Season 9: All Episode Talk

[okerry]

On 3/14/2017 at 5:44 PM, Mittengirl said:

Has anyone else wondered if there is something we are doing today that will cause our 3x descendants to be ashamed of us?  Being carnivorous?  Using fossil fuels?  Drinking bottled water? 

Great question. I'd say it will be allowing ourselves to become a nation of obese wimps who spend all their time on the phone and on-line, living vicariously through others and destroying our health with junk food, alcohol, and drugs.

So ya'll get off this here computer and go outside for a while, so yer great-grandkids ain't ashamed of ya! ;)

[ShelleySue]

I know that I've said it before, but to me the episodes this season seem to be shorter (less content) than in previous seasons.  How long did they spend with Noah reading the suicide newspaper article?  It just seemed like filler to me.  I would like to have known why the ancestor moved from New York to Louisiana.  The expert (I'm sorry, I forgot her name) hinted that he may have been somehow employed in a slave trade industry, but then that was never pursued.  

I was impressed with Noah Wylie.  He seemed to be very articulate and knowledgable.  

[millk]

I just had the thought that Miss CoCo Arquette is a very lucky girl genealogical wise with her mother doing this season and her aunt Patricia doing it in a previous season. They probably give them way more information than we see on the show so she has a lot of info.

[Arynm]

My first thought of this episode was "boring!!" but I really have changed my mind. I think it was because he didn't make it all about him and so the drama and tears and trying to explain away an ancestors actions was missing. I really liked that he just wanted some info and when his ancestor joined the Confederate army he didn't wail and ring his hands and proclaim him a bad person. There were many reasons to fight on either side, good and bad. It has nothing to do with Noah and he knew it. I really like him and his ability to separate his ancestors past from him.

I live in the south my family is Jewish so no Civil War for me, they were in Russia and Lithuania at the time, but my husbands line I can trace to the Revolutionary War. My daughter could join DAR if she wanted. We have all kinds on that tree, Union, confederate, slave owners, Rebels and I am sure a few Loyalists. It is an amazing tree and I am so glad that my daughter is interested, or it all gets lost. 

[Mom2twoNonna2-3]

I'm a genealogy nerd. I discovered today that my 3rd great grandfather committed suicide by hanging. On  your grandfather's 7th birthday no less. Suffice to say that the newspaper write up was not nearly as long as Mr. Mills was. Poor Noah. Makes me wonder why mine did.

[Spencer Hastings]

Sensational suicide!  Blew his brains out! Blood soaked pillow!

Journalism at its finest.

[JennyMominFL]

12 hours ago, Spencer Hastings said:

Sensational suicide!  Blew his brains out! Blood soaked pillow!

Journalism at its finest.

 Graphic depictions were really common in newspapers back then. I had an ancestor who was killed by an icicle falling on his head. The newspaper is quite graphic in describing the damage to his head

[Mom2twoNonna2-3]

How horrific. My article just said he was found hanging. The death certificate. told it was suicide but hanging. Depression era..1934.

[camom]

Finally watched Noah Wyle and I really appreciated his low key approach.  He is obviously a thoughtful and intelligent man who enjoys history.  There was no anguish over the fact that his ancestor fought for the confederacy.  His thoughts about suicide were also interesting, like he realized that his GGG grandfather thought he was doing the best thing for the family.  

[Snarklepuss]

I just caught up with this episode too, and I also appreciated Noah's balanced and relatively healthy attitude toward his ancestors.  I also found him to be a thoughtful, intelligent man.  Given some of the past people on this show, he was a breath of fresh air, LOL.

I thought that perhaps his 3rd GF's sudden lack of money may have been from investing in some speculative ventures that failed.  I know in my own family I had a relative that invested in a few southern gold mines that didn't "pan out", so to speak.  Those things were kind of common in the 19th century, especially during the Reconstruction era.

I never came across any graphic newspaper articles about my ancestor's deaths, but one GGF was a cop on the waterfront in 19th century Brooklyn who was responsible for a high profile murder arrest and in the article was a rather gory description of the body that was fished out of the harbor.  I know that once photography came on the scene newspapers often had gruesome photographs of murder victims that would never make it into the paper today.

[Lugal]

Finally caught up on this one as well.  Since Noah Wyle is a history buff, his reactions make sense.  He took everything in stride and saw it in the context of the times, and didn't get emotional about it, knowing a man of means in the Deep South at the time would have fought for the Confederacy (if he didn't pay for a substitute) and would likely have been involved in the slave trade.  Noah did get emotional about the suicide, but I think because that confronted some of his assumptions.

I also never found any newspaper articles about an ancestor's death, but I did find a deposition that after one ancestor died his wife ran off with a gambler two days later.  Apparently that was the talk of the town for a while.

[JeanneH]

On 3/27/2017 at 2:11 AM, sskrill said:

"Blew out his brains" in a newspaper article.  My how times have changed.

I'd like to know why NY to Baton Rouge as well.

In 1945 a train hit a car carrying my mom's aunt and her family, killing them all. The local papers were amazingly descriptive, to the point of telling readers where the bodies were located (in car, on tracks, etc), what the people's injuries were, and whose severed body parts were recovered where. The detail really surprised me. My mom won't read it.

Edited April 2, 2017 by JeanneH

[TiredMe]

I finally got caught up watching episodes this season. I liked Noah and Jennifer. I also find the embarrassment over what an ancestor did strange. It's not you that did whatever so why all the relief or embarrassment at certain things? 

I have quite an extensive tree that I put together. My 7th ggf murdered my 7th ggm and became the first murderer of record in a pre WV Virginia county so certain books detail what happened quite extensively. I found it completely fascinating although my dad asked me not to tell anyone that. Lol 

at any rate I am enjoying this season so far. 

[mythoughtis]

Jessica - you do not pick a  religion just  because your Great grandfather was Jewish. 

[Mom2twoNonna2-3]

Her family didn't raise her in a religion. Why can't she look into it and see if it's for her?

[mythoughtis]

She can. My point was she didn't say - I should check into this religion that I apparently never looked at before and see if I believe their tenets of faith. She said ' oh I just 5 minutes ago in this conversation discovered my ancestor was Jewish, so obviously that's the religious community for me'.    At the next stop she says- my friends all think it's cool and want to throw me a bat mizvah.  

[Spencer Hastings]

I watched this episode solely because they were in St. Louis and Alton, IL--both of which are 10-20 minute drives from me.  It was cool to see creepy Alton featured on the show, I wish they'd shown a little more. 

This episode felt a little choppy to me. Jessica seemed really into the Jewish aspect of her ancestry. It's been some years, but she may have been a part of that large influx of celebrities who tried out Kabbalah when it was trendy.  To know that her biological makeup is linked to European Jews may have made her feel more connected or something.  

[Ina123]

3 hours ago, Spencer Hastings said:

To know that her biological makeup is linked to European Jews may have made her feel more connected or something.  

I agree. Not only did she feel a connection but she wanted a connection. I enjoyed the episode.

[Chicklet]

I liked this one, she was engaged and quite engaging. I can understand her shock about finding out about her Jewish ancestors as I had the same experience. I didn't get the idea that she decided to be Jewish just because they were, it sounded like she wanted to find out more about it.

[JennyMominFL]

10 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

She can. My point was she didn't say - I should check into this religion that I apparently never looked at before and see if I believe their tenets of faith. She said ' oh I just 5 minutes ago in this conversation discovered my ancestor was Jewish, so obviously that's the religious community for me'.    At the next stop she says- my friends all think it's cool and want to throw me a bat mizvah.  

I think she said Bar Mitzvah, which tells me she has a lot to learn about Judaism

Edited April 3, 2017 by JennyMominFL

[Mom2twoNonna2-3]

2 hours ago, JennyMominFL said:

I think she sad Bar Mitzvah, which tells me she has a lot to learn about Judaism

I thought the same thing. I hope she takes the time to learn about it and decide if it's for her. Not everyone is into religion, but, for those who are it's a grounding foundation. I feel she wants to do well with her kid(s) and this journey was a place to start for her. She did say she wants to learn about her Hungarian heritage.

 

I felt a little bad for her when she found out there was no Native American in her DNA. But, she's glad to know the truth and pass it up the line to her mother and grandmother.

 I'm off to work on my ancestry.com account now. Hope I have no prison escapes. I've already found suicide by hanging and fractured skull from being run over by trolley car. 

[Matryoshka]

Was this the first episode where the celebrity did their own narration?

[sskrill]

I knew her name but I've never seen her in anything that I know of - I really liked her.  "Lies!  Lies!" had me cracking up.

I can completely identify with her surprise and curiosity about the faith.  My mothers side is Episcopalian and my fathers is Eastern Orthodox.  Yet my mothers maiden name is the most common Hungarian Jewish surname, and I've discovered my fathers family is from a small Ukranian town that appears to be all Jewish.  No one on either side of the family seems to be aware of any Jewish heritage though.

I liked this episode - she found things she'd never heard of, and the things she'd always been told turned out to be completely wrong - for me this is what this show is all about.

And I got the small bonus of finding a celebrity who seems to be a generally pleasant person.  

[Emily Thrace]

13 hours ago, Mom2twoNonna2one said:

I thought the same thing. I hope she takes the time to learn about it and decide if it's for her. Not everyone is into religion, but, for those who are it's a grounding foundation. I feel she wants to do well with her kid(s) and this journey was a place to start for her. She did say she wants to learn about her Hungarian heritage.

 

I felt a little bad for her when she found out there was no Native American in her DNA. But, she's glad to know the truth and pass it up the line to her mother and grandmother.

As someone with actual Native American roots (My mothers family is Cree) I didn't feel too sorry for her. Her story where the family didn't know what tribe they are from is exactly the type of thing we actual Native people call Generokee to make fun of them.  There is a strong sentiment in the Native community that actual being Native American is more than just DNA. Partly because of people like Jessica's family but also probably partly because that's how the government tries to define us. Ironically enough its not unlike the question of who is Jewish Including the fact that you would probably get a different answer depending on which member of the community you ask. Its also irritating how many people brag about native roots like it makes them magical but tend to have no idea and often times don't care about the issues facing actual native people today.

That said I do wonder if anyone ever pointed out that the Ancestry DNA test doesn't completely rule out Jessica having a Native ancestor. The further back someone is in your family tree the less likely you are to share DNA with them. In fact its technically possible to not share any DNA with one of your grandparents. (Although its very unlikely) I suppose that was the only way they had to verify it. Although I would think that something that would have been recorded in the census at least, the same it would have recorded if you were black or Jewish. That's something I would like to see on this show. There is a lot of Native American history that would be interesting to explore.

[Galloway Cave]

18 minutes ago, Emily Thrace said:

Her story where the family didn't know what tribe they are from is exactly the type of thing we actual Native people call Generokee to make fun of them. 

I was contacted by a distant cousin after he found my tree on Ancestry. He was descended from my great-great-aunt on my mom's side, who moved away from the family when she married at age 16 and the family had eventually lost contact with her. All of her descendants were convinced she was NA based solely on a very poorly painted portrait of her and just would not believe me when I told them the family was Scottish. We knew her grandfather had come over from Scotland in the late 1700's. My mom's DNA is 99.8% British Isles and .2% African American. They are all slowly coming around to the Scottish bloodline story but really hate giving up the NA story. Some are clinging to the fact that you may not share DNA, like you stated Emily Thrace. Ironically, all the descendants look exactly like the rest of my mom's family; the family genetics are strong!

I laughed when Jessica named the two NA tribes her mother and grandmother argued about. One was Cherokee and the other was a tribe that was located in the upper midwest (can't remember the name). At least pick tribes that are located near each other!

I LOVED the black dress Jessica wore halfway through the episode. She really dressed up for the majority of the show. 

[Emily Thrace]

6 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

I was contacted by a distant cousin after he found my tree on Ancestry. He was descended from my great-great-aunt on my mom's side, who moved away from the family when she married at age 16 and the family had eventually lost contact with her. All of her descendants were convinced she was NA based solely on a very poorly painted portrait of her and just would not believe me when I told them the family was Scottish. We knew her grandfather had come over from Scotland in the late 1700's. My mom's DNA is 99.8% British Isles and .2% African American. They are all slowly coming around to the Scottish bloodline story but really hate giving up the NA story. Some are clinging to the fact that you may not share DNA, like you stated Emily Thrace. Ironically, all the descendants look exactly like the rest of my mom's family; the family genetics are strong!. 

LOL, its funny but when Jessica Biel was talking about being Native American, I took a good look at her and I wasn't seeing it. While NA colouring can fade out in a generation or two there are traits like bone structure and hair texture (something I suspect most people don't realize is that Aboriginal's have a unique hair texture much like Africans or Asians.  Its actually one way I figure out if an Actor is Aboriginal or not  in tv shows) that can linger and Jessica Biel doesn't have any of them. I was not shocked by her DNA results partly for that reason.

[Snarklepuss]

Jessica's experience with not knowing she had any Jewish roots confirms something I found out after I was contacted by a man who was matched within a few generations to my father's Y chromosome, which is his Jewish side.  The man even shared a shortened version of my Dad's last name, but it's a common German name and the man had been told by his father that their heritage was German.  This was a few years before Ancestry.com marketed the DNA test for ethnicity so only the autosomal and YDNA tests were available, which didn't tell you where you were from, just how many generations ago you might be related to someone else who also took the test. 

Anyway, I agreed to speak on the phone with this person as he was very eager to find out more about his ancestry.  He started out by asking me where in Germany my father's father's relatives were from.  I told him they weren't German, they were Ashkenazi Jews who came to the US from Russia/Poland some time in the late 19th/early 20th century.  He was suddenly quiet, like crickets and I could feel through the telephone that this guy's head almost exploded.  He insisted that his father's father's side was German, and not German Jewish either, even though he didn't even know where in Germany they were supposedly from.  All he knew is that his 2nd great grandfather supposedly came over from Germany sometime in the late 19th century.  I told him I was sorry I couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear but I was 100% certain that my father's father's side was 100% Ashkenazi Jew.  He acted as if I were insulting him and soon started yelling into the phone that I was lying and that couldn't possibly be true.  I ended the phone call abruptly after that as I didn't want to be drawn into an argument.  This was the first time in my life I had ever felt prejudice for having Jewish ethnicity.  I am only 25% Jewish by blood, plus my Dad was raised a Christian due to his father not being religious plus his parents' divorce when he was a kid.  So I was not raised in the Jewish culture despite growing up in a Jewish neighborhood in NYC.  I was always very conscious of not being Jewish in that milieu.  So this was new to me. 

Anyway, the thing I had read after this experience was that there were actually a lot of Jews who came over to the US in the 19th and early 20th centuries that did not want to be identified as Jews and concealed their true identities.  If they came over as young, single people without any family this was easy to do as no one would know better.  They may have moved from NY to the Midwest or other areas alone, so it was easy to adopt a new identity.  In those days it was easy to fake it because DNA tests didn't exist and when people moved far away from their families they often lost all contact with them.  So it is definitely possible that Jessica's ancestor was one of those Jews.  I have no doubt he probably married into the Christian faith and "passed" as a Christian.  I am very impressed with the way she handled it, though.  She seemed open and balanced about it, not disappointed or angry.

Re: the Native American thing - I think Jessica should take the 23 and Me test as I've found it can pick up more trace ethnicities than Ancestry.com's test, probably because the sample size is larger.  My husband had a similar legend in his family but turned up with no Native American DNA via 23 and Me, but if it was that far back, like someone else said upthread, it may not show up.  After 3 or 4 generations it's possible for it not to show up in one's DNA.  I told him his sister should take the test because it could show up in her DNA even if it isn't in his.  In my own experience pretty much all of my own family legends turned out to be true, and any story that refuses to die really shouldn't be called a "lie" because it could still be true.  My grandmother was told tales that she was descended from Revolutionary War heroes and Green Mountain Boys and all of that turned out to be 100% true much to our surprise (which we found out long after she died unfortunately so she never found out the legends were confirmed).

Interesting episode!  I think Jessica is beautiful and I loved everything she wore.  That top she was wearing in the first half of the show looks a lot like one I just bought!

[riverblue22]

Apparently the Native American ancestry story is a common myth.  My 94 year-old third cousin recently told me that she has a Native American g.g.grandmother, so I worked on her tree to see if I could find it.  I did find the woman and there seems to be very little information about her.  But since my cousin recently sent in her DNA test, I thought I would wait and see what that tells us, before I try to track down any more info on  her ancestor.

A good friend of mine does have Native American ancestry.  She would like to find out what tribe she is from though.  She thinks her ancestor was Apache but they lied and said they were from another tribe, because no one would hire Apaches at the time.  Anyone know of a test that distinguishes tribes?

[Galloway Cave]

1 hour ago, riverblue22 said:

Anyone know of a test that distinguishes tribes?

From what I have read, no. All you can do is trace back where the family was located and try and associate them with tribes in that area. I could be wrong, there is always new info coming out! Plus some NA in the west, such as the Navajos and Apaches, are descended from Asians, so there may be different markers.

My parents and I took the 23andMe tests because they are supposed to be a bit more detailed than the Ancestry tests, but when I scrape up some more money, I will take the Ancestry tests just to try and make a few more family connections.

10 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

He acted as if I were insulting him and soon started yelling into the phone that I was lying and that couldn't possibly be true. 

People suck. If he wasn't prepared to know about his ancestry, then he shouldn't have gone digging. No such thing as skeletons in the closet, just the truth about our lovely folks! Like finding out about my grandmother's SIX husbands (not counting my bio grandfather, who she didn't marry), my g-g-uncle's NA family that was hidden due to the hypocrites in my family, my dad's maternal wildcatter family and their tendency to marry again without divorcing, Olaf The Black, my various Scottish Clans and the official and unofficial dependents......

[Lugal]

Fascinating episode.  Jessica seemed very level-headed and interested in what she learned.  As for not knowing she was part Jewish, it's easy for family stories to be lost.  That said it was fun to watch her explore the family legend about the ancestor who fought in the Civil War and see how it got shifted and changed over the years.

12 hours ago, Emily Thrace said:

As someone with actual Native American roots (My mothers family is Cree) I didn't feel too sorry for her. Her story where the family didn't know what tribe they are from is exactly the type of thing we actual Native people call Generokee to make fun of them.  There is a strong sentiment in the Native community that actual being Native American is more than just DNA.

It's interesting because I had a similar experience once when I got talking to a coworker about being Pennsylvania Dutch, and she said that she was too and my first thought was "no, you aren't" (I didn't say it out loud though) because she came from California and didn't grow up in PA Dutch Country, in the culture.
That said, she should have had the grandparents do a DNA test to know for sure.  My mom recently had a DNA test and we were surprised to see she had a 2% Central Asian ethnicity that I did not inherit.

37 minutes ago, Galloway Cave said:

My parents and I took the 23andMe tests because they are supposed to be a bit more detailed than the Ancestry tests, but when I scrape up some more money, I will take the Ancestry tests just to try and make a few more family connections.

A thing to consider with the Ancestry tests, is that people can link the results to their posted family trees and often times those trees are wrong.

[Galloway Cave]

18 minutes ago, Lugal said:

often times those trees are wrong.

Don't get me started with Ancestry trees! I will research the hell out of something before I put it in my tree, sometimes for years even. I'd rather store something in my shoebox than place it in my tree, until I am sure. With only male names (predominantly) being used in the pre-1850 censuses, it can be confusing to know which Isaac or John or Jacob is the right line to follow, especially if you aren't sure about the number of children born to the family.

[Cyranetta]

One thing I found both charming and true was her statement that family stories are the biggest version of "Telephone."

[ShelleySue]

On April 4, 2017 at 0:25 AM, Emily Thrace said:

That said I do wonder if anyone ever pointed out that the Ancestry DNA test doesn't completely rule out Jessica having a Native ancestor. The further back someone is in your family tree the less likely you are to share DNA with them. In fact its technically possible to not share any DNA with one of your grandparents. (Although its very unlikely) I suppose that was the only way they had to verify it. Although I would think that something that would have been recorded in the census at least, the same it would have recorded if you were black or Jewish. That's something I would like to see on this show. There is a lot of Native American history that would be interesting to explore.

This article explains it very well.  

I just wanted to add that I'm currently working on my family tree and despite 23andMe and ancestry confirming that I'm over 90% Ashkenazi Jewish, I don't have one single Ottilia on my tree.  

Edited April 5, 2017 by ShelleySue
forgot something

[Ina123]

On ‎4‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 11:31 PM, sskrill said:

And I got the small bonus of finding a celebrity who seems to be a generally pleasant person.  

Me too. Down to earth.

[Snarklepuss]

11 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

This article explains it very well. 

Yes, it does, thanks for posting that.  It's pretty much the nutshell version of everything I've read on the subject and a good reason to not just dismiss family legends as "lies" without more research.

Speaking of how DNA tests can differ, my father and I both took the 23 and Me DNA tests and the Ancestry.com tests and the percentages are different for both of us on both tests.  For example, on the 23 and Me test I am told I am 11.8% British and Irish while on the Ancestry.com test I am supposedly only 5%, both through my Father's side.  Complicating that is that 23 and Me has a feature where the percentages change depending on the percentage of "confidence" you choose.  The higher confidence you choose, the lower your percentages.  The more speculative they are the higher they are.  So comparing them to another test is kind of difficult because Ancestry.com doesn't offer more than one confidence level.  And which confidence level is your "real" result?  Well, that depends on how you look at it!

Another curiosity is that on the 23 and Me test I come up with .5% Sub Saharan African on my mother's side (which was interpolated based on knowing it didn't come from my father's side as my test and his are linked and compared on the site).  Meanwhile I don't show up with any Sub Saharan African at all on the Ancestry.com test.  I understand that with such a low percentage the result could either be in error or it didn't somehow match the sample on the Ancestry.com test.  Such low percentages usually mean there was one ancestor several generations ago that was either part or all that ethnicity, but it didn't get repeated again.

Also interesting is that over the years my percentages have changed on both tests because of new, supposedly more accurate samples and comparisons.  So one's results can even change over time as the testing methods are improved.  As the sample group grows or improves to more accurately reflect that ethnicity and everyone's results are continually compared to the new samples, the percentages change.  So these results are not static whatsoever and are really only estimates based on comparisons to an ever changing sample group. Jessica Biel may in fact one day log into 23 and Me a few years from now and find that 1% Native American that she thought she didn't have. 

[ElleMo]

Was anyone else a little suspicious of Smokey Robinson's grandfather?  How can be sure that they followed the correct one?..  B.J. Smith seems like a very common name.  I n my research have found many people within the sameor similar names born the same year in the same town.

[Mom2twoNonna2-3]

I saw a bj Smith in that directory on the next line as a laborer I think. How can they be sure that wasn't him?

[Emily Thrace]

1 hour ago, ElleMo said:

Was anyone else a little suspicious of Smokey Robinson's grandfather?  How can be sure that they followed the correct one?..  B.J. Smith seems like a very common name.  I n my research have found many people within the sameor similar names born the same year in the same town.

They were tracking the age in a addition to the middle initial. You might get another Benjamin J Smith but its not likely you would get one the same age. Also Smith is obviously common but Benjamin isn't that common. Its not unusual but its not like James or William where there would be 5 in every county. I also suspect they might have had other documents that were edited out for times sake. Personally I was wondering if Benjamin might have had more kids with the third wife. It would have been something interesting to find that you had a whole other branch of the family on the show. I think the player an the preacher aren't as incompatible as you would think. A lot of clergyman get into that line of work because they are charismatic and it feeds their ego as much as any spiritual calling.

[Spencer Hastings]

Another score for the St. Louis area.  Smokey's story was particularly interesting to me because my own family research on a particular branch starts in Memphis (Shelby county) and ends in East St. Louis.  There were first wives, secret children, and eventual families that "took" in my line as well.  Papa was a rolling stone.

 ESTL was a destination for a lot of African Americans, including my grandparents.  I've even been to the church that his grandfather started. 

[Chippings]

Continuing the thoughts of Elle and Emily, I was also a little dismayed at what seemed like some very loose ends right in there.  The City Directory listings didn't seem (looking very quickly) as if they had middle initials, and I thought there were a few Benjamins.  {If I'm wrong, somebody will correct me here.]   And of course City Directories don't tell ages, so hanging so much on that bothered me.  Still, it was Ancestry's people doing this research, and I'm assuming they had the story confirmed better than that looked from this distance.

With that being noted, I was very moved at the document from Adam Warr that verified that he had been owned by the plantation owner.  I don't think you find those kinds of things very often.  And, I really felt it when Robinson went to the land --  and said "I'm here."  I've done that, and it is as powerful as he said.   It's pleasing to see somebody else have that experience.

[Peanutbuttercup]

If I did my math right, Smokey Robinson's grandmother had her first child when she was 12 (her birth year - 1889, "Uncle Dewey" birth year - 1901)?. Was that correct, or did I mis-see a date somewhere, or get people confused?

[Granny58]

5 hours ago, Chippings said:

And, I really felt it when Robinson went to the land --  and said "I'm here."  I've done that, and it is as powerful as he said.   It's pleasing to see somebody else have that experience.

I thought the episode was rather dull, but this moment WAS profound.  

[Mom2twoNonna2-3]

4 hours ago, Peanutbuttercup said:

If I did my math right, Smokey Robinson's grandmother had her first child when she was 12 (her birth year - 1889, "Uncle Dewey" birth year - 1901)?. Was that correct, or did I mis-see a date somewhere, or get people confused?

I just looked on ancestry.com and yes she was born 7/16/1889.  In reviewing that 1910 census. It lists her as Rivers Smith, age 32. 2 children born, 3 children living. All mulatto. Which really doesn't surprise me. Her father Adam may have been a Mulatto born to the plantation owner he testified for. This episode left more questions than answers in my opinion.

[iMonrey]

I thought Smokey was maybe putting too much of a positive spin on old grandpappy Smith. Just because you're a preacher doesn't mean you aren't also a cad and he appeared to have been something of a "player" to put it kindly. No doubt there's a good reason why Smokey's grandmother never spoke of his grandfather. As my own grandmother used to say, just because you're in a church doesn't mean you're a good person, anymore than being in a garage makes you a car. Of course, it's only natural to want to find something positive to look up to when it comes to a parent or grandparent, but the whole situation seemed pretty sketchy. 

As for his great grandfather, when he wondered if his grandmother ever returned to that land, I had to imagine there was a good chance she was loathe to do so.

Edited April 10, 2017 by iMonrey

[Snarklepuss]

On 4/10/2017 at 0:30 AM, ElleMo said:

Was anyone else a little suspicious of Smokey Robinson's grandfather?  How can be sure that they followed the correct one?..  B.J. Smith seems like a very common name.  I n my research have found many people within the sameor similar names born the same year in the same town.

I wondered the same thing but in my own research I would usually know it's the right person by matching other factors that appear on the census form with previous census information, such as birth dates, addresses that matched other addresses, occupation name, children's names, etc.  There are usually ways to connect the dots with already known information to confirm that you're dealing with the right person and I figured that genealogists wouldn't assume anything without having made some pretty solid connections.  Then again in this case I wonder if they had enough of those things.

On 4/10/2017 at 6:19 PM, iMonrey said:

I thought Smokey was maybe putting too much of a positive spin on old grandpappy Smith. Just because you're a preacher doesn't mean you aren't also a cad and he appeared to have been something of a "player" to put it kindly. No doubt there's a good reason why Smokey's grandmother never spoke of his grandfather. As my own grandmother used to say, just because you're in a church doesn't mean you're a good person, anymore than being in a garage makes you a car. Of course, it's only natural to want to find something positive to look up to when it comes to a parent or grandparent, but the whole situation seemed pretty sketchy.

I think he was trying to keep an open mind about his grandfather's sketchy past, but he did make that one priceless quote about him possibly being a "preacher and a player".  I split my sides over that one!  I have always loved Smoky Robinson and this episode didn't disappoint me at all.

[Cara]

On 4/3/2017 at 11:25 PM, Emily Thrace said:

As someone with actual Native American roots (My mothers family is Cree) I didn't feel too sorry for her. Her story where the family didn't know what tribe they are from is exactly the type of thing we actual Native people call Generokee to make fun of them.  There is a strong sentiment in the Native community that actual being Native American is more than just DNA. Partly because of people like Jessica's family but also probably partly because that's how the government tries to define us. Ironically enough its not unlike the question of who is Jewish Including the fact that you would probably get a different answer depending on which member of the community you ask. Its also irritating how many people brag about native roots like it makes them magical but tend to have no idea and often times don't care about the issues facing actual native people today.

That said I do wonder if anyone ever pointed out that the Ancestry DNA test doesn't completely rule out Jessica having a Native ancestor. The further back someone is in your family tree the less likely you are to share DNA with them. In fact its technically possible to not share any DNA with one of your grandparents. (Although its very unlikely) I suppose that was the only way they had to verify it. Although I would think that something that would have been recorded in the census at least, the same it would have recorded if you were black or Jewish. That's something I would like to see on this show. There is a lot of Native American history that would be interesting to explore.

I thought you might find this interesting.

http://slate.me/2oz9ZQF

Edited April 15, 2017 by Cara

[RockShrimp]

Holy shit you guys, John Stamos is Greek?!

[crazycatlady58]

The sweetest  thing was when his cousin  gave him  the keys and they walked through  the graveyard . 

[Katydid]

That was quite a story. And then the realization that in naming John after his grandfather, his parents were unknowingly giving him the name of his great-grandfather's murderer.  Loved the sweet connection between John and his relative at the end.

[ElleMo]

This episode was my favorite in a long time.  Finding out he was named after his great grandfather's killer is pretty crazy.