Off the Farm

GATES: I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.

WELCOME TO "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL MEET MELISSA McCARTHY AND ERIC STONESTREET, TWO BRILLIANT COMEDIANS BOUND BY A COMMON THREAD.

EACH GREW UP IN RURAL AMERICA, TIED TO THEIR FAMILIES, BUT YEARNING FOR A DIFFERENT LIFE.

McCARTHY: MY SISTER AND I WOULD ALWAYS SAY, LIKE, "WHY CAN'T WE LIVE IN A SUBDIVISION?"

AND MY PARENTS WOULD JUST KIND OF LAUGH BECAUSE WE WERE ON THIS BIG BEAUTIFUL FARM.

IT COULDN'T'VE BEEN MORE LOVELY.

AND THEY WERE LIKE, "ONE DAY YOU WILL KNOW WHY THAT'S A CRAZY STATEMENT."

STONESTREET: YOU KNOW, MY DAD WAS A HARD WORKER.

SO, I WAS VERY, UH, EXPOSED TO MANUAL LABOR AT A VERY YOUNG AGE, AND MY DAD SAID, I CAN REMEMBER HIM TELLING ME, "SON, YOU COULD WATCH PEOPLE WORK ALL DAY LONG."

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

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

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

STONESTREET: OH, MY GOSH.

GATES: A RECORD OF ALL OUR DISCOVERIES.

McCARTHY: HOLY SMOKES!

WOW!

GATES: THIS MOMENT CHANGED EVERYTHING IN THE HISTORY OF YOUR FAMILY.

STONESTREET: I HAVE CHILLS!

McCARTHY: I DIDN'T KNOW THIS AT ALL.

I'M SUDDENLY SO MUCH MORE EXOTIC THAN I THOUGHT.

I LOVE IT!

GATES: MELISSA AND ERIC SHARE SIMILAR ROOTS, EACH IS A MIDWESTERNER, EACH DESCENDS FROM FARMERS, AND EACH LEFT THOSE ROOTS BEHIND TO PURSUE CAREERS THAT HAVE NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH FARMING.

IN THIS EPISODE, THEY'RE GOING TO TRAVEL FULL CIRCLE, RETRACING THE JOURNEYS THAT THEIR ANCESTORS TOOK, TO SEE WHAT THEY SHARE WITH THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO LITERALLY LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR THEIR SUCCESS.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYS) ♪ ♪ GATES: MELISSA McCARTHY IS A COMEDIC CYCLONE, FROM HER BREAK-OUT PERFORMANCE IN "BRIDESMAIDS", TO HER UNFORGETTABLE APPEARANCES ON "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE".

SHE COMBINES SLAPSTICK, IRONY, AND A SLY SENSE OF THE SURREAL IN A WAY THAT IS UTTERLY HER OWN.

BUT THIS UNBRIDLED SOUL ACTUALLY HAILS FROM A VERY RESERVED PLACE.

MELISSA GREW UP ON A FARM IN PLAINFIELD, ILLINOIS, ALONG WITH HER SISTER MARGIE, A BEVY OF CATS, AND VERY FEW NEIGHBORS.

NOT SURPRISINGLY, IT WASN'T A PERFECT MATCH.

McCARTHY: I WAS IN A LOT MORE TROUBLE.

MY SISTER WAS REALLY GOOD, AND, LIKE, FOLLOWED THE RULES AND I JUST ALWAYS PUSHED IT, PUSHED IT, AND I GOT AWAY WITH A LOT MORE.

I JUST REMEMBER LIKE MARGIE, I FEEL LIKE A THING MARGIE WOULD ALWAYS SAY IS LIKE, "IS ANYBODY GOING TO STOP HER?"

LIKE BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T DO ANY OF THIS AND I'D BE LIKE "I WANT TO STAY OUT UNTIL TWO."

IT'S LIKE, "YOU'RE 16, YOU'RE NOT DOING THAT."

I'M LIKE "SEE YOU AT TWO!"

AND LEAVE MY SISTER LIKE, "WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

SO I JUST ALWAYS PUSHED HARDER.

GATES: WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?

McCARTHY: FOREVER I THOUGHT, UH, I WANTED TO BE IN FASHION.

I LOVED... MY GRANDMOTHER WAS A SEAMSTRESS THAT HAD SOME... GATES: MM-HMM.

MY MOM WAS A SEAMSTRESS.

McCARTHY: THAT'S, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT WATCHING, I REMEMBER MY GRANDMOTHER MADE ME A WHITE LINEN, LIKE, BLAZER AND I REMEMBER HER MAKING IT AND IT WAS LIKE, IT SEEMED LIKE SHE WAS A SORCERESS.

I MEAN, IT WAS JUST CRAZY THAT LIKE YOU THREW DOWN FABRIC, CUT SOMETHING OUT, AND THEN IT FIT ME PERFECTLY.

I WAS LIKE.

IT'S LIKE SHE CONJURED IT.

GATES: YEAH.

McCARTHY: AND IT MADE ME FEEL, ESPECIALLY FROM A LITTLE FARM TOWN, YOU WEREN'T GETTING SUPER COOL CLOTHES AND, I DON'T KNOW.

IT JUST, IT HAD SUCH AN IMPRESSION ON ME.

I THINK IT'S WHAT LAUNCHED ME.

GATES: WHILE HER GRANDMOTHER MAY HAVE HELPED LAUNCH HER, IT WOULD TAKE MELISSA QUITE A WHILE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE EXACTLY SHE WAS GOING TO LAND.

SHE LEFT HOME AT 18 TO STUDY TEXTILES AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, BUT DROPPED OUT AFTER BATTLING WITH HER TEACHERS.

SOON AFTER, MELISSA MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY, HOPING TO ENROLL AT F.I.T., A PRESTIGIOUS FASHION DESIGN SCHOOL, ONLY TO FIND HERSELF CAUGHT UP IN AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SCENE.

McCARTHY: OH MY GOD.

GATES: TELL ME ABOUT THAT PHOTO.

McCARTHY: I HAD JUST MOVED TO NEW YORK AND I JUST LOVED GETTING ALL DRESSED UP.

I MEAN I WORE BIG WIGS AND THE OUTFITS COULDN'T BE CRAZY ENOUGH, AND I JUST THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO THE PALLADIUM, AND ALL THESE PLACES THAT FOR SOMEONE FROM PLAINFIELD, ILLINOIS THAT, YOU KNOW, HAD ONLY BEEN TO LIKE A HIGH SCHOOL MIXER.

I WAS LIKE, "THIS IS AMAZING!

I SHOULD WEAR A SILVER LAMÉ RAINCOAT AND A WIG."

LIKE, IT JUST SEEMED LIKE THE NATURAL PROGRESSION OF THINGS, I DON'T KNOW.

GATES: AND THEN A FRIEND CAJOLED YOU... McCARTHY: YES.

GATES: TO TRY STAND-UP ONE NIGHT.

McCARTHY: YOU KNOW, WE WERE IN A GROCERY STORE AND HE PICKED UP A VILLAGE VOICE AND HE SAID, "TOMORROW NIGHT", WHICH WAS, THIS WAS THE FIRST NIGHT I WAS THERE, HE SAID, "TOMORROW NIGHT YOU'RE GOING TO DO STAND-UP."

AND I SAID, "OKAY."

GATES: REALLY?

McCARTHY: I DIDN'T KNOW TO WRITE ANYTHING.

I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT.

I'D NEVER, I'D NEVER BEEN TO A, UH, A COMEDY CLUB.

GATES: NEVER?

McCARTHY: NEVER.

BUT THEY WOULD ALWAYS KIND OF CAJOLE ME, LIKE WHEN WE WERE OUT WITH FRIENDS, OF LIKE, "TELL THIS STORY, TELL THAT STORY," AND IT WAS FUN TO TRY TO GET PEOPLE TO LAUGH, AND HE ALWAYS SAID, "YOU SHOULD DO A SHOW, YOU SHOULD DO THIS, YOU SHOULD DO THIS."

SO THE SECOND NIGHT I THINK I WENT IN A HUGE RED WIG AND A GOLD LAMÉ, I GUESS METALLICS WERE BIG FOR ME, GOLD LAMÉ SWING COAT, AND I WENT UP ON STAGE, AND, AND THEN I THINK I CALLED MY PARENTS LIKE THE NEXT DAY, AND I SAID, "OH, GUESS WHAT?

I'M NOT GOING BACK TO SCHOOL.

I'M GOING TO DO STAND-UP."

GATES: AND WHAT DID THEY SAY?

McCARTHY: THEY SAID, "OKAY."

AND IT WASN'T THAT LONG AGO THAT I SAID, "WHY ON EARTH DID YOU SAY 'OKAY'?

ON PAPER, THAT'S TERRIBLE ADVICE."

AND MY MOM SAID, "WELL, I, I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THE FASHION WORLD SEEMED VERY UNRELIABLE."

GATES: THINK SO?!

McCARTHY: AND I SAID, "SO YOU THOUGHT STAND-UP."

GATES: STAND-UP!

McCARTHY: "WAS LIKE TRIED AND TRUE?!"

GATES: MELISSA'S PARENTS WERE ACTUALLY QUITE PRESCIENT.

THEIR DAUGHTER WAS ONTO SOMETHING.

IN THE COMING YEARS, MELISSA WOULD MOVE FROM NEW YORK TO LOS ANGELES, WHERE ULTIMATELY, SHE BECAME A STAR.

TODAY, SHE'S IN NEAR-CONSTANT DEMAND, ONE OF THE FEW COMEDIANS WHO CAN HEADLINE A MOVIE ON HER OWN.

HER PARENTS' ADVICE, AS ODD AS IT MAY HAVE SEEMED, HAS PROVEN SOUND.

AND, LOOKING BACK, MELISSA CREDITS MUCH OF HER SUCCESS TO THEIR UNFLAGGING SUPPORT, EVEN AS SHE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HER JOURNEY HAS BEEN AN UNLIKELY ONE.

McCARTHY: IT'S KIND OF WHAT'S AMAZING ABOUT MY PARENTS.

IT'S LIKE FOR A, YOU KNOW, GIRL FROM A SMALL FARM TOWN TO BE LIKE, "OH, I SHOULD GO TO LA AND DO MOVIES!"

GATES: RIGHT.

McCARTHY: I MEAN, IT, THERE'S A WORLD WHERE THAT'S LIKE, "SHE'S CRAZY!"

GATES: OF COURSE.

McCARTHY: "THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS."

BUT I THINK THEY GAVE ME ENOUGH CONFIDENCE WITHOUT BEING LIKE, "YOU'RE SPECIAL.

YOU ARE BETTER THAN EVERYONE."

GATES: RIGHT.

McCARTHY: IT WASN'T LIKE THAT.

IT WAS, "WORK YOUR BUTT OFF, AND WHY NOT YOU?"

GATES: MY SECOND GUEST IS ERIC STONESTREET.

EMMY-AWARD WINNING STAR OF THE HIT SITCOM "MODERN FAMILY", ERIC WAS BORN IN KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, AND LIKE MELISSA, HE GREW UP ON A FARM, FEELING TOTALLY OUT OF PLACE.

BUT WHEREAS MELISSA TRIED TO BREAK INTO FASHION, ERIC'S AMBITIONS WERE MUCH MORE UNUSUAL: HE WANTED TO BE A CIRCUS CLOWN.

STONESTREET: THE MOMENT I FOUND OUT CLOWNS WERE JUST PEOPLE WITH MAKEUP, I WAS IN.

LIKE, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO DO, AND I HAD A GRANDMA, MY DAD'S MOM, GRANDMA LOUISE, THAT WOULD MAKE MY CLOWN SUITS, AND I HAD PARENTS THAT WOULD ALLOW ME TO PUT ON MAKEUP.

I ALWAYS SAID, MY DAD HAD TO BE SO CONFUSED, BECAUSE HE HAD A SON THAT RAISED PIGS AND PLAYED FOOTBALL, BUT ALSO WANTED TO PUT ON HIS MOM'S LIPSTICK.

SO, HE WAS PROBABLY STRUGGLING THERE FOR A WHILE TO FIGURE OUT HIS OWN SON'S IDENTITY.

GATES: BY THE TIME HE HIT HIGH SCHOOL, ERIC'S IDENTITY HAD ACTUALLY BEEN WELL ESTABLISHED.

HE'D CREATED A CHARACTER FOR HIMSELF, CALLED "FIZBO THE CLOWN", AND HE WAS PERFORMING REGULARLY, SO HE TOOK THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP, AND AUDITIONED FOR RINGLING BROTHERS AND BARNUM AND BAILEY CLOWN COLLEGE, AND ANXIOUSLY AWAITED THEIR RESPONSE.

STONESTREET: I KEPT THINKING, "I'M GONNA GET THE CALL, OR "I'M GONNA GET THE LETTER", AND THE WORD WAS THAT IF YOU GOT ACCEPTED TO RINGLING BROTHERS, YOU GOT A LETTER FULL OF CONFETTI THAT YOU WERE... GATES: OH, YEAH?

OH, THAT'S COOL.

STONESTREET: ACCEPTED, BUT I WASN'T GETTING IT, BUT I ALSO WASN'T GETTING THE REJECTION.

SO, I'M LIKE, "DID YOU GUYS GET MY APPLICATION?"

AND I REMEMBER CALLING, AND A GUY ANSWERING IT, AND, UH, AND HE HAD THE MOST HIGH-PITCHED CLOWN VOICE, "HELLO, RINGLING BROTHERS AND BARNUM AND BAILEY."

I'M LIKE, "WOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS WHERE I MIGHT BE GOING!"

AND I SAID, "HEY, MY NAME'S ERIC STONESTREET.

YOU KNOW, I APPLIED".

HE GOES, "ERIC, YOU'RE ON THE BOARD, AND THE WAY THEY ACCEPTED PEOPLE WAS A ROTATING ACCEPTANCE.

SO, I WAS IN FOR A WHILE, AND THEN SOMEBODY CAME ALONG THAT THEY LIKED BETTER, AND THEN I WAS OUT.

GATES: ERIC HANDLED HIS REJECTION IN STRIDE.

CLOWNING TOOK A BACKSEAT TO COMEDY, AS HE MOVED FROM KANSAS CITY TO CHICAGO TO LOS ANGELES, WHERE HE WOULD COME FULL CIRCLE BY WINNING FAME ON "MODERN FAMILY", PLAYING A CHARACTER WHO'S AN AMATEUR CLOWN.

STONESTREET: I'LL PUMP.

FERGUSON: NO, NO, NO, I'LL DO IT.

YOU JUST STAY RIGHT HERE, RELAX.

STONESTREET: OH, I GET IT.

YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT PEOPLE SEEING ME.

FERGUSON: WITHOUT QUESTION.

STONESTREET: YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE GONNA STARE; THEY'RE NOT USED TO SEEING ONE CLOWN IN A CAR.

GATES: THOUGH ERIC SEES THE IRONY IN HIS CIRCUITOUS CAREER PATH, HE ALSO SEES THE CONTINUITY WITHIN IT, AND HE'S CONVINCED THAT EVEN THOUGH HE'S LONG MOVED ON FROM HIS FAMILY FARM, HE IS STILL VERY MUCH A PRODUCT OF HIS UPBRINGING.

STONESTREET: MY DESIRE TO WORK ON A FARM, LEFT.

BUT MY WORK ETHIC, WHICH I, YOU KNOW, ATTRIBUTE TO MY DAD AND WATCHING MY DAD WORK EVERY DAY OF HIS LIFE.

I DON'T REMEMBER MY DAD STAYING HOME SICK.

GATES: UH-HUH.

STONESTREET: FOR EXAMPLE.

I'VE NEVER SEEN MY DAD LAY DOWN ON A COUCH... GATES: UH-HUH.

STONESTREET: FOR EXAMPLE.

GATES: AND WATCH TV, PUT HIS FEET UP?

STONESTREET: YEAH, NO.

I MEAN, THAT JUST, I MEAN, HE SITS IN A CHAIR, MAYBE, BUT LIKE, LOUNGING ON A COUCH, UH, IT'S LIKE, DOES NOT COMPUTE FOR, FOR ME.

SO, THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT, UM, THAT WORK ETHIC HE LEARNED FROM HIS DAD.

AND I KNOW MY DAD TELLS A STORY, WHEN HIS, WHEN HIS DAD WAS, WAS, WAS DYING, HIS DAD TOLD HIM, "YOU KNOW, I, I DIDN'T LEAVE YOU MUCH."

AND MY DAD TOLD HIM, "YOU KNOW, YOU LEFT ME EVERYTHING I NEED, AND THAT'S THE, THE KNOWLEDGE OF KNOWING HOW TO, TO WORK."

GATES: WOW, THAT'S GREAT.

STONESTREET: IT IS.

AND, UH, I HOPE, EVEN THOUGH MY JOB DOESN'T REQUIRE MY HANDS, NECESSARILY, THAT MY DAD WILL FEEL THE SAME WAY, THAT I'M CARRYING ON THE TRADITION OF KNOWING HOW TO GET TO WORK AND CREATE MY OWN, MY OWN LIFE AND MY OWN EXISTENCE.

GATES: MEETING MY GUESTS, I WAS STRUCK THAT THEY HAD FOLLOWED SIMILAR, UNLIKELY PATHS FROM AMERICA'S HEARTLAND, TO HOLLYWOOD.

THESE SIMILARITIES WERE ABOUT TO DEEPEN, AS WE TRACED THE JOURNEY OF THEIR ANCESTORS, WHO HAD FOLLOWED PATHS MORE OBSCURE, BUT EVERY BIT AS CHALLENGING.

I STARTED WITH MELISSA, AND HER PATERNAL GRANDFATHER, A MAN BORN WITH THE NAME "MICHAEL CARTY."

MICHAEL WAS AN IMMIGRANT FROM SCOTLAND.

HE CHANGED HIS SURNAME TO "McCARTHY" SOMETIME AFTER ARRIVING IN AMERICA, FOR REASONS THAT REMAIN UNCLEAR.

BUT, BY SO DOING, MICHAEL BROKE WITH HIS FAMILY'S PAST, LEAVING A HOST OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS IN HIS WAKE.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR ROOTS IN SCOTLAND?

McCARTHY: NOTHING.

GATES: AND NOTHING ABOUT THE FAMILY YOUR GRANDFATHER LEFT BEHIND?

McCARTHY: NO, NOT A, NOT A THING.

OR IF THERE WAS EVER CONTACT EVER AGAIN.

I'VE ASKED MY DAD AND HE SAID HE HAS NO IDEA.

GATES: OUR SEARCH BEGAN WITH THE 1911 CENSUS FOR OVERTOWN, A VILLAGE IN SOUTH CENTRAL SCOTLAND.

HERE WE FOUND MICHAEL AS A SIX-YEAR-OLD BOY, ALONG WITH HIS PARENTS, SARAH AND THOMAS CARTY, AND HIS SIX SIBLINGS.

THEY WERE ALL LIVING IN WHAT WAS CALLED "STONE ROW", A HOUSING BLOCK FOR INDUSTRIAL WORKERS, CONDITIONS WERE CRAMPED, TO SAY THE LEAST.

STONE ROW HOUSED 24 SEPARATE FAMILIES IN ONE AND TWO-ROOM HOMES.

McCARTHY: THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN ONE OR TWO ROOMS.

GATES: AND YOU SAW HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE IN YOUR FAMILY IN 1911.

McCARTHY: YES.

WHERE DO YOU PUT THAT MANY KIDS?

GATES: YEAH.

McCARTHY: WELL, MAYBE THAT'S PART OF WHY HE LEFT.

I MEAN, I WOULD THINK TO GET SOMETHING, EXPAND THAT WORLD A LITTLE.

GATES: I'D BE OUT OF THERE.

McCARTHY: I'D BE OUT OF THERE, YEAH.

GATES: THE FAMILY WOULD'VE SLEPT IN FOUR-BY-SIX BED RECESSES: PARTLY ENCLOSED AREAS ALONG THE WALLS.

McCARTHY: OH MY GOD.

SO A BUNCH OF BUNKS.

IT'S LIKE A BARRACKS.

GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE?

I MEAN, COULD YOU LIVE LIKE THAT?

McCARTHY: NO.

BUT IT'S FUNNY, I THINK MY DAD, MY DAD TALKS ABOUT LIKE ONE OF THEIR FIRST APARTMENTS.

I THINK THERE WERE NINE KIDS IN MY DAD'S FAMILY, THAT THEY WERE IN A ONE BEDROOM.

AND HE SAID, "WE ALL JUST SHARED BEDS, AND THERE'D BE THREE OR FOUR, THREE OR FOUR TO A BED."

AND THAT WAS HOW MY DAD GREW UP, WITH HIS NINE SIBLINGS.

GATES: WELL, HE IN...

THEY INHERITED THAT PATTERN.

McCARTHY: THEY INHERITED THAT PATTERN FOR SURE.

GATES: PLACES LIKE "STONE ROW" WERE COMMON IN SCOTLAND AT THIS TIME.

THE RESULT OF A 19TH CENTURY BOOM IN ITS COAL AND IRON INDUSTRIES.

MICHAEL'S FATHER, MELISSA'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED THOMAS CARTY, WAS A PART OF THIS BOOM.

HE WAS A SHEARSMAN IN AN IRONWORKS, WHICH MEANS HE LIKELY SPENT HIS TIME CUTTING ENORMOUS SHEETS OF IRON, WORKING TEN TO 12 HOUR SHIFTS, UP TO SIX DAYS A WEEK.

AN EXISTENCE THAT MELISSA FOUND SOBERING TO CONTEMPLATE.

McCARTHY: OH, MY GOSH.

LIVING AND WORKING FOR THE SAME COMPANY, IT'S LIKE YOU CAN NEVER GET AHEAD DOING THAT, SO TO GET UP AND GO TO WORK SIX DAYS A WEEK IN THIS KIND OF WORK IS LIKE.

I'M SURE IT WAS LIKE YOU'VE GOT TO TAKE CARE OF THOSE SEVEN KIDS SO YOU JUST, YOU JUST STAY ON THAT GRIND.

GATES: AND IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE KIDS ONE DAY YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP AND SAY, "THERE'S NO ESCAPE.

I'M GOING TO HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THAT TOO."

McCARTHY: AND NO REAL WAY TO MAKE IT BETTER, BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SUDDENLY.

GATES: NO, AND WHAT'S IT GOING TO DO?

McCARTHY: CHANGE YOUR... GATES: WORK 16 HOURS A DAY?

YOU KNOW.

McCARTHY: YEAH, WORK THAT SEVENTH DAY?

IT'S NOT GOING TO GET YOU OUT OF THAT, THAT HOUSE.

WOW.

BOY, THAT'S A TOUGH LIFE.

GATES: MELISSA IS RIGHT.

THOMAS' LIFE WAS EXCEPTIONALLY TOUGH.

SHEARSMEN WORKED IN WHAT WERE BASICALLY WALL-LESS SHEDS, EXPOSED TO COLD NIGHT AIR AND A BURNING FURNACE.

INJURIES WERE COMMON.

SO WAS ILLNESS.

McCARTHY: "DEATHS IN THE COUNTY OF LANARK.

THOMAS CARTY, 1912, NOVEMBER 15, STONE ROW, OVERTOWN."

GATES: THOMAS DIED OF PNEUMONIA WHEN HE WAS 45 YEARS OLD.

McCARTHY: OH MY GOD.

45.

FROM SEVEN DAYS, A SEVEN-DAY ILLNESS KILLED HIM.

GATES: REMEMBER THE CONDITIONS INSIDE THE IRONWORKS LEFT MEN DRENCHED IN SWEAT FROM THE FURNACE ON ONE SIDE AND THEN EXPOSED TO THE COLD AIR ON THE OTHER SIDE.

McCARTHY: MY GOD.

GATES: HE LEFT BEHIND HIS WIFE SARAH, AND SEVEN CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 15, INCLUDING YOUR GRANDFATHER MICHAEL.

McCARTHY: WOW, 45.

THE LITTLE ONES WOULDN'T EVEN HAVE KNOWN HIM AT ALL, WHICH MAYBE IS WHY WE DON'T.

GATES: NO.

ABSO... THAT, PRECISELY.

McCARTHY: THAT IS WHY MY DAD DOESN'T HAVE THE STORY TO TELL ME BECAUSE HIS FATHER DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HIS OWN FATHER.

GATES: RIGHT.

MICHAEL DIDN'T KNOW HIM.

McCARTHY: WHAT WAS HE, SIX?

GATES: MICHAEL WAS SIX.

THAT'S WHY.

McCARTHY: THAT EXPLAINS WHY I'VE NEVER HEARD THAT STORY BECAUSE.

GATES: NO, THERE WAS NO STORY TO TELL.

McCARTHY: THERE WAS NO STORY TO TELL.

GATES: THOMAS, OF COURSE, DID HAVE A STORY, IT HAD SIMPLY BEEN LOST.

WE WERE ABLE TO RECONSTRUCT IT, TRACING HIM FROM OVERTOWN TO NEARBY HOLYTOWN, WHERE WE LOCATED HIM IN THE 1901 SCOTTISH CENSUS, WORKING AS A LABORER, AND DISCOVERED THAT HE WAS NOT ACTUALLY FROM SCOTLAND.

McCARTHY: "THOMAS CARTY.

WHERE BORN, IRELAND."

GATES: IRELAND.

YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS BORN IN IRELAND, SO HE WAS AN IRISH IMMIGRANT TO SCOTLAND.

McCARTHY: I THINK MY, MY DAD HAS SAID THAT.

HE SAID HE MOVED FROM SCOTLAND, BUT THEY WERE IRISH.

AND I WAS LIKE, "WELL, DO YOU KNOW THAT FOR SURE?"

AND IT WAS, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A LITTLE, LIKE, CONFUSING, AND THERE IT IS.

OH MY GOD.

GATES: THERE IT IS.

McCARTHY: OH MY GOD.

SO, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE MEANT.

YOU WERE RIGHT, DAD.

GATES: SO, ANY IDEA WHAT AN IRISHMAN WAS DOING IN SCOTLAND?

McCARTHY: NO!

GATES: THE ANSWER TO OUR QUESTION IS THAT THOMAS WAS LIKELY LOOKING FOR WORK.

WHEN HE EMIGRATED, SOMETIME IN THE 1890S, IRELAND WAS WRACKED BY DEVASTATING POVERTY.

SO MUCH SO THAT BETWEEN 1881 AND 1900, ROUGHLY ONE MILLION IRISH PEOPLE LEFT THEIR COUNTRY IN SEARCH OF A BETTER LIFE.

MOST CAME TO THE UNITED STATES, BUT SOME HEADED FOR NEARBY SCOTLAND.

SO MELISSA IS ACTUALLY FAR MORE IRISH THAN SCOTTISH.

IN FACT, WE WERE ABLE TO TRACE THOMAS TO A SINGLE PARISH IN THE MIDLANDS REGION OF IRELAND, WHERE MELISSA'S ROOTS STRETCH BACK GENERATIONS.

McCARTHY: THAT IS CRAZY.

1802.

I'VE NEVER SEEN ANY OF THESE NAMES.

LIKE, NO ONE KNOWS ANY OF THESE NAMES.

GATES: AND GUESS WHAT?

YOU HAVE DNA FROM ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE.

McCARTHY: QUINNS AND HARICKS THAT I, OH MY GOSH.

IT'S JUST WILD.

AND DO ANY OF THE CARTYS KNOW THAT LIKE ONE OF THOMAS'S KIDS WENT TO AMERICA AND CHANGED TO McCARTHY, OR HAVE THEY LOST THE LINK?

GATES: RIGHT.

McCARTHY: I GUESS, NO ONE BACK IN IRELAND OR SCOTLAND EVER KNEW EITHER.

LIKE THEY, KIND OF WEIRD TO THINK ABOUT JUST LEAVING AND NOT HAVING ANY CONTACT.

GATES: YEAH, IT'S TRUE.

McCARTHY: I THINK I DIDN'T EXPECT TO FEEL SO TETHERED.

I GUESS I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT, "OH, MAYBE THERE'S NO ROOTS.

MAYBE THERE WAS NO REAL FAMILY.

PEOPLE JUST KIND OF MOVED AND SCATTERED, AND SO THAT'S WHY I DON'T KNOW MY HISTORY."

BUT TO FIND OUT THE HISTORY WAS REALLY SOLID IN ONE SPOT, WHICH TO ME MEANS, YOU KNOW, YOU STAYED TOGETHER.

YOU...

THERE WAS A COMMUNITY, THERE WAS A FAMILY.

IT STAYED GENERATION, AFTER GENERATION.

THAT, THAT GIVES ME, I DON'T KNOW, A SENSE OF, I DON'T KNOW IT KIND OF GIVES ME A SENSE OF COMFORT THAT, THAT WE WEREN'T ALL OVER THE PLACE, WE STAYED WITH OUR FAMILY.

I MEAN, I'M SO CLOSE TO MY FAMILY THAT IT'S HOW I FEEL.

LIKE I'M ALWAYS TRYING TO HUDDLE, SO MAYBE THAT'S PASSED DOWN TO ME THROUGH GENETICS.

I WANT TO HUDDLE US ALL TOGETHER AND KEEP US IN ONE PLACE.

GATES: LIKE MELISSA, ERIC STONESTREET GREW UP IN A TIGHT-KNIT FAMILY, BUT KNEW VERY LITTLE ABOUT HIS DEEPER ROOTS.

WE STARTED WITH HIS MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER, HELEN HEATH.

HELEN LIVED TO BE 97, AND SPENT HER FINAL YEARS WITH ERIC'S PARENTS IN KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, JUST MILES FROM WHERE SHE'D BEEN BORN.

ERIC'S WARMTH FOR HIS GRANDMOTHER IS PALPABLE.

STONESTREET: MY GRANDMA HELEN WAS SO SWEET, AND SO FUNNY, AND SUCH A GOOD COOK, AND JUST, SHE HAD THE CUTEST GIGGLE.

I MEAN, I... SHE LOVED HAVING HER BACK SCRATCHED, 'CAUSE SHE WAS KINDA, SHE GOT OLDER, HUNCHED OVER A LITTLE BIT, AND YOU WOULD JUST GO UP BEHIND HER AND SCRATCH HER BACK, AND SHE WOULD JUST STRAIGHTEN UP LIKE A CAT.

THAT ALWAYS MADE ME LAUGH.

GATES: DID SHE TALK ABOUT, UM, WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE GROWING UP IN KANSAS?

STONESTREET: YOU KNOW, SHE HAD, SHE WAS, UH, BORN IN A SOD HOUSE, I BELIEVE.

BUT I DON'T REALLY HAVE A LOT OF MEMORIES OF HER TALKING ABOUT WHAT HER CHILD WAS, CHILDHOOD WAS LIKE.

GATES: OKAY.

WELL, LET'S SEE WHAT WE FOUND OUT.

STONESTREET: OKAY.

GATES: HELEN'S CHILDHOOD IN KANSAS, AND INDEED, MUCH OF HER FAMILY'S EXPERIENCE IN AMERICA, WAS LARGELY SHAPED BY ONE MAN, HER GRANDFATHER: WILLIAM KIEKERT.

WILLIAM WAS BORN IN THE MID 19TH CENTURY, IN WHAT IS NOW GERMANY, AND TRAINED TO BE A BREWER.

BUT IN 1882, WHEN HE WAS ROUGHLY 23 YEARS OLD, WILLIAM SAW AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSFORM HIS LIFE, AND HE SEIZED IT, SETTING OFF ON HIS OWN FOR THE UNITED STATES.

WITHIN FOUR YEARS, WILLIAM WAS IN KANSAS, WHERE HE FILED AN APPLICATION AS PART OF WHAT WAS KNOWN AS THE "PREEMPTION ACT", A PRECURSOR OF SORTS TO THE HOMESTEAD ACT WHICH ENABLED SETTLERS TO PURCHASE FEDERAL LAND AT A VERY LOW COST.

THERE WAS JUST ONE CATCH: TO GET HIS LAND, WILLIAM HAD TO LIVE ON IT, AND WORK TOWARD ITS IMPROVEMENT.

SO THE BREWER BECAME A FARMER, STARTING FROM SCRATCH.

ERIC, THIS IS AN APPLICATION FORM SUBMITTED TO, TO THE LARNED, KANSAS LAND OFFICE IN THE YEAR 1886.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIPTION?

STONESTREET: "I, WILHELM KIEKERT, DUG A WELL AND BUILT A, SOD HOUSE, 12 BY 12 FOOT SHINGLE ROOF, 1 DOOR, 2 WINDOWS, DUGOUT STABLE, STONE CELLAR, 12 ACRES, PLOWED AND CULTIVATED THE CROPS."

GATES: ISN'T THAT SO COOL?

STONESTREET: THAT IS SO COOL.

YEAH, THAT'S, IT'S, I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT BEFORE.

THIS IS HIM CREATING A NEW LIFE FOR HIMSELF, AND LITERALLY CULTIVATING THE GROUND, UH, FOR ME.

GATES: YEAH!

STONESTREET: YOU KNOW?

IT'S UN...

IT'S UNREAL.

GATES: "I DUG A WELL AND BUILT THAT PROVERBIAL SOD HOUSE OF YOURS."

STONESTREET: YEAH.

GATES: YOU KNOW?

THAT IS SO FUNNY, THAT IT'S NOT A MYTH.

I MEAN.

STONESTREET: NO.

GATES: THEY LIVED IN A SOD HOUSE.

STONESTREET: THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

GATES: THIS MOMENT CHANGED EVERYTHING IN THE HISTORY OF YOUR FAMILY.

STONESTREET: YEAH.

GATES: IT DID, BECAUSE YOU WENT FROM BEING A WORKER TO A LANDOWNER.

STONESTREET: YEAH.

ALL, ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT'S MY, YOU KNOW, MY GRANDMA IN THAT MOMENT.

I DON'T THINK ABOUT MYSELF HERE, I JUST THINK ABOUT HER, BECAUSE OF, JUST KNOWING HER, AND THAT SHE KNEW HIM.

GATES: YEAH.

STONESTREET: AND I KNEW HER.

GATES: THANKS TO HIS EFFORTS, WILLIAM WAS ALLOWED TO PURCHASE 160 ACRES, FOR ONLY A DOLLAR AND A QUARTER PER ACRE.

THEN HE BEGAN RAISING A FAMILY.

BY THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, HE AND HIS WIFE ANNA, A FELLOW GERMAN IMMIGRANT, HAD SEVEN AMERICAN-BORN CHILDREN.

BUT FOR ALL THEIR SUCCESS, WILLIAM AND ANNA REMAINED VULNERABLE.

IN 1917, THE UNITED STATES ENTERED WORLD WAR I, DECLARING WAR AGAINST GERMANY AND ITS ALLY AUSTRIA.

SUDDENLY, GERMAN-AMERICANS WERE UNDER SUSPICION.

THEY WERE REQUIRED TO REGISTER WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND FOLLOW A HOST OF REGULATIONS, OR FACE ARREST.

SOON, ERIC'S ANCESTORS WEREN'T EVEN ALLOWED TO SHOP IN CERTAIN PLACES WITHOUT PERMISSION.

STONESTREET: "I, WILLIAM KIEKERT, HEREBY REGISTER AS AN ALIEN ENEMY AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS, CITY HALL, KANSAS CITY."

GATES: AS YOU CAN SEE, HE WAS FINGERPRINTED, LIKE A CRIMINAL.

STONESTREET: OH MY GOSH.

HE DID THIS BECAUSE HE HAD TO?

GATES: 'CAUSE HE HAD TO.

STONESTREET: HE HAD TO EITHER SHOW UP, OR RISK... GATES: OR YOU WOULD GO TO JAIL.

STONESTREET: GOT IT.

GATES: OR BE DEPORTED, AND, JUST AS SAD, ON THE LEFT, YOU CAN SEE WILLIAM'S WIFE ANNA'S REGISTRATION FORM AS WELL.

THEY HAD TO REGISTER OFFICIALLY AS ALIEN ENEMIES.

STONESTREET: HOO, BOY.

I JUST THINK ABOUT DIGGING THE WELL, AND BUILDING A LIFE FOR YOUR FAMILY, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN HAVING TO DO THIS?

GATES: RIGHT.

STONESTREET: THE WORD "ALIEN ENEMY" IS SO CRAZY TO ME, THAT HE HAD TO SIGN A PIECE OF PAPER SAYING HE WAS THAT.

GATES: YEAH.

BUT WHAT'S INTERESTING TO ME IS THAT THIS STORY DIDN'T MAKE IT DOWN IN YOUR FAMILY.

STONESTREET: YEAH, I'VE NEVER, I PERSONALLY HAVE NEVER HEARD THIS.

WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO MY GRANDMA BEING BORN HERE.

1918.

GATES: THAT'S RIGHT, 1918.

HOW DO YOU THINK THIS AFFECTED THE KIEKERTS?

STONESTREET: I NEVER GOT ANY SENSE OF BITTERNESS FROM MY GRANDMA, EVER.

SO I WOULD IMAGINE THEY, YOU KNOW, BEING THE GOOD GERMANS THEY WERE, THEY WOULD JUST, DID IT, AND JUST DID WHAT THEY NEEDED TO DO TO SURVIVE AND MAKE IT.

GATES: IF WILLIAM AND ANNA HAD BEEN BITTER, THEY'D HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED.

DURING THE WAR, THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SENT ROUGHLY 6,000 GERMANS TO INTERNMENT CAMPS, AND SEIZED HALF A BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF PRIVATE PROPERTY.

YET, ERIC'S ANCESTORS ENDURED THESE YEARS OF PREJUDICE AND PERSECUTION SEEMINGLY WITHOUT COMPLAINT.

IN FACT, SOON AFTER THE WAR ENDED, WILLIAM DID SOMETHING THAT SUGGESTED HE WAS QUITE HAPPY IN HIS NEW HOMELAND.

HE APPLIED TO BECOME A CITIZEN.

STONESTREET: 1921 IS WHEN MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER BECAME A UNITED STATES CITIZEN.

GATES: AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S CURIOUS?

HE'S A BIT OF A TRICKSTER.

REMEMBER THAT DOCUMENT WHEN HE APPLIED UNDER THE PREEMPTION ACT?

STONESTREET: YEAH.

GATES: HE SAID HE WAS A NATURALIZED CITIZEN, BUT HE WASN'T.

STONESTREET: WELL, I LIED ON MY RESUME AND SAID I COULD JUGGLE.

AND I COULDN'T.

GATES: WELL, IT'S A GREAT TRADITION.

DO YOU THINK THAT THEY FELT THEY HAD TO ABANDON THEIR GERMAN CULTURE, THEIR LANGUAGE, IN ORDER TO BE AMERICAN?

STONESTREET: WELL, THAT'S INTERESTING.

I, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THE ONLY THING, OBVIOUSLY, I DON'T SPEAK GERMAN.

MY GRANDMA HELEN DIDN'T SPEAK GERMAN.

UM... GATES: YEAH, NOW YOU KNOW WHY.

STONESTREET: YEAH.

BUT GERMAN HERITAGE IS IN FOOD, YOU KNOW.

MOST OF US CONNECT TO OUR HERITAGE, A LOT OF TIMES, WITH FOOD, HAS ALWAYS BEEN A, YOU KNOW, A BIG PART OF MY FAMILY, UM, AND JUST THE WAY MY GRANDMA MADE FOOD AND COOKED FOOD, UM, VERY GERMAN IN ITS ROOTS.

SO I THINK THAT THAT ASPECT OF THEIR HERITAGE HAS NEVER BEEN LOST.

GATES: "WE CAN COMPROMISE SO FAR."

STONESTREET: SO FAR.

GATES: YEAH, YEAH.

"BUT I'M NOT GIVING UP WIENER SCHNITZEL."

STONESTREET: NO, EXACTLY.

GATES: WE WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ERIC'S ROOTS IN GERMANY.

WE SOON FOUND OURSELVES IN THE ARCHIVES OF MITTELSINN, A SMALL TOWN IN BAVARIA.

HERE, WE FOUND THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF ERIC'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, ANNA.

IT SHOWED THAT ANNA WAS THE ILLEGITIMATE CHILD OF A SERVANT GIRL NAMED DOROTHEA HUTH.

AND THEN WE LEARNED THAT DOROTHEA WAS HERSELF PART OF A LARGER PATTERN WITHIN THE FAMILY.

ALL RIGHT, NOW, TURN THE PAGE.

I GOT ANOTHER SURPRISE FOR YOU.

STONESTREET: I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE SURPRISES!

GATES: NOW WE'RE BACK TO THE YEAR 1826.

STONESTREET: OH MY GOSH.

GATES: WITH ANOTHER BIRTH RECORD.

STONESTREET: WHAT?

THEY HAD HANDWRITING THEN?

GATES: YEAH.

THIS IS A REGISTER OF BIRTHS FOR 1826 FROM THE LUTHERAN ARCHIVES IN BAVARIA.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIPTION?

STONESTREET: "DOROTHEA, ILLEGITIMATE.

BORN ON THE 4TH OF MARCH.

THE MOTHER IS DOROTHEA HUTH, UNMARRIED DAUGHTER OF KONRAD HUTH.

THE FATHER IS SAID TO BE NIKOLAUS FORCH, A CARPENTER'S APPRENTICE."

GATES: YOU JUST WENT ANOTHER RUNG UP YOUR FAMILY TREE.

YOU JUST MET YOUR THIRD- GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, DOROTHEA.

THAT IS HER BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

STONESTREET: ALSO DOROTHEA?

GATES: THE ILLEGITIMATE DAUGHTER OF NIKOLAUS FORCH AND DOROTHEA HUTH.

STONESTREET: VERY POPULAR NAME.

GATES: VERY POPULAR NAME.

STONESTREET: THEY REALLY WERE COMMITTED TO THAT.

GATES: AND NIKOLAUS FORCH AND DOROTHEA HUTH ARE YOUR FOURTH-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS.

NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THE DOCUMENT ALSO NAMES THAT DOROTHEA'S FATHER, YOUR FIFTH-GREAT-GRANDFATHER, KONRAD HUTH.

STONESTREET: HMM, NICE TO MEET YOU.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

STONESTREET: THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

GATES: WELL, HERE'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: WHEN DOROTHEA WAS BORN, HER MOTHER WAS AT LEAST 21, BUT HER FATHER NIKOLAUS WAS ONLY 14.

STONESTREET: OH.

WELL.

GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE BEING 14, THINK BACK, LEARNING, "HEY, ERIC, YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE A DAD"?

STONESTREET: IN 1826, IN GERMANY.

GATES: IN GERMANY.

STONESTREET: THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

I CAN'T WAIT TO CONNECT WITH MY MOM ON THIS, AND SEE IF SHE HAS ANY REC...

I MEAN, I KNOW SHE DOESN'T KNOW HER FIFTH, HER FOURTH-GREAT-GRANDPARENT IS KONRAD HUTH.

I KNOW THAT FOR SURE.

GATES: BUT THINK HOW FAR YOUR FAMILY CAME FROM A PREGNANT SERVANT GIRL HAVING ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN.

STONESTREET: MM-HMM.

GATES: TO PROPERTY OWNERS.

STONESTREET: YEAH.

GATES: THAT'S EXTRAORDINARY.

STONESTREET: UNBELIEVABLE.

GATES: WE HAD ALREADY TAKEN MELISSA McCARTHY'S PATERNAL ROOTS BACK TO THE EARLY 1800S, AND SEEN HOW HER GREAT-GRANDFATHER LEFT THE IRISH COUNTRYSIDE FOR INDUSTRIAL SCOTLAND, WITH DECIDEDLY MIXED RESULTS.

NOW, TURNING TO HER MOTHER'S ANCESTRY, WE FOCUSED ON SOMEONE WHO NEVER LEFT HER RURAL ROOTS BEHIND.

MELISSA'S MATERNAL GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, A WOMAN NAMED AMANDA HOFFMAN, SPENT MOST OF HER LIFE ON A FARM IN MERIDEN, ILLINOIS.

AS A CHILD, MELISSA ACTUALLY KNEW AMANDA, AND WAS STRUCK TO SEE HER WEDDING CERTIFICATE, FROM OVER A CENTURY AGO.

McCARTHY: "FULL NAME OF BRIDE, AMANDA M. HOFFMAN, 21 YEARS."

IT'S JUST WILD TO THINK ABOUT HER AT 21.

GATES: OH, YEAH.

McCARTHY: LIKE, I ONLY, YOU KNOW, I KNEW HER JUST AT THE END OF HER LIFE, AND SHE WAS SUCH A HOOT AND REALLY STRONG, BUT SEEING 21, LIKE OH MY GOD, THEY WERE JUST GETTING MARRIED.

I GUESS BECAUSE I DID KNOW HER IN MY LIFE, I DON'T THINK ABOUT HER, I MEAN, THIS WILL SOUND SILLY, BUT LIKE 1906.

I JUST THINK, "NO, SHE WAS MORE OF A CONTEMPORARY.

SHE COULDN'T HAVE BEEN GETTING MARRIED IN 1906."

IT'S NOT UNTIL YOU KIND OF SEE IT IN WRITING THAT YOU REALIZE.

GATES: AND THAT'S TRUE FOR ALL OF US.

McCARTHY: YEAH.

GATES: WE THINK OF THE PEOPLE, OF OUR ANCESTORS, OR GRANDPARENTS, FOR EXAMPLE, AS FROZEN IN TIME.

McCARTHY: MAYBE THAT'S IT.

THEY'RE ALWAYS WHAT THEY ARE TO YOU INSTEAD OF LIKE, NO SHE WAS A 21-YEAR-OLD WOMAN IN 1906, LIKE, RUNNING A FARM.

THAT'S CRAZY.

GATES: AS WE SET OUT TO TRACE AMANDA'S ROOTS, WE SOON RAN INTO A MYSTERY.

IN THE 1900 CENSUS, WE FOUND HER LIVING ON THE FAMILY FARM WITH HER BROTHER AND THEIR MOTHER, MELISSA'S GREAT-GREAT- GRANDMOTHER, EMMA HOFFMAN.

BUT SOMEONE WAS MISSING FROM THIS RECORD.

NOW MELISSA, ANY IDEA WHERE AMANDA'S FATHER, YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER, MIGHT'VE BEEN?

McCARTHY: NO.

GATES: WELL, WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE SECOND TRANSCRIPTION TO SEE EMMA'S MARITAL STATUS?

McCARTHY: OH!

IS THAT WIDOWED?

GATES: YES.

McCARTHY: OH GEEZ.

GATES: YOUR GREAT-GREAT- GRANDMOTHER EMMA IS LISTED AS A 37-YEAR-OLD WIDOW.

McCARTHY: WOW.

GATES: SO, WE WANTED TO SEE IF WE COULD LEARN WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

McCARTHY: YEAH.

GATES: WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

THIS IS A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE FROM EARLVILLE, ILLINOIS.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE HIGHLIGHTED SECTION?

McCARTHY: "EMMA A, HOFFMAN, OF MERIDEN, APPLIED FOR A DIVORCE" OH!

"A DIVORCE FROM WILLIAM C. HOFFMAN.

THEY WERE MARRIED IN 1881.

IN 1894, THE COMPLAINANT LEARNED OF HER HUSBAND'S INFIDELITY" IN THE PAPER!

"UH, INFIDELITY, THE CO-RESPONDENT BEING MARY WEIDNER, HER COUSIN, SOME YEARS YOUNGER THAN HERSELF.

WHEN SHE MADE THE DISCOVERY THERE WAS A SCENE AND THAT NIGHT HOFFMAN AND THE WEIDNER GIRL LEFT FOR PARTS UNKNOWN".

(GASPS).

"PARTS UNKNOWN AND HAVE NEVER BEEN SEEN OR HEARD OF SINCE."

HOLY SMOKES!

WOW!

THEY JUST PUT, I MEAN, THIS IS A FULL TABLOID THING.

"THERE WAS A SCENE."

GATES: "THERE WAS A SCENE."

McCARTHY: "LEFT FOR PARTS UNKNOWN", GUYS.

YOU DON'T HEAR THAT VERY OFTEN.

I MEAN, WOW!

GATES: ACCORDING TO THIS ARTICLE, WILLIAM HAD AN AFFAIR WITH HIS WIFE'S YOUNGER COUSIN, AND THE TWO RAN OFF TOGETHER.

WE SCOURED THE ARCHIVES TO FIND THEM, BUT CAME UP EMPTY.

THE SURNAME "HOFFMAN" IS COMMON, MAKING THEM EXCEEDINGLY DIFFICULT TO TRACE.

SO WE DON'T KNOW WHAT FINALLY BECAME OF WILLIAM.

ALL WE KNOW IS THAT HIS WIFE EMMA WAS LEFT TO RAISE THEIR CHILDREN ON HER OWN.

McCARTHY: SO THAT WAS MY GREAT-GRANDMA AMANDA'S DAD.

LIKE, WHAT A JERK!

GATES: YEAH, YOUR GREAT- GREAT-GRANDFATHER WILLIAM.

McCARTHY: OHHH.

I JUST NEVER KNEW THAT.

I WONDER IF MY MOM KNOWS THAT?

GATES: AND NOW WE KNOW WHY SHE LISTED HERSELF AS "WIDOWED".

McCARTHY: YEAH.

GATES: BECAUSE DIVORCE IN THE 1890S WOULD'VE CARRIED A HUGE STIGMA.

McCARTHY: I MEAN, YEAH.

GATES: SO SHE JUST SAID, "HIS ASS IS DEAD."

McCARTHY: YES.

"HE'S DEAD TO ME."

MAYBE SHE'D PREFER IT.

I DON'T, I DON'T BLAME HER.

GATES: AND THEN ALL OF THE DETAILS, I MEAN, THIS SHOCKED US, ALL OF THE DETAILS JUST HANGING OUT IN THE PAPER.

McCARTHY: NO.

I MEAN, THAT IS A TINY, TINY TOWN, AND TO BE... HAVE ALL OF YOUR BUSINESS PUT IN THE LOCAL PAPER.

I MEAN, IT'S ALREADY BAD ENOUGH IT'S HAPPENING, AND NOW YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR TWO KIDS AND THIS FARM BY YOURSELF.

SOMEBODY'S GOT TO SHINE THE LIGHT ON IT AND RAT YOU OUT.

I MEAN, GOOD LORD.

I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

GATES: FORTUNATELY FOR MELISSA'S FAMILY, EMMA PROVED TO BE A VERY STRONG WOMAN, CAPABLE NOT ONLY OF OVERCOMING THE SCANDAL, BUT OF SUCCESSFULLY RUNNING HER OWN FARM, THEN PASSING IT ON TO HER DAUGHTER.

TURNING BACK TO THE PAPER TRAIL, WE WANTED TO SEE IF WE COULD TRACE EMMA'S ROOTS ANY FURTHER.

IN THE 1880 CENSUS, WE FOUND HER PARENTS, JOHN WILLIAM WEIDNER AND MARY KAMINKI, LIVING IN MERIDIAN, ILLINOIS.

LIKE SO MANY OF MELISSA'S ANCESTORS, THEY TOO WERE FARMERS.

BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THEM.

McCARTHY: "WEIDNER, WILLIAM.

PLACE OF BIRTH, PRUSSIA."

GATES: MM-HMM.

McCARTHY: "MARY.

PLACE OF BIRTH, PRUSSIA."

GATES: YOUR THIRD GREAT-GRANDPARENTS WERE BOTH BORN IN PRUSSIA.

DID YOU KNOW THAT?

McCARTHY: I DID NOT!

I DIDN'T KNOW THIS AT ALL.

LIKE, NOT A, NOT A WHISPER.

AT LEAST ON MY DAD'S SIDE, IT WAS KIND OF HINTS AND THINGS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

I, NO.

OH MY GOSH.

I'M SUDDENLY SO MUCH MORE EXOTIC THAN I THOUGHT.

I LOVE IT.

WOW!

AND WE NEVER KNEW WHEN, MY MOM DIDN'T KNOW, LIKE, WHEN I'VE ASKED HER LIKE, "WHEN DID YOUR SIDE OF THE FAMILY COME TO THE, TO THE UNITED STATES?"

AND SHE DIDN'T KNOW.

AND NOW WE DO.

GATES: AS IT TURNS OUT, THE TIMING OF HER ANCESTORS' ARRIVAL WOULD PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE OUTCOME OF THEIR STORY.

THOUGH BOTH WERE FROM PRUSSIA, JOHN AND MARY IMMIGRATED SEPARATELY.

THEY MET IN AMERICA THEN MARRIED IN 1862, AS THE NATION WAS BEING TORN APART BY THE CIVIL WAR.

JOHN WAS 29 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME, PRIME AGE FOR A SOLDIER.

IT'S DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE WHAT HE MUST HAVE FELT.

HE COMES TO THE STATES AND WAR BREAKS OUT.

McCARTHY: AND IT'S A... GATES: A HUGE WAR.

McCARTHY: YEAH.

IT'S LIKE, "I BET ON THE WRONG HORSE," IS WHAT HE WAS PROBABLY THINKING.

TO, TO MAKE THAT KIND OF A MOVE AND THEN HAVE YOUR NEW HOME JUST, YOU KNOW, ERUPT.

GATES: WELL, LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENED.

WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

McCARTHY: "I, JOHN W. WEIDNER BORN IN PRUSSIA IN THE STATE OF EUROPE, AGED 30 YEARS, AND BY OCCUPATION, A FARMER, DO HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE TO HAVE VOLUNTEERED THIS FIFTH DAY OF JANUARY 1864, TO SERVICE AS A SOLDIER IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."

WOW.

GATES: SO, YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS: THAT JOHN FOUGHT FOR THE UNION.

McCARTHY: I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE KNOWS THAT.

GATES: AND GUESS WHAT?

HE WASN'T DRAFTED.

HE ENLISTED.

McCARTHY: ENLISTED.

GATES: HE VOLUNTEERED.

JOHN ENLISTED AS A PRIVATE IN THE 4TH REGIMENT OF THE ILLINOIS CAVALRY.

HE WAS SENT TO MISSISSIPPI, WHICH MUST HAVE SEEMED A WORLD AWAY FROM HIS NATIVE PRUSSIA.

ULTIMATELY HE WAS MUSTERED OUT IN HOUSTON, TEXAS IN 1866.

ROUGHLY A YEAR AFTER THE FIGHTING STOPPED, BUT NOT BEFORE PERFORMING A NOTABLE ASSIGNMENT.

AFTER THE CIVIL WAR CAME TO AN END, VOLUNTEER UNION ARMY SOLDIERS LIKE YOUR THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER JOHN WERE SENT TO CONFEDERATE TERRITORY AS AN OCCUPATION FORCE.

McCARTHY: OH REALLY?

GATES: TO PRESERVE ORDER AND PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE FORMER SLAVES.

McCARTHY: I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT WITH THE CIVIL WAR, OF PEOPLE STAYING TO ACTUALLY MAKE SURE THAT LIKE.

GATES: YEAH.

BECAUSE THESE FORMER CONFEDERATES DIDN'T CHANGE JUST BECAUSE THEY LOST.

THEY DIDN'T CHANGE THEIR ATTITUDE ABOUT THE BLACK PEOPLE.

McCARTHY: NO.

NO, THEY DID NOT.

I WISH I WOULD'VE KNOWN THAT.

I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING I WISH WAS KIND OF TOLD IN MY FAMILY.

THAT'S LIKE SOMETHING TO, THAT'S REALLY NICE TO KNOW THAT SOMEONE GAVE SO MUCH OF THEIR LIFE TO MAKE, TRY TO MAKE THINGS, TO MAKE THINGS AT LEAST START TO BE BETTER.

AT LEAST TRY.

GATES: WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WOULD'VE BEEN LIKE FOR JOHN, A GERMAN IMMIGRANT, TO END UP IN TEXAS TRYING TO HELP PROTECT FORMER SLAVES FROM ANGRY WHITE SOUTHERNERS?

McCARTHY: I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE, YOU KNOW?

HERE'S SOME OUTSIDER, YOU KNOW, AND IMMIGRANT TELLING ALL THESE OTHER PEOPLE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO AND WHAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE ALLOWED TO DO ANYMORE.

I CAN'T IMAGINE HE WAS EVERYONE'S FAVORITE.

GATES: "HEY, YOU FUNNY-TALKING GERMAN GUY!"

McCARTHY: EXACTLY.

THAT'S THE NICEST WAY THAT WAS EVER SAID.

GATES: YEAH.

RIGHT.

McCARTHY: BOY.

THAT'S REALLY SOMETHING.

THAT'S MAYBE MY FAVORITE THING SO FAR.

GATES: WE'D ALREADY INTRODUCED ERIC STONESTREET TO MULTIPLE GENERATIONS OF FARMERS ON THE MATERNAL LINES OF HIS FAMILY TREE, A JOURNEY THAT BEGAN WITH HIS BELOVED GRANDMOTHER HELEN.

NOW, TURNING TO HIS FATHER'S ROOTS, WE STARTED WITH HIS PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER, LOUISE KRAFT, WHO WAS JUST AS BELOVED.

LOUISE HAD ENCOURAGED ERIC'S CLOWN CAREER WHEN HE WAS GROWING UP, AND HE'S DEEPLY ATTACHED TO HER MEMORY.

STONESTREET: SHE WAS A SEWER, SEAMSTRESS.

SHE, SHE CROCHETED AND QUILTED AND MADE THINGS, AND UM, SHE WAS THE, UH, CHIEF, UH, TAILOR FOR FIZBO THE CLOWN, BEFORE FIZBO WAS FIZBO.

SHE MADE ALL MY, ALL MY CLOWN SUITS.

GATES: WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE WOULD'VE THOUGHT OF YOU WINNING AN EMMY FOR PLAYING FIZBO?

STONESTREET: OH MY GOSH, SHE JUST WOULD'VE LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED, AND JUST, JUST ENJOYED IT.

I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, I'M THANKFUL SHE GOT TO SEE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT I WAS PURSUING BEFORE SHE PASSED AWAY.

GATES: MMM-HMM.

STONESTREET: BUT SHE WOULD'VE LOVED IT.

GATES: DO YOU KNOW MUCH ABOUT HER ROOTS?

STONESTREET: UM, I KNOW SHE HAD, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND UM, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, REALLY, ABOUT HER PARENTS.

GATES: WE FOCUSED OUR RESEARCH ON LOUISE'S MOTHER, ERIC'S GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, A WOMAN NAMED MARY KNECHT.

WE FOUND MARY IN THE 1900 CENSUS, LIVING ON A FARM IN MIAMI COUNTY, KANSAS WITH HER PARENTS, AUGUST AND GERTRUDE KNECHT, AND WE DISCOVERED SOMETHING ELSE AS WELL.

THIS IS A MIAMI COUNTY ATLAS FROM THE YEAR 1901.

STONESTREET: MMM-HMM.

GATES: WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE NAME IN THE HIGHLIGHTED AREA?

STONESTREET: "AUGUST KNECHT."

GATES: NOW, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE KNECHT FAMILY PROPERTY, AND ON THE LEFT IS A PHOTO OF THE FARM.

STONESTREET: OH MY GOSH.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

THAT'S THE LAND OF YOUR ANCESTORS.

STONESTREET: I IMMEDIATELY THINK ABOUT, LIKE, WELL, WHERE THAT IS NOW IN RELATION TO WHEN I GO HOME TO KANSAS CITY BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW FAR SOUTH, OH, IT'S IN... GATES: 40.

STONESTREET: LOUIS-LOUISBURG.

GATES: YEAH, MIAMI COUNTY'S, IS ABOUT 40 MILES SOUTH OF KANSAS CITY.

STONESTREET: YEAH.

I USED TO PLAY LOUISBURG IN HIGH SCHOOL, IN FOOTBALL.

GATES: OH, REALLY?

STONESTREET: YEAH, WE'D GO DOWN, AND I THINK I HURT MY KNEE IN LOUISBURG.

UM, IT'S AWESOME.

I MEAN, UH, LOOK AT THAT CORNER POST RIGHT THERE, THAT'S HEDGE WOOD, I CAN TELL YOU THAT RIGHT NOW, AND YOU DON'T BUILD A HEDGE WOOD POST FENCE WITHOUT GETTING A LOT OF SPLINTERS.

GATES: AUGUST WAS A DAIRY FARMER, WHO KEPT COWS AND OTHER LIVESTOCK ON HIS PROPERTY.

HE WAS QUITE SUCCESSFUL, AND IS FONDLY-REMEMBERED BY MANY OF ERIC'S RELATIVES.

BUT AUGUST'S DEEPER ORIGINS WERE A MYSTERY.

WE UNCOVERED A CLUE IN THE 1885 CENSUS.

STONESTREET: "AUGUST KNECHT, DAIRY FARMER.

PLACE OF BIRTH: AUSTRIA."

GATES: YOUR GREAT-GREAT- GRANDFATHER, AUGUST, WAS BORN IN AUSTRIA, AND HE WAS KNOW THERE AS AUGUSTIN.

YOU KNOW, AUGUSTIN BECOMES AUGUST.

STONESTREET: AUGUST, OKAY, I'M ABOUT TO BLOW YOUR MIND, BECAUSE FIZBO THE CLOWN IS AN AUGUSTE-STYLE CLOWN.

GATES: OH, REALLY?

STONESTREET: WHICH MEANS "BUFFOON."

GATES: OH, WOW.

OH, THAT'S AMAZING.

STONESTREET: THERE'S WHITE-FACE CLOWNS, AUGUSTE CLOWNS, CHARACTER CLOWNS, TRAMP CLOWNS.

GATES: I HAD NO IDEA.

STONESTREET: FIZBO IS AN AUGUSTE.

GATES: AN AUGUSTE.

THERE YOU GO.

STONESTREET: WHAT'S UP?

GATES: AUGUSTINE'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE REVEALED THAT HE WAS BORN IN LECH, A TINY VILLAGE IN THE ALPS, IN JULY OF 1847.

HIS PARENTS WERE FARMERS.

SINCE WE FOUND NO EVIDENCE THAT THEY OWNED THEIR LAND, WE HAVE TO CONCLUDE THAT THEIR OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT WERE EXTREMELY LIMITED, LIKELY HELPING TO EXPLAIN WHY THEIR SON MADE A VERY BOLD DECISION.

ERIC, YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE RECORD OF YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER ON THE SHIP THAT BROUGHT HIM TO AMERICA IN 1867.

STONESTREET: HOLY COW, ON THE "SS MEDWAY."

GATES: HE ARRIVED AT NEW YORK HARBOR ON JUNE 18, 1867.

AND ON THE LEFT IS A MAP OF THE ROUTE THAT THEIR SHIP WOULD'VE TAKEN.

STONESTREET: WOW.

GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE LEAVING YOUR HOME AND MAKING THAT VOYAGE ALL BY YOURSELF, WHEN YOU WERE 20 YEARS OLD?

STONESTREET: AND THEN, LIKE, JUST THE IDEA AND THE NOTION OF, LIKE, "I'M LEAVING LECH."

GATES: IT'S LIKE LEAVING MIDDLE-EARTH, MAN.

STONESTREET: BUT, BUT, BUT I, I RELATE TO IT, BECAUSE I LEFT KANSAS CITY.

GATES: YEAH.

STONESTREET: I MEAN, AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT CAME FROM.

GATES: MMM-HMM.

STONESTREET: BUT IF IT'S MY ANCESTRY, I GUESS I KNOW, IT'S ALL RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF MY EYES.

GATES: WE HAD YET ONE MORE STORY FOR ERIC, AND THIS ONE DIDN'T INVOLVE FARMERS.

FOLLOWING HIS DIRECT PATERNAL STONESTREET LINE, WE CAME TO HIS GREAT- GREAT-GRANDFATHER ANTON, WHO WAS BORN IN AUSTRIA AND IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES IN 1881.

ANTON WAS A TAILOR, AND RECORDS SHOW THAT HE WASN'T BORN A "STONESTREET".

STONESTREET: "FATHER'S NAME: ANTON STEINGASSNER, MASTER TAILOR AND RETAILER, LEGITIMATE SON OF JAKOB STEINGASSNER, RETAILER THERE, AND ANNA MARIA, MAIDEN NAME BERNOLD."

GATES: YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE BIRTH RECORD FOR YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER JOHN.

ISN'T THAT COOL?

AND, WHAT'S THE BIGGEST SURPRISE YOU JUST SAW?

STONESTREET: STEINGASSNER.

GATES: STEINGASSNER.

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THAT NAME?

STONESTREET: I HAVE, BUT I'VE HEARD DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF IT.

SO THAT, BASICALLY, IS VINDICATION OF.

GATES: YES.

STONESTREET: THAT THEY CHANGED THEIR NAME.

GATES: THAT'S RIGHT.

ANY IDEA WHY YOUR FAMILY CHOSE THE NAME STONESTREET?

STONESTREET: WELL, "STONE" IS "STEIN."

GATES: MM-HMM.

STONESTREET: AND I WOULD ASSUME "GASSNER" HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH "STREET"?

GATES: WELL, "GASSE" MEANS "ALLEY."

STONESTREET: OKAY.

GATES: SO, THERE YOU GO.

SO, THEY LITERALIZED IT AS CLOSE AS THEY COULD.

STONESTREET: STONE ALLEY.

GATES: STONE ALLEY.

STONESTREET: STONESTREET SOUNDS BETTER.

GATES: YEAH, STONESTREET.

STONESTREET: THAT'S SO COOL.

GATES: THE "STEINGASSNERS" BECAME "STONESTREETS" DURING WORLD WAR I, AT A TIME WHEN MANY AMERICANS WITH GERMAN-SOUNDING NAMES CHOSE TO ANGLICIZE THEM.

BY THEN, THE FAMILY HAD BEEN LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES FOR ALMOST FOUR DECADES.

BUT, OF COURSE, THEIR ROOTS WERE DEEPLY AUSTRIAN.

IN THEIR HOMETOWN, WE WERE ABLE TO LOCATE RECORDS TRACING THEM BACK LONG BEFORE THE FOUNDING OF THE UNITED STATES.

THERE'S YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER JOHN AT THE BOTTOM.

FIND HIM, GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

STONESTREET: JOHANN.

GATES: YEP.

AND ABOVE HIM ARE HIS PARENTS, YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS.

STONESTREET: ANTON.

GATES: THERESE AND ANTON THE TAILOR, THE ONES WHO MOVED THE FAMILY TO AMERICA, RIGHT?

STONESTREET: UH-HUH.

GATES: NOW, GO TO THE VERY TOP OF THE CHART.

STONESTREET: "THOMAS STEINGASSNER, BORN ABOUT 1665."

GATES: AND HIS WIFE, WHAT'S HER NAME?

STONESTREET: "SUSANNA KOLLER.

1669."

GATES: THOMAS AND SUSANNA ARE YOUR EIGHTH-GREAT- GRANDPARENTS, YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT- GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS ON YOUR STONESTREET LINE.

STONESTREET: WOW.

OH MY GOSH.

OKAY, GERTRUDE, TERESA.

I JUST, I'M LOOKING AT THESE OTHER... GATES: OH, SURE.

STONESTREET: MAIDEN NAMES ARE SO INTERESTING.

GATES: YEAH, ALL THE WOMEN ARE ON YOUR RIGHT.

STONESTREET: EISENHUT.

BOY, THAT'S AN INTERESTING FIRST NAME.

HOW DO YOU SAY THAT NAME?

"KUNEGUND EISENHUT."

GATES: I THINK YOU DID A GOOD JOB.

STONESTREET: "KUNEGUND.

I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOU IN THE CHAMBER."

GATES: DID YOU EVER THINK WE COULD TAKE YOUR FAMILY TREE BACK THIS FAR?

STONESTREET: NO.

I MEAN, I THINK THIS IS, I THINK THIS IS AMAZING, AND, UM, IT'S UNBELIEVABLE TO LOOK AT.

LIKE, I'M RELATED TO ALL THESE PEOPLE.

GATES: YOU'RE BLOOD-RELATED.

YOU INHERITED DNA FROM ALL THESE PEOPLE.

(EXHALES) STONESTREET: I HAVE CHILLS!

GATES: WE WERE NEARING THE END OF THE JOURNEY FOR MY GUESTS.

THE PAPER TRAIL HAD RUN OUT, IT WAS TIME TO UNFURL THEIR FAMILY TREES, NOW FILLED WITH ANCESTORS WHOSE NAMES THEY'D NEVER HEARD BEFORE.

FOR BOTH MELISSA AND ERIC, IT WAS A MOMENT OF DEEP EMOTION AND AWE.

McCARTHY: THAT'S AMAZING TO KNOW THAT THAT'S THE MAP OF ME.

GATES: A CHANCE TO SEE HOW THEIR OWN LIVES FIT INTO A LARGER PATTERN OF FAMILY JOURNEYS THAT BEGAN CENTURIES AGO.

STONESTREET: YOU KNOW, I HAD THE COURAGE TO LEAVE KANSAS CITY, TO GO PURSUE AN ACTING CAREER IN CHICAGO, A CITY THAT I'D NEVER LIVED IN, AND THEN I MOVED TO LOS ANGELES, YOU KNOW, FOR A REASON.

PART OF THAT REASON IS BECAUSE MY PARENTS GAVE ME THAT CONFIDENCE.

GATES: MM-HMM.

STONESTREET: WHERE DID THEY LEARN THAT?

WELL, YOU SHOWED ME TODAY THAT THEY COME FROM PEOPLE THAT TOOK CHANCES, AND LEFT HOMES, SMALL VILLAGES IN THE ALPS, FOR A NEW WORLD THAT THEY DIDN'T, COULDN'T HAVE REALLY KNOWN THAT MUCH ABOUT.

GATES: NO.

STONESTREET: SO, YOU KNOW, NOW, IF I EVER AM FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE KIDS, UM, THEY'RE GONNA KNOW WHAT I DID.

GATES: MM-HMM.

STONESTREET: BUT I, WHY I DID IT IS NO DOUBT BECAUSE OF WHO I AM, AND WHAT I'M MADE UP OF.

McCARTHY: I'M ALREADY GRATEFUL TO BE HERE AND TO HAVE MY LIFE AND FAMILY, BUT TO KNOW AND TO SEE VISUALLY HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE WORKED TO MAKE THAT POSSIBLE FOR ME CHANGES THINGS.

GATES: MM-HMM.

AND THEY WORKED HARD.

McCARTHY: AND THEY WORKED HARD FOR IT.

GATES: THAT'S THE END OF OUR SEARCH FOR THE ANCESTORS OF MELISSA McCARTHY AND ERIC STONESTREET.

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

V.O.

: Next time on Finding Your Roots.

Hip hop pioneers LL Cool J, and Sean Combs both grew up without ancestral roots.

LL COOL J: I never knew the extent of my history.

V.O.

: Now Henry Louis Gates Jr. is about to remix their very identities.

GATES: Your ancestor was not a slave.

He was free.

COMBS: It's incredible GATES Do you see any family resemblance?

LL COOL J: That's unbelievable.

V.O.

: On the next Finding Your Roots.