The New World

GATES: I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., WELCOME TO "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL EXPLORE THE FAMILY TREES OF ACTOR JOHN LITHGOW AND JOURNALIST MARIA HINOJOSA, TWO PEOPLE WHO ARE ABOUT TO FOLLOW THEIR ANCESTORS ON SOME TRULY SURPRISING JOURNEYS.

LITHGOW: YOU KNOW, I'M 74 YEARS OLD, AND I'M LEARNING ABOUT THINGS THAT WERE THERE ALL THIS TIME JUST WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED.

HINOJOSA: MY HEART IS GOING PITTER PATTER.

MY HEART IS DEFINITELY GOING, DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN-DUN.

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

GENEALOGISTS HELPED STITCH TOGETHER THE PAST FROM THE PAPER TRAIL THEIR ANCESTORS LEFT BEHIND.

WHILE DNA EXPERTS UTILIZED THE LATEST ADVANCES IN GENETIC ANALYSIS TO REVEAL SECRETS HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD.

LITHGOW: NO.

GATES: OH YES.

LITHGOW: HOW FANTASTIC.

GATES: AND WE'VE COMPILED IT ALL INTO A BOOK OF LIFE.

HINOJOSA: OH MY GOD!

THIS IS AMAZING!

GATES: A RECORD OF ALL OUR DISCOVERIES.

LITHGOW: I NEVER DREAMED THAT I WAS PERSONALLY CONNECTED TO THIS.

GATES: AND A WINDOW INTO THE HIDDEN PAST.

HINOJOSA: WHERE WAS IT LOST IN TRANSLATION THAT WE HAD AN ANCESTOR WHO FOUNDED THE CITY OF MONTERREY?

LITHGOW: THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

SO, I, MY ANCESTORS CAME OVER ON THE... GATES: ON THE MAYFLOWER.

YOUR 9TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER SAILED ON THE MAYFLOWER.

LITHGOW: I'M SPEECHLESS.

GATES: JOHN AND MARIA BOTH HAVE ANCESTORS WHO CAME TO NORTH AMERICA LONG BEFORE THE BIRTH OF THE UNITED STATES.

IN THIS EPISODE, THEY ARE GOING TO RETRACE THE JOURNEYS THOSE ANCESTORS TOOK, INSPIRING THEM TO SEE THEMSELVES, AS WELL AS OUR NATION, IN A NEW WAY.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYS) ♪ ♪ (OVERLAPPING CHATTER) GATES: JOHN LITHGOW IS AN ACTOR TO HIS CORE.

SEEMINGLY ABLE TO WORK IN ANY GENRE, AND EMBODY ANY CHARACTER.

FROM ENGLAND'S GREATEST PRIME MINISTER.

TO A SPACE ALIEN... CURTAIN: YOU ARE A SUPER-FREAK!

LITHGOW: THE KIND YOU DON'T TAKE HOME TO MOTHER!

GATES: FROM A RAGING PSYCHOPATH... LITHGOW: HELLO, DEXTER MORGAN.

GATES: TO A SENSITIVE PAINTER.

SO IT WAS NO SURPRISE FOR ME TO LEARN THAT JOHN'S TALENTS ARE ALMOST CERTAINLY INHERITED.

HIS PARENTS MET AS STUDENTS AT ANTIOCH COLLEGE IN OHIO, WHERE HIS FATHER WAS A CELEBRITY ON THE CAMPUS STAGE, INSPIRING HIS MOTHER TO MAKE A DECISION THAT WOULD FOREVER CHANGE THEM BOTH.

LITHGOW: MY DAD WAS A BIG THEATER STAR.

UH, I THINK HE PLAYED HAMLET IN HIS SENIOR YEAR, AND SHE WAS MADLY IN LOVE WITH HIM.

SHE WAS A, A YEAR OR TWO YOUNGER THAN HE, AND AS SOON AS HE GRADUATED, HE HEADED STRAIGHT TO NEW YORK.

HE WAS A POOR ACTOR IN GREENWICH VILLAGE, AND SHE LEFT ANTIOCH.

SHE FOLLOWED HIM THERE AND APPEARED ON HIS DOORSTEP.

GATES: OH MY GOD.

LITHGOW: AND AS HE DESCRIBED IT, UH, THERE SHE WAS.

HE OPENED THE DOOR AND THERE SHE WAS, AND HIS FIRST THOUGHT WAS, WELL, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH HER?

GATES: JOHN'S PARENTS WOULD SOON MARRY, AND REMAIN MARRIED FOR MORE THAN 60 YEARS.

BUT THE STABILITY THAT THEY FOUND AS A COUPLE ELUDED THEM IN THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD.

JOHN'S FATHER BECAME A THEATER DIRECTOR, SPECIALIZING IN SHAKESPEARE, AND STRUGGLED MIGHTILY.

AS A RESULT, JOHN'S CHILDHOOD WAS HIGHLY CHAOTIC, MARKED BY FREQUENT MOVES, AND CONSTANT MONEY WORRIES.

THE ONLY BENEFIT?

ALONG THE WAY, JOHN FOUND HIMSELF.

LITHGOW: MY FATHER WAS A VERY IMPULSIVE AND WHIMSICAL MAN.

HE KEPT CREATING THESE THEATER COMPANIES, AND THEY WOULD EITHER FIRE HIM, OR HE WOULD QUIT, OR THEY WOULD, UH, THEY WOULD GO BANKRUPT.

GATES: RIGHT.

LITHGOW: AND HE WOULD MOVE ON AND CREATE ANOTHER ONE.

BUT HE WAS A SHAKESPEAREAN, AND UH, AND I WAS IN 20 SHAKESPEARE PLAYS BEFORE I WAS 20 YEARS OLD, AND THINK ABOUT SHAKESPEARE.

GATES: UH-HUH.

UH-HUH.

LITHGOW: HE WROTE "HAMLET", BUT HE ALSO WROTE "COMEDY OF ERRORS".

HE WROTE "MACBETH" AND "MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR".

GATES: RIGHT.

LITHGOW: YOU KNOW?

HE WROTE HISTORY PLAYS.

HE WROTE "AS YOU LIKE IT".

THAT IS THE WHOLE SPIRIT OF SHAKESPEARE, PLAYING DIFFERENT PARTS.

GATES: MMM-HM.

LITHGOW: AND THAT'S BEEN, WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT, LOOKING BACK ON WHAT I'VE DONE, THAT'S THE EXUBERANCE OF ACTING IS, OH BOY, I GET TO DO THIS, I GET TO DO "3RD ROCK", I GET TO DO "DEXTER", I GET TO DO "CHURCHILL", YOU KNOW?

JUST YOU DART AROUND LIKE A MAYFLY.

GATES: JOHN, OF COURSE, HAS DONE MUCH MORE THAN DART AROUND.

HE'S ONE OF THE MOST REVERED ACTORS OF HIS GENERATION.

BUT EVEN SO, WHEN HE LOOKS BACK ON HIS CAREER, HE STILL FEELS THAT IT'S SIMPLY WHAT HE WAS BORN TO DO.

RECALLING THAT EVEN HIS BELOVED FATHER TRIED TO DISCOURAGE HIM.

UH, HOW DID HE TAKE TO YOU PURSUING ACTING?

LITHGOW: HIS FACE FELL.

HE WAS LIKE OH NO, AND 'CAUSE HE KNEW WHAT I WAS IN FOR IF I BECAME AN ACTOR, AND I SAID, BUT DAD, WELL, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?

YOU'VE HIRED ME LIKE 20 TIMES NOW TO BE IN PLAYS.

UH, WHAT DID YOU THINK I SHOULD, WHAT DID YOU THINK I SHOULD DO?

AND HE SAID, WELL, I ALWAYS FELT THAT AS A THEATER MANAGER, MY GREAT WEAKNESS WAS ADMINISTRATION, I ALWAYS THOUGHT MAYBE YOU SHOULD GO TO BUSINESS SCHOOL.

I GO, "BUSINESS SCHOOL?

WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?"

GATES: MY SECOND GUEST IS EMMY-AWARD WINNING JOURNALIST MARIA HINOJOSA.

LIKE JOHN, HER IDENTITY, AND HER CAREER, WERE SHAPED BY HER PARENTS' MOVEMENTS.

HER FAMILY IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES FROM MEXICO WHEN SHE WAS AN INFANT BECAUSE HER FATHER, A RESEARCH SCIENTIST, HAD BEEN RECRUITED TO WORK AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO.

BUT GROWING UP IN AMERICA, MARIA STILL FELT DEEPLY TIED TO MEXICO, LARGELY BECAUSE HER PARENTS WERE SO DETERMINED TO PRESERVE THAT CONNECTION.

HINOJOSA: THEY JUST KIND OF DECIDED IN A VERY AUTHENTIC, ORGANIC WAY, LIKE, OH MY GOD, WELL, WE'RE JUST GOING TO GO BACK TO MEXICO EVERY YEAR AND SPEND, YOU KNOW, ONE TO THREE MONTHS, AS MUCH AS, YOU KNOW, TIME THAT MY FATHER COULD AND SO WE GOT A CAR AND WE WOULD DRIVE BACK.

FOUR DAYS IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE CAR, ALL SIX OF US.

GATES: MM.

HINOJOSA: THEN CROSSING INTO MEXICO AND GOING, AND THEY, IT WASN'T JUST ABOUT VISITING FAMILY.

THEY HAD A KIND OF ANCESTRAL UNDERSTANDING THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY NEEDED TO DO WITH THEIR CHILDREN WAS TO TAKE US TO ALL OF THE ANCIENT SITES OF THE PYRAMIDS.

GATES: OH, WOW.

THAT'S GREAT.

HINOJOSA: I MEAN, WE WERE GOING TO CHICHÉN ITZÁ WHEN THERE WAS A DIRT ROAD AND THERE WAS A LITTLE GUY WITH A CAN, A BUCKET, CAN WHERE YOU WOULD PUT TEN PESOS IN TO BE ALLOWED INTO CHICHÉN ITZÁ.

WE WERE RUNNING UP AND DOWN THE PYRAMIDS.

GATES: WOW.

HINOJOSA: AND I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU, YOU KNOW, FOR ME AS A LITTLE GIRL, WHAT I WOULD WRITE ABOUT, LIKE IN MY GRADE SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS, "MY TRIP TO MEXICO THIS YEAR."

IT WAS SO GROUNDING FOR ME.

GATES: MARIA'S GRADE SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS WERE THE START OF SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER.

AS A YOUNG WOMAN AT BARNARD COLLEGE, SHE SIGNED UP TO WORK AT THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY RADIO STATION, AND FOUND HERSELF DRAWN TO THE LATIN MUSIC DEPARTMENT.

WHERE SHE SOON FACED AN ENORMOUS CHALLENGE.

HINOJOSA: THEY CALL ME UP AND THEY'RE LIKE, "WE NEED YOU TO START YOUR OWN RADIO SHOW," AND I WAS LIKE, I HAVE TEN L.P.'S.

YOU WANT ME TO DO THREE HOURS A WEEK?

AND THEY SAID, "WELL, WE'RE NOT GIVING UP THIS SPOT.

WE HAD TO FIGHT FOR THEM TO GIVE LATIN MUSIC THREE NIGHTS A WEEK.

WE ARE NOT LETTING THIS SPOT GO.

YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY.

(SNAPS) GET ON THE AIR."

GATES: SO, WHAT DID YOU DO?

BUY TEN MORE ALBUMS?

HINOJOSA: SO, I BOUGHT TEN MORE ALBUMS.

I NAMED THE SHOW "NUEVA CANCIÓN Y DE MÁS" WHICH MEANS NEW SONGS, NEW SONG AND MORE.

IT WAS A POLITICAL MUSIC MOVEMENT OF THE 1970'S AND '80'S, CUBAN TROVA, CHILEAN, YOU KNOW, VERY, VERY BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, AND THEN IT JUST KIND OF TOOK OFF.

WE JUST, YOU KNOW, I BROUGHT OTHER PEOPLE IN, MY BEST FRIEND, WE STARTED DOING THE SHOW IN SPANISH.

PEOPLE WOULD CALL AND SAY, YOU NEED TO SPEAK BETTER SPANISH, WHY ARE YOU ON THE AIR?

AND WE'D SAY, WE'RE LEARNING.

WE'RE COMMITTED TO DOING THIS.

AND BEFORE YOU KNEW IT, I HAD AN AUDIENCE.

GATES: MARIA HAS NEVER LOST THAT AUDIENCE.

SHE ENTERED JOURNALISM AT A TIME WHEN THE UNITED STATES HAD ALMOST NO LATINAS IN THE FIELD, AND HAS BUILT A REMARKABLE CAREER, REPORTING AND PRODUCING FOR NPR, CNN... HINOJOSA: SOME OF THE OLDER GENERATION TAKING TO THE STREET.

GATES: AND NBC.

HINOJOSA: WILL YOU TALK ABOUT BEING UNDOCUMENTED?

I'M MARIA HINOJOSA, AND THIS IS "HUMANIZING AMERICA" GATES: ALL THE WHILE, MARIA HAS PRESERVED THE CONNECTION HER PARENTS INSTILLED IN HER AS A CHILD, REMAINING A TIRELESS ADVOCATE FOR THOSE WHO SHARE HER BACKGROUND, IF NOT HER OPPORTUNITIES.

HINOJOSA: I'M VERY PROUD OF NOT GIVING UP AND OF UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY THAT I HAVE AS AN AMERICAN JOURNALIST ON THIS LAND, AND THAT BECAUSE OF THAT SENSE OF, LIKE, JUST DON'T GIVE UP, KEEP TRYING TO DO THIS, I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BREAK THROUGH THESE BOUNDARIES.

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: AND UM, AND THAT MAKES ME SUPER PROUD.

I MEAN, LOOK, AS YOU KNOW, SO YOU, SO YOU'RE THE FIRST, LIKE, SO WHAT?

YOU GET A CAPE?

YOU KNOW, NOTHING HAPPENS, YOU KNOW?

GATES: YEAH.

HINOJOSA: YOU STILL HAVE TO GO HOME AND YOU KNOW, TAKE CARE OF THE DOG AND CLEAN UP THE CAT PEE AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.

YOU HAVE TO DO THAT STUFF, BUT I THINK WHAT I'M MODELING, RIGHT, IS THAT WE DO HAVE THIS POWER.

GATES: RIGHT.

HINOJOSA: AND THAT WE DO, AND THAT WE CAN OWN IT AND SHARE IT.

GATES: AND THAT WHAT WE DO HAS AN IMPACT ON ACTUAL PEOPLE IN THE REAL WORLD.

HINOJOSA: AND ON THIS COUNTRY.

GATES: YEAH.

ABSOLUTELY.

INCREMENTALLY, AND YOU CAN'T BEAT THAT.

HINOJOSA: TOO TRUE.

GATES: IT WAS CLEAR THAT BOTH OF MY GUESTS WERE NURTURED IN THEIR CHILDHOOD HOMES, AND BOTH HAVE FOLLOWED PATHS THAT THEY FIRST ENCOUNTERED WITHIN THOSE HOMES.

IN THIS EPISODE, THEY ARE GOING TO MEET ANCESTORS WHO FOLLOWED VERY DIFFERENT PATHS, MEN AND WOMEN WHO LEFT THEIR FAMILIES BEHIND, TO FACE THE WORLD ON THEIR OWN.

WE STARTED WITH JOHN LITHGOW'S FATHER, ARTHUR LITHGOW.

ARTHUR LOST HIS OWN FATHER WHEN HE WAS A BOY, THROWING HIS FAMILY ONTO HARD TIMES, AND GROWING UP, HE HAD A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS MOTHER, A WOMAN WHO ENDURED A GREAT DEAL OF PAIN, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT HER SON WAS DRAWN TO THE STAGE.

LITHGOW: I KNEW MY GRANDMOTHER, HIS MOTHER, AND SHE WAS A KIND OF, I, I LOVED HER, BUT SHE WAS, SHE WAS A TOUGH WOMAN.

GATES: UH-HUH.

LITHGOW: AND UH I THINK SHE WAS AN ANGRY WOMAN IN A, IN A LOT OF WAYS.

GATES: OH.

LITHGOW: BECAUSE SHE HAD TO SURVIVE.

SHE WAS POOR.

SHE LOST HER HUSBAND.

SHE WAS LEFT WITH NOTHING.

SHE HAD TO TURN THEIR, THE FAMILY HOUSE INTO AN OLD FOLKS' HOME, AND HER OWN KIDS HAD TO WORK THERE.

GATES: YEAH.

LITHGOW: TAKING CARE OF OLD PEOPLE.

GATES: YEAH.

LITHGOW: UH, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A HARD, HARD LIFE.

AND HER, HER SON, HER OLDER SON, GOES OFF AND ENTERS THE CRAZY THEATER BUSINESS.

GATES: IN FOLLOWING HIS CALLING, ARTHUR LITHGOW ESSENTIALLY BROKE WITH HIS FAMILY'S PAST.

AND JOHN KNEW LITTLE ABOUT HIS PATERNAL ROOTS.

TURNING TO HIS GREAT-GRANDFATHER WASHINGTON LITHGOW, WE FOUND THOSE ROOTS LED US TO A SURPRISING PLACE: PUERTO PLATA, A PORT IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, WHERE WE DISCOVERED HOW ILLUSTRIOUS THE FAMILY HAD ONCE BEEN.

LITHGOW: "SIR, I HAVE THE HONOR TO FORWARD ENCLOSED THE REPORT OF DEATH OF MR. WASHINGTON LITHGOW.

AS THE RECORDS IN YOUR FILE SHOULD SHOW, MR. LITHGOW WAS VICE CONSUL AND VICE COMMERCIAL AGENT HERE AT VARIOUS TIMES FROM 1875 TO 1899."

MY GOODNESS, AND THAT WOULD'VE BEEN MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER?

GATES: THAT WOULD'VE BEEN YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

LITHGOW: A VICE CONSUL?

GATES: YOU AND YOUR FATHER SHARED A PASSION FOR ACTING, BUT HE CAME FROM A FAMILY OF BUSINESSMEN, PEOPLE WHO WERE HEAVILY INVOLVED IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE.

WERE YOU AWARE OF THAT?

LITHGOW: NO, I WASN'T.

ALL I WAS AWARE OF IS THAT MY DAD WAS A BIT OF A BLACK SHEEP.

WOW.

GOD, HOW REMARKABLE.

GATES: WASHINGTON WAS ONE OF FOUR GENERATIONS OF LITHGOWS WHO LIVED AND WORKED IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, A TRADING HUB OF THE CARIBBEAN.

AND WHILE WE DON'T TEND TO THINK OF BUSINESSMEN AS LEADING DRAMATIC LIVES, OUR RESEARCH SOON UNCOVERED STORIES THAT MIGHT WELL HAVE BEEN DREAMED UP IN HOLLYWOOD.

IN THE SUMMER OF 1863, WAR BROKE OUT IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, AS SPAIN ITS FORMER COLONIZER, ATTEMPTED TO RECLAIM THE YOUNG NATION, WITHIN MONTHS, SPANISH TROOPS REACHED PUERTO PLATA, WHERE JOHN'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS LIVING WITH HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN.

SUDDENLY, THE LITHGOW'S WERE ON THE FRONT LINES OF A WAR.

THEY PILLAGED THE TOWN.

LITHGOW: OH MY GOD.

GATES: AND SO WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED TO THE AMERICANS, LIKE YOUR GREAT-GREAT GRANDFATHER, WHEN THE SPANISH ARRIVED?

LITHGOW: I, I, I DON'T KNOW.

I WANT TO FIND OUT.

GATES: WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

THIS WAS PUBLISHED IN "THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER".

IT DESCRIBES IN DETAIL WHAT HAPPENED IN PUERTO PLATA IN EARLY OCTOBER OF 1863.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIBED SECTION?

LITHGOW: "HOW SHAMEFULLY ALL STRANGERS, AMONG WHOM WERE MANY AMERICANS, WERE TREATED BY THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES.

NO NOTICE WHATEVER WAS GIVEN TO ANYBODY WHEN THE TOWN WAS ABANDONED AND SET ON FIRE BY THEIR TROOPS, AND NO PROTECTION WAS OFFERED, NOT EVEN TO THE FOREIGN CONSULS IN TOWN.

THE NIGHT WE LEFT PUERTO PLATA, THE TOWN WAS ALMOST ENTIRELY BURNED, ONLY A FEW BUILDINGS HAVING BEEN SPARED."

GATES: DID YOU KNOW ANY OF THIS HISTORY?

LITHGOW: NO.

NO, NOT ANY.

GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT EXPERIENCE?

LITHGOW: MY GOD.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?

GATES: WITH PUERTO PLATA ABLAZE, JOHN'S ANCESTORS JOINED A GROUP OF AMERICAN DIPLOMATS, AND FLED TO THE ISLANDS OF TURKS AND CAICOS, WHICH WERE THEN UNDER BRITISH CONTROL.

THEY LIKELY SPENT MORE THAN YEAR ON THESE ISLANDS, IN A KIND OF SELF-IMPOSED EXILE, WAITING UNTIL DOMINICAN NATIONALISTS MANAGED TO OVERCOME THE SPANIARDS.

LITHGOW: WAS THAT COWARDICE OR WAS IT INGENUITY?

GATES: I THINK IT WAS INGENIOUS.

LITHGOW: YEAH.

GATES: FIRST OF ALL, IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

IT WAS CONTROLLED BY THE BRITISH.

LITHGOW: THEY KNEW WHERE TO HOLIDAY.

GATES: RIGHT.

EVERYONE SPOKE ENGLISH.

HE GOES, HE GOES LET'S HANG OUT HERE.

LITHGOW: OH, YEAH.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

LITHGOW: IT JUST REMINDS YOU HOW MUCH THERE IS TO KNOW.

GATES: YEAH.

LITHGOW: YOU KNOW, I'M 74 YEARS OLD, AND I'M LEARNING ABOUT THINGS THAT WERE THERE ALL THIS TIME JUST WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED.

GATES: WE HAD ONE MORE DRAMATIC DISCOVERY TO SHARE.

MOVING BACK ANOTHER GENERATION, WE LEFT THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FOR COLONIAL MASSACHUSETTS, WHERE WE FOUND JOHN'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED ARTHUR LITHGOW.

ARTHUR WAS BORN AROUND 1760, MEANING HE WAS ABOUT 15 YEARS OLD WHEN THE FIRST SHOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION WERE FIRED, WHICH RAISED AN INTERESTING QUESTION.

SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK HE DID AT THAT TENDER AGE WHEN THE WAR BROKE OUT?

LITHGOW: I DON'T KNOW.

GATES: WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIBED SECTION OF THE DOCUMENT IN FRONT OF YOU?

LITHGOW: "I, ARTHUR LITHGOW, AGED 57 YEARS, UPON OATH TESTIFY AND DECLARE THAT ABOUT THE 1ST OF SEPTEMBER 1779, I WAS APPOINTED BY THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS A LIEUTENANT IN CAPTAIN BLUNT'S COMPANY AND IN A BATTALION OF REGULAR TROOPS TO PROTECT THE INHABITANTS ON THE PENOBSCOT UNDER WILLIAM LITHGOW, MAJOR COMMANDANT, WHO WAS MAJOR OF COLONEL FRANCIS'S REGIMENT, AFTERWARDS COLONEL TUPPER'S OF THE MASSACHUSETTS LINE."

GATES: HOW ABOUT THAT?

LITHGOW: NOW, WHO IS THIS WILLIAM LITHGOW?

GATES: WILLIAM LITHGOW IS ARTHUR LITHGOW'S FATHER, WHICH MAKES HIM YOUR FOURTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER, YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GREAT- GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

LITHGOW: OH MY GOD.

THIS IS AMAZING.

GATES: AND AS YOU JUST READ, YOU DESCEND NOT ONLY FROM ONE PATRIOT BUT TWO.

LITHGOW: I, I'M SPEECHLESS.

GATES: JOHN WAS ABOUT TO BECOME EVEN MORE SURPRISED.

ARTHUR LITHGOW'S PENSION FILE SHOWS THAT IN FEBRUARY OF 1781, HIS COMPANY WAS SENT NORTH ON A NAVAL EXPEDITION TO HARASS BRITISH FORCES IN AND AROUND NOVA SCOTIA.

THEY CAPTURED SEVERAL BRITISH VESSELS, BUT WERE ULTIMATELY SHIPWRECKED ON WHAT IS KNOWN AS ROSS ISLAND, AND FOUND THEMSELVES SURROUNDED ON ALL SIDES BY THE ENEMY, WITH WINTER COMING ON.

WANT TO GUESS WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

LITHGOW: WELL, THEY WERE VERY COLD.

AND THEY WERE, IF THEIR SHIP WAS WRECKED, THEY WERE PROBABLY VERY WET.

YEAH, TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

GATES: YEAH, INDEED.

PLEASE TURN THE PAGE.

ON YOUR RIGHT IS ANOTHER SECTION OF THE PENSION FILE.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIPTION IN THAT WHITE BOX?

LITHGOW: "WE TRAVELED THROUGH THE WILDERNESS OF NOVA SCOTIA TO ST. MARY'S BAY, WHERE WE TOOK BOATS AND CROSSED THE BAY TO PETIT PASSAGE, WHERE WE FELL IN WITH AN AMERICAN ARMED VESSEL, WHICH CARRIED US ACROSS THE BAY OF FUNDY TO MACHIAS, WHERE I WITH PART OF MY DETACHMENT TOOK PASSAGE FOR BOSTON AND ARRIVED THERE ABOUT THE LAST OF NOVEMBER 1781."

GATES: ISN'T THAT GREAT?

LITHGOW: REALLY PHENOMENAL.

GATES: ALL TOLD, JOHN'S ANCESTOR TRAVELED MORE THAN 200 MILES BEHIND ENEMY LINES, LIKELY WITH ONLY THE CRUDEST OF MAPS TO GUIDE HIM, FACING THE BAREST HOPE OF SURVIVAL.

JOHN, THEY DID THAT ON FOOT.

LITHGOW: THROUGH THE WOODS.

WOW.

THIS IS SO BEYOND WHAT I EXPECTED.

GATES: WHAT'D YOU EXPECT?

LITHGOW: WELL, I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS MUCH COURAGE, FOR, TO BE HONEST.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO KNOW THAT YOUR DIRECT ANCESTORS WERE PART OF THE FOUNDING OF OUR REPUBLIC?

LITHGOW: IT'S ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL.

I, I, I HAVE SO MUCH MORE RESPECT FOR MYSELF THAN I DID BEFORE WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION.

GATES: JUST LIKE JOHN, MARIA HINOJOSA WAS ABOUT TO FOLLOW HER FATHER'S ROOTS BACK CENTURIES, TO MEET ANCESTORS WHO MADE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEYS.

BUT WE BEGAN WITH A JOURNEY MADE BY HER OWN FAMILY WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD, DRIVEN BY HER FATHER'S DECISION TO LEAVE HIS NATIVE MEXICO AND PURSUE HIS CAREER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, A DECISION THAT WAS NOT MADE LIGHTLY.

HINOJOSA: THERE WAS NO HOSPITAL THAT WAS GOING TO BE DOING THE LEVEL OF RESEARCH IN MEXICO THAT MY FATHER COULD GET AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO.

HE HAD, HE HAD ALREADY BEEN TO HARVARD, HE HAD ALREADY BEEN TO JOHNS HOPKINS.

SO HE JUST KNEW, BUT HE DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE MEXICO.

GATES: RIGHT, BECAUSE IT WOULD MEAN GIVING UP HIS MEXICAN CITIZENSHIP, AS I UNDERSTAND.

HINOJOSA: AND TURNING HIS BACK ON HIS COUNTRY.

GATES: RIGHT.

HINOJOSA: I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A THING.

MEXICANS ARE SUPER PROUD MEXICANS, AND MY DAD DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE.

IT WAS MY MOTHER WHO SAID, IN HER WORDS, AY, VIEJITO, WHICH IN SPANISH MEANS "OH, MY LITTLE OLD MAN."

GATES: MARIA'S MOTHER WAS JOKING, BUT HER SENTIMENTS WERE REAL: SHE KNEW THAT HER HUSBAND LACKED OPPORTUNITIES IN MEXICO, AND NEEDED TO MAKE THE MOVE.

EVEN SO, THAT MOVE WOULD LEAVE HER DAUGHTER WITH FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUT HER ROOTS.

THOUGH MARIA REGULARLY VISITED HER FATHER'S PARENTS DURING HER CHILDHOOD, SHE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THEIR FAMILY BEYOND THE SMALL CITY OF TAMPICO WHERE HER FATHER WAS BORN.

WE BEGAN TO EXPAND HER HORIZONS.

STARTING WITH THE MARRIAGE RECORD OF HER GREAT GRANDPARENTS.

HINOJOSA: "THERE DID APPEAR BEFORE ME TO BE JOINED IN MARRIAGE MR. MANUEL MARÍA HINOJOSA AND MISS PIEDAD FLORES, THE FORMER AGED 26, NATIVE OF JIMÉNEZ AND RESIDENT OF THIS PLACE, LEGITIMATE SON OF MR. MANUEL HINOJOSA, AGED 53, MERCHANT, AND OF MRS. CELSA DE LA LLATA DE HINOJOSA, AGED 52, ALSO FROM JIMÉNEZ.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

HINOJOSA: THESE ARE ANCESTORS THAT I DID NOT KNOW.

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: SO, NOW THERE'S A WHOLE KIND OF PART OF ME WHICH IS LIKE, OH MY GOD, MY UNDERSTANDING OF MY FATHER'S LINEAGE ENDED IN TAMPICO.

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: AND SO NOW I'M LIKE, OKAY, WAIT.

GATES: NOW IT'S OPENING UP.

HINOJOSA: REALLY OPENING UP.

GATES: YEAH.

MARIA'S ROOTS WERE ABOUT TO OPEN UP MUCH FURTHER.

FOLLOWING THE PAPER TRAIL BACK IN TIME, WE MOVED NORTH FROM TAMPICO TO THE CITY OF JIMENEZ, AND THEN, ULTIMATELY, ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO MALAGA, SPAIN, WHERE MARIA'S 11TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED DIEGO DE MONTEMAYOR, WAS BORN AROUND THE YEAR 1530.

THAT'S TEN YEARS SHY OF 500 YEARS AGO.

HINOJOSA: MY HEART IS GOING PITTER PATTER.

GATES: THAT'S HALF A MILLENNIUM.

HINOJOSA: MY HEART IS DEFINITELY GOING, LIKE, DUN, DUN, DUN, DUN, DUN.

GATES: AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DIEGO.

COULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

THIS DOCUMENT IS DATED 1596.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSLATED SECTION?

HINOJOSA: "IN THE NAME OF GOD ALMIGHTY BE IT KNOWN UNTO ALL WHO MAY SEE THIS PUBLIC DOCUMENT FOUNDATION LETTER HOW I, DIEGO DE MONTEMAYOR," OH MY GOD, TREASURER OF THE ROYAL," WHAT?

OH MY GOD.

"HOW I, DIEGO DE MONTEMAYOR, TREASURER OF THE ROYAL TREASURY OF THIS NEW KINGDOM OF LEÓN, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND GENERAL CAPTAIN FOR ITS CONSTRUCTION BY THE KING OUR LORD, AND FOR THE AFORESAID, IT IS BY THE PRESENT THAT IN NAME OF THE ROYAL MAJESTY OF KING DON FELIPE OUR LORD I MAKE THE FOUNDATION OF THIS METROPOLITAN CITY."

WHAT?

AND IT WILL BE TITLED THE CITY OF OUR LADY OF MONTERREY?

WAIT.

SO, SO, WHAT?

I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I'M GETTING EMOTIONAL.

IT'S LIKE, I HAVE NO RELATIONSHIP TO MONTERREY, BUT NOW I'M SUDDENLY REALIZING THAT YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT MY 11TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS THE, THE FOUNDER?

THE ESTABLISHER?

OH MY GOD.

WOW.

UM, WELL, HE WAS SOME KIND OF A BAD ASS.

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

GATES: MARIA'S ANCESTOR ARRIVED IN THE NEW WORLD SOMETIME BEFORE THE YEAR 1580, AS PART OF AN EXPEDITION SENT BY THE SPANISH CROWN.

HE THEN SET ABOUT HELPING SPAIN TO CONQUER THE TERRITORY THAT WOULD BECOME MEXICO.

IN 1596, HE LED A SMALL FORCE THAT FOUNDED THE CITY OF MONTERREY.

IN THE PROCESS, HE UNDOUBTEDLY PARTICIPATED IN THE GENOCIDE OF MEXICO'S NATIVE POPULATION, FORCING MARIA TO CONFRONT AN UNCOMFORTABLE FACT.

YOU, MY DEAR, ARE THE 11TH GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER OF A CONQUISTADOR.

HINOJOSA: AND I HAVE TO SIT WITH THAT.

GATES: YEAH.

YOU DO.

HINOJOSA: I HAVE TO SIT WITH THAT, THERE'S SOME WORDS THAT ARE USED HERE THAT ARE VERY PAINFUL.

GATES: YES.

HINOJOSA: BUT THAT HE WAS FINE WITH.

RIGHT?

GATES: OH, YES.

OF COURSE.

HINOJOSA: WHICH SAYS, UM, FOR ITS SETTLEMENT AND PACIFICATION OF THE NATIVES WITH THE INTENT THAT THE HOLY GOSPEL MAY BE SPREAD.

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: SO, THAT IS HARD.

YOU KNOW?

GATES: YEAH.

HINOJOSA: THAT'S A HARD PART BECAUSE, UM, THAT'S... GATES: BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT THEY DID.

HINOJOSA: WE KNOW WHAT THEY DID.

GATES: RIGHT.

HINOJOSA: SO, I HAVE TO MAKE PEACE WITH THAT AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS OF ANYTHING THAT MY 11TH?

GATES: 11TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

HINOJOSA: GREAT-GRANDFATHER MAY HAVE DONE.

GATES: RIGHT.

WE DON'T KNOW PRECISELY HOW DIEGO TREATED THE NATIVE PEOPLE WHOM HE ENCOUNTERED, BUT THE OVERARCHING STORY OF THE CONQUEST IS A TERRIBLE ONE, AND AS WE RESEARCHED DIEGO'S LIFE, WE FOUND A PERSONAL STORY TO SUGGEST THAT HE WAS DEEPLY TROUBLED IN THAT REALM AS WELL.

BY 1589, DIEGO AND HIS WIFE JUANA DE LA CERDA WERE WELCOMING A NEW FAMILY MEMBER, AS THEIR DAUGHTER ESTEFANÍA HAD MARRIED A MAN NAMED ALBERTO DEL CANTO.

BUT IN THE LEAD UP TO THE MARRIAGE, DIEGO AND ALBERTO BECAME BITTER ENEMIES, FOR A VERY GOOD REASON.

HINOJOSA: "AND IT IS A VERY PUBLIC AND NOTORIOUS MATTER OF MUCH OUTRAGE IN THIS VILLAGE THAT THE SAID ALBERTO" (GASPS) OH MY GOD.

OH MY GOD.

THIS IS PUBLIC?

OH MY GOD.

"THAT THE SAID ALBERTO, BEFORE MARRYING THE SAID ESTEFANÍA, HAD INTERCOURSE WITH THE SAID DOÑA JUANA, HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW.

PERO, ¿QUÉ ES ESTO?

SO, WAIT.

HE HAD AN AFFAIR WITH DIEGO'S WIFE.

GATES: THAT'S RIGHT.

HINOJOSA: AND THEN HE MARRIED... GATES: THEIR DAUGHTER.

HINOJOSA: THEIR DAUGHTER.

THAT'S SOME REALLY WEIRD STUFF.

GATES: MARIA DESCENDS FROM THIS WEIRD STUFF.

ALBERTO AND ESTEFANÍA ARE HER TENTH GREAT-GRANDPARENTS.

WHILE DIEGO AND JUANA ARE HER 11TH GREAT-GRANDPARENTS.

AND WHILE WE CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW THE WOMEN FELT ABOUT THESE RELATIONSHIPS, WE KNOW ALL TOO WELL HOW THEY AFFECTED DIEGO.

HINOJOSA: AY, DIOS MIO.

"IT IS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE THAT THE SAID DIEGO DE MONTEMAYOR, FATHER-IN-LAW OF SAID ALBERTO DEL CANTO," YIKES, "WANTED TO KILL SAID ALBERTO DEL CANTO BEFORE HE MARRIED HIS SAID DAUGHTER BECAUSE OF HAVING UNDERSTOOD THAT HE WAS WITH SAID DOÑA JUANA, HIS WIFE.

AND THE SAID DIEGO DE MONTEMAYOR LET HIS BEARD AND HAIR GROW LONG, AND AT THE END OF IT," OH, NO, HE DIDN'T.

OH.

NO.

NO.

HE DIDN'T.

OH, NO.

UGH.

"AND AT THE END OF IT, THE SAID DIEGO DE MONTEMAYOR KILLED THE SAID DOÑA JUANA, HIS WIFE."

GATES: DIEGO NOT ONLY THREATENED TO KILL YOUR TENTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER, ALBERTO DEL CANTO, FOR HIS ADULTEROUS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS WIFE, JUANA, HE THEN KILLED HER.

HINOJOSA: WHICH IS JUST, YOU KNOW... GATES: HE SAID, I'VE GOT TO KILL ONE OF THEM.

HINOJOSA: RIGHT.

I'LL TAKE, I'LL TAKE THE WEAKEST ONE.

GATES: THE WEAKEST ONE.

HINOJOSA: RIGHT.

GATES: DO YOU THINK THAT ALBERTO AND DIEGO WERE EVER PUNISHED IN THAT SOCIETY AT THAT TIME?

HINOJOSA: NOPE.

NOT AT ALL.

GATES: YOU SURE?

YOU THINK NOT EVEN THE CHURCH?

MURDER?

HINOJOSA: BUT HE HAD TIES TO THE KING.

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: I DON'T KNOW.

YOU KNOW, UM, I DON'T KNOW.

CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN WERE NOT REALLY SEEN AS CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN.

THEY WEREN'T SEEN AS CRIME.

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: UM, SO MY INITIAL REACTION IS, I DOUBT THAT HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN PUNISHED.

GATES: MARIA'S INITIAL REACTION IS CORRECT.

FOLLOWING HIS WIFE'S MURDER, DIEGO FLED FOR THE NORTH OF MEXICO, AND NEVER FACED ANY CHARGES FOR HIS CRIME.

HINOJOSA: OH MY GOODNESS.

GATES: WHAT WOULD YOUR FATHER MAKE OF ALL THIS?

HINOJOSA: I THINK THIS WOULD BE SUCH A STAIN FOR MY FATHER.

GATES: REALLY?

HINOJOSA: OH, YES.

GATES: HE WOULDN'T JUST BE CURIOUS OF, LIKE... HINOJOSA: NO.

NO.

NO.

NO.

NO.

NO.

NO.

NO.

THAT HIS BLOODLINE WOULD HAVE COMMITTED THESE CRIMES.

GATES: MM HMM.

HINOJOSA: I THINK THIS WOULD HAVE REALLY BEEN HARD FOR MY FATHER.

BECAUSE MY FATHER WAS THE ABSOLUTE OPPOSITE OF DIEGO DE MONTEMAYOR.

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: THE MOST FAITHFUL MAN, MARRIED TO MY MOM FOR 60, WHAT, 63 YEARS?

GATES: WOW.

HINOJOSA: COMPLETELY FAITHFUL.

WE KNOW THIS.

BOTH OF THEM.

SO, THIS KIND OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, MY FATHER REALLY BROKE THAT CHAIN.

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: HE TREATED MY MOTHER WITH SO MUCH LOVE AND RESPECT.

AND THOUGH, NOW I UNDERSTAND, NOW IT REALLY IS CLEAR, WELL WHY DIDN'T I KNOW ANY OF THE STORIES ABOUT THE HINOJOSA SIDE?

WHY?

WHY?

I KNOW NOW.

BECAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF THIS COVERING UP.

GATES: RIGHT.

WE'RE GOING TO PUT THIS STORY IN THE VAULT AND BURY IT, AND NOBODY IS EVER GOING TO OPEN THAT VAULT.

HINOJOSA: WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT.

I MEAN, WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO HIDE THE FACT THAT YOUR FAMILY IS TIED TO THE FOUNDER OF MONTERREY?

GATES: OF COURSE.

HINOJOSA: WHY?

GATES: RIGHT.

HINOJOSA: SO, FOR MI PAPÁ, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A VERY BIG PILL.

GATES: WE HAD ALREADY EXPLORED JOHN LITHGOW'S PATERNAL ROOTS, SHOWING HOW HIS FATHER DESCENDS FROM A HOST OF COLORFUL CHARACTERS.

NOW, TURNING TO THE MATERNAL SIDE OF HIS TREE, WE ENCOUNTERED CHARACTERS OF A VERY DIFFERENT KIND.

BEGINNING WITH HIS MOTHER, WHOM JOHN REMEMBERS AS AN EXTRAORDINARILY ETHICAL WOMAN.

INDEED, JOHN STILL RECALLS A MOMENT FROM HIS CHILDHOOD WHEN HE TRIED TO USE HIS POSITION ON HIS SCHOOL'S STUDENT COUNCIL TO EARN SOME EXTRA MONEY, ONLY TO BE THWARTED BY HIS MOTHER'S MORAL COMPASS.

LITHGOW: I HAD A LITTLE COTTAGE INDUSTRY SELLING CHRISTMAS CARDS, AND AS PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL, I PROPOSED TO MY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE THAT WE SEND CHRISTMAS CARDS TO THE, THE FACULTY FROM THE STUDENT COUNCIL, AND THEN I SOLD MY CHRISTMAS CARDS FOR $35.

AND I GOT A CHECK FOR IT, AND I THOUGHT HOW GREAT, WHAT A CLEVER THING TO DO.

AND I CAME HOME, AND SHE SAID, JOHN, YOU ARE TAKING THAT CHECK BACK, YOU ARE DONATING THOSE CARDS, YOU ARE NOT ACCEPTING MONEY, THIS IS CALLED CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

GATES: OH, REALLY?

LITHGOW: AND THIS WAS MY MOTHER.

I MEAN SHE SAID IT MUCH MORE GENTLY THAN THAT.

GATES: UH-HUH, AND WHAT'D YOU SAY?

LITHGOW: AND, I, I, I SAID I FULLY UNDERSTOOD, AND I.

GATES: YOU DIDN'T?

LITHGOW: BUT I DIDN'T RETURN THE CHECK.

GATES: OH YEAH?

OH THAT'S GREAT.

LITHGOW: I DON'T CONFESS THIS TO MANY PEOPLE, BUT NOW I DO.

GATES: DID YOU, DID YOU FEEL GUILTY?

LITHGOW: A LITTLE.

GATES: JOHN'S MOTHER'S SENSE OF ETHICS WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY INHERITED.

HER FATHER WAS A MINISTER AND SHE HAS RELIGIOUS ANCESTORS ALL OVER HER FAMILY TREE.

WHAT'S MORE: AS WE SURVEYED THE BRANCHES OF THAT TREE, ONE OF THOSE ANCESTORS STOOD OUT, IN A TRULY HISTORIC WAY.

THE STORY BEGINS WITH A BAPTISM THAT OCCURRED MORE THAN 400 YEARS AGO, IN ENGLAND.

LITHGOW: "WILLIAM, SON OF WILLIAM BRADFORD, BAPTIZED ON THE 19TH DAY OF MARCH, THE YEAR 1590."

GATES: 1590.

THIS IS YOUR 9TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER WILLIAM BRADFORD'S BAPTISMAL RECORD.

HE WAS BORN IN AUSTERFIELD, ENGLAND.

LITHGOW: OH, MY GOD.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

LITHGOW: IT'S, IT'S EXTRAORDINARY.

IT, IT'S JUST EXTRAORDINARY.

I MEAN SHAKESPEARE WAS JUST BEGINNING TO WRITE HIS PLAYS AROUND THAT TIME.

GATES: UH-HUH.

LITHGOW: OH MY GOD.

GATES: WILLIAM BRADFORD IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING INDIVIDUALS WE'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED, A CHARACTER WHOM SHAKESPEARE WOULD HAVE PROUD TO INVENT.

ORPHANED BEFORE HIS SEVENTH BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM WAS SENT TO LIVE WITH A PAIR OF UNCLES WHO TRIED TO PUT HIM TO WORK ON THEIR FARM IN AUSTERFIELD.

BUT WILLIAM WAS NOT DESTINED TO BE A FARMER.

INSTEAD, HE BEGAN READING THE BIBLE.

AND VISITING A MANOR HOUSE IN THE NEARBY TOWN OF SCROOBY.

YOU EVER HEAR OF THIS PLACE?

LITHGOW: NO.

GATES: WELL, WHEN WILLIAM BRADFORD WAS GROWING UP, THIS WAS THE HOME OF A MAN NAMED WILLIAM BREWSTER, BUT IT ALSO FUNCTIONED AS A CHURCH.

YOUR 9TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER STARTED ATTENDING SERVICES THERE WHEN HE WAS 16.

BUT THESE WEREN'T ORDINARY SERVICES.

JOHN, YOUR ANCESTOR WAS A PURITAN.

LITHGOW: AH, PURITAN.

THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING.

(LAUGHTER) GATES: WE THINK OF PURITANS AS CONSERVATIVES, POSSESSED BY AN UNYIELDING AUSTERITY.

BUT IN THEIR DAY, THEY WERE RADICALS, DETERMINED TO REFORM CHRISTIANITY TO ITS CORE, AND WILLING TO RISK THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR BELIEFS.

IN 1604, JUST BEFORE WILLIAM JOINED THEIR CAUSE, THE KING OF ENGLAND ESSENTIALLY MADE THEIR RELIGION ILLEGAL.

SETTING IN MOTION AN INCREDIBLE SERIES OF EVENTS.

TWO WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS OF 1607, COUNTY OFFICIALS GOT WIND OF THE PURITAN SERVICES TAKING PLACE AT SCROOBY MANOR.

THEY CAME AFTER THE ENTIRE FLOCK, INCLUDING YOUR 9TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER, WILLIAM BRADFORD.

HE WAS 17 YEARS OLD.

LITHGOW: MY GOD.

AND, AND?

GATES: HE'S A WANTED MAN.

LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.

WILL YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

JOHN, YOU SEE THAT PHOTO?

THAT'S A PHOTO OF A JAIL IN BOSTON, ENGLAND.

LITHGOW: MY GOD.

GATES: IN LATE 1607, WILLIAM AND HIS FELLOW PURITANS WERE ARRESTED AND LIKELY THROWN INTO ONE OF THESE CELLS.

LITHGOW: OH MY GOD.

GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE AT 17 TO BE THROWN IN A CELL WITH NO IDEA OF WHEN YOU MIGHT BE RELEASED, IF EVER?

LITHGOW: NO!

GATES: PERHAPS BECAUSE HE WAS SO YOUNG, WILLIAM WAS ONLY HELD IN PRISON FOR A FEW WEEKS.

BUT OTHER PURITANS REMAINED FOR MONTHS.

WHEN ALL WERE FINALLY RELEASED, THEY FLED ENGLAND FOR THE NETHERLANDS, WHERE THEY WOULD REMAIN FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, AS DISSIDENT EXILES, BEFORE FINALLY DECIDING TO SEEK A NEW HOME.

JOHN, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A LIST OF THE PASSENGERS WHO SAILED ON THE MAYFLOWER.

LITHGOW: NO.

OH MY GOD.

MY GOD.

AND THIS IS WILLIAM BRADFORD?

GATES: THIS IS WILLIAM BRADFORD.

YOUR 9TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS ON THE MAYFLOWER.

LITHGOW: I DIDN'T KNOW THIS.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

LITHGOW: UH, UH, I, I'M NOT SURE I LIVED UP TO MY OWN ANCESTORS.

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

GATES: WILLIAM AND HIS FELLOW PURITANS BOARDED THE MAYFLOWER HOPING TO CREATE A RELIGIOUS HAVEN IN THE NEWLY-FOUNDED COLONY OF VIRGINIA.

BUT THEY NEVER GOT THERE.

THEIR SHIP WAS BLOWN OFF COURSE, AND LANDED NEAR WHAT IS NOW PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS.

BY THAT TIME, MOST OF THE PASSENGERS WERE HORRIBLY SEASICK.

SO THEY DECIDED TO SETTLE WHERE THE WINDS HAD TAKEN THEM.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE PURITANS HAD NO WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE, AND THEY WERE COMPLETELY UNPREPARED FOR THE NEW ENGLAND CLIMATE.

WILLIAM KEPT A JOURNAL, DETAILING WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

LITHGOW: "MR. ED WINSLOW, HIS WIFE DIED THE FIRST WINTER.

MR. ALLERTON, HIS WIFE DIED WITH THE FIRST.

JOHN CRACKSTON DIED IN THE FIRST MORTALITY.

CAPTAIN STANDISH, HIS WIFE DIED IN THE FIRST SICKNESS.

MR. MARTIN, HE AND ALL HIS DIED IN THE FIRST INFECTION.

MR. MULLINS AND HIS WIFE, HIS SON, AND HIS SERVANT DIED THE FIRST WINTER.

MR. WHITE AND HIS TWO SERVANTS DIED SOON AFTER THEIR LANDING.

GATES: THE FIRST YEAR IN PLYMOUTH WAS A DISASTER.

IN JUST THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS, 52 OF THE 102 ORIGINAL MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS DIED OF STARVATION OR DISEASE.

WILLIAM WATCHED HELPLESSLY, RECORDING THAT RECORD ALL ALONG, AS PEOPLE PERISHED ALL AROUND HIM.

LITHGOW: THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE.

THIS IS JUST UNBELIEVABLE.

(SIGHS).

I MEAN YOU THINK, IT'S LIKE GOD FLIPPING A COIN.

I MEAN...

IF HALF THE PEOPLE WHO DIED IN THAT COMMUNITY HAD INCLUDED HIM, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE ENTIRE LINE.

GATES: YEAH.

LITHGOW: EVER SINCE.

GATES: INCLUDING YOU.

LITHGOW: GOD.

THIS IS, UH, I'M COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED BY THIS.

GATES: WILLIAM NOT ONLY SURVIVED THE FIRST WINTER IN MASSACHUSETTS, HE BECAME A LEADER.

WHEN THE FIRST GOVERNOR OF THE PLYMOUTH COLONY PERISHED, WILLIAM WAS ELECTED TO TAKE HIS PLACE.

HE WENT ON TO BE RE-ELECTED 30 TIMES, GUIDING THE COLONY TO A STABILITY THAT WAS UNIMAGINABLE WHEN IT BEGAN.

AND THAT'S NOT WILLIAM'S ONLY LEGACY.

IN THE SPRING OF 1623, HE MARRIED A FELLOW PURITAN NAMED ALICE SOUTHWORTH.

BETWEEN THEM, THEY PRODUCED SOME RATHER REMARKABLE DESCENDANTS.

INCLUDING THE FAMED PAINTER FREDERICK EDWIN CHURCH, MY FORMER NEIGHBOR, JULIA CHILDS.

LITHGOW: NO.

GATES: YEAH.

LITHGOW: NO!

GATES: THE NOVELIST THOMAS PYNCHON.

LITHGOW: NO.

GATES: AND YOUR FELLOW ACTORS ALEC BALDWIN, CLINT EASTWOOD, AND SALLY FIELD.

LITHGOW: MY GOD.

GATES: YOU ARE ALL DISTANT COUSINS VIA YOUR 9TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

LITHGOW: OH MY GOD.

GATES: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT?

LITHGOW: THAT'S PHENOMENAL.

GATES: DID YOU, COULD YOU EVER IMAGINE YOU'RE A COUSIN WITH CLINT EASTWOOD?

LITHGOW: NO.

WHY WON'T HE HIRE ME?

GATES: WE HAD ALREADY EXPLORED MARIA HINOJOSA'S FATHER'S FAMILY TREE, TRACING IT TO SPAIN IN THE AGE OF THE CONQUISTADORS.

NOW, TURNING TO MARIA'S MOTHER'S ANCESTRY, WE WOULD FIND OURSELVES BACK IN SPAIN, VIA A VERY DIFFERENT ROUTE.

DURING HER CHILDHOOD VISITS TO MEXICO, MARIA'S MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER TOLD HER FANCIFUL STORIES OF RELATIONS TO SPANISH NOBILITY, AND MARIA WANTED TO KNOW IF THESE STORIES WERE TRUE.

MOVING BACK A GENERATION, TO HER GREAT-GRANDFATHER BENITO VALDEZ, WE BEGAN TO UNTANGLE THIS QUESTION.

HINOJOSA: WHOA.

"MIGRATION SERVICE REGISTER OF FOREIGNERS IS EXPEDITED ON EIGHTH OF APRIL 1930 TO BENITO TERESA Y VALDES WHOSE LEGAL STAY IN MEXICO IS PROVEN WITH THIS CARD."

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: MY GOODNESS.

"ENTERED MEXICO BY VERACRUZ ON 13TH OF FEBRUARY, 1884.

AGE, 66.

NATIVE LANGUAGE, SPANISH.

CURRENT NATIONALITY, SPANISH."

WHOA.

GATES: SO, THEY TOOK A CENSUS OF FOREIGN NATIONALS, RIGHT, AND THERE'S A PHOTO OF HIM.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THAT?

HINOJOSA: NEVER.

THERE, IT'S, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT FOR ME, UM, BEING AN IMMIGRANT SO CLOSELY TIED TO MY IMMIGRANT ROOTS IN THE UNITED STATES, THAT SEEING NOW THAT MY OWN FAMILY WERE CONSIDERED FOREIGNERS TO MEXICO, THE COUNTRY THAT I AM BORN IN.

GATES: RIGHT.

HINOJOSA: YOU KNOW, AND THAT A FORMAL REGISTRY, UM, THAT'S DEFINITELY, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING.

GATES: BENITO IS LISTED HERE AS BEING SPANISH, BUT HE WASN'T ACTUALLY FROM SPAIN.

HE WAS BORN AROUND 1863 IN HAVANA, CUBA, WHERE HIS FATHER, A SPANIARD NAMED ANTONIO TERESA CALLEJA, WAS A BUSINESSMAN AND COMMERCIAL LAND OWNER.

MARIA HAD NO IDEA THAT HER FAMILY HAD ANY CONNECTION TO CUBA, AND HAD NEVER HEARD OF ANTONIO.

BUT ANTONIO IS HER GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER, AND, AS IT TURNS OUT, HE WAS EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL.

HINOJOSA: "THIS PAST NOVEMBER A VENTURE CAPITAL PARTNERSHIP WAS CREATED BY D ANTONIO TERESA CALLEJA, D GABRIEL DE JUNCO Y JUNCO, D GABINO J CORTINA, ALL WITH THE SAME RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS AND FOURTHS, TO PERFORM AT THEIR COST THE RESEARCH FOR AN AFFORDABLE RAILWAY."

GATES: RIGHT.

HINOJOSA: "CALLED ASTURIANO MONTAÑÉS, FROM OVIEDO TO TORRELAVEGA."

GATES: IN 1872, YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER ANTONIO WAS ONE OF FOUR PRINCIPAL INVESTORS IN A RAILWAY LINE IN THE NORTH OF SPAIN.

HINOJOSA: WOW.

GATES: THAT'S AMAZING!

THE VENTURE RECEIVED ITS LICENSE FROM THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT IN 1881 AND THREE YEARS LATER YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER ANTONIO WAS NAMED THE RAILWAY'S C-E-O.

(LAUGHTER) HE WAS THE MAN.

HINOJOSA: WOW.

I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT THIS FOR MY KIDS.

GATES: OH, YEAH.

HINOJOSA: SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND, LIKE, THE KIND OF, IN THIS CASE, YOU KNOW, HARD-NOSED BUSINESSMEN, UM, WHO THEY DESCEND FROM.

GATES: ANTONIO WAS MORE THAN JUST A HARD-NOSED BUSINESSMAN.

HE WAS BORN AROUND 1820 IN ASTURIAS, A PROVINCE IN NORTHERN SPAIN.

AND AS WE DUG INTO HIS ROOTS, WE FOUND WHAT HAD PERHAPS INSPIRED MARIA'S GRANDMOTHER'S STORIES.

IN THE 1831 SPANISH CENSUS, ANTONIO'S PARENTS, MARIA'S GREAT-GREAT- GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, ARE LISTED AS BEING HIDALGOS.

ANY IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS?

HINOJOSA: NO.

GATES: OKAY.

THE TERM HIDALGO OR HIDALGUÍA REFERS TO A HEREDITARY PETTY NOBLE OR MEMBER OF THE GENTRY.

(LAUGHTER) IT IS A TITLE.

YOU COME FROM SPANISH NOBILITY.

HINOJOSA: OH, COME ON.

NO.

SO, MY GRANDMOTHER WAS RIGHT.

ABUELITA WAS ALWAYS LIKE, "WE ARE TIED TO SPANISH NOBILITY," AND I'M LIKE, YEAH, RIGHT, REALLY?

COME ON.

IT'S NOT TRUE.

GATES: IT'S TRUE.

THIS FORM OF NOBILITY DIDN'T INDICATE MAJOR WEALTH, BUT HIDALGOS WERE EXEMPT FROM PAYING TAXES AND RECEIVED PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT WHEN IT CAME TO OBTAINING GOVERNMENT POSTS.

HINOJOSA: WOW!

GATES: I HAD ONE FINAL DETAIL TO SHARE WITH MARIA, A SURPRISE ENCODED IN HER OWN CHROMOSOMES.

WE HAD SPENT MUCH OF OUR TIME TOGETHER TRACING HER EUROPEAN ROOTS.

BUT WHEN WE ANALYZED HER MITOCHONDRIAL DNA, THE GENETIC FINGERPRINT PASSED DOWN FROM MOTHER TO CHILD ACROSS GENERATIONS, WE FOUND THAT HER DIRECT MATERNAL LINE TRACED BACK TO PLACES THAT ARE FAR FROM EUROPE, PLACES THAT ILLUMINATE A FUNDAMENTAL ASPECT OF HER MEXICAN HERITAGE.

HINOJOSA: NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA?

GATES: NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA.

IT MEANS YOU ARE DESCENDED FROM A NATIVE AMERICAN GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT- GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

HINOJOSA: REALLY?

GATES: REALLY.

RIGHT THERE.

YOU ARE DESCENDED NOT FROM A EUROPEAN WOMAN.

YOU ARE DESCENDED FROM A NATIVE AMERICAN WOMAN.

(SNIFFS) HINOJOSA: WELL, I WASN'T GOING TO EXPECT THAT THAT WAS THE THING THAT WAS GOING TO MAKE ME GET SO EMOTIONAL, BUT, UM, WOW.

YOU KNOW, I'M, WE FOCUS SO MUCH ON KIND OF THE MEN IN THE PICTURE, AND WHAT THEY DID, AND HOW THEY CONQUERED, AND UH, SO TO SEE THAT, IT'S VERY EMOTIONAL.

(SNIFFS).

GATES: WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE MARIA'S NATIVE ANCESTORS LIVED.

DNA ANALYSIS IS NOT YET ADVANCED ENOUGH TO REVEAL THIS INFORMATION.

ALL WE CAN SAY IS THAT MARIA DESCENDS FROM AN INDIGENOUS WOMAN WHO HAD A CHILD WITH A SPANIARD.

HINOJOSA: I LIKE TO THINK IT WAS LOVE.

BUT THEN THE OTHER SIDE OF ME REALIZES THAT MAYBE NOT, MAYBE NOT.

SO, IT WAS A VIOLENT CONFRONTATION, POTENTIALLY.

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: RIGHT?

AND SO I KIND OF HAVE TO PROCESS THAT.

GATES: OH, OF COURSE.

HINOJOSA: RIGHT.

GATES: THE PAPER TRAIL HAD NOW RUN OUT FOR EACH OF MY GUESTS.

IT WAS TIME TO UNFURL THEIR FAMILY TREES.

NEWLY FILLED WITH NAMES THEY'D NEVER HEARD BEFORE.

FOR JOHN, THE MOMENT YIELDED A SINGULAR SURPRISE: MANY OF HIS LINES CONVERGED ON A NOW FAMILIAR JOURNEY.

ALL IN ALL, YOU HAVE EIGHT, EIGHT DOCUMENTED ANCESTORS WHO ARRIVED ON THE MAYFLOWER IN 1620, THE MOST OF ANY GUEST IN OUR SERIES TODAY.

LITHGOW: OH MY GOD.

GATES: AND THEY ARE ALL MARKED WITH AN IMAGE OF A SHIP IN THEIR RESPECTIVE BOXES.

SEE THEM?

LITHGOW: MY GOD.

WELL, YOU CERTAINLY, I'VE GROWN TWO INCHES SINCE I SAT DOWN THERE.

GATES: FOR MARIA, SEEING HER ROOTS STRETCH DEEP INTO BOTH SPAIN AND MEXICO, LED HER TO REFLECT ON HER OWN IDENTITY, AS AN AMERICAN.

HINOJOSA: I'M SO THANKFUL BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I TELL PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY TO DO IS TO TALK ABOUT WHERE THEY CAME FROM.

GATES: MM-HMM.

HINOJOSA: THAT'S WHAT I ALWAYS SAY, IS FIND YOUR STORY, ASK YOUR PARENTS.

GATES: RIGHT.

HAS OUR EXPERIENCE TOGETHER THIS AFTERNOON CHANGED ANYTHING ABOUT HOW YOU SEE YOURSELF?

HINOJOSA: OH, ABSOLUTELY.

OH MY GOD.

OH.

I MEAN, IN MY CORE, I STILL KNOW WHO I AM, RIGHT?

I'M, I'M A PERSON WHO I, YOU KNOW, I, I HAVE FORMED THIS PERSON.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I FEEL LIKE I'VE ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD THAT I WAS AN "OTHER" IN THIS COUNTRY EVEN THOUGH I'M A CITIZEN, AND I STILL SEE MYSELF IN THAT WAY.

UM, BUT NOW, JUST WITH KIND OF MORE, MORE WORLDLY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT MY ROLE IS IN THIS COUNTRY.

GATES: TO ME, YOUR GENOME AND YOUR GENETIC HERITAGE INDICATE THAT YOU'RE A REAL AMERICAN.

I MEAN, THIS IS WHAT AMERICA LOOKS LIKE.

AMERICA LOOKS LIKE YOU.

IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR GENOME.

HINOJOSA: THAT, THAT IS WHAT I NEEDED TO HEAR.

GATES: MY TIME WITH MY GUESTS WAS RUNNING OUT, BUT THERE WAS ONE MORE REVELATION STILL TO COME.

WHEN WE COMPARED JOHN'S DNA TO THAT OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN IN OUR SERIES, WE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT MATCH, EVIDENCE OF A RELATIVE HE DIDN'T KNOW HE HAD.

A RELATIVE WHOSE JOURNEY, MADE LONG AGO BROUGHT JOHN AND I CLOSER TOGETHER.

YOU WANT TO MEET YOUR DNA COUSIN?

LITHGOW: YES.

GATES: YOU HAVE TO TURN THE PAGE AND FIND OUT.

LITHGOW: HUP, NO.

GATES: YEAH.

LITHGOW: NO.

GATES: YES.

WE ARE RELATED.

I AM 50% EUROPEAN.

AND I DESCEND FROM A WHITE WOMAN UH ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE, WHO WAS ENGLISH.

LITHGOW: MY GOD!

GATES: ISN'T THAT AMAZING?

LITHGOW: WHAT A FANTASTIC ENDING.

OH.

MY BROTHER.

GATES: THAT'S THE END OF OUR SEARCH FOR THE ANCESTORS OF JOHN LITHGOW AND MARIA HINOJOSA.

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