Top 10 Awkward Moments on Finding Your Roots

You might be familiar with the British practice of sending convicts to Australia during the 18th and 19th centuries. But did you know that before Australia, the primary destination for British prisoners was actually America? If this fact didn’t come as a surprise to you, it definitely did for award-winning actress Laura Linney. When she appeared on the show in 2019, Linney discovered that her fifth great-grandfather, William Linney, had been convicted in England of receiving stolen goods and was transported to Virginia in 1768. Probably not the most flattering information to learn about one’s ancestor, but Linney took it in stride with a hearty laugh.

Laura Linney was not the only celebrity to uncover their ancestor’s criminal background. In another episode, veteran broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien was also hit with a mortifying revelation about her third great-grandmother, Lillius Wightman. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr presented O’Brien with a prison register from 19th century Scotland, revealing that a 41-year-old Wightman had been arrested for robbery alongside a group of teenage boys. It soon became clear that Wightman might have been leading a gang of young thieves in Edinburgh, Scotland. This theory seemed to embarrass O’Brien initially, but when they dug deeper into the actual reason why Wightman resorted to crime, her perspective changed.

The name Julia Roberts is instantly recognizable to millions around the world, but what if we told you it’s actually not her biological name? The Oscar-winning actress derived her surname from Willis Roberts, her supposed great-great-grandfather. However, genealogical research uncovered a discrepancy: Julia’s great-grandfather, John, was born more than a decade after Willis passed away. This meant that the actress couldn’t be biologically related to Willis Roberts. Through DNA analysis, the show eventually traced her ancestry to a man named Henry McDonald Mitchell Jr., a married man who lived only a few miles away from Willis’ wife, Rhoda. Despite the biological inaccuracy, we still think ‘Julia Roberts’ has a much better ring to it than ‘Julia Mitchell’.

During the era of slavery, people who were enslaved were typically omitted from census records. However, during her appearance on “Finding Your Roots” in 2021, actress and producer Issa Rae discovered documents that identified her third great-grandfather, Dorson Charbonnet, by name. This was due to the fact that Charbonnet’s mother, Mélite, had been granted freedom by her owner, who also happened to be a black man. Additionally, Rae learned that Charbonnet’s father was a white man who had his own family, but engaged in a clandestine relationship with Mélite. If this all felt like a convoluted television B-plot, then you’re not alone. Even Rae shared the same sentiment.

Gayle King’s family harbored a long-held secret concerning her maternal grandmother, Emma Brown. It was revealed that Brown was the product of a white father and a black mother, a fact seemingly concealed out of shame, at least according to King. The genealogists at “Finding Your Roots” were able to trace King’s ancestry back to Robert Elliot Copes, a white man from South Carolina and Emma Brown’s grandfather. This discovery unveiled King’s European ancestry, which comprises over 30% of her genetic makeup. However, when the results of this DNA analysis were revealed to her at the end of the episode, King didn’t seem to be very pleased with them.

You’d be shocked to learn what some of your ancestors were up to. That probably should be the tagline for “Finding Your Roots.” In 2023, the show delivered yet another jaw-dropping revelation, this time to political activist Angela Davis. Throughout her lengthy career, Davis gained a fierce reputation for her unwavering advocacy for civil rights, as well as her relentless fight against structural racism. Hence, she was taken aback to learn that her ancestors were the complete opposite. Davis was revealed to be a direct descendant of William Brewster, one of the 102 settlers who journeyed to the colonies on the Mayflower. Just goes to show that despite sharing bloodlines, people can still differ greatly from their ancestors.

When George R. R. Martin appeared on “Finding Your Roots” in 2019, he uncovered a surprising family tale reminiscent of the sordid ones in his epic fantasy books. Martin had always believed that his Italian paternal grandfather, Louis, had abandoned his grandmother, Grace, for a younger woman. However, that notion was shattered when the show’s team revealed the results of Martin’s DNA test. Martin’s DNA showed a quarter Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, suggesting his true grandfather was Jewish. It was quickly surmised that it was Grace who likely cheated on Louis, which eventually pushed him away. Oh, we fully expect the next book to be chaotic.

Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis came on “Finding Your Roots” expecting to learn more about her ancestry. But she probably wasn’t ready for the messy familial secrets she would uncover. Davis learned that her grandfather, Henry Logan, had a mysterious lineage. In official documents, two different men had been listed as his father: Gable Logan on his social security application, and John Young on his obituary. Although Henry’s mother, Corine, was married to Gable, historical records showed that after he came back from World War I, Gable never returned to live with Corine. Through DNA analysis and census data, the researchers inferred that Corine likely had an affair with her neighbor, John Young, resulting in the birth of Davis’ grandfather.

Our forefathers often relocated to different countries for various reasons: economic prospects, fleeing conflict, or in the case of Kathryn Hahn’s ancestor, eloping with their lover at the expense of family ties. In 1853, Hahn’s third great-grandfather, Wilhelm Lünenschloss, was living in Germany with his wife and six children. However, by 1860, Wilhelm had moved to Wisconsin, now married to a different woman named Eliza. The “Finding Your Roots” team dug deeper into this significant change. Through a German city directory from 1854, they found that Eliza was the daughter of Wilhelm’s neighbor. This suggests that Wilhelm met Eliza there in Germany, then abandoned his family to start a new one with her in America.

Hollywood actress Niecy Nash was in for a rude shock when she appeared on the ninth season of
“Finding Your Roots.” Turns out the man Nash had always believed to be her paternal grandfather actually wasn’t. Naturally, this was an incredibly surprising revelation for the actress, who now faced the challenging task of breaking this news to her father. Researchers on the show used Nash’s DNA along with that of a second cousin to uncover the identity of her biological grandfather: a man named Frank Jackson. So how did this discrepancy occur? Well, that’s the complicated part. Jackson actually lived very close to Nash’s grandmother in St. Louis, so it’s believed the two had an affair, which ultimately produced Nash’s father.

What scandalous tales exist in your family history? Why don’t you spill some secrets in the comment section below?