Want more celebrity content? Check out the new season of Who Do You Think You Are? Sundays at 7/6c on NBC or stream on Peacock. visitancestry.com/3Pfkvq5
What would be nice if us folks that were in enslaved back then knew that it would be easy for us descendants to have free access to our ancestry like what is being offered to celebrities until then we're still enslaved I surely don't have the money to get access to what is being sold and it's a new product everyday
Ted says he is self absorbed, but I spent a half-hour with him once, and he was very engaged and self-deprecating. Nothing but good things to say about him.
Same...I had worked on my family tress for about 10 years then got a DNA test hoping to discover something interesting, some sort of family secret. Nope, it's all exactly as I had known.
No such thing as boring , it is only your perception . Imagine someone looking back at your history when you are gone and invalidating your life and everything that is important to you in one sentence in the same way you view them . Because of them you are here . I find every bodies stories completely fascinating because it is real , real history and not a lie in a history book at school or college . I think it is very beautiful and Im sure your story is too ✌🏼
I've been seriously researching my family tree for 30 years, and delved even deeper in the past year. I've found several slave owning ancestors, but I didn't feel guilt as much as I felt saddened by how many slave owners we had. I have learned that if you are going to delve into your family history you must be prepared to find some uncomfortable people and events, basically you have to accept the good, the bad and the ugly. I deal with it by pledging to do better, to learn more and to teach my children and grand children to use common sense, seek justice for all and treat others the way you want to be treated, otherwise the bad and ugly will just continue to rear it's vile head.
Y'know, I am a Czech, so I fortunately do not have to worry about these things. We did not invade nor colonised nor enslaved nor committed a genocide on anybody; just sat down on our butts and did our own thing. :-)
I am sure the Italians of today feel very guilty that their ancestors conquered and plundered and enslaved people on their way to building an empire thousand of years ago. 😁
@@subraxas But there are Czechs who moved to other parts of Europe, and their descendents may not be so neutral. Plus it doesn't even have to be about race/politics/religion, maybe there was a divorce or affair or illegitimate birth that you will uncover.
@@haurianthauriant9444 Your entire family seems wonderful. Would be so interesting to hear more from Ted ... who always plays luck loveable characters. Are you busy? Could you talk with him and write a book? 💚💛🧡
Having feeling of guilt is natural and healthy. People who say different are self deceiving. If it's ok to feel pride for their accomplishments. It's equally ok to feel shame. after all they're feelings. Hopefully it's motivation to be a better person.
Every person on this planet is a product of their own times and knowledge and circumstances. Remember that when you start to judge those who didn’t know what you know, didn’t feel how you feel and didn’t have what you have.
Never feel guilty over your past. It is entirely out of your control and it's gone. Instead, feel optimistic about your future and what you can do to make the world a better place.
This comment is true for me. I wake up in an optimistic frame of mind. Then I may be told that I am negative. I always see a half filled glass as being half full. Others around me see the glass as half empty. What does that tell you about me? I also enjoy singing scraps of songs until all the words of the song come to me. I also make up my own compilations of songs going back to the 1930s!! I am 85 now with as much energy now as in the 1970s.
I was just rechecking the dates. Yes it was in the early part of 1973 when decimalisation took place. I used to walk to work 1 mile across fields of wheat or barley. Those were the days my Friends.
I would expect we all have ancestors who were slaves or slave owners. It's a sad truth, and unfortunately it continues throughout the world. We can't be responsible for the actions of our ancestors, but we can live our lives in kindness and regard for others.
do your research, only 10% of the population owned slaves everyone else could not afford it or if they were Republicans - the party that was founded to END slavery never owned one - HISTORICAL FACT - no one is going to white guilt me, my family DIED to free and end Slavery!
If you go back far enought, so matter what your ethnic or racial origins at some point we all did something despicable to someone. Blood guild makes no sense in the grand scheme. Just try to live your life so that your descendants are proud of you.
@@TheTriplelman those 10% did have many children and so on so it's quite likely that a good percentage will have a slave owning ancestor. A salute to your ancestors who fought the noble fight.
While l agree with you, his sense of morality and decency struck my heart. In these days of callousness and disregard for others, this man can feel - emotionally feel- guilty about a slave ancestor. That right there is humanity.
@@tbjtbj4786 ...the horrors of the past should haunt all of us. Whether the extermination and displacement of Native Indians, the brutality of slavery, or the Jewish Holocaust we should all be humbled and grieved by such atrocities. The fact that Mr. Danson could and did express shock and remorse by the discovery brought relief to me. Humanity is indeed alive and some of us call on her often.
Thanks so much for sharing this! We're glad your research has brought about so many rewarding discoveries. Who has been your favorite ancestor to learn about so far? It would be awesome to find out more about your journey. 🙂
I understand that feeling of guilt after learning that one of your ancestors was an enslaver. I found out, and even came across a photo of one of my ancestors who was an enslaver that fathered a child with an enslaved woman. It took the wind out of my sails to actually see him and feel like I was apart of something vile. Sometimes when I think about it, it still is too much.
Hi Alison, what do you mean by "it took the wind out my sails"? I guess this is the reason why so many people tend to want to forget the past. But you could choose to be like Anderson Cooper and reject that history.
Thank you for using “enslaved woman” rather than “slave”. I know a lot of people will call it being petty or trivial but it makes me really really angry hearing people being DEFINED ENTIRELY but something that was enforced on them. No. First and foremost these were PEOPLE. They had families, friends, homes. Thoughts and opinions. A sense of humour. A SOUL. And we need to remember and highlight that fact. Nobody is just born a slave. Somebody has to DO the enslaving. Somebody has to that to you - it’s not just what you *are*.
Are we responsible for the actions of our parents? No. So how are we responsible for the actions of our distant ancestors? The answer is that we are not responsible. So then why should we feel guilt because of them? The idea that we should feel guilt over the actions of our ancestors is ridiculous.
Well, you're right it is ridiculous. More ridiculous (and terrifying) is that the leading company for genealogy research (Ancestry.com) is now teaching this philosophy through their advertising.... It's pathetic just how far the "balance of inequality" narrative has taken those on the political left. While there are good intentions behind much of their thinking, so many have gotten caught up in the narrative that they don't see the gross over exaggeration of certain things that have occurred... Now where to the point that companies like Ancestry are using their position to try to spread this philosophy. It's unacceptable.
It matters specially if you benefited and continue to benefit what your ancestors did. When slavery was abolished things didn't become rainbow and sunshine for some peoole, they continue to suffer till this day.
I had a neighbor family for 30 years. I hd so much respect for them that I could not bring myself to refer to them as anything but, Mr. Or Mrs. I feel the same way about Doctor Gates.T here is no way I could ever refer to him as, Skip!
I might sign up for this too if some professional did all the research for me and presented it in a nice book. People are treated differently when they have fame don't they?
I could see how being connected to the African slave trade might be troubling for some people, but in reality most people are descendants of slave owners as slavery became such a common practice in human history. All we can really do about it today is be good, kind-hearted people.
Jane Austen owned 2 slaves. It was common evidently in the uk to own slaves remotely and they were managed by agents or so i believe. Even the clergy invested in slaves.
Slave ownership was common on this planet 300 years ago. The elimination of slavery in the world was a process initiated by the British in the 18th century. It began with the attempt to eliminate slavery within the British empire. William Wilberforce introduced legislation in the British parliament. Strong among his motives was his Christian convictions.
@@mikeboate208 in Dublin? Lol. Its been a sore point for Irish historians ever since. There are less detailed records at the GB National Archives at Kew. Could be worth a look.
Boring is a matter of opinion. My grandfather was in a barbershop quartet and my great-grandfather was a Baptist minister. I think that's pretty cool, not boring
I live in the now. I, as an individual, had no say in any actions of my ancestors. Nor do I have a say on who's my parents are. I know some people want others to take responsibility for their forebearers. I can't see how anyone can considering I wasn't there to say dont do that
Really People, All people on this earth has a family member who was either a slave or a slave owner some point in time. This was common among all tribes and countries of the past. Today;s slaves are usually kids in 3rd world countries. You shouldn't feel guilty because of that.
Today's slaves make shoes that are sold under Lebron James's name and make him billions of dollars. We need Dr. Gates to ask him how he feels about that.
I am Not famous, but would love to have a document like those Dr Gates gives to everyone. I have been doing research the last 2 years and found out That i descend from spanish and portuguese sephardic jewish. and from an ancestors line I descend from kings Alfonso XI of Castille, Henry II of England and so on. An arab princess , etc. that is soooo cool !!! I also descend from one of John Leguízamo’s ancestors Sebastián de Belalcázar. What a nice history behind. Dr Gates I admire you and your work. Greetings from Colombia 🇨🇴.
If i had an ancestor who did great things 10 generations ago, I wouldn’t think i would be capable of doing something great just because i was related to this person in the same token if i had ancestor who did terrible things hundred of years ago I wouldn’t feel guilty either nor would i feel that i more inclined to do bad things. This ancestry research is mainly for entertainment purposes or at the very least to explain our physical attributes.
People don't care to know that slavery has been happening for thousands of years. They don't want to know that Spartacus was a real life slave that made history, Moses' role in freeing the slaves of the Pharaoh, how Genghis Khan built his rule, howand who made the great cities and roads of the past were built, who was used in Aztec sacrifices...History of the world is colored with slave owners and slavery. If you care to look now, white slavery is everywhere. It not applies to women but children of both sexes.
@@ricksaunders8074 Wasn't that 7 yrs debt, free work, as an indentured servant? My great great grandfather came at the age of 12 to "apprentice" to his uncle. Apprentice=$0 till his 20s. Thank you forefathers for making the sacrifice whatever way you came. If it wasn't for your circumstances, I wouldn't be living here in the lifestyle I truly enjoy and *MOST LIKELY WOULDN'T HAVE EVER BEEN BORN*, lol!
Sorry Ted, your not responsible for the sins of your "Fathers"... just like you can be proud of good things you didn't do those either... Also it's easy to judge people from where we sit now. People like to Cherry Pick their ancestry and take credit for Royalty and Heroism but we all have psychos and inbreeding in our genealogies. As far as I know I don't have slave holding ancestry. But not everyone in there wears a halo. One of my ancestors was placed in Hell by Dante... This, though very interesting, doesn't effect my life unless I choose to drink 100s of cups of coffee and stare at Hieronymus Bosch paintings 18 hours a day and flagellate myself and totally separate myself from reality over this one blip in my ancestry... Is it meaningless? No, it not meaningless... but what I think is important is that studying our own ancestry gives us a more tangible and palpable sense of history. Also, there can be some value in taking a break from studying your family tree in that it can be addictive and if followed excessively can feed the dark tendencies of navel gazing and narcissism. An example: My late Mother-In-Law followed as many of my lines as she could find and their was a direct ancestor who was very high up on the royalty food chain. I went through the discussion/comments section and I saw comments by a guy who was not directly descended and this guy had this elaborate scroll made and framed very nicely for this distant cousin... I was like "You've got to be kidding me..." But many people are heavily into cherry picking royals and famous people like discoverers and so forth... But they don't frame "Vlad The Impaler" or Nazi War Criminals... I think the Ancestry bubble is about to pop... or At least I hope it finds balance in the Force...
There is a thing, do you have any knowledge about that person? Because I know that some parents have full knowledge and doesn't let their children know by bearing the pain themselves. So if you don't know that person, you shouldn't bother much. OR, if you do have knowledge, are you remorseful enough? No one has any rights to blame you for something you didn't do but still as humanity exists, do you feel remorseful? If you not, do something good under your name.
I wonder if anyone has ever found the great great great great grandson of someone that wrongly fully condemned their great great great great grandmother as a witch and kicked them in the balls really hard?
🙏💝❤💜Gdm Mr.Henry Louis Gates jr.! U R A REMARKABLE STORY TELLER, myself n another youtuber were WONDERING Y U DO NOT REGULAR PPLE SUCH AS US! Alex Haley helped me aunt in puttn 2gether our ROOTS!
you can feel bad about the wrongdoings of your ancestors and vow to never commit the same sins, but you are not responsible for their past actions. there should be no reasons to feel personal quit or shame. learn from their mistakes and history and go on to do the right things.
Hi Christina, thanks so much for stopping by! We agree, it can certainly be difficult to track down particularly elusive ancestors from time to time! We have popped a link below to a great article which has some tips on breaking through brick walls like this in your research should you wish to take a look: support.ancestry.com/s/article/Overcoming-Roadblocks-in-Your-Research?language=en_US We hope this helps and we wish you luck in all of your research to come!
Awesome childhood going with your dad that is like my brother and myself a dream that we would’ve loved to of done my dad used to tell us he’s going to take. To find a pirates chest one day those were the good all days
It is absurd to feel responsibility for the actions of someone else, even if they are related to you. This is especially true if it is someone who you never knew. Slavery was ubiquitous world wide. It was in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans. It was (and is still) in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. There was a higher percentage of slave ownership in the U.S. by blacks than by whites. There is a story written by some distant relative of mine that some other distant relative road with Quantrell’s Raiders after the Civil War. When I read that some decades ago, my only thought was, “Well, THAT’S interesting!” I felt no guilt-I wasn’t the one who did it.
I can’t comprehend that Ted Danson would feel guilt that an ancestor was involved in slavery. He felt pride in one ancestor and guilt registering another. Got some basic life lessons to learn there Ted...
Why can't he feel both??? He's showing human emotions...thankfully. Yes, he was ashamed of a person he is related to, would be involved in the enslavement and most likely, cruelty of another human being. True, he may not have been there; however, to know that something so inhumane is part of his family's legacy, can be disconcerting. On the other hand, he is also proud of another relative who may have done something great on behalf of humanity. Why don't you give yourself the "advice" and understand that humans can feel varied emotions. However, digressions may be in order since you seem to be one that can only feel indifference when something, especially if it is negative, impacts others. It seems you are the one who needs "life lessons".
You know I like watching these. But I wish they would just randomly. Pull somebody out of a crowd and see what their life is like. They might not be famous or they might be boring but it would be nice to see them do somebody other than these rich and famous people
Hi Rex, and thanks for stopping by. We do have regular people on the show. PBS does hold casting calls for anyone to submit their story for consideration to be on the show. We would suggest to keep an eye out on the PBS website for the next casting call. We hope this helps!
Cough cough Ben Affleck cough cough seems to have this thing of hiding problems everywhere, I am thing of the tweets he exchanged with Rose McGowan about the Weinstein affair.
I dont worry about my long gone relatives , Im the very last of the wills males and have no son to carry the name. All my uncles are gone my grand parents on both sides. Many fought in every war. Till I missed Vietnam by a few years. So nice to see some think they're royalty or something.
Ancestry: Let's give this man some facts about his family; 29 seconds on his crappy slave owner ancestor and the rest of the 3 minutes on him and his heroic woman rights activist ancestor. YT Commenters: White fragility triggered by the 29 seconds.
@@martinsilva1985 that does make us cousins, Something that is important also is that you might have descended from King Edward II Longshank of England. Cut that also depends upon your other family tree lines.
I almost accidentally killed Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen in Beverly Hills in 1995. It was pouring rain at night and my busted Prelude had no brake pads left. I had to slam on the brakes, they screeched so loud, and I stopped just short of the crosswalk. As I looked up, I saw Ted and Mary’s horrified looks on their faces. They kept walking and I slowly pulled away in shame. Sorry, Ted, but I’m glad things worked out!
I enjoy the program, even if some of the guests are not "regular people." It's showbiz, after all. Few people would watch if "celebrities" were not the subjects. It's History, made interesting.
The main thing of being a living , white descendant of of slaveholders is, these people are still able reap the generational benefits in present day's society, which I find very offensive in a broad sense.
Genetic ancestry is just biology, its not character, believes, ideology, religion, culture, and all those aspects that make us humans, different from animals. There are somethings that are ridiculous about this video: 1) the apparently accusatory look on the face of the presenter at minute 1:46; 2) the declaration of guilt of Ted Danson for something he didn't even know or had dream before this ancestry investigation and 3) the declaration of pride of Ted Danson for Anne Marbury being his 10th great grandmother!!!! this one is the most ridiculous of the three, she is not his grandmother, she is one ancestor of him who was born in 1590(!!!), that's 500 years ago for god sake what is the real connection with him??? She is the 10th grandmother of millions of people in the world. If you go back to 500 year you will have more than 4000 direct ancestors ("grandparents", not counting related uncles or cousins) all generations included(!!!!), would you expect them to be all great, noble, honest and virtuous, and should you be ashamed or proud for something someone did 500 years ago? Ancestry is a very dangerous weapon when pointed to ignorant people.
I could no more feel guilty about a several generations- removed relative for owning slaves as I could feeling guilty about one of them being a criminal... which in my view, is the same.
Want more celebrity content? Check out the new season of Who Do You Think You Are? Sundays at 7/6c on NBC or stream on Peacock. visitancestry.com/3Pfkvq5
What would be nice if us folks that were in enslaved back then knew that it would be easy for us descendants to have free access to our ancestry like what is being offered to celebrities until then we're still enslaved I surely don't have the money to get access to what is being sold and it's a new product everyday
Ted says he is self absorbed, but I spent a half-hour with him once, and he was very engaged and self-deprecating. Nothing but good things to say about him.
"Please don't let me be boring" -- was exactly my felling before doing the DNA thing. And then I realised I am extremely boring.
Same...I had worked on my family tress for about 10 years then got a DNA test hoping to discover something interesting, some sort of family secret. Nope, it's all exactly as I had known.
No such thing as boring , it is only your perception . Imagine someone looking back at your history when you are gone and invalidating your life and everything that is important to you in one sentence in the same way you view them . Because of them you are here . I find every bodies stories completely fascinating because it is real , real history and not a lie in a history book at school or college . I think it is very beautiful and Im sure your story is too ✌🏼
Don’t think of yourself as the boring one think of yourself as the one who will be know as the famous one
DNA results can be boring, but everyone has an exciting family story. You just have to dig through the records :)
Me too. But I did find a surprising number of Mayflower immigrants, so a little something of interest.
I've been seriously researching my family tree for 30 years, and delved even deeper in the past year. I've found several slave owning ancestors, but I didn't feel guilt as much as I felt saddened by how many slave owners we had. I have learned that if you are going to delve into your family history you must be prepared to find some uncomfortable people and events, basically you have to accept the good, the bad and the ugly. I deal with it by pledging to do better, to learn more and to teach my children and grand children to use common sense, seek justice for all and treat others the way you want to be treated, otherwise the bad and ugly will just continue to rear it's vile head.
Y'know, I am a Czech, so I fortunately do not have to worry about these things.
We did not invade nor colonised nor enslaved nor committed a genocide on anybody; just sat down on our butts and did our own thing. :-)
I am sure the Italians of today feel very guilty that their ancestors conquered and plundered and enslaved people on their way to building an empire thousand of years ago. 😁
@@BigD481
They should rather be ashamed of their fairly recent fascist past under that idiotic pig Berlusc... I mean Mussolini.
Well put.
@@subraxas But there are Czechs who moved to other parts of Europe, and their descendents may not be so neutral. Plus it doesn't even have to be about race/politics/religion, maybe there was a divorce or affair or illegitimate birth that you will uncover.
My wife knew Ted’s parents when they lived in Sedona. They were wonderful people.
Hey, Ned Danson and Jessica Danson were my grandparents. (I'm Ted's nephew.) I'm biased, but I agree they were wonderful people.
@@haurianthauriant9444 That's wholesome as heck
@@haurianthauriant9444 Your entire family seems wonderful. Would be so interesting to hear more from Ted ... who always plays luck loveable characters. Are you busy? Could you talk with him and write a book? 💚💛🧡
Blackface...
Having feeling of guilt is natural and healthy. People who say different are self deceiving. If it's ok to feel pride for their accomplishments. It's equally ok to feel shame. after all they're feelings. Hopefully it's motivation to be a better person.
Every person on this planet is a product of their own times and knowledge and circumstances. Remember that when you start to judge those who didn’t know what you know, didn’t feel how you feel and didn’t have what you have.
If you went back 8 generations, we probably all have skeletons in our closets.
Heck , I have some skeletons just two or three generations back
no need to go that far
As an AA woman, I'd like to say those are your forefathers closets and bones...you are STILL writing your story. Be kind, Be Great 🙏🏾
Some don't need to go back that far. LOL
Yeah. My grandmother's sister was murdered by her husband through domestic violence. It was a hush-hush thing. And that's only three generations.
Once I asked a girl what her natural hair color was. She got SO pissed off at me. I knew right there not to ask about anybody's roots ever again.
Just ask if the collar and cuffs match and see what happens. Do let us know how you get on.
@@priscillaroberts7945 I just asked. My face hurts now.
@@chalkbunt81 😂 😆
@@priscillaroberts7945 I always heard people ask if the carpet matched the drapes.
😂😂😂
Never feel guilty over your past. It is entirely out of your control and it's gone.
Instead, feel optimistic about your future and what you can do to make the world a better place.
This comment is true for me. I wake up in an optimistic frame of mind. Then I may be told that I am negative. I always see a half filled glass as being half full. Others around me see the glass as half empty. What does that tell you about me? I also enjoy singing scraps of songs until all the words of the song come to me. I also make up my own compilations of songs going back to the 1930s!! I am 85 now with as much energy now as in the 1970s.
I was just rechecking the dates. Yes it was in the early part of 1973 when decimalisation took place. I used to walk to work 1 mile across fields of wheat or barley. Those were the days my Friends.
if you can feel proud of your past you can feel quilty as well.
If everyone was held accountable for having a bad ancestor, all human beings would be guilty
@@ljnv "bad ancestor"?
I would expect we all have ancestors who were slaves or slave owners. It's a sad truth, and unfortunately it continues throughout the world. We can't be responsible for the actions of our ancestors, but we can live our lives in kindness and regard for others.
do your research, only 10% of the population owned slaves everyone else could not afford it or if they were Republicans - the party that was founded to END slavery never owned one - HISTORICAL FACT - no one is going to white guilt me, my family DIED to free and end Slavery!
I'm not North American... I was referring to world history in general.... my ancestry is celtic/scandanavian.
If you go back far enought, so matter what your ethnic or racial origins at some point we all did something despicable to someone. Blood guild makes no sense in the grand scheme. Just try to live your life so that your descendants are proud of you.
@@queenofpixels5458 too true
@@TheTriplelman those 10% did have many children and so on so it's quite likely that a good percentage will have a slave owning ancestor. A salute to your ancestors who fought the noble fight.
Finally, someone who doesn’t cry
He felt guilty about having a slave owner in his ancestry. Well, don't! What's done is done. It's what we do NOW that counts!
While l agree with you, his sense of morality and decency struck my heart. In these days of callousness and disregard for others, this man can feel - emotionally feel- guilty about a slave ancestor. That right there is humanity.
@@mj149 Beautifully written
@@mj149 yea guilty about a slave owner.?..
Or smarte enough and a good enough actor. To act like it we the libtards want cancel him?
@@tbjtbj4786 ...the horrors of the past should haunt all of us. Whether the extermination and displacement of Native Indians, the brutality of slavery, or the Jewish Holocaust we should all be humbled and grieved by such atrocities. The fact that Mr. Danson could and did express shock and remorse by the discovery brought relief to me. Humanity is indeed alive and some of us call on her often.
@@mj149 Lefties are all about feelins!
I didn't have to go more than about 4 generations to find extremely good people, and scoundrels and murderers. Completely fascinating.
Thanks so much for sharing this! We're glad your research has brought about so many rewarding discoveries. Who has been your favorite ancestor to learn about so far? It would be awesome to find out more about your journey. 🙂
I understand that feeling of guilt after learning that one of your ancestors was an enslaver. I found out, and even came across a photo of one of my ancestors who was an enslaver that fathered a child with an enslaved woman. It took the wind out of my sails to actually see him and feel like I was apart of something vile. Sometimes when I think about it, it still is too much.
Hi Alison, what do you mean by "it took the wind out my sails"? I guess this is the reason why so many people tend to want to forget the past. But you could choose to be like Anderson Cooper and reject that history.
Thank you for using “enslaved woman” rather than “slave”. I know a lot of people will call it being petty or trivial but it makes me really really angry hearing people being DEFINED ENTIRELY but something that was enforced on them. No. First and foremost these were PEOPLE. They had families, friends, homes. Thoughts and opinions. A sense of humour. A SOUL. And we need to remember and highlight that fact. Nobody is just born a slave. Somebody has to DO the enslaving. Somebody has to that to you - it’s not just what you *are*.
Your clothing literally still makes you vile, we all participate in modern day slavery, get over yourself.
@@angelamalkin2266 eat one you NOBODY.
@@angelamalkin2266 Yes but still please let her feel how she likes.
Are we responsible for the actions of our parents? No. So how are we responsible for the actions of our distant ancestors? The answer is that we are not responsible. So then why should we feel guilt because of them? The idea that we should feel guilt over the actions of our ancestors is ridiculous.
Well, you're right it is ridiculous. More ridiculous (and terrifying) is that the leading company for genealogy research (Ancestry.com) is now teaching this philosophy through their advertising.... It's pathetic just how far the "balance of inequality" narrative has taken those on the political left. While there are good intentions behind much of their thinking, so many have gotten caught up in the narrative that they don't see the gross over exaggeration of certain things that have occurred... Now where to the point that companies like Ancestry are using their position to try to spread this philosophy. It's unacceptable.
if you cant claim the shame of your ancestors, then you cant claim their glory either.
Just as ridiculous as holding an entire race responsible for the actions of a few
I don't feel responsible for my ancestry but I feel sad for them having salves.
@@reginaeverett1071 Wait a second, White ain't a race lol.
Nobody is responsible for what another person has done even if its family its their choice not yours leave the past in the past
You celebrate 4th of July?
@@chgosatrap Nope
It matters specially if you benefited and continue to benefit what your ancestors did. When slavery was abolished things didn't become rainbow and sunshine for some peoole, they continue to suffer till this day.
Burying your head in the sand, doesn't change the truth.
@@josephhewes4894 africa was more civilised before the colonial oppressors arrived.
I had a neighbor family for 30 years. I hd so much respect for them that I could not bring myself to refer to them as anything but, Mr. Or Mrs. I feel the same way about Doctor Gates.T here is no way I could ever refer to him as, Skip!
God I freaking LOVE Ted Danson
Interesting stuff love Ted as Sam in cheers of course and when he was on CSI
Happy birthday, Ted Danson!!!!
Isn’t it funny to have a hit show, Cheers, that took place in area that Anne Marbury lived in?
whaaaat ? *shivers*
That's why it was based there, not specifically bc of her but bc of his Family History
Love Finding Your Roots
I might sign up for this too if some professional did all the research for me and presented it in a nice book. People are treated differently when they have fame don't they?
We tried that. They only research famous ppl to keep the show interesting to watch.
@@CradleEpiscopalian56 Understood
It’s all about ratings man! Nobody wants to watch an average person’s life.
Yacht Boy
Because people like you and me watch it
You can comission a professional genealogist/historian to do it for you outside of these types of shows
I could see how being connected to the African slave trade might be troubling for some people, but in reality most people are descendants of slave owners as slavery became such a common practice in human history. All we can really do about it today is be good, kind-hearted people.
I guess you mean at some point in human history. All of us could have ancestors which were slaves or slave owners.
Jane Austen owned 2 slaves. It was common evidently in the uk to own slaves remotely and they were managed by agents or so i believe. Even the clergy invested in slaves.
Slave ownership was common on this planet 300 years ago. The elimination of slavery in the world was a process initiated by the British in the 18th century. It began with the attempt to eliminate slavery within the British empire.
William Wilberforce introduced legislation in the British parliament. Strong among his motives was his Christian convictions.
my ancestors were white slaves in the UK.
@@Bernie5172 a lot of us here in the uk aren't doing that well now.
Janet has been very thorough in building up a back story for Michael that spans generations back......what a lucky fire squid..
So his 10th Great grandmother was essentially a Priest
its crazy that the paper trail is even still there.
That’s called “ lucky”... many of the records I search for went up in smoke...in the nineteen twenties😢
@@mikeboate208 in Dublin? Lol. Its been a sore point for Irish historians ever since. There are less detailed records at the GB National Archives at Kew. Could be worth a look.
I’m related to Ted Danson through a common ancestor of Oliver Smith. I’m a direct descendent of Captain George Denison of Mystic, Connecticut.
Me too! I'm going to check the connection to Oliver Smith
@@oceanrock733 Very cool!
Im a descendant of Houdini as well mate🤷♂️🍩
@@kenneththompson8933 and the ballerina side?
Boring is a matter of opinion. My grandfather was in a barbershop quartet and my great-grandfather was a Baptist minister. I think that's pretty cool, not boring
I live in the now. I, as an individual, had no say in any actions of my ancestors. Nor do I have a say on who's my parents are. I know some people want others to take responsibility for their forebearers. I can't see how anyone can considering I wasn't there to say dont do that
Really People, All people on this earth has a family member who was either a slave or a slave owner some point in time. This was common among all tribes and countries of the past. Today;s slaves are usually kids in 3rd world countries. You shouldn't feel guilty because of that.
Today's slaves make shoes that are sold under Lebron James's name and make him billions of dollars. We need Dr. Gates to ask him how he feels about that.
She is my 11th grandmother. That's awesome Ted!!!
huh?
@@biegebythesea6775 She is my gr grandmother as well.
I am Not famous, but would love to have a document like those Dr Gates gives to everyone.
I have been doing research the last 2 years and found out That i descend from spanish and portuguese sephardic jewish. and from an ancestors line I descend from kings Alfonso XI of Castille, Henry II of England and so on. An arab princess , etc.
that is soooo cool !!! I also descend from one of John Leguízamo’s ancestors Sebastián de Belalcázar. What a nice history behind.
Dr Gates I admire you and your work. Greetings from Colombia 🇨🇴.
Very proud of you cousin
Always loved and respected Ted Danson...not so much for Sam Malone. lol
Lol
Can't believe he dated Whoopi for many years in the 80's I believe.. Whoopi,of all people??!!
@@jcbulldog533 what's difficult for you to believe? whoopi is fkn awesome. he's very lucky to have had the chance.
I cannot unsee the demon Michael in him, lol.
If i had an ancestor who did great things 10 generations ago, I wouldn’t think i would be capable of doing something great just because i was related to this person in the same token if i had ancestor who did terrible things hundred of years ago I wouldn’t feel guilty either nor would i feel that i more inclined to do bad things. This ancestry research is mainly for entertainment purposes or at the very least to explain our physical attributes.
So true!
I didn’t have the words. But YOU did. Thank you 🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Well said!
He said it all in his first sentence.
It’s crazy how they were able to go back to his 10TH GRANDMOTHER!! most African Americans don’t even know their 3RD grandparents.
👍🏿
Ironically my wife who is black was able to trace back further than me
Ted's Dad taught at NAU here in Flagstaff.
But which ancestor provided him with his db genes?
What did you do with the remains
How are you doing 😊😊👋👋
When someone talks how enlightened they are, it shows the opposite.
Slave owner ancestor? The chances are that if you go back far enough every one has slave owners ancestors. Every one.
People don't care to know that slavery has been happening for thousands of years. They don't want to know that Spartacus was a real life slave that made history, Moses' role in freeing the slaves of the Pharaoh, how Genghis Khan built his rule, howand who made the great cities and roads of the past were built, who was used in Aztec sacrifices...History of the world is colored with slave owners and slavery. If you care to look now, white slavery is everywhere. It not applies to women but children of both sexes.
I dont we were poor Irish
We were trash on my dad's side
We had to pay to come to America
Then spend years paying off the debt
@@ricksaunders8074 Wasn't that 7 yrs debt, free work, as an indentured servant? My great great grandfather came at the age of 12 to "apprentice" to his uncle. Apprentice=$0 till his 20s.
Thank you forefathers for making the sacrifice whatever way you came. If it wasn't for your circumstances, I wouldn't be living here in the lifestyle I truly enjoy and *MOST LIKELY WOULDN'T HAVE EVER BEEN BORN*, lol!
@@ricksaunders8074 Yes, we know-Angela's Ashes.
@@cynthiakeller5954Who is “they”? Almost all of these stories are standard in American public education. Did you just not pay attention in school?
We are not responsible for what our ancestors did just for what we do
What a therapeutic process.
Guilty for what?
I thought that this guy was a lead guitarist of The Outfield before he was an actor
Would be nice if they (the show) do normal ppl, not just celebrities
🙏💝❤💜Gdm AS, y don't u reach out 2 Mr. Louis?
Enlightened people don’t show up in blackface, Ted.
Sorry Ted, your not responsible for the sins of your "Fathers"... just like you can be proud of good things you didn't do those either... Also it's easy to judge people from where we sit now. People like to Cherry Pick their ancestry and take credit for Royalty and Heroism but we all have psychos and inbreeding in our genealogies. As far as I know I don't have slave holding ancestry. But not everyone in there wears a halo. One of my ancestors was placed in Hell by Dante... This, though very interesting, doesn't effect my life unless I choose to drink 100s of cups of coffee and stare at Hieronymus Bosch paintings 18 hours a day and flagellate myself and totally separate myself from reality over this one blip in my ancestry... Is it meaningless? No, it not meaningless... but what I think is important is that studying our own ancestry gives us a more tangible and palpable sense of history. Also, there can be some value in taking a break from studying your family tree in that it can be addictive and if followed excessively can feed the dark tendencies of navel gazing and narcissism. An example: My late Mother-In-Law followed as many of my lines as she could find and their was a direct ancestor who was very high up on the royalty food chain. I went through the discussion/comments section and I saw comments by a guy who was not directly descended and this guy had this elaborate scroll made and framed very nicely for this distant cousin... I was like "You've got to be kidding me..." But many people are heavily into cherry picking royals and famous people like discoverers and so forth... But they don't frame "Vlad The Impaler" or Nazi War Criminals... I think the Ancestry bubble is about to pop... or At least I hope it finds balance in the Force...
There is a thing, do you have any knowledge about that person? Because I know that some parents have full knowledge and doesn't let their children know by bearing the pain themselves. So if you don't know that person, you shouldn't bother much.
OR, if you do have knowledge, are you remorseful enough? No one has any rights to blame you for something you didn't do but still as humanity exists, do you feel remorseful?
If you not, do something good under your name.
you are if your family wealth is from that disgraceful event.
am related to anne marbury to she is listed on my family tree as my great grandmother so is mary barret dyer
Calling him Skip is so rude!
My biggest fear would be to find out I had Nazis in my ancestry. Boring would be welcoming!
Love these ♥️
You dug up what now, sir? Can we get a follow up episode on who those folks were?
I wonder if anyone has ever found the great great great great grandson of someone that wrongly fully condemned their great great great great grandmother as a witch and kicked them in the balls really hard?
😆😆😆😆
so what is his ethnicity? Scandinavian? British? German?
Opinionated White Girl African
Alexander Sallandır 😂😂😂
Danson would be nordic, imo
This is a white
Watch the full show.
🙏💝❤💜Gdm Mr.Henry Louis Gates jr.! U R A REMARKABLE STORY TELLER, myself n another youtuber were WONDERING Y U DO NOT REGULAR PPLE SUCH AS US! Alex Haley helped me aunt in puttn 2gether our ROOTS!
you can feel bad about the wrongdoings of your ancestors and vow to never commit the same sins, but you are not responsible for their past actions. there should be no reasons to feel personal quit or shame. learn from their mistakes and history and go on to do the right things.
So Teds family isn't as simply as he is.
My ancestors have always lived in Switzerland, it must be hard to trace the family members that have moved to other countries.
Hi Christina, thanks so much for stopping by! We agree, it can certainly be difficult to track down particularly elusive ancestors from time to time! We have popped a link below to a great article which has some tips on breaking through brick walls like this in your research should you wish to take a look:
support.ancestry.com/s/article/Overcoming-Roadblocks-in-Your-Research?language=en_US
We hope this helps and we wish you luck in all of your research to come!
Why should you feel guilty for the slave trade? It was not you buying slaves. You could feel ashamed for your family history, but not guilt...
Great stuff fascinating
We're so glad you enjoyed the video! 😊
The only thing we need to know is: 1) rich 2) celebrity 3) politically correct.
That's not what I took out of it, but we all see the world through different life lenses.
He mentioned at least twice how enlightened he is. As in, better than?
Awesome childhood going with your dad that is like my brother and myself a dream that we would’ve loved to of done my dad used to tell us he’s going to take. To find a pirates chest one day those were the good all days
Cheers. Ted 😄
It is absurd to feel responsibility for the actions of someone else, even if they are related to you. This is especially true if it is someone who you never knew. Slavery was ubiquitous world wide. It was in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans. It was (and is still) in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. There was a higher percentage of slave ownership in the U.S. by blacks than by whites. There is a story written by some distant relative of mine that some other distant relative road with Quantrell’s Raiders after the Civil War. When I read that some decades ago, my only thought was, “Well, THAT’S interesting!” I felt no guilt-I wasn’t the one who did it.
Anne Marbury just one of Ted Danson’s 2o48 10th great grandmothers!! 🤔
Ted Danson looks like the type that could be 40% European and 60% white dad.
😂😂😂
White and European 🤔
Who are these whites? Obviously not Europeans😀😀😀
He does look very white Dadish 😂😂😂
@@abrahamkline8812 you see what I'm saying fam lol
Anyone can do this for yourself, but you do have to put in some work. Gather up your family last names and then start with the U.S census.
I can’t comprehend that Ted Danson would feel guilt that an ancestor was involved in slavery. He felt pride in one ancestor and guilt registering another. Got some basic life lessons to learn there Ted...
Why can't he feel both??? He's showing human emotions...thankfully. Yes, he was ashamed of a person he is related to, would be involved in the enslavement and most likely, cruelty of another human being. True, he may not have been there; however, to know that something so inhumane is part of his family's legacy, can be disconcerting. On the other hand, he is also proud of another relative who may have done something great on behalf of humanity. Why don't you give yourself the "advice" and understand that humans can feel varied emotions. However, digressions may be in order since you seem to be one that can only feel indifference when something, especially if it is negative, impacts others. It seems you are the one who needs "life lessons".
I’m also related to Anne Marbury Hutchinson.
You know I like watching these. But I wish they would just randomly. Pull somebody out of a crowd and see what their life is like. They might not be famous or they might be boring but it would be nice to see them do somebody other than these rich and famous people
Hi Rex, and thanks for stopping by. We do have regular people on the show. PBS does hold casting calls for anyone to submit their story for consideration to be on the show. We would suggest to keep an eye out on the PBS website for the next casting call. We hope this helps!
So glad he didn't try and bury the slave owner side like some....ahemBenAffleckahem
Cough cough Ben Affleck cough cough seems to have this thing of hiding problems everywhere, I am thing of the tweets he exchanged with Rose McGowan about the Weinstein affair.
Am in Switzerland 🇨🇭but I'd love send do my DNA via ancestral Dna
Do it
@@tonyaberman3669 complicated to get the kit to here
I’m wondering if it was my ancestor who condemned his ancestor. 😅
Have you looked into it? Maybe you should that would be interesting to find
@@maymay5600 my ancestors name was Benjamin Abbott. And he did have some ppl hung for witchcraft.
I dont worry about my long gone relatives , Im the very last of the wills males and have no son to carry the name. All my uncles are gone my grand parents on both sides. Many fought in every war. Till I missed Vietnam by a few years. So nice to see some think they're royalty or something.
Answerable! Wow that's a great word
Ancestry: Let's give this man some facts about his family; 29 seconds on his crappy slave owner ancestor and the rest of the 3 minutes on him and his heroic woman rights activist ancestor.
YT Commenters: White fragility triggered by the 29 seconds.
Watch the full show if you want details
All that people which families had slaves or any relationship with such a monstrous crime should apologize, it's the least they should do
Angela Davis hasn't apologized yet.
I am distant cousins with Ted I love doing the research.
Its so great to hear that you are enjoying discovering your family history, we wish you the very best of luck in all of your research to come!
That's pretty cool. I love his role in Cheers. I recently found out that Ted Danson and I are also distantly related.
@@martinsilva1985 that does make us cousins, Something that is important also is that you might have descended from King Edward II Longshank of England. Cut that also depends upon your other family tree lines.
I almost accidentally killed Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen in Beverly Hills in 1995. It was pouring rain at night and my busted Prelude had no brake pads left. I had to slam on the brakes, they screeched so loud, and I stopped just short of the crosswalk. As I looked up, I saw Ted and Mary’s horrified looks on their faces. They kept walking and I slowly pulled away in shame. Sorry, Ted, but I’m glad things worked out!
Skip? Oh please
He is nuts….
Found out my great great grandmother had 31 kids in Ireland
🤯
oh wow-really large family like mine, one of my great uncles had 35 kids, another had 22
We are all related to someone famous, and I am not just saying that, it is the truth.
since we're related. Can you lend me $10,000, cous. I want to go to Hawaii for vacation this summer.
You who you are because of your ancestors, don't whine about them.
Self confessed self absorbed Hollywood actor LoL. Good for him to get a perspective of his roots ❤
I enjoy the program, even if some of the guests are not "regular people." It's showbiz, after all. Few people would watch if "celebrities" were not the subjects. It's History, made interesting.
The main thing of being a living , white descendant of of slaveholders is, these people are still able reap the generational benefits in present day's society, which I find very offensive in a broad sense.
Generational benefits diminish over time.
I want my book of life! Prof Gates please use me. I’m not famous but....
liked Ted in 'Private Ryan'
I don't feel guilty about my past family's history....I wasn't there
Genetic ancestry is just biology, its not character, believes, ideology, religion, culture, and all those aspects that make us humans, different from animals. There are somethings that are ridiculous about this video: 1) the apparently accusatory look on the face of the presenter at minute 1:46; 2) the declaration of guilt of Ted Danson for something he didn't even know or had dream before this ancestry investigation and 3) the declaration of pride of Ted Danson for Anne Marbury being his 10th great grandmother!!!! this one is the most ridiculous of the three, she is not his grandmother, she is one ancestor of him who was born in 1590(!!!), that's 500 years ago for god sake what is the real connection with him??? She is the 10th grandmother of millions of people in the world. If you go back to 500 year you will have more than 4000 direct ancestors ("grandparents", not counting related uncles or cousins) all generations included(!!!!), would you expect them to be all great, noble, honest and virtuous, and should you be ashamed or proud for something someone did 500 years ago? Ancestry is a very dangerous weapon when pointed to ignorant people.
I could no more feel guilty about a several generations- removed relative for owning slaves as I could feeling guilty about one of them being a criminal... which in my view, is the same.
It’s a privilege to be able to trace back 10 generations. I don’t think it’s possible for those of us with mesoamerican ancestors.
Ted Danson is my 17th cousin once removed.
Why do people feel guilty about their ancestors they obviously couldn't help it.