GATES: I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.

WELCOME TO FINDING YOUR ROOTS.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL MEET ACTORS SIGOURNEY WEAVER, JUSTINA MACHADO AND AMY RYAN; THREE WOMEN WHOSE FAMILY TREES HAVE BEEN OBSCURED BY FAMILY SECRETS... MACHADO: I DON'T REALLY KNOW A LOT ABOUT MY ANCESTORS.

I REALLY DON'T KNOW.

I HAVE A BLANK SLATE.

RYAN: AS A KID, I WOULD REFER TO MYSELF AS A MUTT.

I'M ENGLISH, POLISH AND IRISH, THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH IT.

WEAVER: I HAVE A LOVELY NIECE WHO IS AFRAID YOU'LL FIND SOMETHING SCANDALOUS, BUT ACTUALLY I'M AFRAID YOU WON'T.

GATES: TO UNCOVER THEIR ROOTS, WE'VE USED EVERY TOOL AVAILABLE.

GENEALOGISTS COMBED THROUGH THE PAPER TRAIL THEIR ANCESTORS LEFT BEHIND; WHILE DNA EXPERTS UTILIZED THE LATEST ADVANCES IN GENETIC ANALYSIS TO REVEAL SECRETS HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD.

AND WE'VE COMPILED EVERYTHING INTO A BOOK OF LIFE.

A RECORD OF ALL OUR DISCOVERIES.

RYAN: YOU'RE KIDDING!

YOU'RE KIDDING!

GATES: IT'S TRUE!

RYAN: WOAH!

MACHADO: NO, NO, NO, NO!

NO!

OKAY, THAT'S AMAZING!

GATES: ISN'T THAT AMAZING?

MACHADO: THAT'S INCREDIBLE!

WEAVER: WELL DONE!

YOU FOUND A SCANDAL!

I'M SO GLAD!

GATES: SIGOURNEY, AMY AND JUSTINA GREW UP IN FAMILIES WHERE SECRETS AND SOCIAL CONVENTIONS OBSCURED THEIR ANCESTRY BEHIND HEAVY VEILS.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'RE GOING TO LIFT THOSE VEILS, AND RECONSTRUCT THEIR FAMILY TREES, FOREVER ALTERING HOW THEY SEE THEMSELVES.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYS).

♪ ♪ GATES: SIGOURNEY WEAVER IS A LIVING LEGEND.

THE STAR OF DOZENS OF FILMS AND PLAYS AND THE CREATOR OF A HANDFUL OF UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS.

NONE MORE SO THAN ELLEN RIPLEY, THE SOLE SURVIVOR OF A DOOMED SPACESHIP IN "ALIEN", A MOVIE THAT SCARED THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME.

HER PERFORMANCE IS SO INTENSE, THAT I WAS SURPRISED TO DISCOVER THAT IT BEARS VERY LITTLE RESEMBLANCE TO SIGOURNEY HERSELF.

WEAVER: I WOULD SAY I'M THE OPPOSITE OF RIPLEY BECAUSE I AM VERY EASILY SCARED, FIRST OF ALL, AND ALWAYS CRACKING JOKES IF THERE IS A PROBLEM.

BECAUSE, GROWING UP, I THINK I WAS QUITE ECCENTRIC.

I THINK BECAUSE I WAS ALMOST SIX FEET TALL THAT I DECIDED VERY EARLY ON THAT I WAS GOING TO MAKE FUN OF MYSELF BEFORE ANYONE ELSE COULD, AND SO I WAS VERY MUCH THE CLASS CLOWN.

GATES: UH-HUH.

WEAVER: AND IF YOU HAD EVER TOLD ME THAT LATER ON I'D BE KNOWN FOR SERIOUS ROLES LIKE RIPLEY I REALLY WOULD HAVE LAUGHED BECAUSE THE ONLY THING I FELT I WAS ANY GOOD AT WAS MAKING PEOPLE LAUGH.

GATES: SIGOURNEY'S BEMUSED DEMEANOR BELIES A HEARTY REALISM ABOUT HER PROFESSION, BASED ON LESSONS SHE LEARNED FROM HER MOTHER, WHO WAS HERSELF AN ACTOR AND WHO EVEN ENJOYED SOME SUCCESS BEFORE DECIDING THAT THE CAREER WAS NOT FOR HER.

WEAVER: IF YOU WERE AS PRETTY AS MY MOTHER, YOU REALLY WERE CHASED AROUND THE COUCH.

AND I REMEMBER COMPLAINING TO HER AT SOME POINT ABOUT THE WAY THINGS WERE IN HOLLYWOOD, AND SHE SAID, WHY DO YOU THINK I LEFT?

SO I THINK SHE WAS DISILLUSIONED A BIT BY HOLLYWOOD BOTH IN, IN, WHAT THEY WANTED TO PICK, PUT HER IN, AND IN JUST HOW ACTORS WERE TREATED.

GATES: DID SHE EXPRESS REGRET?

WEAVER: SHE DID NOT EXPRESS REGRET.

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN UNLIKE MY MOTHER, BUT WHEN I TOLD MY PARENTS I WANTED TO BE IN THE BUSINESS THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING, BUT YOU KNOW, MY FATHER CALLED IT THE RACKET.

SO WOULD YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE IN THE RACKET?

GATES: SIGOURNEY CHOSE TO IGNORE HER PARENTS AND ENTER THE "RACKET," DRIVEN BY THE FACT THAT SHE LOVED THE CRAFT OF ACTING.

BUT HER PASSION WAS ALMOST EXTINGUISHED WHEN SHE WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOL OF DRAMA AT YALE AND SOON CAME FACE TO FACE WITH A CADRE OF PROFESSORS WHO WERE NOT AT ALL ENCOURAGING.

WEAVER: MY EXPECTATION WAS THAT IT WOULD BE A JOYFUL PLACE, AND YOU'D JUST BE ARGUING ABOUT CHEKOV ALL THE TIME, YOU KNOW, AND, AND TO MY SURPRISE IT WAS A, A, A VERY, UM, A PLACE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY DID KIND OF SAY, LOOK LEFT, LOOK RIGHT, IN A YEAR ONE OF YOU WON'T BE THERE.

GATES: OH, WOW.

WEAVER: AND SO AFTER MY FIRST YEAR THERE WERE 18 OF US AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR TWO LEFT AND EIGHT WERE KICKED OUT.

GATES: GEE WHIZ.

WEAVER: AND THE REST OF US WERE ALL PUT ON PROBATION WHICH WAS A GREAT SHOCK BECAUSE I, I KNEW I HAD SUPPORTERS AMONG THE TEACHERS, AND THEY SAID, UH, WE THINK, THE TWO MEAN TEACHERS SAID, UM, UH, WE THINK YOU HAVE NO TALENT, AND YOU'LL NEVER GET ANYWHERE.

GATES: SIGOURNEY'S PROFESSORS, OF COURSE, PROVED TO BE SPECTACULARLY WRONG, HER TALENTS WOULD SOON BECOME OBVIOUS TO THE WORLD.

BUT OVERCOMING THEIR CRITICISM WAS CHALLENGING AND SIGOURNEY APPRECIATES THE FACT THAT HER PARENTS HAD GIVEN HER BOTH THE STRENGTH, AND THE SENSE OF HUMOR, TO DO IT.

WEAVER: WHEN THEY DISCOURAGED ME AT YALE, MY MOTHER JUST SAID, PACK YOUR BAGS AND GET OUT OF THERE.

AND MY FATHER SAID, LOOK, UM, WE'VE ALREADY PAID FOR A YEAR AND A HALF.

(LAUGHTER).

UM, MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST GET THE DEGREE AND THEN YOU'LL HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW FOR IT.

GATES: MY NEXT GUEST IS ACTOR JUSTINA MACHADO, WHO FACED FAR MORE DAUNTING CHALLENGES THAN SIGOURNEY.

GROWING UP IN CHICAGO, JUSTINA RARELY SAW HER FATHER, WHO STRUGGLED WITH DRUG ADDICTION AND WAS RAISED BY A MOTHER WHO DIDN'T ALWAYS UNDERSTAND HER TALENTS.

MACHADO: MY MOTHER MADE ME GO TO A TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL... GATES: LANE TECH.

MACHADO: YES, WHICH WAS THE WORST FOUR YEARS OF MY LIFE.

GATES: WHAT DID YOU STUDY?

MACHADO: NOTHING!

THAT, THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT, WHY IT WASN'T SO GREAT.

I HAD TO DO ELECTRIC SHOP, AUTO SHOP, RIDICULOUS.

WHEN I GRADUATED, MY HOMEROOM TEACHER LOOKED AT MY REPORT CARD AND SAID, "HUH.

GOOD LUCK, MACHADO."

GATES: REALLY?

MACHADO: SWEAR TO GOD, MR. O'MALLEY.

"GOOD LUCK, MACHADO."

GATES: IRONICALLY, JUSTINA'S HIGH SCHOOL WOULD LEAD HER TO HER CAREER...

BUT NOT IN THE WAY HER TEACHERS IMAGINED, WHEN ONE OF HER FRIENDS PROVIDED AN ALMOST ACCIDENTAL INTRODUCTION TO ACTING.

MACHADO: I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WANTED TO DO WITH MY LIFE, AND I WAS WORKING AT A BANK, AND THEN MY GIRLFRIEND, UH, WHOSE MOTHER, WHO I MET AT LANE, SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS.

AND HER MOTHER WAS A BIG, UH, TALENT AGENT IN CHICAGO, SO SHE CALLED ME UP AND SHE SAID, THERE'S THIS AUDITION AT THE LATINO CHICAGO THEATER.

I KNOW YOU'RE NOT AN ACTRESS, BUT UH, THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A YOUNG LADY YOUR AGE, PUERTO RICAN, FOR THIS PLAY CALLED "MIRIAM'S FLOWERS."

SO, I WENT IN, AND I AUDITIONED AND THEN I JUST KEPT GOING EVER SINCE THEN.

GATES: JUSTINA HAS DONE MUCH MORE THAN SIMPLY "KEEP GOING."

SHE'S BUILT A CAREER THAT HAS SPANNED DECADES AND INCLUDED LEADING ROLES IN AN ARRAY OF HIT TV SHOWS, FROM THE EMMY-AWARD WINNING DRAMA "SIX FEET UNDER"... MACHADO: I'M GONNA GO PICK UP THE BOYS FROM SCHOOL.

GATES: TO THE BELOVED COMEDY "ONE DAY AT A TIME"... MACHADO: YOU'RE GROUNDED.

THE NEXT TIME YOU'RE ALLOWED TO GO TO A CONCERT, IT'LL BE SO FAR IN THE FUTURE ROBOTS WILL RULE THE GALAXY!

GATES: BUT FOR ALL HER SUCCESS, JUSTINA TOLD ME, IN MANY WAYS, SHE STILL FEELS DEFINED BY HER TROUBLED CHILDHOOD.

MACHADO: I'VE JUST ALWAYS BEEN SURVIVING, MY WHOLE LIFE, UH, I THINK IT'S MADE ME A VERY COMPASSIONATE PERSON, BUT I ALSO THINK IT'S ALSO MADE ME HAVE, LIKE, LINES IN THE SAND, YOU KNOW, THAT MAYBE OTHER PEOPLE WOULDN'T HAVE AS MUCH AS I HAVE THEM.

GATES: MY THIRD GUEST IS AMY RYAN.

ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE ACTORS I'VE EVER MET.

THE OSCAR NOMINATED STAR HAS GIVEN ENDURING PERFORMANCES AS A DRUG-ADDLED MOTHER, A NO-NONSENSE COP AND A GOOFBALL OFFICE WORKER.

RYAN: NO TOUCHING.

CARELL: NO TOUCHING.

AH.

I'M TRYING NOT TO TOUCH YOU.

RYAN: OH, ALMOST GOT YOU.

CARELL: OH, SO CLOSE.

BOTH: OH!

GATES: THROUGH IT ALL, SHE'S SHOWN A REMARKABLE ABILITY TO INHABIT WILDLY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS...

IT'S AN ABILITY THAT AMY HAS BEEN HONING HER WHOLE LIFE.

SHE GREW UP IN WORKING-CLASS QUEENS, NEW YORK THE YOUNGEST OF THREE GIRLS AND GOT HER START SIMPLY BY TRYING TO GET NOTICED IN HER OWN HOME... RYAN: WHEN I WAS A KID, I REALLY LOVED PLAYING AROUND WITH DIFFERENT VOICES AND IMITATING CHARACTERS, BE IT PEOPLE IN OUR FAMILY OR CHARACTERS I'D SEE ON TV, AND I WAS GETTING ATTENTION FOR THAT.

GATES: MMM-HMM.

RYAN: AND I PARTICULARLY REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, IMPERSONATING MY FATHER AROUND THE DINNER TABLE.

I JUST GOT UP FROM MY SEAT AND DID HIS WALK, AND YOU KNOW, AND MY SISTER WAS SPILLING MILK OUT HER NOSE LAUGHING, SO I WAS LIKE, "OKAY".

GATES: DID YOU HAVE A FAVORITE VOICE TO IMITATE OTHER THAN YOUR FATHER?

RYAN: UM, YES.

I USED TO DO GILBERT GOTTFRIED.

UM... GATES: CAN YOU DO HIM?

RYAN: OH MY GOD.

I DON'T THINK I CAN.

GATES: COME ON, YOU CAN DO HIM.

RYAN: I HAVEN'T DONE THAT IN 30 YEARS.

(IMITATING GOTTFRIED).

"I WAS HAVING DINNER WITH MY FRIEND!"

GATES: THAT WAS AMAZING!

HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?

RYAN: THIS IS THE KID I WAS.

IT WAS QUITE LOUD.

GATES: NO, YOU DID THAT BRILLIANTLY!

RYAN: I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT.

GATES: AMY'S TRANSITION FROM A DINNER TABLE CUT-UP TO THE ACTOR SHE IS TODAY BEGAN WHEN SHE WAS ADMITTED TO THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL OF THE PERFORMING ARTS.

THE SCHOOL WAS FAMOUS, ULTRA-COMPETITIVE AND FAR AWAY...

IT MEANT THAT FOURTEEN YEAR-OLD AMY FACED AN HOUR-PLUS COMMUTE EVERY MORNING, BUT IT FOREVER CHANGED HER LIFE...

WERE YOUR PARENTS SUPPORTIVE?

DID THEY SAY, LOOK, ACTING'S FUN, BUT YOU NEED TO BE A LAWYER.

RYAN: THERE WAS A, I REMEMBER THIS MOMENT AT, A REALLY EXCITING MOMENT FOR ME.

WE WERE ALL OUT TO DINNER AT SOME RESTAURANT, AND MY SISTERS HAD SPENT SOME TIME WORKING AT MY DAD'S TRUCKING COMPANY, AND MY DAD WOULD SAY, "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO COME WORK FOR ME?

WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO COME WORK FOR ME?"

AND I, YOU KNOW, IT WAS LIKE, "WELL, NO, DAD.

I REALLY LIKE, YOU KNOW, I LIKE THE THEATRE AND I WANT TO BE AN ACTOR."

AND HE'D SAY, "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO WORK FOR ME?"

AND MY MOTHER SLAMMED HER FIST DOWN ON THE TABLE, AND SHE SAID, "LEAVE HER ALONE.

SHE'S DOING WHAT SHE WANTS!"

GATES: AMY'S FATHER WOULD END UP AS ONE OF HER BIGGEST SUPPORTERS, BUT NOT BEFORE HE HAD TO CONFRONT ANOTHER MAJOR OBSTACLE.

IN HER SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL, AMY WAS CAST IN A NATIONAL TOUR OF NEIL SIMON'S "BILOXI BLUES" THOUGH THE ROLE WOULD ULTIMATELY LAUNCH HER CAREER, AT THE TIME, IT CAUSED A GREAT DEAL OF ANXIETY... RYAN: I WAS GETTING CLOSER TO THE JOB.

YOU KNOW, YOU GET ANOTHER CALLBACK AND ANOTHER CALLBACK, AND MY SISTER WHISPERED TO ME, SHE SAID YOU KNOW IF YOU GET THAT JOB, MOM AND DAD AREN'T GOING TO LET YOU GO, AND I WAS LIKE, WHAT?

SHE SAID, THEY THINK THERE'S NOTHING BUT LIKE DRUGS, THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE ON A BUS AND YOU'RE GOING TO BE ON A PLANE, IT'S ALL LIKE ROCK N' ROLL, DRUGS.

GATES: RIGHT.

RYAN: I GET THE PHONE CALL THAT I GET THE JOB, AND I REMEMBER THEY ALSO, YOU KNOW, THEY GIVE YOU DETAILS, WHEN YOU'RE GONNA START, AND I HAD A LITTLE SCRAP OF PAPER, AND THEY SAY, HERE'S YOUR SALARY, AND I REMEMBER JUST PUSHING THE PAPER TO MY MOTHER, AND I REALI...

I'M MAKING MORE THAN YOU.

GATES: OH, WOW.

RYAN: AND THEY'RE LIKE, YOU'RE GOING.

GATES: MY THREE GUESTS COME FROM VERY DIFFERENT WORLDS, YET AS WE BEGAN TO RESEARCH THEIR ROOTS, WE DISCOVERED THAT WITHOUT KNOWING IT, THEY SHARE AN EXPERIENCE, EACH GREW UP WITH ENTIRE BRANCHES OF THEIR FAMILY TREES SHROUDED BY SECRETS.

IT WAS TIME TO BRING THOSE SECRETS TO LIGHT.

I STARTED WITH SIGOURNEY.

SIGOURNEY TOLD ME, HALF-JOKINGLY, THAT SHE HOPED WE WOULD FIND A SCANDAL IN HER MOTHER'S ROOTS... AS THE OLD SAYING GOES, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.

MOVING BACK THREE GENERATIONS ON HER FAMILY TREE, WE CAME TO JOSIAH AND BARBARA HUNT.

JOSIAH AND BARBARA ARE SIGOURNEY'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS... AND IN THE 1871 CENSUS FOR LONDON, WE FOUND THEM LIVING UNDER HIGHLY UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES... WEAVER: "JOSIAH HUNT, HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD, 45, MARRIED.

ANNE, DAUGHTER, TEN."

GATES: NOTICE ANYTHING STRANGE ABOUT THAT LISTING?

WEAVER: THERE ARE ONLY TWO OF THEM.

GATES: THERE ARE ONLY TWO OF THEM.

HERE IS YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER JOSIAH LIVING WITH A DAUGHTER.

WEAVER: YEAH.

GATES: NOW WE KNOW THAT HIS SON, EDGAR, YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER, WAS SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD AT THE TIME.

WEAVER: UH-HUH.

GATES: AND HE WAS AWAY IN BOARDING SCHOOL.

WEAVER: I SEE.

GATES: BUT WHERE'S BARBARA?

WHERE'S JOSIAH'S WIFE, YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER?

WEAVER: I DON'T KNOW.

DID SHE DIE?

GATES: WELL, REMEMBER, IT SAID THAT HE'S MARRIED, SO IF SHE HAD DIED HE WOULD BE A WIDOWER.

WEAVER: BUT SHE'S JUST NOT THERE RIGHT NOW.

GATES: SHE IS NOT THERE.

WEAVER: MAYBE THEY DIDN'T GET ALONG OR... GATES: WELL, LET'S SEE.

WEAVER: OKAY.

GATES: WE NOW SET OFF TO LOOK FOR BARBARA AND WE WERE SURPRISED WHERE WE FOUND HER.

THE SAME CENSUS THAT SHOWED HER HUSBAND LIVING WITH THEIR DAUGHTER, LISTED BARBARA AS THE HOUSEKEEPER OF A MAN NAMED HERBERT LAKE; A WIDOWED GROCER, TEN YEARS HER JUNIOR, WITH CHILDREN OF HIS OWN.

WE WANTED TO LEARN WHAT EXACTLY HAD HAPPENED AND WE FOUND THE ANSWER IN "LLOYD'S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER"; A TABLOID OF THE TIME.

WEAVER: "AFTER THE SEPARATION MRS. HUNT WENT TO RESIDE AT READING WITH THE CO-RESPONDENT, OSTENSIBLY AS HIS HOUSEKEEPER, BUT FROM THE GENERAL TENOR OF HER BEHAVIOR THERE WAS BUT LITTLE DOUBT THAT THEIR INTIMACY WAS OF A MORE FAMILIAR NATURE."

GATES: BARBARA AND JOSIAH, IT APPEARS, HAVE SPLIT UP.

WEAVER: WOW, WELL, I'M SORRY ABOUT ANNE, BECAUSE SHE HAS TO STAY WITH THE ANGRY FATHER.

GATES: YEP.

WEAVER: MAYBE SHE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO TAKE ANNE WITH HER AND UM, JOSIAH WOULDN'T LET THAT HAPPEN?

GATES: WE DON'T KNOW HOW JOSIAH FELT OR WHY BARBARA LEFT HIM, BUT THE STORY DOES NOT END HERE.

IN 1876, AS THEIR DIVORCE WAS UNFOLDING, JOSIAH WROTE A LETTER TO THE COURT, SETTING DOWN THE MOST PRIVATE DETAILS OF HIS WIFE'S AFFAIR... WEAVER: "I HAVE BEEN INFORMED AND BELIEVE THAT FROM ABOUT THE MONTH OF MAY 1870 UNTIL ABOUT THE MONTH OF MAY 1873 THE SAID BARBARA ANNE HUNT LIVED AND COHABITED WITH HERBERT R. LAKE AND HABITUALLY COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH HIM.

IN OR ABOUT THE MONTH OF MAY 1873 THE SAID BARBARA ANNE HUNT HAD A MISCARRIAGE IN CONSEQUENCE OF HER ADULTEROUS COHABITATION."

(SIGH.)

GATES: WHO DO YOU EMPATHIZE WITH IN THIS STORY?

WEAVER: DEFINITELY BARBARA ANNE.

DEFINITELY BARBARA ANNE.

RAN OFF WITH A YOUNGER MAN.

JOSIAH DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A LOT OF FUN.

GATES: NO.

NO.

HE SOUNDS LIKE AN OLD STICK IN THE MUD.

WEAVER: AND HE SOUNDS VERY, UH, PUNITIVE.

GATES: SADLY, BARBARA WOULD PAY A HIGH PRICE TO ESCAPE JOSIAH... WE SEARCHED FOR EVIDENCE OF HER RELATIONSHIP WITH HERBERT LAKE AFTER HER MISCARRIAGE, BUT WE CAME UP EMPTY.

INSTEAD, WE FOUND BARBARA, AS A PATIENT, IN THE RECORDS OF WHAT WAS THEN KNOWN AS THE "BETHNAL LUNATIC ASYLUM"... WEAVER: OH, DEAR.

"BARBARA ANNE HUNT.

DATE OF ADMISSION, OCTOBER 21ST."

OH, I'M SO SORRY.

SO THAT WAS THE YEAR AFTER SHE HAD THE MISCARRIAGE.

GATES: YOU GOT IT.

WEAVER: WHICH CAN SOMETIMES REALLY BE VERY, VERY, VERY, DISTURBING.

GATES: YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

ONE YEAR AFTER HER MISCARRIAGE, YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER BARBARA WAS INSTITUTIONALIZED AND SHE SPENT THE REST OF HER LIFE INSTITUTIONALIZED.

WEAVER: WOW.

GATES: SHE DIED IN THAT ASYLUM.

WEAVER: YOU CAN IMAGINE A WOMAN GIVING UP HER FAMILY, GOING OFF WITH A YOUNGER MAN, AND THINKING THIS CHILD WILL CEMENT THIS RELATIONSHIP, AND MAYBE WHEN THE DIVORCE COMES THROUGH I WILL, WE'LL BE MARRIED AND WE'LL GET TO START OUR LIFE WITH THIS NEW CHILD, AND IF YOU LOST THAT CHILD AND YOU WEREN'T MARRIED I THINK IT WOULD, IT WOULD SORT OF BE LIKE A JUDGMENT AGAINST YOU.

WHAT A TRAGEDY.

GATES: THERE WAS ONE NOTE OF HOPE WITHIN THIS STORY.

BARBARA'S SON EDGAR, SIGOURNEY'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER, THE BOY WHO WAS OFF AT BOARDING SCHOOL WHEN HIS PARENT'S MARRIAGE DISSOLVED...

GREW UP TO BECOME A DOCTOR AND WORKED IN AN ASYLUM THAT WAS NOTED FOR ITS PROGRESSIVE TREATMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH.

WEAVER: YOU KNOW, TO FIND THAT DIRECT LINK AND GET AN INKLING OF WHAT IT WAS BASED ON EMOTIONALLY IS SO MOVING.

YOU KNOW?

EVEN THOUGH WHAT HAPPENED TO HER WAS TRAGIC HE, YOU KNOW, HE SOMEHOW MADE GOOD COME OUT OF IT.

GATES: YEAH.

WEAVER: GOSH.

GATES: IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'VE ALWAYS LONGED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR ANCESTRY?

MUCH LIKE SIGOURNEY WEAVER, AMY RYAN'S MATERNAL ROOTS LIE IN ENGLAND, ENVELOPED IN A MYSTERY.

HER GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, JENNIE PRESS AND WALTER RYAN, IMMIGRATED TO AMERICA IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, BUT THEIR STORY WASN'T PASSED DOWN AND AS WE BEGAN OUR RESEARCH, WE SOON DISCOVERED WHY.

IN THE ARCHIVES OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, ENGLAND, WE FOUND A MARRIAGE RECORD FROM THE YEAR 1900 THAT SHOWED JENNIE PRESS MARRYING A MAN NAMED ALFRED PRESS...

SO YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

RYAN: WAIT A MINUTE.

THEY HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME.

OH MY GOD.

ALFRED ERNEST PRESS.

MARRIED JENNIE ROSINA PRESS.

SO MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER MARRIED HER BROTHER?

GATES: NO.

RYAN: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

GATES: BEFORE SHE MARRIED WALTER, YOUR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER JENNIE MARRIED ANOTHER MAN.

RYAN: SCANDAL!

GATES: YEAH.

RYAN: OH, I LOVE IT.

GATES: AND HIS NAME WAS ALFRED PRESS, AND THEY SHARED A SURNAME BECAUSE JENNIE AND ALFRED WERE FIRST COUSINS.

RYAN: OH BOY.

OKAY.

THIS IS GETTING JUICY.

GATES: WE DON'T KNOW WHY JENNIE MARRIED ALFRED.

AMY'S MOTHER HAD NO IDEA THE MARRIAGE HAD EVER OCCURRED, EVEN THOUGH JENNIE WAS HER GRANDMOTHER, BUT THIS WASN'T JENNIE'S ONLY SECRET... A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AFTER HER WEDDING, SHE AND ALFRED GAVE BIRTH TO A SON...

THEY NAMED HIM REGINALD.

REGINALD IS AMY'S GRAND UNCLE, BUT SHE'D NEVER HEARD HIS NAME BEFORE.

BECAUSE SOMETIME AFTER HIS BIRTH, JENNIE MADE A DECISION THAT WOULD FOREVER ALTER HER FAMILY... RYAN: "MANIFEST OF ALIEN PASSENGERS FOR THE UNITED STATES, SAILING FROM LIVERPOOL, ARRIVING AT THE PORT OF BOSTON."

OH.

"WALTER RYAN, 24, MARRIED, ENGINEER, JENNIE RYAN, 25, HOUSEWIFE."

HOW DID THEY GET MARRIED IF THEY WERE MARRIED, OR HOW DO... SHE WAS MARRIED.

GATES: THERE SHE IS, YOUR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER JENNIE, WITH YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER WALTER.

AND THAT RECORD SAYS THEY ARE MARRIED!

RYAN: THEY WERE MARRIED.

GATES: AND THAT FIRST HUSBAND SAYS HE'S MARRIED, RIGHT?

RYAN: JENNIE'S GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO.

GATES: INDEED.

RYAN: OH MY GOODNESS.

GATES: THE EXPLANATION, IN THE END, WAS RELATIVELY SIMPLE.

SOMETIME AROUND 1907, JENNY MET AMY'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER WALTER RYAN AND DECIDED TO LEAVE HER HUSBAND, BUT IT WAS EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT FOR A WOMAN TO OBTAIN A DIVORCE IN ENGLAND AT THAT TIME.

SO JENNY AND WALTER RAN AWAY, TO AMERICA CLAIMING, FALSELY, THAT THEY WERE ALREADY MARRIED TO EACH OTHER.

THEY WOULD HAVE FIVE CHILDREN TOGETHER IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT ALL THE WHILE, THEY WERE HARBORING A SECRET.

IT WAS ONLY WHEN JENNY'S HUSBAND DIED, DECADES LATER, THAT THEY COULD RETURN TO ENGLAND TO RESOLVE IT... RYAN: "WHEN MARRIED, JULY 21, 1931, WALTER RYAN, 48, TO JANE ROSINA PRESS, 52."

GATES: THEY WENT TO ENGLAND TO HAVE A COURTHOUSE MARRIAGE IN 1931.

RYAN: WHAT?

GATES: THEY SPENT 24 YEARS LIVING TOGETHER AND BUILDING A FAMILY WHILE PRETENDING TO BE LEGALLY WED. RYAN: OH, THIS IS SO WONDERFULLY SCANDALOUS.

GATES: DO YOU THINK THEIR CHILDREN, INCLUDING YOUR GRANDFATHER, HAD ANY CLUE THAT THEIR PARENTS WEREN'T MARRIED?

RYAN: I WOULD SAY NOT A CHANCE.

GATES: NOT A CHANCE?

RYAN: YOU WOULDN'T SPEAK ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

GATES: NO.

NO, NO, NO, NOT THEN.

RYAN: NU-UH.

GATES: THERE WAS STILL A QUESTION IN FRONT OF US, IN FLEEING ENGLAND, JENNIE NOT ONLY LEFT HER HUSBAND ALFRED, BUT ALSO HER SON REGINALD.

THE KNOWLEDGE OF REGINALD'S VERY EXISTENCE WAS LOST WITHIN THE FAMILY.

AMY WONDERED WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO HIM.

AS IT TURNS OUT, REGINALD WENT ON TO LIVE A LONG AND FULL LIFE...

HE SERVED IN THE BRITISH AIR FORCE.

HE GOT MARRIED.

HE HAD KIDS, AND EVENTUALLY PASSED AWAY IN 1982 AT THE AGE OF 81.

RYAN: OH, GOOD FOR REGGIE.

GATES: YEAH.

RYAN: SO GOOD.

GATES: AND HIS DESCENDANTS ARE YOUR COUSINS.

RYAN: THAT'S AMAZING.

GATES: HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR FAMILY'S GOING TO REACT TO THIS NEWS?

RYAN: OH, I CAN'T WAIT TO TELL THEM THIS STORY.

YEAH.

UM, YEAH.

JUST THAT THERE'S A WHOLE, THERE'S A WHOLE OTHER WORLD OUTSIDE OUR WILDEST DREAMS.

GATES: OH, YEAH.

RYAN: LIKE, THERE'S A WHOLE OTHER FAMILY THAT EXISTS.

GATES: ISN'T THAT AMAZING?

RYAN: YEAH.

MACHADO: I CAN GO BACK ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE... GATES: LIKE AMY, JUSTINA MACHADO WAS ABOUT TO ENTER A WORLD HIDDEN WITHIN IN HER FAMILY TREE...

BUT THE JOURNEY WOULD PROVE MUCH DARKER THAN AMY'S... JUSTINA'S FATHER WAS A HEROIN ADDICT... WHO DIED OF AN OVERDOSE IN 1993.

BECAUSE SHE SAW HIM SO INFREQUENTLY, JUSTINA KNEW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT HIS FAMILY.

WE BEGAN WITH HIS DEATH CERTIFICATE, WHICH NAMES HIS PARENTS, JUSTINA'S GRANDPARENTS, HELEN DIAZ AND ISMAEL FIGUEROA.

HER GRANDMOTHER'S VERY NAME WAS NEWS TO JUSTINA.

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THAT NAME BEFORE?

MACHADO: NEVER HEARD THE NAME BEFORE, NEVER, LISTEN, WHEN I MET THAT LADY AT MY, AT HIS FUNERAL, UM, SOMEBODY SAID, UH, WHATEVER HER NAME WAS, WHICH IS HELEN, AND SAID, "THIS IS YOUR GRANDDAUGHTER," AND SHE, AND I SAID, "NICE TO MEET YOU, SENORA," IN SPANISH, AND SHE SAID, "NO SENORA, ABUELA," AND I SAID, "NO, SENORA."

GATES: OH, WOW.

MACHADO: YEAH.

GATES: SO, SHE SAID DON'T CALL ME MADAM, CALL ME GRANDMA.

MACHADO: AND I SAID NO.

I DON'T, YOU'RE NOT MY GRANDMOTHER.

GATES: OOH.

MACHADO: I KNOW, MAN.

GATES: MAN, YOU THREW DOWN... MACHADO: I WAS, I WAS HARDCORE... GATES: YEAH, AND WHAT DID SHE SAY?

MACHADO: BECAUSE I WAS SO MAD... SHE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING.

I WAS, WALKED AWAY.

AND SHE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING.

GATES: SADLY, OUR RESEARCH WAS NOT ABLE TO BRING JUSTINA ANY CLOSER TO HER GRANDMOTHER...

INDEED, HELEN PROVED TO BE A GENEALOGICAL DEAD END...

HER SURNAME "DIAZ" IS VERY COMMON AND WE COULDN'T TRACE IT BACK ANY FURTHER...

BUT JUSTINA'S GRANDFATHER, ISMAEL, WAS ANOTHER MATTER.

WE FOUND HIM IN THE RECORDS OF VANDALIA CORRECTIONAL CENTER, A PRISON IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS... MACHADO: "ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS," OF COURSE, WELCOME TO MY HISTORY.

DIO MIO.

"ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS OFFENDER TRACKING SYSTEM.

DATE OF BIRTH: AUGUST 13, 1920.

ISMAEL FIGUEROA."

WOW, OKAY.

GATES: ANY GUESS WHY OR HOW HE END-ENDED UP BEHIND BARS?

MACHADO: I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM.

GATES: PLEASE TURN THE PAGE.

NOW, WE OBTAINED THIS RECORD FROM THE COOK COUNTY CLERK OF COURT.

IT'S A LETTER ABOUT YOUR GRANDFATHER, WRITTEN BY A PROSECUTOR.

MACHADO: IT SAYS, "ON MARCH 20, 1980, THE DEFENDANT, WHO IS NOW AGE 63, WAS SENTENCED TO 30 MONTHS OF FELONY PROBATION FOR POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, TO WIT, HEROIN, ON AUGUST 26, 1980, HE REPEATED THIS CRIMINAL ACT ON FEBRUARY 13, '81, HE WAS ARRESTED AT HIS PLACE OF BUSINESS AT 1900 WEST ERIE, WHICH IS A GROCERY STORE, IN POSSESSION OF MORE HEROIN.

THESE THREE OFFENSES ALL OCCURRED WHILE THE DEFENDANT WAS ON THE JUDGE'S PROBATION."

HE WAS A DEALER, THEN.

HE WAS DEALING HEROIN.

GATES: HE WAS DEALING, OUT OF THE GROCERY STORE.

MACHADO: YEAH AND THEN MY FATHER WAS A HEROIN ADDICT, SO THERE YOU GO, LOOK AT THE... GATES: THERE YOU GO.

MACHADO: LOOK AT THAT AWFUL WORLD HE CAME FROM.

GATES: THERE IS NO JUSTIFYING ISMAEL'S ACTIONS.

BUT AS WE DUG MORE DEEPLY INTO HIS STORY, WE DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS MORE COMPLICATED THAN IT SEEMED AT FIRST.

IN THE ARCHIVES OF BARCELONETA, PUERTO RICO... WE FOUND HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE, WHICH REVEALED THAT HE WAS BLACK.

AND THE ILLEGITIMATE CHILD OF A SINGLE MOTHER.

FACTS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANT STIGMAS IN PUERTO RICAN SOCIETY AT THAT TIME.

MOREOVER, WE FOUND NO EVIDENCE THAT ISMAEL EVER HAD ANY CONTACT WITH HIS BIOLOGICAL FATHER.

IN THE PUERTO RICAN CENSUS FROM 1935, WE FOUND HIM LIVING WITH A STEPFATHER, "DOMINGO FIGUEROA ROSADO", ALONG WITH SIX OTHER CHILDREN, FIVE OF WHOM WERE LIKELY HIS HALF-SIBLINGS... A SITUATION IN WHICH HE WAS POTENTIALLY QUITE VULNERABLE.

HOW DO YOU PICTURE THAT HOUSEHOLD?

MACHADO: THINKING ABOUT WHAT KIND OF LIFE HE LED, I CAN'T IMAGINE THIS WAS A GOOD HOUSEHOLD.

GATES: NO.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOUGH, YEAH.

MACHADO: AND SO, I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY ABUSIVE.

MACHADO: AND IT WAS PROBABLY REALLY SAD AND MESSED UP, AND... GATES: AND HE'S ILLEGITIMATE.

MACHADO: AND HE'S ILLEGITIMATE, AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, HE'S BLACK.

SO, WHO KNOWS IF SHE MARRIED A, A WHITE PUERTO RICAN OR AN INDIO, OR SOMEBODY THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, RACIST, YOU KNOW?

THAT HAPPENS WITH LATINOS ALL THE TIME.

GATES: OF COURSE.

MACHADO: PEOPLE, I LOVE HOW THEY PRETEND IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, BUT IT DOES.

GATES: SURE.

MACHADO: SO, IT'S LIKE, WHO KNOWS WHAT KIND OF ABUSE HE HAD BEING, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT HE WAS.

GATES: WE DON'T KNOW IF THE FIGUEROA HOUSEHOLD WAS ABUSIVE.

BUT WHAT WE DO KNOW THAT JUSTINA'S GRANDFATHER FOUND HIMSELF IN A VERY DIFFICULT ECONOMIC SITUATION.

IN 1937, AT THE HEIGHT OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION, HIS STEPFATHER STOPPED WORKING FOR REASONS THAT ARE UNCLEAR... AS A RESULT, SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD ISMAEL WAS FORCED TO SUPPORT HIS SIX YOUNG SIBLINGS AND WAS SOON IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW.

ARRESTED FOR PETTY THEFT, ISMAEL ENDED UP IN A LOCAL JAIL AND THEN FOUND HIMSELF SOMEWHERE MUCH WORSE... OSO BLANCO, ONE OF THE MOST NOTORIOUS PRISONS IN ALL OF THE CARIBBEAN.

PART OF A STORY THAT WAS DIFFICULT TO SHARE.

GATES: JUSTINA, THIS IS A COURT RECORD WE LOCATED IN THE GENERAL ARCHIVES IN PUERTO RICO.

IT CONCERNS A PRISON SENTENCE HANDED DOWN ON MAY 9, 1939.

MACHADO: "THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO VS. ISMAEL FIGUEROA MACHADO AND FRANCISCO PÉREZ LUCIANO.

CRIME: AGAINST NATURE."

THEY HAD RELATIONS... GATES: THEY HAD RELATIONS.

MACHADO: THESE TWO GENTLEMEN, AND HE, THEY PUT HIM IN JAIL FOR HAVING HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONS.

GATES: YEAH.

MACHADO: THAT'S SO MESSED UP THAT YOU GOT, THAT SOMEBODY GOT PUT IN JAIL.

GATES: YEAH, SURE.

MACHADO: FOR THAT, SO MESSED UP.

GATES: SEX BETWEEN TWO MEN WAS A CRIME, AND WHEN YOUR GRANDFATHER ISMAEL WAS ALREADY SERVING TIME IN PRISON, HE WAS PUNISHED WITH EVEN MORE TIME AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THIS ARCHAIC LAW.

MACHADO: I MEAN, HE DIDN'T HAVE... GATES: DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE.

MACHADO: NO, IT'S SO SAD.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YEAH.

GATES: I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING ELSE.

WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

MACHADO: IS THAT HIM?

OH, THAT'S MY GRANDFATHER?

GATES: THAT'S YOUR GRANDFATHER.

MACHADO: HE'S HANDSOME.

GATES: THOSE ARE PHOTOS OF YOUR GRANDFATHER FROM HIS PRISON RECORDS THAT WE FOUND.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH).

GATES: HE WAS AROUND THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN, BUT HE LOOKS MUCH YOUNGER.

MACHADO: YEAH, HE LOOKS LIKE A BABY.

GATES: YEAH.

MACHADO: YEAH.

GATES: KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU STARE INTO YOUR GRANDFATHER'S FACE?

MACHADO: I'VE ALWAYS HEARD SUCH TERRIBLE STORIES ABOUT HIM, I REALLY HAVE, AND I DIDN'T KNOW ANY OF THIS.

I HAD NO IDEA HE SERVED TIME, BUT I HEARD OTHER, YOU KNOW, NOT VERY NICE STORIES ABOUT HIM, AND WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE HERE IS JUST, LIKE, THIS LITTLE BOY.

GATES: YEAH, LIKE A LITTLE BOY.

MACHADO: I MEAN NOTHING LOOKS, LIKE, MESSED UP.

IT'S HEARTBREAKING, CAUSE HE JUST LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE BOY.

GATES: WE'D ALREADY TAKEN SIGOURNEY WEAVER BACK OVER A CENTURY ON HER MOTHER'S FAMILY TREE.

OVERCOMING THE RETICENCE OF HER ANCESTORS TO REVEAL SECRETS THAT HAD LAIN HIDDEN FOR GENERATIONS.

NEXT, WE CONFRONTED A VERY DIFFERENT OBSTACLE.

SIGOURNEY TOLD ME THAT HER FATHER LIKED TO TELL STORIES ABOUT HIS ANCESTRY, WITHOUT A LOT OF CONCERN FOR WHETHER THE STORIES WERE ACTUALLY TRUE, SO HER UNDERSTANDING OF HIS FAMILY RESTS ON VERY SHAKY GROUND.

WEAVER: I HEARD SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS FROM MY FATHER, MOSTLY JOKES ABOUT WHO WE WERE.

AND I DID THIS TERRIBLE THING, I, UM, MY FATHER HAD TOLD ME I WAS PART OF THE MACLEOD CLAN BECAUSE THEY HAD SAID SCOTTISH/ENGLISH ON BOTH SIDES, AND, UH, SO I DROVE WITH A FRIEND ALL THE WAY UP, UH, TO THE ISLE OF SKYE AND WE GOT TO THE CASTLE, MACLEOD CASTLE, JUST AS IT WAS CLOSING, AND I RAN DOWNSTAIRS TO THE PAYPHONE IN THE BASEMENT AND I CALLED MY PARENTS COLLECT AND I SAID, DAD, DAD, YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHERE I AM, I'M IN OUR ANCESTRAL HOME, MACLEOD CASTLE.

AND THERE WAS A LONG PAUSE AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE MACFARLANE.

WEAVER: WELL, I NEVER LOOKED INTO MACFARLANE AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THEIR CASTLE IS.

GATES: YOU GO, WHAT?

WEAVER: BUT ENOUGH.

THAT'S WHEN I STOPPED LISTENING TO MY FATHER ABOUT WHO WE ARE.

GATES: AS IT TURNS OUT, THOUGH WE FOUND NO TIES TO THE MACFARLANES, OR ANY OTHER SCOTTISH CLAN, SIGOURNEY'S FATHER WASN'T ENTIRELY WRONG: HIS ROOTS DO RUN VERY DEEP IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

INDEED, WE WERE ABLE TO TRACE HIM BACK TO THE 12TH CENTURY IN ENGLAND!

BUT THE MOST INTERESTING FIGURE ON THE WEAVER LINE WAS SIGOURNEY'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED SHEFFIELD WEAVER AND HIS ROOTS LAY MUCH CLOSER TO HOME... SHEFFIELD WAS BORN IN COLONIAL MASSACHUSETTS, IN 1763, BARELY A DECADE BEFORE THE START OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

WEAVER: WOW.

GOLLY.

GATES: DID YOU KNOW YOUR FAMILY HAD BEEN IN THIS COUNTRY FOR THIS LONG?

WEAVER: YEAH.

MY FATHER WOULD SAY THAT.

GATES: UH-HUH.

WEAVER: HE WOULD SAY "OH YES, OUR," YOU KNOW, "MY RELATIVES WERE IN THE CIVIL WAR, AND SO-AND-SO WAS WOUNDED TWICE, ONCE IN THE HEEL AND ONCE IN THE BACK OF THE NECK."

SO YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT WAS THAT KIND OF THING.

MAYBE WE WERE IN THE CIVIL WAR, BUT IT WAS VERY HARD TO TAKE ANY OF IT SERIOUSLY.

GATES: SOMEHOW, AMIDST ALL OF HIS INVENTIONS, SIGOURNEY'S FATHER HAD MISSED A STORY THAT WAS WORTH TAKING SERIOUSLY... HIS GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER SHEFFIELD WAS BORN ABOUT FIFTY MILES DUE SOUTH OF LEXINGTON AND EVEN THOUGH HE WAS ONLY ELEVEN WHEN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION BEGAN, HE QUICKLY FOUND HIMSELF A SOLDIER IN THE PATRIOT ARMY!

HIS EXPERIENCE IS SET DOWN, IN HIS OWN WORDS, IN HIS PENSION FILES AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES... WEAVER: "DECEMBER 1775, MY BROTHER, NATHAN WEAVER, WHO WAS OLDER THAN MYSELF AND WHO DIED MORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO, ENLISTED AS A SOLDIER IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR FOR ONE YEAR IN A COMPANY COMMANDED BY CAPTAIN JONATHAN BROWN BROWNELL.

MY BROTHER, NATHAN WEAVER, WAS TAKEN SICK WHICH CAUSED HIM TO RETURN HOME.

I THEN WENT AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR MY BROTHER NATHAN WEAVER AND JOINED THE COMPANY."

WOW.

I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THAT HAPPENED.

GATES: THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS RECOMMENDED THAT RECRUITERS ENLIST ABLE-BODIED MEN AGED SIXTEEN AND OLDER, BUT THIS OBVIOUSLY WAS NOT ALWAYS OBSERVED.

WEAVER: YEAH.

GATES: SO SHEFFIELD WAS CALLED ON TO SUBSTITUTE FOR HIS SICK OLDER BROTHER.

GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE?

WEAVER: I CAN'T.

GATES: IN APRIL OF 1776, WHEN HE WAS JUST TWELVE YEARS OLD, SHEFFIELD'S COMPANY WAS SENT TO DEFEND NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.

AT THE TIME, THE CITY WAS A TARGET FOR THE BRITISH NAVY, WHICH WAS SEEKING TO QUELL THE REVOLUTION BEFORE IT COULD SPREAD...

IN RESPONSE, THE PATRIOTS SET OUT TO BUILD A FORT ON WHAT WAS KNOWN AS BRENTON'S POINT ON THE SOUTHWESTERN EDGE OF THE CITY... AND SHEFFIELD WAS HELPING TO BUILD THAT FORT WHEN BRITISH WARSHIPS SHOWED UP.

WEAVER: WOW.

GATES: FIGHTING BROKE OUT, AND SHEFFIELD SAYS HE WAS CHASED BY BRITISH SOLDIERS.

HE AND OTHERS SET UP CANNONS FOR PROTECTION.

THE COLONISTS WERE ABLE TO DEFEND AGAINST THE INVASION AND THE FIGHTING HELPED PAVE THE WAY TO RHODE ISLAND BECOMING THE FIRST COLONY TO SEVER ITS ALLEGIANCE WITH KING GEORGE III ON MAY THE 4TH, 1776.

WEAVER: WOW.

GATES: SO HOW DOES IT FEEL TO LEARN THIS?

THAT YOUR ANCESTOR FOUGHT IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION?

WEAVER: THAT'S SO GREAT.

GATES: SHEFFIELD STAYED WITH HIS COMPANY FOR NINE MONTHS BEFORE HE WAS DISCHARGED, BECOMING ONE OF AMERICA'S FIRST THIRTEEN-YEAR OLD COMBAT VETERANS...

HE THEN RETURNED TO MASSACHUSETTS, WHERE HE LIVED WELL INTO HIS SEVENTIES, SURROUNDED BY FAMILY WHOSE ROOTS STRETCH BACK TO THE EARLY 1600S IN COLONIAL AMERICA...

ALLOWING US TO SHOW SIGOURNEY SOMETHING FAR MORE MEANINGFUL THAN A SCOTTISH CASTLE... WEAVER: I FEEL LIKE YOU'VE JUST GIVEN ALL, ALL THE WEAVERS, THIS ENORMOUS GIFT OF, OF KNOWLEDGE AND OF, UH, APPRECIATION FOR HOW WE GOT HERE.

GATES: DOES IT CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT HOW YOU SEE YOURSELF?

WEAVER: YES.

I FEEL SO MUCH MORE CONNECTED TO THE OLD WORLD, AND IN FACT THE OLD AMERICAN WORLD THAT I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BE.

IT'S VERY, UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF GIVES YOU WINGS A BIT.

GATES: WE HAD ALREADY INTRODUCED JUSTINA MACHADO TO HER PATERNAL GRANDFATHER, PROVIDING HER WITH A MEASURE OF SYMPATHY FOR A MAN WHO HAD SO TROUBLED HER FAMILY... NOW, TURNING TO HER MATERNAL ROOTS, WE FOCUSED ON SOMEONE FOR WHOM JUSTINA ALREADY HAD A GREAT DEAL OF SYMPATHY...

HER MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER, JUSTA RUIZ Y DELGADO.

JUSTA HELPED RAISE JUSTINA AND WAS A CENTRAL FIGURE IN HER CHILDHOOD... WHAT WAS SHE LIKE?

MACHADO: SHE'S GREAT.

SHE HAD A REALLY HARD LIFE, SO, WHO KNOWS?

SHE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

MY GRANDMOTHER DIDN'T TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

SHE WAS JUST REALLY QUIET AND GREAT, YOU KNOW?

BUT YEAH, SHE JUST KIND OF HAD A REALLY HARD LIFE.

GATES: WHAT DID SHE TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR GRANDFATHER?

MACHADO: WELL, SEE, MY, THAT'S A, THAT'S A SITUATION, BECAUSE MY GRANDFATHER WAS MARRIED, AND MY GRANDMOTHER HAD AN AFFAIR WITH HIM.

AND SO, MY MOTHER WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE PRODUCT OF THAT AFFAIR.

SO, YOU KNOW, THEY REALLY DIDN'T TALK ABOUT STUFF, YOU KNOW?

GATES: MMM-HMM.

YEAH.

YEAH.

MACHADO: YEAH.

GATES: THAT WAS A COMPLICATED STORY.

MACHADO: YES, IT'S COMPLICATED.

GATES: WE BEGAN TO UNRAVEL THIS "COMPLICATED" STORY IN THE ARCHIVES OF PATILLAS, A MUNICIPALITY IN SOUTHEASTERN PUERTO RICO... JUSTINA'S GRANDMOTHER WAS BORN HERE IN 1921 AND IT WAS HERE THAT SHE CONCEIVED JUSTINA'S MOTHER WITH A MAN NAMED ELEUTERIO MORALES, A MARRIED FARM LABORER, AN ACT THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY DRIVE HER TO LEAVE PUERTO RICO FOR CHICAGO, SEEKING A BETTER LIFE FOR HER DAUGHTER.

JUSTINA HAS VISITED PATILLAS AND KNOWS THAT SHE HAS DEEP ROOTS IN THE REGION, BUT BECAUSE HER GRANDMOTHER LEFT, SHE KNOWS VERY LITTLE ABOUT THOSE ROOTS.

MACHADO: WHAT I HEARD WAS THAT THEY WERE SO POOR, LIKE, SO POOR.

MY GRANDMOTHER SLEPT ON PLANTAIN LEAVES.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE ELECTRICITY.

THEY WERE JUST SUPER-POOR, WHICH IS WHY THEY MOVED TO UNITED STATES, TO, BECAUSE APPARENTLY, THEY WERE STARVING.

THAT'S WHAT I HEARD.

GATES: SO, WERE THEY FARMERS, OR?

MACHADO: THEY WERE FARMERS.

MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS A SUGAR-CUTTER.

UH... GATES: THAT'S A HARD LIFE.

MACHADO: YES, AND UM, AND THEN I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ELSE.

I JUST KNOW THAT MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER CUT SUGARCANE.

GATES: CUTTING SUGAR CANE IS, BY ANY MEASURE, BRUTAL WORK.

PERFORMED BY HAND IN THE SCORCHING SUN.

FOR CENTURIES, ENSLAVED AFRICANS SUPPLIED THE LABOR...

BUT AFTER SLAVERY WAS ABOLISHED ON PUERTO RICO IN 1873, IT BECAME THE DOMAIN OF THE ISLAND'S WORKING CLASS, INCLUDING MANY OF JUSTINA'S FAMILY MEMBERS.

AS A MATTER OF FACT, JUSTINA HAS ANCESTORS ON ALMOST EVERY LINE OF HER FAMILY TREE WHO WORKED ON SUGAR PLANTATIONS.

MOST WERE DIFFICULT TO RESEARCH BECAUSE THEY LEFT FEW RECORDS BEHIND...

BUT EVEN WHAT LITTLE WE COULD FIND WAS POWERFUL INFORMATION TO JUSTINA.

MACHADO: "JULIO RUIZ, HEAD, MALE, AGE: 56.

OCCUPATION: LABORER ON SUGARCANE FARM."

UH, "DOMINGA RUIZ, WIFE, FEMALE, AGE: 54.

ANCELMO RUIZ, SON, MALE, AGE: 24.

OCCUPATION: LABORER ON SUGARCANE FARM."

GATES: THERE'S YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER ANCELMO, AT THE AGE OF 24.

HE'S LIVING WITH HIS PARENTS, SO YOU JUST MET YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS.

MACHADO: YEAH.

GATES: WHO ARE JULIO AND DOMINGA RUIZ... MACHADO: I LIKE THOSE NAMES.

GATES: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THOSE NAMES, JULIO AND DOMINGA?

MACHADO: NO, BUT THEY'RE GREAT.

JULIO AND DOMINGA, THOSE ARE GREAT NAMES.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO LEARN THIS?

MACHADO: HONESTLY, THIS IS, IT BLOWS MY MIND, BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING THIS OFFICIAL FROM MY FAMILY EVER.

GATES: WOW.

MACHADO: NEVER.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

NOT A PICTURE, NOT A MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE, NOT A DEATH CERTIFICATE, NOT ANY OF THAT.

GATES: NOTHING.

MACHADO: SO, TO SEE SOMETHING OFFICIAL IS LIKE, OKAY... GATES: WOW.

MACHADO: SO, I GOT SOME OFFICIAL STUFF FOR MY FAMILY... GATES: YEAH, THAT THEY EXISTED... MACHADO: YEAH.

GATES: AND SOMEBODY TOOK NOTE.

MACHADO: YES.

GATES: ISN'T THAT AMAZING?

MACHADO: IT IS, AND IT WASN'T JUST THEM LIVING UP THERE IN JAGUAL, PATILLAS, IN THE LITTLE MOUNTAIN... GATES: NO.

MACHADO: LIKE, THERE'S, THERE'S PROOF.

GATES: WE HAD ONE FINAL DETAIL TO SHARE WITH JUSTINA.

A SURPRISE ENCODED IN HER OWN CHROMOSOMES.

WHEN WE ANALYZED HER MITOCHONDRIAL DNA, THE GENETIC FINGERPRINT PASSED DOWN FROM MOTHER TO CHILD ACROSS GENERATIONS, WE FOUND THAT HER MATERNAL HAPLOGROUP REVEALED YET ANOTHER SURPRISING ASPECT OF HER HERITAGE... WHAT CONTINENT DOES IT ORIGINATE IN?

MACHADO: AFRICA.

GATES: THAT MEANS YOU'RE DESCENDED FROM A BLACK WOMAN ON YOUR MOTHER'S SIDE.

MACHADO: THERE YOU GO.

GATES: A BLACK WOMAN WHO WAS IMPREGNATED BY A SPANISH GUY.

MACHADO: OH, WOW.

GATES: SEE WHAT I MEAN?

MACHADO: WOW.

GATES: AND YOU CAN PRETTY SAFELY ASSUME THAT SHE WAS TAKEN FROM WEST AFRICA.

SHE DIDN'T JUMP ON THE QE2 AND COME OVER HERE ON VACATION.

MACHADO: YEAH.

GATES: SHE WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE ISLANDS ON A SLAVE SHIP, AND YOUR DNA ALONE TELLS US THIS TALE.

MACHADO: WOW.

GATES: MMM-HMM.

MACHADO: WOW.

GATES: HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU WERE DESCENDED FROM ENSLAVED PEOPLE, THAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY BE?

MACHADO: I, I, I KNEW THAT THERE WOULD BE.

BUT TO HEAR IT, IT JUST MAKES ME APPRECIATE MY FAMILY, AND JUST IN GENERAL, IT GIVES ME A SENSE OF PRIDE, YOU KNOW?

UH, MY PEOPLE WORKED REALLY HARD.

GATES: MMM-HMM.

MACHADO: THEY DIDN'T HAVE MUCH, BUT THEY WORKED, AND-AND THIS IS, IT JUST SHOWS YOU WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN A COUPLE GENERATIONS.

GATES: HMM, OH, YEAH.

MACHADO: IT'S PRETTY PHENOMENAL.

GATES: WE'D ALREADY REVEALED THE STORY OF AMY RYAN'S GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, WALTER AND JENNIE, WHO IMMIGRATED TO AMERICA FROM ENGLAND AND SPENT DECADES PRETENDING TO BE MARRIED TO EACH OTHER, WHILE CONCEALING THE FACT THAT JENNIE WAS ALREADY MARRIED TO HER COUSIN... NOW WE WERE ABOUT TO DISCOVER THAT WALTER'S FAMILY HAD SECRETS OF ITS OWN.

IN THE 1891 CENSUS FOR LONDON, WE FOUND WALTER AS A YOUNG BOY, LIVING WITH SIBLINGS AND HIS MOTHER SARAH, BUT HIS FATHER WILLIAM WAS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN... GATES: YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER ISN'T LISTED.

ALTHOUGH THE RECORD HERE LISTS HER AS BEING MARRIED, THERE'S NO HUSBAND IN THE HOUSEHOLD.

RYAN: HERE WE GO AGAIN.

GATES: SO WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?

RYAN: YEAH.

WHERE IS HE?

GATES: LET'S SEE.

THIS IS AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN A LONDON NEWSPAPER CALLED "THE PEOPLE."

RYAN: IT'S TITLED, "A BAD LOT."

GATES: "A BAD LOT".

RYAN: "WILLIAM RYAN, 33, UPHOLSTERER, WAS BROUGHT UP ON A WARRANT CHARGED WITH NEGLECTING TO MAINTAIN HIS WIFE AND SEVEN CHILDREN."

(GASPS).

"THE PRISONER DECLARED THAT HE HAD NO WORK AND HAD GONE TO HULL TO LOOK FOR IT.

BUT HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, JOHN MOWAT, CAME FORWARD AND SAID THAT FOR TWO YEARS PAST, THE PRISONER HAD NEGLECTED HIS WORK."

GATES: MMM.

RYAN: SO HE, HE WAS BROKE AND HE LEFT THE FAMILY?

GATES: MMM, THAT'S WHAT HE SAYS.

RYAN: THAT'S WHAT HE SAYS, BUT HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW SAID HE JUST DIDN'T DO HIS WORK.

GATES: WE DON'T KNOW WHY WILLIAM ACTED AS HE DID.

THERE ARE NO RECORDS TO GUIDE US, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT HIS DECISION LEFT HIS WIFE SARAH IN A TERRIBLE SITUATION; FORCED TO CARE FOR HER CHILDREN ON HER OWN, WITHOUT ANY CLEAR MEANS OF SUPPORT.

WE WONDERED HOW SHE MANAGED AND WE FOUND THE ANSWER IN AN ORDER FILED BY A POLICE COURT MAGISTRATE.

RYAN: "COMPLAINT NOW HATH BEEN MADE UNTO ME... THAT SARAH RYAN, AGED ABOUT 37 YEARS, THE WIFE OF WILLIAM RYAN, ABSENT FROM HER AND HER SEVEN CHILDREN, IS NOW RESIDING AT THE WORKHOUSE IN THIS PARISH; NOT HAVING GAINED A LEGAL SETTLEMENT THERE."

GATES: WHEN SARAH WAS ABANDONED, SHE TOOK HER SEVEN KIDS TO A WORKHOUSE, BUT OFFICIALS RULED THAT SHE LACKED THE STATUS TO LIVE THERE, AND SO SHE'S BEING ORDERED TO RELOCATE TO A WORKHOUSE IN ANOTHER PARISH.

RYAN: OH MY GOD.

GATES: DO YOU KNOW MUCH ABOUT WORKHOUSES?

RYAN: UH, NO, I DON'T.

UM, I, I'M GONNA, YOU KNOW MY ASSUMPTION IS THAT IT'S NOT A PLEASANT PLACE.

GATES: AMY'S ASSUMPTION WAS CORRECT, ENGLAND'S WORKHOUSES WERE DISMAL PLACES WHERE THE POOR WERE ESSENTIALLY PUNISHED FOR THEIR SO-CALLED FAILINGS.

THOUGH ENTERED VOLUNTARILY, THEY WERE GENERALLY A LAST RESORT TO AVOID STARVATION.

WITHIN THEIR WALLS, IMPOVERISHED PEOPLE PERFORMED MENIAL LABOR IN EXCHANGE FOR MEAGER PROVISIONS AND FOUND THEMSELVES SUBJECT TO AN ARRAY OF HARSH RULES AND HARSH TREATMENT.

IN THE BETHNAL GREEN WORKHOUSES, WHERE AMY'S ANCESTORS LIVED, CHILDREN UNDER FIFTEEN WERE EVEN SEPARATED FROM THEIR PARENTS.

RYAN: OH MY GOD.

SO SHE GETS ABANDONED BY HER HUSBAND AND THEN GOES TO JAIL, BASICALLY.

GATES: YES.

YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER WALTER WAS SIX YEARS OLD.

RYAN: OH MY GOODNESS.

THAT'S BRUTAL.

GATES: DID YOU EVER HEAR ANYTHING REMOTELY AT ALL ABOUT THIS?

IT'S LIKE A SCENE FROM DICKENS.

RYAN: YEAH.

UH, NO.

UM, I, THIS, I HAVEN'T HEARD OF THIS AT ALL.

I MEAN, I JUST ASSUMED THEY WERE ALL SHOPKEEPERS AND FURNITURE MAKERS, YOU KNOW?

GATES: UH-HUH.

YEAH.

YEAH.

RYAN: LIKE, UH, BUT THIS, THIS IS DIRE.

GATES: THE STORY, UNFORTUNATELY, WAS ABOUT TO GROW EVEN MORE DIRE.

THOUGH SARAH WAS SOMEHOW ABLE TO FIND A WAY TO GET HER CHILDREN OUT OF THE WORKHOUSE AND BACK INTO A HOME WITH HER, THE FAMILY'S STABILITY DIDN'T LAST... RYAN: "SARAH RYAN, 42," UH-OH.

"DIED: SEPTEMBER 18TH, 1892.

SO NOW ALL THE CHILDREN ARE LEFT ALONE.

GATES: WHEN YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER WALTER WAS NINE YEARS OLD.

RYAN: OH MY GOD.

GATES: HE LOST HIS MOTHER TO LYMPHOMA.

RYAN: WOW.

WHAT DID THEY DO?

GATES: CAN YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

THIS IS A RECORD FROM ST. LEONARD, SHOREDITCH PARISH DATED 1893, ONE YEAR FOLLOWING SARAH'S DEATH.

RYAN: "DESERTED CHILDREN: FATHER WILLIAM TOOK CHILDREN WALTER AND ALFRED...LEAVING THEM IN THE STREETS.

ADA HAS BEEN RESIDING WITH MRS. BRIGID MOWATT... WHO DECLINES TO KEEP HER ANY LONGER."

OH MY GOD.

SO YOU GET KICKED OUT OF ANOTHER FAMILY'S HOME?

WHEW.

EVEN JUST SEEING THAT IN PRINT IN THIS FORM, "DESERTED CHILDREN."

OH, THOSE POOR KIDS.

GATES: WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED, BUT IN THE WAKE OF THEIR MOTHER'S DEATH, SOME, OR ALL, OF THE RYAN CHILDREN WERE PLACED IN THEIR FATHER'S CARE AND INCREDIBLY, HE ABANDONED THEM FOR A SECOND TIME.

AMY'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER WALTER AND TWO OF HIS SIBLINGS ENDED UP IN WHAT WERE CALLED "THE COTTAGE HOMES", ESSENTIALLY AN ORPHANAGE, RUN BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT...

THEY SEEMED UTTERLY DOOMED, YET WALTER NOT ONLY SURVIVED, HE THRIVED, BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL ENGINEER IN AMERICA... HIS TRANSITION, MIRACULOUSLY, LIKELY BEGAN IN THIS MOST UNLIKELY PLACE...

THE COTTAGE HOMES CONSISTED OF ELEVEN TWO-STORY COTTAGES, EACH ONE HOUSED THIRTY CHILDREN.

RYAN: OH MY GOD.

GATES: THE CHILDREN ATTENDED SCHOOL AND PERFORMED DOMESTIC WORK.

THE BOYS WERE ALSO GIVEN TRAINING IN VARIOUS TRADES, INCLUDING CARPENTRY AND ENGINEERING.

RYAN: OKAY, SO ALL IS NOT LOST HERE.

THERE'S SOME SKILLS LEARNED.

GATES: YES, SO DO YOU THINK THIS IS WHERE WALTER GOT HIS START?

NOW REMEMBER... RYAN: I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA GUESS THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST STABLE ENVIRONMENT HE'S YET SEEN.

GATES: ISN'T THAT INCREDIBLE?

RYAN: YEAH.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S, MY, MY HEART IS IN MY THROAT RIGHT NOW, BUT I, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY HUMBLING, AND UM, AND I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF GUILT THAT I'VE HAD SUCH, UM, JOY AND CELEBRATION IN MY LIFE.

I MEAN, I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR THE WORLD, BUT YOU KNOW, I SEE WHAT IT TOOK TO GET ME HERE, YOU KNOW?

GATES: MHMM.

THE DUES PEOPLE PAID.

RYAN: YEAH.

YEAH, SO I'LL PAY IT FORWARD, I PROMISE TOO.

GATES: THIS MARKED THE END OF MY SEARCH FOR THE ROOTS OF AMY, JUSTINA, AND SIGOURNEY.

THESE ARE ALL THE ANCESTORS THAT... MACHADO: OH MY GOD.

IT WAS TIME TO PRESENT THEM WITH THEIR FULL FAMILY TREES.

WEAVER: OH MY GOODNESS!

IT'S ENORMOUS!

MACHADO: AND LOOK, LOOK AT ROSA MACHADO, BORN ABOUT 1787 IN MANATI, PUERTO RICO.

GATES: THERE YOU GO.

WE WERE ABLE TO TRACE ALL THE WAY BACK TO YOUR SIXTH GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, LIKELY BORN AROUND, ARE YOU READY?

1696!

(LAUGHS).

WEAVER: THIS IS SUCH AN AMAZING THING!

OH!

GATES: EACH OF MY GUESTS HAD NOW SEEN MYSTERIES RESOLVED, EACH HAD MET ANCESTORS THEY NEVER KNEW EXISTED AND EACH NOW UNDERSTOOD MORE FULLY HOW THEY FIT INTO A MUCH LARGER JOURNEY THAT HAD BEGUN CENTURIES AGO... MACHADO: FOR THIS LITTLE PUERTO RICAN GIRL FROM CHICAGO, WHO GREW UP NOT KNOWING ANYTHING, NOT HAVING ANY HISTORY, THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST BLESSINGS OF MY LIFE.

WEAVER: AS YOU GO OVER ALL THESE NAMES YOU FEEL I THINK THEIR SPIRIT OF GOING ON, YOU KNOW, SORT OF STRIKING OUT AND UM, MARRYING PEOPLE THEY FALL IN LOVE WITH, HAVING FAMILIES, IN SPITE OF WAR, IN SPITE OF TRAGEDY.

IT'S A VERY POWERFUL THING.

I CAN FEEL THE ENERGY.

RYAN: IT IS AN AWAKENING.

THESE TALES ARE JUST TOLD LIKE, OH YEAH, THEY CAME OVER FROM ENGLAND THEN, BUT I FEEL LIKE NOW WHAT'S BEING WOVEN IN IS THE EMOTIONAL HISTORY INTO OUR FAMILY AS OPPOSED TO JUST DEATH DATES AND BIRTHDATES AND MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES, AND IT JUST MAKES THEM ALL THE MORE TANGIBLE.

GATES: THAT'S THE END OF OUR JOURNEY WITH AMY, JUSTINA, AND SIGOURNEY.

PLEASE JOIN ME NEXT TIME WHEN WE UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF THE PAST FOR NEW GUESTS ON ANOTHER EPISODE OF "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".