"Finding Your Roots" on PBS

[James N.]

Last night I watched the second episode in this new PBS series - I thought it was excellent and had definite Civil War connections. Like the first, this episode concerned three individuals, this time all commentators on the public scene: Anderson Cooper of CNN; a black lady whose name I've sadly already forgotten; and one who should be familiar with everyone here, documentary film-maker Ken Burns. Cooper's mother is the Gloria Vanderbilt of the famous family of New Yorkers; but his father's family were largely Confederates from Mississippi! Most were relatively poor farmers owning little land and no slaves, except for one individual who had substantial holdings of both ( including a dozen slaves ) and was killed in 1860 by one of his bondsmen!

Burns was proved to his chagrin to descend not only from a Tory who fled to Canada following the Revolution; but also a western Virginia slave owner! He feigned his distress over the former; but was genuinely chagrined over the latter. ( Poor baby! ) Personally, I thought it served him right, since he admitted a definite Holier than Thou Union bias; he was therefore heartened to learn he was distantly related not only to Scots poet Robert Burns ( proven through DNA testing ), but also to his avowed Hero, Abraham Lincoln!

Most fascinating, however, was the lady, who was descended unknowingly to a free black who was born in Maryland but had moved to Pennsylvania and was a resident of - Gettysburg! Forced to flee during Lee's invasion, he returned to find everything at his home gone and his house a field hospital. He was hired by David Wills to remove bodies of the Federal dead from their shallow battlefield graves to the new National Cemetery, using the wages to reestablish himself and his family in local society; when he died he was the wealthiest black man in town.

This program so far is very intelligently presented and proceeds in a logical and entertaining fashion; I intend to continue following it in the future. In my area it airs Tuesday nights at 7pm.

 

[Blessmag]

Sounds interesting

 

[John Hartwell]

I enjoy this show a lot. They make it look awfully easy, though ... the scores of hours searching for a single fact aren't discussed. And, the presentation is paramount -- it is a show. We had a thread here just last week about the Anderson Cooper segment (can't find it now, of course), where it was pointed out that one of the documents shown had been altered "for the camera." It accurately represented what the document said, but moved the order of columns around to "scan" easier. Not a big deal, but I had hoped their standards were a little bit better than that.
It is amazing what can be found in some cases, if you have an international team of professionals to call on at need.

 

[Drew]

We had a thread here just last week about the Anderson Cooper segment (can't find it now, of course), where it was pointed out that one of the documents shown had been altered "for the camera." It accurately represented what the document said, but moved the order of columns around to "scan" easier. Not a big deal, but I had hoped their standards were a little bit better than that.

"He Had Twelve Slaves. I Don't Feel Bad For Him."

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/he-had-twelve-slaves-i-dont-feel-bad-for-him.104832/

 

[matthew mckeon]

The "black lady" is Anne Deavere Smith, an actress and author of some extraordinary one woman shows.

I'm a sucker for these types of shows.

 

[James N.]

The "black lady" is Anne Deavere Smith, an actress and author of some extraordinary one woman shows.

I'm a sucker for these types of shows.

Thank you - I didn't take any notes at the time, largely because I didn't know how much I would like this or that I'd care to review it and simply couldn't remember her name. I was unfamiliar with Smith, but having just returned from a visit to Gettysburg recognized the story of Biggs though I don't remember from where - possibly it was either in the Wills' House/Lincoln Room Museum or the Seminary Ridge Museum which had an exhibit concerning the black residents of the town.

 

[James N.]

"He Had Twelve Slaves. I Don't Feel Bad For Him."

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/he-had-twelve-slaves-i-dont-feel-bad-for-him.104832/

I didn't realize this had already been the subject of another earlier thread, but on reading it, it seems to have devolved almost exclusively on the Anderson Cooper/Burwell segment. I really thought the Smith and to a lesser extent Burns segments were more interesting and deserving of attention though. For some reason I'd missed it; possibly because it was in with General Discussion rather than here in the Books/Movies forum.

 

[godofredus]

I have watched several segments of this show, as well as read Gates's "Who do you think you are?" He must have an army of skilled researchers to dig out all this stuff. I bet some of it amounts to the equivalent of several years of research. I recommend both book and show to anyone interested in Civil War History.

 

[Drew]

I didn't realize this had already been the subject of another earlier thread, but on reading it, it seems to have devolved almost exclusively on the Anderson Cooper/Burwell segment.

It devolved into that segment because our own Andy Hall is a stickler for "primary sources." Glad he's here. As noted in the other thread, the basic meaning of the source was not altered, but the document itself for visual purposes.

I agree though, it's a lot of fun to watch the program and see people's reactions to family history of which they had no idea. I've been there, but without cameras rolling, thankfully.