:48:03,543 and as the Pilgrims' trusted elder, 1004 00:48:03,543 --> 00:48:06,409 he likely ministered to the dying. 1005 00:48:06,409 --> 00:48:08,276 Can you imagine what that had to be like? 1006 00:48:08,276 --> 00:48:09,676 MOWRY: Jesus. 1007 00:48:09,676 --> 00:48:10,709 GATES: So, let's see what happened. 1008 00:48:10,709 --> 00:48:13,043 Can you please turn the page? 1009 00:48:13,043 --> 00:48:14,776 MOWRY: Oh, geez. It's like a movie. 1010 00:48:14,776 --> 00:48:16,743 GATES: After the winters finally subsided, 1011 00:48:16,743 --> 00:48:19,476 the pilgrims were able to gain a foothold. 1012 00:48:19,476 --> 00:48:22,109 They built homes on the shores of Plymouth Bay, 1013 00:48:22,109 --> 00:48:24,176 and despite some serious tensions, 1014 00:48:24,176 --> 00:48:27,209 the local members of the Wampanoag tribe helped 1015 00:48:27,209 --> 00:48:29,843 teach them how to hunt, farm, and fish, 1016 00:48:29,843 --> 00:48:31,876 and the colony stabilized. 1017 00:48:31,876 --> 00:48:34,309 This letter you're about to read describes an event that 1018 00:48:34,309 --> 00:48:36,876 took place in Plymouth later that year, 1019 00:48:36,876 --> 00:48:38,376 would you please read it? 1020 00:48:38,376 --> 00:48:41,176 MOWRY: "Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent 1021 00:48:41,176 --> 00:48:43,143 four men on fowling, 1022 00:48:43,143 --> 00:48:46,309 that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, 1023 00:48:46,309 --> 00:48:48,709 after we had gathered the fruits of our labors, 1024 00:48:48,709 --> 00:48:50,876 many of the Indians coming amongst us, 1025 00:48:50,876 --> 00:48:53,809 whom for three days we entertained and feasted, 1026 00:48:53,809 --> 00:48:57,076 and they killed five deer, which they bestowed on our Governor, 1027 00:48:57,076 --> 00:49:00,476 and although it be not always so plentiful, 1028 00:49:00,476 --> 00:49:02,976 as it was at this time with us, 1029 00:49:02,976 --> 00:49:06,209 yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want." 1030 00:49:06,743 --> 00:49:09,043 GATES: This is, this is a description of what's known 1031 00:49:09,043 --> 00:49:11,209 as the first Thanksgiving. 1032 00:49:11,209 --> 00:49:15,609 And your 13th great-grandfather was there. 1033 00:49:16,276 --> 00:49:19,876 And he most likely led the group in prayer because he was, 1034 00:49:19,876 --> 00:49:22,376 you know, the elder. 1035 00:49:23,943 --> 00:49:27,343 And that is the famous depiction of the first Thanksgiving, 1036 00:49:27,343 --> 00:49:28,709 and you see the man standing up 1037 00:49:28,709 --> 00:49:29,709 with his hands raised in prayer? 1038 00:49:29,709 --> 00:49:30,743 MOWRY: Yes. 1039 00:49:30,743 --> 00:49:32,043 GATES: That is William Brewster. 1040 00:49:32,043 --> 00:49:33,909 MOWRY: You are kidding me. 1041 00:49:33,909 --> 00:49:35,476 GATES: No. That's it. 1042 00:49:35,476 --> 00:49:39,543 MOWRY: Oh my gosh, this is so whoa, okay mind blown. 1043 00:49:41,009 --> 00:49:44,109 GATES: The paper trail had now run out for each of my guests, 1044 00:49:44,109 --> 00:49:48,009 it was time to show them their full family trees. 1045 00:49:48,009 --> 00:49:52,776 Now filled with ancestors whose names they'd never heard before. 1046 00:49:52,776 --> 00:49:54,143 MOWRY: Oh my god! 1047 00:49:54,143 --> 00:49:56,209 GATES: For each it was a moment of wonder. 1048 00:49:56,209 --> 00:49:57,776 CRUDUP: What a treasure. 1049 00:49:57,776 --> 00:50:00,743 GATES: Providing a chance to reflect on the sacrifices made. 1050 00:50:00,743 --> 00:50:01,943 CRUDUP: Skip, what a treasure. 1051 00:50:01,943 --> 00:50:04,276 GATES: By generation after generation. 1052 00:50:04,276 --> 00:50:05,976 MOWRY: Oh my goodness. 1053 00:50:05,976 --> 00:50:08,676 GATES: To lay the groundwork for their own success. 1054 00:50:08,676 --> 00:50:11,176 MOWRY: This is awesome. 1055 00:50:12,576 --> 00:50:15,976 GATES: My time with my guests was drawing to a close, 1056 00:50:15,976 --> 00:50:19,009 but I had one more surprise to share. 1057 00:50:19,676 --> 00:50:22,943 When we compared Billy's DNA to that of other people who 1058 00:50:22,943 --> 00:50:26,209 have been in our series, we found a match, 1059 00:50:26,209 --> 00:50:28,909 evidence of a distant cousin, 1060 00:50:28,909 --> 00:50:31,043 a man who he'd never imagined 1061 00:50:31,043 --> 00:50:33,476 might be part of his family. 1062 00:50:34,376 --> 00:50:36,176 CRUDUP: Get out of here. 1063 00:50:36,176 --> 00:50:37,209 GATES: Terry Crews. 1064 00:50:37,209 --> 00:50:38,576 CRUDUP: Are you kidding me? 1065 00:50:38,576 --> 00:50:41,509 GATES: Your DNA cousin is actor and former pro football player 1066 00:50:41,509 --> 00:50:43,143 Terry Crews. 1067 00:50:43,143 --> 00:50:44,443 Have you ever met? 1068 00:50:44,443 --> 00:50:47,676 CRUDUP: No, we haven't, but my son absolutely adores him. 1069 00:50:47,676 --> 00:50:51,543 He was on Brooklyn 99, and um, when he hears this, 1070 00:50:51,543 --> 00:50:53,009 he's going... 1071 00:50:53,009 --> 00:50:57,343 this will be by far the most exciting portion of this. 1072 00:50:59,009 --> 00:51:02,376 GATES: Billy and Terry share an identical stretch of DNA 1073 00:51:02,376 --> 00:51:04,776 on their 16th chromosomes. 1074 00:51:05,309 --> 00:51:08,209 The source of this connection can glimpsed in Terry's 1075 00:51:08,209 --> 00:51:12,943 admixture, which indicates that over the past five centuries, 1076 00:51:12,943 --> 00:51:16,609 15% of his ancestors were European, 1077 00:51:16,609 --> 00:51:20,043 with many of them living in the same places 1078 00:51:20,043 --> 00:51:22,376 as Billy's ancestors: 1079 00:51:22,376 --> 00:51:25,709 Scotland, Ireland, and England. 1080 00:51:26,776 --> 00:51:29,976 CRUDUP: And we shared an ancestor 500 years ago, uh? 1081 00:51:29,976 --> 00:51:31,709 GATES: Within the last 500 years, 1082 00:51:31,709 --> 00:51:35,109 we just don't know but the evidence is inscribed 1083 00:51:35,109 --> 00:51:37,576 on your 16th chromosome, 1084 00:51:37,576 --> 00:51:39,676 and as the brothers say on the street, 1085 00:51:39,676 --> 00:51:40,843 DNA don't lie. 1086 00:51:40,843 --> 00:51:44,776 (laughs). 1087 00:51:44,776 --> 00:51:47,409 CRUDUP: That is, uh, that's incredible, um. 1088 00:51:47,409 --> 00:51:49,943 And the fact that the first of his name is 'Cru', 1089 00:51:49,943 --> 00:51:53,776 we now got the 'Cru' crew. 1090 00:51:54,743 --> 00:51:58,043 GATES: That's the end of our journey with Billy Crudup 1091 00:51:58,043 --> 00:52:00,409 and Tamera Mowry. 1092 00:52:00,409 --> 00:52:03,909 Join me next time when we unlock the secrets of the past 1093 00:52:03,909 --> 00:52:05,643 for new guests 1094 00:52:05,643 --> 00:52:07,509 on another episode of 1095 00:52:07,509 --> 00:52:09,743 Finding Your Roots.