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Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. - Season 12 Episode 1 -
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00:00I'm Henry Louis Gates Jr. Welcome to Finding Your Roots. In this episode, we'll meet America
00:19Ferreira and Darren Criss, two actors who grew up knowing very little about their very recent
00:27ancestors. Well, this is not what I was expecting to learn. It's awesome. My family was my immediate
00:33family. Yes, we had family in the Philippines, but that was far away. This will be the most
00:38connected, I think, I'll ever, I'll have ever been in my life to, to grandparents and beyond.
00:44To uncover their roots, we've used every tool available. Genealogists comb through paper trails
00:51stretching back hundreds of years. Oh, I love that. While DNA experts utilize the latest advances
00:59in genetic analysis to reveal secrets that have lain hidden for generations. Yeah, cool. Oh man.
01:06And we've compiled it all into a book of life, a record of all of our discoveries and a window
01:13into the hidden past. America, this is a love letter. Oh my God, a love letter? Written by your
01:20grandmother. Stop it. I'm dying. What an amazing, what amazing. It's a miracle. It's a miracle. That
01:26is the word. What a miracle. What a gift. It's like learning there's a new room in your house that
01:30you've never seen. America and Darren share a common thread. Both were raised in whole or part by
01:38parents who'd immigrated to the United States, leaving their roots behind. In this episode, they're
01:45going to recover those roots, hearing stories of sacrifice, courage, and survival, all hidden
01:52in the branches of their family trees.
02:15America. America. America, Ferreira is living proof of this. The world is the greatest
02:22of all to me. America. America. America. America. America. America. America. America. America.
02:34America Ferreira is living proof of the American dream.
02:46The beloved actor has defied all expectations, creating opportunities where others saw none.
02:56And she's been doing it her entire life.
03:01America was born in Los Angeles.
03:04The child of Honduran immigrants.
03:08She grew up at a time when there were very few Latinos in Hollywood.
03:13But she didn't care.
03:16When she was eight years old, America heard about a play being staged at her older sister's school.
03:23And decided that she had to be part of it.
03:27There was a teacher, Mr. Protho, who did a Shakespeare play every year that was open to all the kids in the school.
03:35Wow.
03:35And so my sisters were gonna go audition for it. And I was in third grade at the elementary school. And I begged my siblings to take me with them.
03:44Please let me go to the audition. And they were like, no. And my mom was like, you have to take her.
03:48So they took me. And I snuck to Mr. Protho, who was sitting in the middle of the theater. And I said, can I audition for you? And he was like, sure.
04:00And so I read, like, I don't know, the Samson and Gregory scene in the beginning of Romeo and Juliet. They were doing Romeo and Juliet.
04:06And my sisters were just there with their friends. And they look up and there's their eight-year-old sister auditioning.
04:12They were so mad at me.
04:13And then he cast me as the apothecary.
04:16Wow.
04:16And I took it so seriously. And I remember being like, that's it. Like, that's what I want to be doing.
04:24And, yeah, I just, like, I can remember it like it was yesterday.
04:28Though America knew what she wanted to do, it would take her a little longer to convince the world to actually let her do it.
04:37She found an agent when she was still a teenager, yet often didn't get the part she was seeking.
04:44Then in 2001, everything changed when she was cast in an independent film and found a role she could embrace.
04:54It was so me. It was so my life. It was everything that I knew, you know, daughter of immigrant, hardworking parents, mother who, like, you know, didn't understand the thing that I wanted for me.
05:14Mm-hmm.
05:15But still, like, love, but conflict, and also the body image issue, you know.
05:21I had grown up, like, internalizing so much loathing of my own body for so many reasons.
05:29Mm-hmm.
05:29The color of my skin, being Latina, being short, being chubby, you know, not fitting into all the shows that I loved watching on CW.
05:38You know, I didn't see myself in those shows.
05:41And so, which to a lot of people was proof that I would never make it, right?
05:46And that's how it was presented to me, that, like, if I was going to make it, that I was going to have to find a way to turn myself into that.
05:53Mm-hmm.
05:53And that was the message, like, lose weight, like, get skinnier, get smaller, get more American, more polished, more whatever you see on TV.
06:08Like, be that if you want this career.
06:12And luckily, I couldn't be that.
06:18America has been lucky beyond all measure.
06:22Since her breakout, she's been in the limelight almost constantly, earning an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar nomination.
06:33Along the way, she's also become a prominent social activist and a leading voice in the Me Too movement.
06:42But for all she's accomplished, America still feels a deep connection to the 8-year-old girl who first set foot in a theater.
06:51And to all the people who helped her realize her dream.
06:55Indeed, she told me that even recently, during a crisis of confidence, she found herself buoyed by their support.
07:06Where I felt like giving up because it felt so hard.
07:12It felt like, how much does it matter?
07:16How much difference am I making?
07:17Like, you climb one mountain and then you're just at the bottom climbing another mountain and you come up against these old, deeply historical dynamics of feeling like you're worth nothing or you're used.
07:31And I've had, luckily, a lot of people in my life who've been with me, like, who have said to me, like, stay, keep going.
07:44Mm-hmm.
07:45Like, follow your longing, trust yourself.
07:49They were your lifelines.
07:50Yeah.
07:51And is it they who allowed that girl to become the woman sitting across from me?
07:57Absolutely.
07:58Absolutely.
07:59I think I've, I feel like I, I am who I am today in relationship with the people who have loved me.
08:10My second guest is Broadway sensation Darren Criss.
08:15Darren is living his own version of the American dream.
08:19His mother is an immigrant from the Philippines.
08:23His father's roots stretch back to colonial America.
08:26But Darren grew up wanting to be on stage.
08:31And nobody in his family knew how to get him there.
08:35So Darren took matters into his own hands.
08:39His brother went to school with the child of an actor named Peter Coyote.
08:45And Darren decided to call him.
08:47The, the school had, like, a little roster of, like, numbers.
08:52And, uh, I must have been maybe seven years old.
08:57And using the phone was, like, a whole thing.
08:59Like, phone etiquette.
09:00And, you know, I, I, you know, I didn't have my own phone.
09:03Using the phone is, is a big deal.
09:05It's, like, a supervised, uh, interaction when you're a kid.
09:07And I remember taking, and it was a cordless phone, so I, like, could hide it away.
09:11And I went into, to a closet so nobody would see me.
09:14Like, I was doing something naughty, even though it wasn't.
09:16It was just something that I was nervous about.
09:17I needed, like, some privacy for it.
09:19And I looked up the Coyote family.
09:22I looked up Peter Coyote.
09:23And I called, like, several times.
09:26Probably more times than it's appropriate.
09:27And when I heard Peter's voice, I said, hello, Mr. Coyote, this is Darren Criss.
09:32And I said, um, I would like to be an actor.
09:35And I kind of remember, and who knows if I'm painting this picture now, I kind of remember
09:39hearing this sort of, um, just taken aback, charmed sound of, oh, um, I'm talking to a child.
09:50How do I, how do I deal with this?
09:53And, uh, saying, okay, well, you know, there's some things we can do.
09:56And I think he was just saying how, well, you have to study it.
09:59And I was like, done.
10:01Done.
10:01If he said do 20 jumping jacks, I'd be like, great, I'll do that.
10:04And then we're off to the races.
10:05That must be how this is accomplished.
10:07I bet when he hung up, he said, this kid's going to make it.
10:09Who knows?
10:10Who knows?
10:12That call would change Darren's life.
10:16At Peter Coyote's suggestion, he applied to and was accepted into the prestigious American
10:23Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.
10:26The theater would give him some of his first professional roles.
10:30But more importantly, it opened his mind.
10:35I would go to start taking classes there when I was, like, nine or ten.
10:39And I would go to school.
10:40And then I would go to, you know, instead of going to, like, basketball practice,
10:44we'd be studying theater.
10:45And, you know, from an early age, I was learning about the musical theater lexicon.
10:49I was learning about Shakespeare and acting technique and all these wonderful things
10:54that I really think were an integral part of my life as not only an actor,
11:00but just as a human on the planet Earth.
11:02Darren would quickly put his education to good use.
11:08In 2010, he landed a role on the hit series Glee and became a star.
11:15He's never looked back.
11:17Moving between television, theater, and the recording studio,
11:22he's won an Emmy, a Tony, and a legion of fans.
11:26But Darren's proudest moment is a private one.
11:31In 2023, he took his mother to Washington, D.C.
11:37and realized just how far they'd both come.
11:42I've been very lucky to perform for, you know, American world leaders,
11:49for President Obama, President Biden.
11:51And I took my mom to the Christmas party they throw, the White House.
11:55And I had never been to D.C. with my mom.
11:59And when you're there, you're reminded of a lot of American history.
12:05And particularly of the iconography of the American dream.
12:11The mall.
12:12Yeah.
12:12The symbols of the American experience, especially from afar.
12:16We, obviously, they're landmarks of our nation, but we were born here.
12:19Mm-hmm.
12:20My mom, growing up, looking at this like fantasy land.
12:25Yeah.
12:25The great beyond where magic happens.
12:29Mm-hmm.
12:30And getting to take her to the White House was pretty...
12:33That's cool.
12:33Yeah.
12:33It's a pretty emotional experience.
12:36Darren and America both grew up in tight-knit families,
12:42deeply bonded to the small circles of people who raised them.
12:45But both came to me with fundamental questions about family members
12:51who were outside of those circles, either by choice or by chance.
12:57It was time to provide some answers.
13:01I started with America.
13:04Many of her questions were focused on her father, Carlos.
13:07When she was just eight years old, Carlos moved back to his native Honduras
13:14and never returned.
13:17He was there and then he was gone.
13:20And then we just didn't talk about it.
13:25And, I mean, I knew, like, growing up that there was issues and tension
13:31and periods of silence and periods of, you know, of just, like, conflict.
13:39But there was no, like, sit-down talk of, like,
13:43we've made this choice or your dad is leaving.
13:45You know, it was just, like, one day to the next he was gone.
13:48And I think as a child it was confusing
13:53because there was the confusion and grief of losing a parent.
13:58But in all the practical ways, like, our life got better
14:04in that, like, my aunt stepped in
14:11and helped us live in our first house outside of an apartment.
14:15And we lived in a better neighborhood and we went to better schools.
14:19And so, like, in a logistical sense, like, things got better.
14:25But there was this massive event that just kind of was like,
14:32we don't talk about it.
14:35Carlos passed away in Honduras in 2010.
14:40And though America has visited his grave,
14:43she knows little about his life.
14:45As we set out to change that,
14:50our researchers immediately noticed something striking.
14:55Carlos himself was the child of a fractured family.
15:00The story begins in 1955,
15:04when Carlos was six years old,
15:06and his mother, a woman named Georgina Paz Mendieta,
15:11traveled from Honduras to Mexico
15:13with a passport listing her as single,
15:18indicating that she was divorced from Carlos's father.
15:22What do you think it was like for your grandmother
15:24to be a divorced woman in a Roman Catholic country in the 1950s?
15:29You know, it was hard to get divorced in America,
15:32no matter what you are.
15:33And in the Catholic Church, it was extremely difficult.
15:36Yeah, I have no idea.
15:41I mean, I think my questions are like, why?
15:45Yeah.
15:47And then also, why did she go to Mexico?
15:51Did she go to Mexico for good?
15:53Did she go and come back?
15:55Well, let's see.
15:56Please turn the page.
15:57Yeah.
15:58Well, this is not what I was expecting to learn.
16:01It's awesome.
16:02Man, we're getting down the nitty-gritty.
16:04Yes, I like it.
16:04America, this is a love letter.
16:07Oh, my God, a love letter?
16:09Written by your grandmother.
16:10Stop it.
16:11I'm dying.
16:12It's dated three years before June 20, 1952,
16:15so likely around the time she got divorced.
16:18Would you please read what we translated for?
16:20Oh, my God, I'm dying right now.
16:21Are you kidding me?
16:23A love letter?
16:24No, it's the real stuff.
16:24I wonder if she ever thought that one day I would be reading this on television.
16:30Maybe she's been waiting for this moment.
16:32Maybe this is what she's been waiting for.
16:35Oh, my goodness.
16:36June 20, 1952.
16:38Arturo.
16:40Okay.
16:41Whew.
16:41Wow.
16:42I suffered a disillusion that caused me to close my heart to all affection,
16:48thinking that I could not love again.
16:50But you appeared on my lonely path to break this law.
16:54Despite the disappointment I suffered, I listened to your words.
16:59Despite my dashed hopes, I forged new ones and new dreams.
17:03I honestly cannot get over that you guys found a love letter.
17:07I can't get over it.
17:09This letter was written to a man named Nicholas Arturo Nuala Castillo,
17:15who went by his middle name, Arturo.
17:19He was an architect from Georgina's hometown in Honduras.
17:24By 1955, he was working in Mexico,
17:28and we think that's why Georgina made her trip.
17:31We don't know how the couple first met,
17:35but their relationship would progress quickly.
17:38And in 1956, they moved to the United States
17:42and took a very big step.
17:46Would you please read the transcribed section?
17:48Wow.
17:50Certificate of Marriage.
17:52Commonwealth of Virginia, County of Arlington.
17:55Groom, Nicolás Arturo Nuala Castillo, 36.
17:59Single occupation architect.
18:03Bride, Musia Georgina Paz Meneta, 36.
18:09Divorce.
18:10Number of times previously married one occupation teacher.
18:14In Virginia?
18:16In Virginia.
18:17What?
18:19Wow.
18:20That's crazy.
18:22I had no idea.
18:24And zero.
18:25Nothing.
18:26I've known none of this.
18:29After their wedding,
18:31Georgina and Arturo
18:32would have a child together in Washington
18:35and then return to Honduras,
18:39where they settled in the nation's capital.
18:43Georgina and her new family
18:44were now just about 100 miles
18:47from where America's father Carlos was living,
18:51and the two likely resumed contact.
18:54But tragedy was about to strike.
18:58Georgina passed away suddenly in March of 1961.
19:04Wow.
19:05She was only 41 years old.
19:07How do you think losing his mom at such a young age
19:09impacted your father?
19:11I mean, I think sadly he lost her two times, you know?
19:15Yeah.
19:15To, like, obviously I can relate to losing a parent.
19:23Well, he was seven and I was about eight when he left me.
19:26Right.
19:27So I know that.
19:28I'm curious about the, like, what that was then like
19:32for her to come back into his life
19:34in obviously a complicated way.
19:37And then to lose her again, you know, that way.
19:40Um, I think, I think probably really damaging
19:47and really devastating.
19:49Um, heartbreaking.
19:55There is a silver lining to this story.
19:59Although he'd lost his mother,
20:02Carlos maintained a relationship with his half-brother.
20:06And this relationship endured.
20:10Have you seen that photograph before?
20:12No, never.
20:13There's your father.
20:14Standing next to him is his half-brother, Nikolaus.
20:17That photo was taken on October 31st, 1992
20:20when you were eight years old.
20:22So right after, like, the year he must have left.
20:26How does it feel to see that?
20:27It just feels like, um, salvaging, like,
20:31just a lost memory.
20:33Like, I have no, I have no context
20:37for his life after he left.
20:41Um, nothing.
20:42Just, he left.
20:44And that was it.
20:45And I never knew where he was
20:47or what he was doing
20:47or how he was or any of it.
20:51So, you know, when he died,
20:53I really felt like that was it.
20:55That was really, with him,
20:57what any hope of ever knowing.
20:59And it's, um, it's, feels like, like, magic
21:07to get to, um, to witness even just a still image of his life.
21:17And also, like, he has a smile on his face.
21:20And he looks, he's alive and he's, looks well.
21:26Mm-hmm.
21:28Yeah.
21:29Amazing.
21:31We now turn to Carlos's roots
21:34and discovered a remarkable coincidence.
21:37His paternal grandfather,
21:40a man named Gregorio Ferreira,
21:43is a significant figure in Honduran history,
21:47a general who fought on the side of revolutionaries
21:51in a series of civil wars
21:53that sought to establish a liberal government in Honduras.
21:57And Gregorio is not the only hero in Carlos's family.
22:04His maternal grandfather,
22:06a man named Jacobo Paz Barraona,
22:10fought on the same side
22:11in some of the same wars
22:13at the same time.
22:17That's crazy.
22:20Whoa.
22:21You have DNA from these people.
22:22Also, I mean, these are both of my father's grandfathers.
22:28Like, this is, my father was full with this blood.
22:35Yes, that's right.
22:36Both sides.
22:37Yes.
22:37His mother's side and his father's side,
22:39he had this fight.
22:40And I know so little about my dad.
22:44I know so little about
22:45who he was, what he loved,
22:49what he cared about.
22:51And I'm curious about
22:54what this meant to him
22:57or if it meant anything to him
22:59or if it was overwhelming to him,
23:01if it was too much to live up to,
23:04too much to hold.
23:06I don't know.
23:07It's interesting to me
23:09because I know so little about who he was.
23:14But what I do know
23:15is that there was a bit of a retreat
23:17that he kind of stepped out of his life,
23:23kind of chose to retreat,
23:27chose to exit.
23:29And that feels so contrary to this legacy.
23:34As it turns out,
23:38Gregorio and Jacabo
23:39were not Carlos's only distinguished relatives.
23:44His family tree is filled with accomplished people,
23:48including a great uncle
23:49who served as the president of Honduras
23:52and a line of military leaders
23:55that stretched back to the 1790s.
23:59Taking it all in,
24:02America found herself
24:03reconsidering her father once more.
24:07It really, really, really does
24:09kind of color in
24:12his past and his lineage
24:19in the most surprising way.
24:22It's like not what I ever thought he came from.
24:25And because the narrative that I grew up with
24:29was such a different one
24:30and was sadly that he lived a life
24:33that seemed disempowered.
24:36But again, that's the story I inherited.
24:39I don't even know how much that is his own story.
24:41So it definitely,
24:47like my mind is still reeling and blown
24:50from like trying to take in
24:52all this new information and what it means.
24:54But it feels so magical
25:01in a way to be able to fill those empty pages.
25:05Much like America,
25:10Darren Criss was raised far from his roots
25:13with little knowledge of his ancestors.
25:18Even his grandparents were largely a mystery to him.
25:23My family was my immediate family.
25:26My mother, my father, and my brother.
25:28And yes, we had family in the Philippines,
25:29but that was far away.
25:31Yeah.
25:31And my father signed.
25:32I knew my grandfather very briefly
25:33before he passed away,
25:35but I more or less grew up without grandparents.
25:37So I never really had any...
25:39This will be the most connected, I think,
25:43I'll have ever been in my life
25:44to grandparents and beyond.
25:47That makes you a perfect guest.
25:49Well, let's boogie.
25:50We started with Darren's maternal grandmother,
25:55a woman named Juanita Bru Manibai.
25:59Juanita came to America in 1974
26:02when she was roughly 62 years old.
26:07Her journey is chronicled in her immigration file,
26:10which provided Darren with a series of surprises,
26:14starting on the very first page.
26:17Wow.
26:20I have seen all but one photograph
26:24of my grandmother until now.
26:27Really?
26:28Yeah.
26:29I've never seen her.
26:30I don't know what she looked like.
26:31No.
26:32Yeah.
26:32Huh.
26:33Yeah.
26:34Yeah, that's it.
26:35That's number two.
26:36I can think of one photo,
26:37and even that is different
26:37because she's very, very young.
26:39Hmm.
26:39I'm sure my mom would say,
26:40you know, I showed you this,
26:41but like around the house,
26:42I don't have any recollection.
26:43It's a very blurry thing.
26:45So seeing this photo
26:46and seeing the striking resemblance of my mother
26:50is blowing my mind.
26:53That is wild.
26:55There she is.
26:57According to this record,
26:59Juanita flew to Honolulu
27:01with plans to meet her daughter, Victoria,
27:04who is already living in California
27:06and who intended to pay for her mother's ticket.
27:09Victoria is Darren's aunt,
27:13the first of his close relatives
27:15to come to America.
27:17But her journey was very different from her mother's.
27:22Victoria arrived in Detroit
27:24from Alberta, Canada,
27:26on a bus.
27:28Would you please read that transcribe section?
27:31This is so cool.
27:33Name Victoria B. Money Bay.
27:36Date of entry, July 1st, 1967.
27:38Means of entry, Greyhound bus.
27:40Naturalization date was November 17th, 1972.
27:43By the way, Alberta and Detroit,
27:462,340 miles.
27:48Yeah, those aren't close.
27:4938 hours by car.
27:51In a bus.
27:52Greyhound bus.
27:53Greyhound bus.
27:54Darren, you have the distinction,
27:56we believe,
27:57to be the first guest in the history of this show
27:59who had a relative
28:00immigrate to the United States
28:02on a Greyhound bus.
28:04That you know about.
28:06That you know about.
28:07We would know.
28:08You would know.
28:08You would know.
28:09You would have the ticket stub and everything.
28:10The bag of peanuts they ate
28:11on the bus.
28:13You guys are very thorough.
28:14To quote Donald King,
28:15only in America.
28:16Only in America.
28:17Yeah.
28:17Yeah, that's pretty cool.
28:19I love how there's something very rock and roll
28:21about coming to America on a bus.
28:25Victoria was just 25 years old
28:28when she crossed the border.
28:31And she was taking a huge chance.
28:35Traveling all on her own
28:36with no safety net.
28:40But the gamble paid off.
28:43In 1974,
28:45Victoria wrote a letter
28:47for her mother's immigration file.
28:50Detailing all she'd accomplished in America
28:52in just a few short years.
28:54I'm the sole owner
28:56of a three-bedroom townhouse
28:58with a total equity of $10,000
29:00plus all furnishings.
29:01I'm financially able to support
29:02and defray all expenses
29:04for the coming and stay
29:06of my mother
29:06and can guarantee
29:07that my mother
29:08will not be a public charge
29:09to this country.
29:10What a badass.
29:13Isn't that amazing?
29:13That is amazing.
29:14Yeah, she put in her work.
29:15When this record was filed,
29:16your aunt had only been in the country
29:18for about seven years
29:19and already owned
29:21a three-bedroom home.
29:22She don't mess around.
29:23A car,
29:23was working as a nurse
29:25in a major hospital,
29:26had become a naturalized citizen,
29:28and had money in the bank.
29:30Yeah, pretty cool.
29:31That's incredible.
29:31And also,
29:32if you're doing the math here
29:33of how old she would have been
29:35and being the first
29:37of her family
29:37to come to this new country
29:39and to accomplish that
29:41that quickly.
29:43No, it's pretty badass.
29:44Quite remarkable.
29:45Yeah, it's pretty rad.
29:48We now wanted to see
29:50what Darren's family
29:51had left behind
29:52in the Philippines.
29:54What we uncovered
29:55was almost unrelentingly grim.
30:01His grandmother and aunt
30:02were both born on Leyte.
30:05An island that was devastated
30:07during World War II,
30:10leaving tens of thousands dead
30:12and disease and starvation
30:15running rampant.
30:19Fleeing the chaos,
30:21the family moved south
30:22from Leyte to Sabu City,
30:26where Darren's mother
30:26would be born in 1952.
30:30But stability proved elusive.
30:33In the 1960s,
30:37the Philippines
30:37was riven by civil strife
30:40and economic turmoil,
30:42culminating with a declaration
30:44of martial law
30:45in 1972,
30:48just two years
30:50before Darren's grandmother
30:51decided to immigrate.
30:53So Darren, think about this.
30:56By the time your grandmother
30:57arrived in the States,
30:59she'd experienced
31:00a tremendous amount of trauma,
31:02a lot of loss,
31:03suffering, dislocation.
31:05Do you think that trauma
31:06was passed down to your mom?
31:07No, because I am guessing here.
31:15But if you're leaving
31:16the rubble and wreckage of war
31:20to go somewhere new,
31:23you're pressing reset.
31:25Yeah.
31:25And my mom being the youngest,
31:27the baby of the family,
31:28like I am myself,
31:29I think there is a desire
31:31to make sure
31:32that those children
31:35are free
31:37in whatever degree possible
31:39or reasonable
31:40of that trauma.
31:42So I think there was,
31:45it seems there was
31:47a very concerted effort
31:48to filter and sift
31:52as much of that sorrow
31:54out as possible.
31:55Darren is correct.
32:00His family made
32:01a concerted effort
32:02to block out their past
32:04and leave the Philippines behind.
32:08Even so,
32:09they did preserve
32:10a few stories along the way.
32:13The most intriguing
32:14concerned Darren's grandmother's
32:17own mother,
32:19a woman named Concepcion Hosen.
32:22Concepcion was said
32:23to be of Chinese descent.
32:25You've heard that.
32:25Yes.
32:26Well, unfortunately,
32:27there were simply
32:28no records to tell us,
32:30but then we took
32:30a look at your DNA
32:31because if she was Chinese,
32:33we would be able
32:34to find out.
32:35And we saw something
32:36we found quite fascinating.
32:38Please turn the page.
32:39This is great.
32:41Would you please read
32:43your percentage
32:44of Chinese ancestry?
32:46I am a 11%
32:48Southern Chinese.
32:50That is roughly equivalent
32:51to one great-grandparent.
32:53Yeah, that makes sense.
32:54Yeah.
32:54That makes sense.
32:54And since we know
32:55that your father
32:56has no Chinese ancestry,
32:58we could be even more specific.
32:59Your DNA is telling us
33:01that you have the equivalent
33:01of a great-grandmother
33:03or great-grandfather
33:05on your mother's side
33:06who was fully Chinese.
33:07Yeah.
33:08So you have recent
33:09Chinese ancestry,
33:11which matches
33:11your family's story.
33:12That's wild to see.
33:13That's really beautiful.
33:14We believe that Darren's
33:17Chinese ancestors
33:18settled in the Philippines
33:20in the late 1800s.
33:23But it's possible
33:24that they came much earlier.
33:28Merchants from Southern China
33:30were trading with Filipinos
33:32as early as the 10th century.
33:35So all we can say for certain
33:38is that at some point,
33:41Darren's ancestors
33:41traveled to the Philippines
33:43and chose to stay.
33:47Let's think about the journey
33:48of your mother's family.
33:49Mm-hmm.
33:49From China to Leyte to Cebu City
33:52to Los Angeles
33:53and then to you.
33:55Yeah.
33:56Yeah.
33:56That's incredible.
33:57What do you make of that story?
33:58It's a nice reminder
33:59that, you know,
34:00by the time anybody
34:01is, quote-unquote,
34:03insert nationality,
34:05that that can be
34:06any mix of genealogical
34:09and ethnic ancestry.
34:10Absolutely.
34:11Which is a cool reminder.
34:12Recent and less recent,
34:14as far.
34:15It's just good to know.
34:16It's good to know
34:16what the roots are, man.
34:17It just makes things
34:18a lot more interesting
34:20and enduring.
34:21We'd already traced
34:23America Ferreira's
34:25father's roots,
34:26a journey that America
34:28had never imagined possible.
34:31Now, turning to her
34:32mother's family tree,
34:34America expected to find herself
34:36on more familiar terrain.
34:40Growing up,
34:41she'd spent time
34:42with her maternal grandmother
34:44and she thought
34:45she knew her story.
34:46But America was in
34:48for a surprise.
34:49Moving back
34:51one generation,
34:52we came to her
34:53grandmother's father,
34:55a man named
34:56Abel Lopez Osario.
34:59Abel was born
35:01in Honduras
35:02in 1885,
35:04the son of a shoemaker.
35:07As a young man,
35:09he studied law,
35:10became a civil prosecutor,
35:13and then launched
35:15his own newspaper.
35:16He started a newspaper?
35:19Your great-grandfather
35:21founded his own
35:22independent newspaper.
35:23Oh, my goodness.
35:25I just, like,
35:26why don't I know this?
35:27This is so shocking.
35:29He founded a newspaper?
35:30He founded a newspaper.
35:32And look at how
35:32it's described.
35:33El democrata,
35:34the democrat.
35:35The democrat.
35:36Yes.
35:37He who is for democracy.
35:39How about that?
35:40He was an idealistic person.
35:42Wow.
35:43That's,
35:43I'm so shocked
35:44about why
35:45I knew my grandma.
35:47Like,
35:47I knew her.
35:48Like,
35:49I'm so curious
35:50about why
35:51She didn't talk about this.
35:52Yeah.
35:53And that
35:54my mother
35:56and her sister,
35:58like,
35:59why that wasn't
36:00then a part
36:01of the conversation
36:03that they passed
36:03on to us.
36:04That's amazing.
36:05This story
36:08was about to get
36:09even more amazing.
36:11Roughly a year
36:12after founding
36:13his paper,
36:14Abel was elected
36:15the mayor
36:16of San Pedro Sula,
36:18a city
36:19in northwestern Honduras,
36:21where he settled down
36:23with America's
36:23great-grandmother,
36:25a woman named
36:26Magdalena Ricarte.
36:29But the family's
36:31good fortune
36:31did not last.
36:33When Civil War
36:35broke out
36:36in 1919,
36:38Abel opposed
36:39the rebel cause
36:40and his house
36:41was set on fire.
36:44Wow.
36:45They were likely
36:46left with nothing.
36:49That must have
36:50been really scary.
36:51Um,
36:53where do you go?
36:56Where do you go?
36:58Let's see.
36:59Please turn the page.
37:00America,
37:01this record
37:01is dated
37:02October 20th,
37:041920,
37:05a little over
37:05a year
37:06after your
37:07ancestors'
37:07home was burned down.
37:09Would you please
37:09read the transcribed
37:10section?
37:12Date and place
37:13of birth,
37:1416th October,
37:151920,
37:16Dean Street,
37:17Belize.
37:19There's your
37:19grandmother
37:20being born
37:21to your
37:21great-grandparents,
37:23Abel and Magdalena.
37:24Um,
37:24and what is this
37:25Belize?
37:26Belize?
37:27They're in Belize.
37:28They were refugees.
37:29They'd picked
37:30the wrong side
37:31in the Civil War,
37:32so they had to run.
37:33Wow.
37:33What's it like
37:34to see that?
37:35That's crazy.
37:36That's crazy.
37:38America's family
37:39didn't stay
37:40in Belize for long.
37:42They moved
37:43to Guatemala
37:44sometime in 1921
37:47and remained there
37:49in exile
37:51for at least
37:52six more years
37:53before finally
37:55returning
37:56to Honduras.
37:59Oh, my gosh.
38:01Did you know
38:01your grandmother
38:02spent some of her
38:03childhood in Guatemala?
38:04No,
38:05and I didn't know
38:06that she was born
38:06in Belize.
38:08And I didn't know
38:09that her father
38:10was a mayor
38:11and that he,
38:14his house
38:14was burned down
38:15and they fled.
38:16Like, none of this.
38:17I didn't know
38:17any of this.
38:19What's it been like
38:20for you to learn this?
38:21Grandmothers
38:22are not so far away,
38:23you know?
38:25It's crazy.
38:26I mean,
38:26I, I, I,
38:28this is a completely
38:29erased
38:31part of my,
38:34for me,
38:34my history.
38:35I have never heard
38:36any peace
38:37whisper,
38:39nothing.
38:40I, I, I,
38:40I wonder how much
38:42anyone knew about this.
38:43Like, I, I don't know
38:45if it was kept
38:46from us
38:46or if just
38:47no one knew.
38:49Following another branch
38:51of America's
38:51mother's family tree,
38:53we encountered
38:54another piece
38:55of her family's history
38:56that had been
38:57completely erased.
39:00America's fourth
39:01great grandmother
39:01was a woman
39:03named Isabel Ayes.
39:05She was likely
39:07born in Honduras
39:08around 1790,
39:10but her roots
39:12lay elsewhere.
39:15In the parish church
39:16of Hitikalpa,
39:18solemnly baptized
39:19a boy,
39:20natural child
39:21of Isabel Ayes,
39:22free mulata.
39:24That's your
39:24fourth great grandmother.
39:26Can you read
39:27again how she's
39:28described?
39:29Isabel Ayes,
39:30free mulata.
39:31That means
39:32that she is
39:33of recent
39:33African descent.
39:36She's black
39:37and white.
39:38Wow.
39:39She's a sister.
39:40So this wouldn't
39:41have been mixed race
39:42like indigenous
39:44and white.
39:45They would be
39:45mestizo.
39:46That would be
39:47mestizo.
39:47So she was
39:48of African descent.
39:50Yes, that's right.
39:51Wow.
39:52You ever wonder
39:53if you had
39:53black ancestry?
39:55I'd hoped.
39:59But never,
40:00ever, ever.
40:03No, I mean,
40:04it's just not,
40:06it's just not,
40:08has never made
40:09a mark
40:09on any,
40:10any storytelling
40:12in the family.
40:14That's amazing.
40:16According to this record,
40:19Isabel was set free
40:20by 1819,
40:22five years before
40:24the abolition of slavery
40:25in Honduras.
40:27We don't know
40:28how she gained
40:29her freedom,
40:30but the word mulata
40:31is tangible evidence
40:33that this line
40:35of America's family
40:36originates
40:38in Africa.
40:40Wow.
40:42So did you ever
40:43imagine that
40:44one of your ancestors
40:45came to Honduras
40:47in chains,
40:47in bondage?
40:48Well, they did.
40:50Wow.
40:52What's it like
40:53to learn this?
40:56That's the name
40:56of your
40:57black ancestor.
40:58I'm just so grateful
41:05that she's
41:06visible.
41:13Mm-hmm.
41:14That I can
41:15know that she existed.
41:19We had now
41:21traced America's roots
41:22back six generations
41:24on both sides
41:26of her family tree,
41:28identifying dozens
41:29of ancestors
41:30who lived in Honduras
41:32in the late 1700s
41:34and early 1800s.
41:38To America,
41:40the sheer scope
41:41of it all
41:41was awe-inspiring.
41:44I haven't obviously
41:45had any time
41:46to digest this
41:47and really feel it
41:49and explore it,
41:50but seeing these names,
41:53these dates,
41:54these places,
41:54people that I
41:57actually come from
41:59is mind-blowing.
42:04And I'm so glad
42:07I get to give this
42:07to my children.
42:09Oh, yeah.
42:09I'm so happy.
42:10You know,
42:11that makes me
42:12emotional
42:13to know that I,
42:15that they'll get
42:16to grow up,
42:17and my nieces
42:17and nephews
42:18and my siblings,
42:18and that this history
42:20has recovered
42:21that it's been rescued
42:25from what felt
42:28like a black hole.
42:31Turning back
42:32to Darren Criss,
42:33we shifted
42:34from his mother's roots
42:36in the Philippines
42:36to his father's roots
42:38in Pennsylvania.
42:41Darren's grandmother,
42:43a woman named
42:44Charlotte Bartlett,
42:45was born
42:47in the small city
42:48of Newcastle
42:49in 1913.
42:52And Darren told me
42:53that he was
42:54especially eager
42:55to learn about her.
42:59I'm so excited.
43:01I've always felt
43:02connected to this woman,
43:03even though I never
43:03met her or knew her,
43:04so this is gonna be,
43:05it's gonna be cool.
43:06Okay.
43:07This article was published.
43:08Yes!
43:09All I saw was
43:11in senior play
43:11in a picture of Charlotte.
43:14That a girl.
43:15That's rad.
43:16This was published
43:17in Newcastle, Pennsylvania,
43:18January 10th, 1931.
43:21Would you please
43:21read the transcribed section?
43:23In senior play,
43:24Miss Charlotte Bartlett
43:25will interpret
43:26the role of Martha Winslow
43:28or Muff
43:29in senior class play.
43:32The youngest,
43:34quote unquote,
43:35Miss Bartlett
43:36is particularly well chosen
43:37to present the lively,
43:38warm-hearted,
43:39impish Muff,
43:41as was doubtless true
43:42of Muff
43:43when in high school
43:44Charlotte is very popular
43:45with the younger set.
43:47I just love the
43:48sort of
43:48older-fashioned rhetoric
43:50of this article.
43:53Were you aware
43:53that you weren't
43:54the first actor
43:55on your family tree?
43:56I guess I never
43:57really thought about it.
43:58You know,
43:58I'm sure my mom
43:59after this would be like,
44:00you knew that!
44:01And I'll be like,
44:02I guess I somehow
44:03compartmentalized it
44:03in a place that wasn't
44:04in my frontal lobe.
44:06But as of right now,
44:08as seen by my reaction,
44:10all I saw was
44:10in senior play
44:11in a picture of Charlotte Barlett,
44:12that excitement
44:13was a genuine reaction
44:14to, oh my God,
44:15of course she was
44:16doing something
44:17along those lines.
44:18Your grandmother
44:18was 17 years old
44:20at the time.
44:20That's amazing.
44:21And according to this
44:22and other articles
44:23we found,
44:23this is not the only one,
44:25Charlotte was a gifted performer
44:26who also played the piano.
44:28Awesome.
44:29How about that?
44:29That's amazing.
44:30Charlotte's theatrical ambitions
44:43may well have been inspired
44:44by her roots.
44:46She descends from a long line
44:49of dramatic characters,
44:51none more so
44:53than her fourth great-grandfather,
44:56a man named Israel Manning.
44:59Israel was born
45:00in colonial Massachusetts
45:02in 1756.
45:04And when he was 19 years old,
45:08shots were fired
45:09in the town of Lexington,
45:13barely 30 miles
45:14from his home.
45:16So he had a choice.
45:18He could join
45:19the raggedy-ass patriots
45:21or he could remain
45:23loyal to King George.
45:24Was he a red coat?
45:24What did he do?
45:25I don't know.
45:26You've got to guess.
45:27You're setting me up
45:29because you said raggedy-ass
45:30and so I'm like,
45:31oh no,
45:31was he a red coat?
45:33Was he a loyalist?
45:34He lived in a place
45:36that was a hotbed
45:37of rebel activity.
45:38Did he side with the crown
45:39or did he side
45:40with the rebels?
45:42I'm only guessing
45:43but I can't judge.
45:46You know,
45:46different times,
45:47different circumstances.
45:48I'm going to guess
45:48that he was a loyalist.
45:49Okay.
45:50To the crown.
45:50Please turn the page.
45:51Oh boy.
45:52You reverse psychology'd me,
45:54didn't you?
45:55This is from
45:56the Massachusetts State Archives.
45:58Would you please read
45:58the transcribed section?
46:00Israel Manning,
46:00private muster role
46:02of Captain Ephraim,
46:03Richardson's company.
46:04Time of enlistment
46:05would have been
46:05April 26, 1775.
46:06So he was enlisting
46:08in the Patriot Army.
46:09In the Patriot side.
46:10Okay, great.
46:11Cool.
46:11Isn't that cool
46:12of storytelling
46:12that I went with the thing
46:13that was a little more scary
46:14and then it ended up
46:15being a cool one?
46:17Israel enlisted
46:18just days after
46:20the start of the war.
46:22At the time,
46:24the Patriot armies
46:25were mainly composed
46:26of volunteers
46:27and they struggled
46:29to retain troops.
46:31Some soldiers signed up
46:33for just a few months.
46:35But Israel's pension file
46:36shows that he had
46:38a very different experience.
46:42I, Israel Manning,
46:43do on oath
46:45testify and declare
46:46that in the war of revolution,
46:48on the first day of April
46:49in the year 1777,
46:51I entered and was engaged
46:54in the land service
46:55of the United States
46:56on the Continental Establishment
46:57and served accordingly
47:00from that time
47:01to the first day of April
47:02in the year 1780
47:03as a private against
47:04the common enemy
47:05without any interruption
47:07or absence.
47:09Those are your ancestors'
47:11own words.
47:12What's it like
47:12to read them?
47:13I just read
47:14my sixth-great-grandfather
47:16just, like, flexing.
47:18That's right.
47:19I said, listen,
47:20I did this really cool thing
47:21and I had no problems
47:22doing it.
47:23Gonna write that down.
47:25My great-great-great-great-great-great-great
47:26grandson's gonna read
47:29that one day.
47:29Israel not only served
47:33for three full years,
47:36his regiment was also involved
47:38in several notable battles,
47:41including the Battle of Saratoga,
47:45a crucial patriot victory.
47:48And Israel did something else as well.
47:52He spent the winter of 1778
47:55serving under General George Washington
47:58at Valley Forge,
48:00one of the most iconic events
48:03in American history.
48:06Could you ever have imagined
48:08that you had an ancestor
48:09who spent time
48:10with George Washington?
48:11No.
48:11They might even have known each other.
48:12No.
48:13Wow.
48:13What's it like to know this?
48:15I can't believe it.
48:16I can't believe it.
48:17That's wild.
48:18What would your father have said?
48:20Would it have been meaningful to him?
48:22Yeah.
48:24Of course.
48:25Of course it would.
48:25I wish he could have heard this,
48:27you know?
48:27But the great thing is that,
48:29you know,
48:30my kids will hear this
48:31and their kids will hear this.
48:32It'll be an amazing sort of goalpost
48:33from which to refer
48:35for many generations to come.
48:40We had one more story for Darren.
48:43Following a different branch
48:44of his father's family tree,
48:47we found ourselves
48:48traveling from Massachusetts
48:50to what was once
48:52the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam.
48:54Darren's 10th great-grandfather,
48:58a man named Tonus Tomas,
49:00received a land grant here
49:02in the year 1645.
49:08A lot for a house and garden
49:09located on the northeast side
49:11of Fort Amsterdam.
49:12And you know where New Amsterdam was?
49:14Are we talking about
49:15where we are at right now?
49:16Manhattan.
49:16Manhattan, baby, I know.
49:17New Dorp.
49:18That's right.
49:20Your family's owned property
49:21in Manhattan since 1645.
49:24What?
49:28That is crazy.
49:29That is crazy.
49:31Can I just live there?
49:31Do I still have to pay the rent
49:32that I'm paying in Manhattan?
49:34I think the present owner
49:35might want to argue with it.
49:36The present landowner,
49:37yeah, might have a gripe with it
49:38and be like,
49:38no, but I was on Finding Roots
49:39and they said.
49:40That's crazy.
49:43We don't know exactly
49:45when Tonus arrived
49:46in New Amsterdam,
49:48but we think we know
49:49why he came.
49:51He was a brick worker
49:52in the Netherlands
49:53and records show
49:55that he was hired
49:56to build and repair chimneys
49:58in the New World,
50:01meaning that Darren's ancestor
50:03helped build the city
50:05where he now lives.
50:07That is rad.
50:10Isn't that cool?
50:11That's really cool.
50:12And that's a lot.
50:14The D that you are looking at,
50:16the lot was located
50:17at the corner of Broadway
50:19and Stone Streets
50:20on the southern tip
50:21of Manhattan.
50:22What you're telling me
50:23is my earliest ancestor
50:26on this land
50:27was on Broadway.
50:29Yep.
50:30That's insane.
50:32It's amazing.
50:33That is really amazing.
50:35The paper trail
50:36had now run out
50:37for each of my guests.
50:39It was time to show them
50:41their full family intrigues
50:43and see what DNA
50:45could tell us
50:46about their deeper roots.
50:48I'm so grateful.
50:51For America,
50:53this would yield
50:54quite a surprise.
50:56When we compared
50:58her genetic profile
50:59to that of others
51:01who've been in the series,
51:03we found a match.
51:04evidence of a distant cousin
51:07she never knew she had.
51:09Okay.
51:10Can I?
51:10Turn the page.
51:14Ava!
51:15Ava DuVernay.
51:16Oh, my God.
51:18Oh, I love that.
51:20Do you know her?
51:21Have you met her?
51:22Yes, we've met.
51:22We've worked together.
51:24We did a little
51:24music video together
51:26and we've been
51:28in many rooms.
51:30That makes me so happy.
51:33America shares
51:34a long identical
51:35segment of DNA
51:36on her X chromosome
51:38with Emmy Award winning
51:41filmmaker
51:42Ava DuVernay.
51:44That means that you share
51:45a distant,
51:46common ancestor
51:47somewhere in your family tree.
51:49Oh, my God.
51:49I love that.
51:51That's amazing.
51:52So you're free
51:52to call her and tell her.
51:53I can't thank you enough.
51:55This is amazing.
51:57Thank you so much.
52:00That's the end
52:01of our journey
52:02with America Ferreira
52:04and Darren Criss.
52:06Join me next time
52:08when we unlock
52:09the secrets of the past
52:10for new guests
52:11on another episode
52:13of Finding Your Roots.
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