Emmy nominee Nick Offerman struggles to come to terms with dark family history...

Nick Offerman traces his family tree, uncovering the story of his eighth great-grandparents, who ran a successful tavern in 1700s New York.

In each episode, one of Britain's best-loved celebrities traces their family tree to reveal the surprising, extraordinary and often moving stories of their ancestors. We publish new videos twice a week with the most memorable moments from the show. Subscribe now and click on the bell 🔔 to get notifications every time we upload a new video!

[Hopper_House]

I get wanting to like people because they're family. But I have family alive now that I don't like. Sometimes familial ties are nothing more than coincidence.

[HBHBluestocking]

I feel where Nick is coming from. You want to love your family and your heritage, but I have some people in my family line who have made some seriously garbage life choices that led to numerous people getting unnecessarily hurt in the fallout and I end up feeling guilty for being unavoidably tied to them in a way when I'm over here just genuinely trying to be a good person. But I like what the researcher said, "They may be a part of your story but you're also a part of theirs. You still have choices you can make." Wow. Awesome!

[mattieb]

Wow. What an amazing story. I'm so glad to see the history of the Mohawks included in this story. As heartbreaking as it is this is how it was. There is no better teacher than our own history. Thank you so much to Nick for allowing his story to be told and thank you to the awesome work of your genealogists! Well done! There's a movie in this story...💖💖

[siinfloridasi]

“But if Joseph is a piece of that story, and Eve is a piece of that story…then that also means that you are a piece of their family story. And you still have some choices to make - about what it means to be a part of that family, and about what it means to be an American.” How beautifully, perfectly stated…and just the inspiration Nick NEEDED to hear in that moment. Powerful stuff.

[terintiaflavius]

Humanity is both beautiful and horrific all at the same time. We are capable of both great deeds and great horror.

[josephang]

History has both its light and dark side. It is important to embrace both as true and important to know.

[debbieflaherty]

The lady wearing the dark blue blue dress is so amazing.

[MsFitz]

His mom(?) sums up the complexity of history and of human nature in general. On the one hand you want to be proud that the landowner was a female ancestor, and on the other hand that female ancestor apparently had no qualms about stealing that land. Each of us has within us both the hero and the villain, and it can be impossible to separate one from the other.

[sharontabor]

We aren't responsible for our ancestors actions. Just as no one is responsible for our actions. The past is not our burden to carry. We can only make our time on earth a better place for our generation.

[martindonald]

I grew up with the ancestors of those Mohawks who now live on Six Nations in Ontario. I wish that I could say that things got better in Canada. They were originally granted the property six miles on either side of the Grand River in Southern Ontario. By various means, that was acquired by settlers until only the relatively small Six Nations Reserve exists.

[_DREBBEL_]

How is this channel not massive. This is incredible content.

[jesusnthedaisychain]

The more you dig, the more you find, and often what you find isn't so good. My own search into my family history took me to slaveowners in South Carolina, by the name of Lipscomb. Reading a will where my ancestor partitioned out human beings in nearly the same paragraph as where he decided who should get the furniture was nauseating.

Then I had to reconcile that fact with the fact that I love my father to death, and he loved his mother likewise. She, in turn, loved her father, who presumably loved his mother, who loved her mother, who loved her father.

And if all of those people were alive, there would be an unbroken chain, generation-by-generation, of people who love each other, but there would be no way I (or my father or my grandmother) could find anything redeeming enough to cherish in a slaver. Somewhere in that line is a oerson who is beloved by their ancestors and descendants, but who's ancestors and descendants would be disgusted with each other.

At the end of the day, all you can do is reconcile yourself to the fact that you aren't bound to family history or tradition, and the future isn't bound to us.

[hsojspillihp]

This is an example of learning about privilege vs pride, hats off to Offerman, he genuinely seems like a smart humble guy who desires to learn.

[StanCat]

The more I learn about Nick, the more I like him. Nick is a kind man with a good heart; I wish more men/ppl were like this

[LMarti]

Who knows, maybe I'll be eating my words one day, but Nick is one of * very * few famous people you can just tell is a genuinely moral person who won't have stories coming out years from now about how behind the scenes he was some sort of abusive harasser.

[LBGirl]

Everyone has some scumbags in their family but it doesn't define who you are nor do you owe anyone for what was done before you were born. None of us act like that and if one of us does so, change.

[motionpictures]

I could have told him that he is from Aachen/Germany. Offerman is the most common name around here.

[angellacollins]

Adrienne, you are a wonderful human! Your message is so powerful!

[bronek]

For the last 20 years Nick offerman looked 40 years old 😂

[mencken]

When Mr. Offerman gets over his shock and has time to reflect, I’m sure he will realize that the beliefs, attitudes, and actions of his forebears have nothing to do with him and the conduct of his life. I have several people in my family, one still breathing, who I regard as reprehensible, but I do not regard this as reflecting in any way on me personally. This is fully supported in law, as well.