I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES JR.

WELCOME TO "FINDING YOUR ROOTS," A JOURNEY INTO THE ANCESTRAL PASTS OF SOME OF AMERICA'S MOST INTRIGUING INDIVIDUALS.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL EXPLORE THE FAMILY TREES OF THREE TRAILBLAZERS IN MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT: CNN'S DR. SANJAY GUPTA, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN MARGARET CHO, AND A WOMAN SO WELL KNOWN, HER NAME HAS BECOME A BRAND: MARTHA STEWART.

ALL THREE ARE THE CHILDREN OF FIRST OR SECOND GENERATION IMMIGRANTS, AN EXPERIENCE THAT HAS LEFT THEM WITH MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT WHO THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY COME FROM.

IT'S SUCH A TERRIBLE PAIN TO KIND OF BE CUT OFF FROM YOUR FAMILY AND TO BE CUT OFF FROM WHAT REALLY IS YOUR HOME.

Gates: DID THEY TALK ABOUT "LET ME TELL YOU HOW GOOD IT WAS IN THE OLD DAYS IN THE OLD COUNTRY?"

NO.

I DON'T KNOW A LOT.

AND I'M SORRY I DON'T.

I WISH I HAD BEEN A LITTLE BIT MORE INQUISITIVE.

THAT IS YOUR FAMILY TREE, MY BROTHER.

THAT IS A BIG TREE.

WOW.

LOOK AT THIS.

THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE PIECES OF PAPER I'M GOING TO HAVE IN MY LIFE.

Gates: TO FIND SANJAY, MARGARET, AND MARTHA'S LONG LOST ANCESTORS, WE'VE USED EVERY TOOL AT OUR DISPOSAL.

WE'VE ENLISTED GENEALOGISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD -- HIGHLY TRAINED "ANCESTRAL DETECTIVES" -- TO FOLLOW THE EXISTING PAPER TRAIL OF THEIR FAMILY HISTORIES.

ONCE THESE RECORDS RUN OUT, GENETICISTS TURN TO CUTTING EDGE DNA ANALYSIS TO TAKE US EVEN DEEPER INTO THE PAST.

THIS, SANJAY, IS YOUR BOOK OF LIFE.

I LOVE THAT.

Gates: ALL OUR FINDINGS ARE COMPILED IN A BOOK OF LIFE.

WOW!

A UNIQUE RECORD OF OUR DISCOVERIES, WHICH I'LL SHARE, PAGE BY PAGE, WITH MY GUESTS.

CAN YOU TELL ME WHO THOSE PEOPLE ARE?

OH, YES, THIS IS GRANDPA RUZKOWSKI.

Gates: LIKE SO MANY OF US, SANJAY, MARGARET AND MARTHA HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO PIECE TOGETHER THE FULL STORY OF THEIR PASTS, AND NO WONDER -- ALL THREE GREW UP LITERALLY STRADDLING TWO WORLDS: THE LIVES THEY'VE BUILT FOR THEMSELVES IN AMERICA AND THE LIVES THEIR PARENTS OR THEIR GRANDPARENTS LEFT BEHIND.

[ APPLAUSE ] Man: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MARGARET CHO!

[ CHEERING AND APPLAUSE ] Gates: MARGARET CHO HAS BUILT A SUCCESSFUL STANDUP CAREER THAT'S SPANNED NEARLY THREE DECADES.

SHE'S DEVELOPED A UNIQUE COMEDIC VOICE BASED UPON WHAT SHE KNOWS BEST -- HER PERSONAL HISTORY AS THE CHILD OF RECENT IMMIGRANTS.

I'M THE ONLY MEMBER OF MY FAMILY TO HAVE BEEN BORN IN AMERICA, SO MY MOTHER WOULD ALWAYS PUSH ME FORWARD LIKE, "SHE'S WHITE"!

Gates: MARGARET HAS BEEN DOING IMPROV COMEDY AND STANDUP SINCE SHE WAS A TEENAGER.

BY THE AGE OF 26, SHE WAS ALREADY STARRING IN HER OWN NETWORK TELEVISION SHOW -- "ALL AMERICAN GIRL."

Cho: I WANTED TO BE A COMEDIAN VERY EARLY IN LIFE.

AND I TOLD MY MOTHER, WHEN I WAS FOURTEEN, I WAS GONNA BE A COMEDIAN, AND SHE SAID, "OH!

MAYBE IT'S BETTER IF YOU JUST DIE."

[ LAUGHTER ] Gates: MARGARET'S HUMOR ILLUMINATES A UNIVERSAL IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE -- THE RESTLESS, CHALLENGING SEARCH TO FIND A PLACE WHERE YOU MOST BELONG.

Gates: WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP DID YOU THINK OF YOURSELF AS KOREAN OR PRIMARILY AS AMERICAN?

WELL, I'M DEFINITELY AMERICAN-BORN.

I'M TRYING TO RECOGNIZE THE KOREAN IN MYSELF.

BUT OFTEN I DON'T.

Gates: GROWING UP AS THE CHILD OF IMMIGRANTS, HOWEVER, THERE CAN BE CONSTANT REMINDERS OF YOUR "OUTSIDER" STATUS.

Gupta: THERE WEREN'T A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT LOOKED LIKE ME.

THERE WEREN'T A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO HAD NAMES LIKE, LIKE OURS.

Gates: DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN'S CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT AND A PRACTICING NEUROSURGEON -- HAS COVERED HEALTH-RELATED STORIES AROUND THE WORLD...

THIS IS WHERE THE MISSILE ACTUALLY HIT.

Gates: ...FROM THE WAR IN IRAQ, TO FLOODS IN PAKISTAN, TO THE EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI.

Gupta: LITERALLY DOZENS OF PATIENTS ARE JUST LINING THE HALLS.

Gates: AT CNN, SANJAY'S STORIES REACH MILLIONS OF VIEWERS.

ON THE AIR, HE'S SKILLED AT NEGOTIATING SEVERAL QUITE DIFFERENT WORLDS.

BUT IN THE WORLD IN WHICH HE GREW UP -- THE SMALL TOWN OF NOVI, MICHIGAN -- HE OFTEN FELT LIKE AN OUTSIDER.

THERE WERE VERY FEW IMMIGRANTS, NOT TO MENTION INDIANS, BUT IMMIGRANTS IN YOUR COMMUNITY.

IT'S QUITE STRIKING NOW TO THINK ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE A KID, THAT'S ALL YOU KNOW.

IT'S YOUR ENTIRE FRAMEWORK OF THE WORLD.

AND SO, BEING INDIAN WAS A VERY NOVEL THING.

IT WAS REALLY SOMETHING UNUSUAL, AND... AND NOT FUN, I THINK.

I THINK THAT IN SOME WAYS BECAUSE YOU'RE DIFFERENT.

Gates: FOR CHILDREN GROWING UP IN IMMIGRANT FAMILIES, SEEING YOUR PARENTS STRUGGLE WITH BEING DIFFERENT CAN BE JUST AS PAINFUL AS IF YOU EXPERIENCED IT YOURSELF AS.

AS MARTHA STEWART REMEMBERS.

Stewart: MY FATHER, I THINK, WAS BROUGHT UP IN THAT ERA WHEN IMMIGRANTS WERE KIND OF LIKE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS.

AND SO HE HAD A LITTLE CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER, I THINK.

Gates: BASED ON HER PUBLIC IMAGE, YOU MIGHT THINK MARTHA STEWART'S ANCESTORS CAME TO AMERICA ON THE MAYFLOWER.

BUT THE TRUTH IS SHE'S THE CHILD OF SECOND GENERATION POLISH IMMIGRANTS.

AS A YOUNG GIRL, SHE WAS KEENLY AWARE OF HER FATHER FEELING LIKE AN OUTSIDER.

Stewart: HE ALWAYS COMPLAINED ABOUT HIS BOSSES LOOKING DOWN ON HIM BECAUSE HE WAS A "POLACK."

I HATED THAT.

I THOUGHT IT WAS TERRIBLE.

WHICH PART?

THAT HE WOULD EVEN THINK OF HIMSELF AS A POLACK INSTEAD OF SOMEONE OF POLISH DESCENT.

IT WAS BENEATH HIM TO THINK LIKE THAT.

HE WAS WAY TOO SMART, WAY TOO HANDSOME.

AND HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SO PROUD OF THAT.

I WAS PROUD THAT I WAS THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS.

I WAS VERY PROUD THAT THEY WERE SELF-MADE AMERICANS, AS THEY WERE.

Gates: MARTHA HAS ALWAYS BEEN DEEPLY CURIOUS ABOUT HER POLISH ANCESTRY.

SO MANY PEOPLE -- PARTICULARLY FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION IMMIGRANTS -- DON'T WANT TO KNOW, THEY WANT TO FORGET.

NO.

I WANT TO REMEMBER.

I'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT THEY WERE LIKE AND SEE WHAT KIND OF LIFE THEY LIVED, WHERE THEY LIVED, HOW THEY LIVED.

IT WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING.

Gates: AS THE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS, IT'S NATURAL THAT MARTHA, SANJAY AND MARGARET WANTED TO FIT IN, TO BE LIKE THEIR "AMERICAN" FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.

BUT, GROWING UP IN AMERICA HAS CUT THEM OFF FROM MANY OF THEIR FAMILY'S STORIES ABOUT WHERE AND HOW THEIR ANCESTORS LIVED.

CAN GENEALOGY HELP RECONNECT THEM WITH THEIR PASTS?

I BEGIN WITH MARGARET CHO, WHO WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 5, 1968.

MARGARET'S PARENTS EMIGRATED FROM SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, IN 1964, SETTLING IN SAN FRANCISCO.

MARGARET WAS GIVEN THE TRADITIONAL KOREAN NAME OF "MORAN," WHICH MEANS PEONY.

IN AMERICA, HOWEVER, THAT GIVEN NAME WAS THE SOURCE OF CONSTANT RIDICULE FROM HER CLASSMATES.

Cho: I DID NOT WANT TO BE AMERICAN WITH A NAME LIKE MORAN, WHICH SOUNDS MUCH LIKE MORON, WHICH I REALLY HEARD A LOT OF AS A KID.

I BET.

I MAY HAVE BEEN ABOUT 10 OR SOMETHING.

AND I THOUGHT I NEEDED A WHITE NAME.

LIKE, I NEED AN AMERICAN NAME.

LIKE, I NEED A NAME THAT PEOPLE WOULD SOMEHOW BE ABLE TO SAY.

Gates: MARGARET'S PARENTS STRUGGLED TO BUILD A LIFE FOR THEMSELVES IN THEIR NEW HOME.

HER FATHER, SEUNG HOO CHO, HAD STUDIED LAW BACK IN KOREA.

BUT HERE, HE WAS FORCED TO SUPPORT HIS YOUNG FAMILY AS A WAITER AND A JANITOR.

SOON AFTER MARGARET'S BIRTH, THE FAMILY WAS SUDDENLY WRENCHED APART.

MARGARET'S FATHER, IN THE U.S. ON A STUDENT VISA, WAS DEPORTED FOR WORKING ILLEGALLY.

HE TOOK MARGARET -- JUST 1 MONTH OLD -- WITH HIM BACK TO KOREA.

MARGARET'S MOTHER, YOUNG HIE CHUN, STAYED BEHIND IN CALIFORNIA.

Gates: IT MUST HAVE BEEN JUST HORRIBLE.

SHE WAS THERE AND DIDN'T EVEN HAVE HER BABY.

Cho: SHE DIDN'T HAVE MY PRESENCE AND MY DAD WAS GONE.

AND SHE WAS, LIKE, WORKING.

I THINK SHE WAS WORKING IN A FACTORY MAKING KEYS, I THINK.

AND HE'S DEPORTED AND SHE WAS FURIOUS, AND I THINK SO ANGRY AND SO UPSET AND SO SAD.

Gates: A YEAR LATER, WITH A LOT OF LUCK, MARGARET'S FATHER MADE HIS WAY BACK TO THE UNITED STATES, WHERE THE FAMILY WAS REUNITED.

GROWING UP, MARGARET WASN'T VERY INTERESTED IN SCHOOL.

HER REAL EDUCATION BEGAN IN THE CASTRO DISTRICT, THE CENTER OF SAN FRANCISCO'S GAY COMMUNITY.

HERE, IN 1977, MARGARET'S PARENTS OPENED A BOOKSTORE CALLED "PAPERBACK TRAFFIC."

Cho: THIS STORE WAS CENTRAL TO KIND OF A NEW BREED OF PERSON WHO WAS LIKE, GETTING TATTOOED AND PIERCED AND, UM, LIKE REALLY, REALLY DIFFERENT.

LIKE NOT JUST A GAY BOOKSTORE BUT REALLY KIND OF AN ALTERNATIVE CULTURE THAT WAS EMERGING.

YOU KNOW, I LEARNED FROM THE PEOPLE THERE.

IT AFFECTED ME FOREVER.

THAT SORT OF SET ME UP FOR LIFE, I THINK.

SO, BECAUSE I AM ONE OF THE MORE PROMINENT ASIAN AMERICANS, PEOPLE LIKE TO COME TO ME WHENEVER THEY HAVE AN ASIAN PROBLEM.

LIKE WHEN THEY CAN'T FINISH THEIR SUDOKU.

[ LAUGHTER ] Gates: MARGARET WOULD DEVELOP HER UNIQUE COMEDIC VOICE IN THIS CREATIVELY FERTILE ENVIRONMENT WHICH BOTH NURTURED AND CELEBRATED DIFFERENCE.

OR IF THEY NEED SOME KIND OF ALTERATION.

Gates: THIS PERPETUAL OUTSIDER WAS ON HER WAY TO BUILDING A PHENOMENALLY SUCCESSFUL CAREER.

LIKE MARGARET, SANJAY GUPTA ALSO OFTEN FELT HE WAS ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN.

SANJAY WAS BORN ON OCTOBER 23, 1969.

HIS PARENTS HAD BOTH IMMIGRATED IN 1966, SETTLING IN NOVI, MICHIGAN, TO PURSUE CAREERS IN ENGINEERING.

SANJAY RECALLS THAT HE AND HIS FAMILY WERE AMONG THE ONLY PEOPLE FROM INDIA IN THIS HOMOGENEOUS TOWN.

Gates: DID YOU EVER WANT TO CHANGE YOUR NAME?

Gupta: I DID.

I WANTED TO CHANGE MY NAME.

TO WHAT?

I WANTED TO CHANGE MY NAME TO STEVE.

STEVE?

STEVE GUPTA?

STEVE GUPTA, RIGHT.

AND I WISH NOW, IT SOUNDS SILLY, BUT I CAME PRETTY CLOSE, SKIP, TO DOING THIS.

WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO WATCH REALLY ANY TELEVISION WHEN I WAS GROWING UP.

I WAS ALLOWED TO WATCH ONE SHOW A WEEK.

AND THE SHOW THAT I ENJOYED WATCHING WAS "THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN."

WHOSE MAIN CHARACTER WAS STEVE AUSTIN.

SO, THIS WAS THE ANSWER.

THERE WAS SOME DESIRE FOR NORMALCY AND THINKING THAT THAT WOULD BE ONE WAY TO GET IT.

Gates: SANJAY BATTLED HIS SENSE OF LONELINESS AND ISOLATION BY BURYING HIMSELF IN HIS STUDIES.

IN HIGH SCHOOL, HE STARTED TRULY TO SHINE.

Gates: NOW, LOOK AT THESE PHOTOGRAPHS.

THESE ARE ALL FROM YOUR HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK.

YOU WERE SUPERMAN.

LOOKS LIKE YOU WERE THE STAR AT EVERYTHING.

Gupta: I KNEW THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE MY THING.

I WAS GOING TO DO WELL IN SCHOOL.

I WAS GOING TO DO WELL ACADEMICALLY.

Gates: SCHOOL WOULD BECOME THE INCUBATOR FOR SANJAY'S TALENTS, AMBITION, AND HIS DREAMS.

Gupta: THIS IS A LITTLE STRANGE, ACTUALLY, TO LOOK AT THESE PHOTOGRAPHS NOW BECAUSE, IN SOME WAYS, I DON'T THINK THESE PICTURES WERE ME.

I THINK THIS WAS A GUY WHO JUST IN SOME WAYS WANTED TO KEEP A LOW PROFILE.

BY JUST BLENDING IN, YOU KNOW.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.

Gates: ONE GENERATION FURTHER AWAY FROM THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE, BLOND-HAIRED MARTHA STUART GREW UP IN THE PREDOMINANTLY WHITE SUBURB OF NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY.

AS A CHILD, SHE FIT IN MORE EASILY THAN SANJAY AND MARGARET EVER COULD.

MARTHA WAS BORN MARTHA KOSTYRA ON AUGUST 3, 1941.

FROM CHILDHOOD, SHE TOOK GREAT PRIDE IN HER POLISH HERITAGE, AS WELL AS IN HER AMERICAN IDENTITY.

Stewart: I WAS A BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN GIRL.

Gates: YOU STILL ARE.

Stewart: IN A BEAUTIFUL, AMERICAN FAMILY.

AND BEING POLISH, AND HAVING PARENTS WHO SPOKE POLISH, I WAS ANGRY THAT THEY DIDN'T TEACH ME POLISH.

I ONLY KNOW A FEW WORDS.

BUT NO, I WAS...

I'VE NEVER HIDDEN THE FACT THAT I WAS A GRANDDAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS.

I'VE ALWAYS CELEBRATED IT.

Gates: MARTHA'S PARENTS -- EDWARD KOSTYRA, A PHARMACEUTICAL SALESMAN, AND JADWIGA RUZKOWSKI, A TEACHER TURNED HOMEMAKER -- WERE THE CHILDREN OF POLISH IMMIGRANTS WHO CAME TO AMERICA AT THE TURN OF THE 20th CENTURY.

Stewart: AH, HERE IT IS.

ONLY PICTURE OF OUR ENTIRE FAMILY TOGETHER.

Gates: THE KOSTYRA FAMILY.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR SIBLINGS.

WERE YOU CLOSE GROWING UP?

Stewart: OH, YEAH.

WE HAD THREE BEDROOMS, SIX KIDS.

[Chuckling] I KNOW.

TOO CLOSE.

SIX KIDS, TWO PARENTS.

Gates: ON THE SURFACE, THEY APPEAR TO BE THE "ALL AMERICAN FAMILY."

BUT TWO OF MARTHA'S BROTHERS, AT LEAST, AS ADULTS -- REJECTED THEIR POLISH LAST NAME, "KOSTYRA," FOR SOMETHING MORE "AMERICAN SOUNDING."

Stewart: MY BROTHER ERIC SAID THAT HE HAD TO CHANGE HIS NAME BECAUSE HE WANTED TO BUILD A VERY UN-ETHNIC, DENTAL PRACTICE.

Gates: UM-HUM.

SO, WHY HE CHOSE "SCOTT," I HAVE NO IDEA.

NOTHING SCOTTISH IN OUR FAMILY.

AND THEN BROTHER GEORGE, HE CHANGED HIS NAME.

AND HE TOOK HIS WIFE'S NAME, WHICH IS CHRISTIANSON.

AMAZING.

YEAH.

WERE YOUR PARENTS ALIVE WHEN THEY DID THIS?

DID YOUR FATHER GO CRAZY?

YEAH.

NO.

HE DIDN'T SEEM TO.

REALLY?

HE DIDN'T SEEM TO, NO.

CAN YOU TELL ME WHY THEY DID THIS?

WELL, I DID TOO BECAUSE I MARRIED SOMEBODY WITH THE NAME "STEWART."

IF MY MAGAZINE WERE MARTHA KOSTYRA LIVING, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AS POPULAR AS MARTHA STEWART , WHICH KIND OF ROLLS OFF YOUR TONGUE.

AND IT'S SUCH A GREAT BRAND NAME, LIKE RALPH LAUREN, INSTEAD OF RALPH LIPCHITZ.

YOU KNOW, IT'S THE SAME THING.

Man: BUSY, ACTIVE PEOPLE!

STOP!

Gates: FROM EARLY ON, MARTHA FOCUSED ON BECOMING FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT.

Stewart: I MODELED ALL DURING COLLEGE, BUT I ALSO MODELED ALL DURING HIGH SCHOOL AND I MADE COMMERCIALS.

Gates: SHE FOUND STEADY, LUCRATIVE WORK, APPEARING IN ADS BOTH IN PRINT AND ON TELEVISION.

Gates: COULD YOU PAY YOUR OWN WAY THROUGH BARNARD?

OH, I DID.

YOU DID?

Stewart: I SUPPORTED ME AND I SUPPORTED OUR FAMILY, AT ONE POINT, WHEN MY DAD LOST HIS JOB.

MY PAYCHECKS JUST WENT HOME.

Gates: IN 1982, AFTER A DECADE RUNNING A CATERING COMPANY, MARTHA WROTE A HOW-TO BOOK.

IT WAS CALLED "ENTERTAINING" AND IT ELEVATED DOMESTICITY TO AN ART FORM.

Stewart: I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS GOING TO BE AN AUTHOR.

I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS GOING TO HAVE A REALLY GREAT BOOK THAT WOULD SELL A MILLION COPIES OR MORE AND IT DID.

Gates: TODAY, MARTHA'S IMPACT IS SO DEEP AND PERVASIVE, IT'S LITTLE WONDER THAT MANY OF US FEEL THAT WE KNOW HER PERSONALLY.

BUT HOW MUCH DO WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT WHO MARTHA STEWART IS, AND WHERE SHE CAME FROM?

THERE WAS ONLY ONE PLACE TO BEGIN MY INVESTIGATION: ELLIS ISLAND, THE ICONIC PORT OF ARRIVAL FOR OVER 17 MILLION PEOPLE -- AMONG THEM, ALL FOUR OF MARTHA'S GRANDPARENTS.

I'M HERE TO SEE STEPHEN BRIGANTI, WHO RUNS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY/ ELLIS ISLAND FOUNDATION.

HE'S OFFERED TO HELP ME IN MY SEARCH.

SO IMAGINE THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME UP THIS VERY WAY.

Gates: STEPHEN WANTS TO SHOW ME SOME DOCUMENTS THAT MAY YIELD VALUABLE DETAILS ABOUT MARTHA'S PATERNAL ANCESTORS.

Briganti: THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, OVER TIME, REQUIRED THAT MANIFESTS BE KEPT.

SO, ONCE THEY GOT HERE, THE SHIP CAPTAIN SIMPLY GAVE THE MANIFEST TO THE OFFICIALS OF ELLIS ISLAND.

AND WHAT'S A MANIFEST?

A MANIFEST IS A LISTING OF THE PEOPLE ON THE SHIP.

IT WOULD HAVE THE NORMAL SORT OF "HOW OLD ARE YOU?"

"WHAT'S YOUR OCCUPATION?"

"ARE YOU A MAN OR A WOMAN?"

INTERESTING THINGS THAT IT MIGHT HAVE ON IT IS HOW MUCH MONEY YOU CAME WITH.

WHERE YOU WERE COMING FROM, WHERE YOU WERE GOING TO, SOMETIMES RIGHT DOWN TO AN ADDRESS.

SO, IT'S A WONDERFUL DEPOSITORY FOR TRACING YOUR HERITAGE.

Gates: AND SURE ENOUGH, BURIED IN THE RECORDS, IS THE SHIP MANIFEST FOR MARTHA'S GRANDMOTHER, HELENA KRUKAR, ALSO KNOWN AS HELEN.

IN 1904, AS A TEENAGER, SHE MADE THE 11-DAY JOURNEY TO NEW YORK ON THE S.S. MOLTKE... ALL BY HERSELF.

Gates: MARTHA, THIS IS A PASSENGER LIST FOR YOUR GRANDMOTHER HELEN.

HELEN KRUKAR, AGE 16.

LITERACY: YES.

MM-HMM.

AND MONEY IN POSSESSION: $2.

TWO DOLLARS.

AND THIS DOCUMENT INDICATES THAT SHE'S TRAVELING ALONE.

NOW, SHE HAS $2.

CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW TERRIFYING THAT MUST HAVE BEEN?

OH, MY GOSH.

ON AN OCEAN VOYAGE.

IN STEERAGE.

DID SHE EVER TALK ABOUT THIS JOURNEY?

NO.

NEVER.

AND I JUST WISH I COULD JUST WAKE HER UP AND HAVE HER TELL ME RIGHT NOW.

I FIND THE MOMENTS OF CROSSING PARTICULARLY MOVING.

WELL, ESPECIALLY A 16-YEAR-OLD.

SHE WAS STARTING A NEW LIFE IN A NEW WORLD ALONE.

SHE HAD TO BE PETRIFIED.

THE MANIFEST ALSO TELLS US THAT THERE WAS SOMEONE WAITING FOR HELENA WHEN SHE GOT OFF THE SHIP: HER BROTHER HENRY, WHO HAD SETTLED IN NEW YORK CITY THE YEAR BEFORE.

Briganti: NOW, SHE ARRIVED WITH $2, SO LET'S HOPE HER BROTHER MET HER RIGHT AT THE DOCK.

BUM, IT GOES RIGHT DOWN TO WHERE HE WAS LIVING AT 111 E. 58th STREET IN NEW YORK.

Gates: IN 1908, HELENA MARRIED ANOTHER RECENT POLISH IMMIGRANT: MARTHA'S GRANDFATHER, FRANK KOSTYRA.

THEY MET WHILE WORKING AT A RESTAURANT CALLED CHILDS IN LOWER MANHATTAN.

FRANK IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES IN 1905, A YEAR AFTER HELEN.

WE FOUND HIS MANIFEST RECORDS AT ELLIS ISLAND, AS WELL.

Briganti: IT TELLS US THAT HE WAS 25 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME THAT HE CAME.

HE WAS A BASKET MAKER.

Gates: A BASKET MAKER?

Briganti: A BASKET MAKER.

YOUR GRANDFATHER'S OCCUPATION IS LISTED AS "BASKET MAKER."

HAVE YOU HAD ANY KNOWLEDGE?

I HADN'T HEARD THAT BEFORE.

WELL, IT TURNS OUT THAT THE TOWN THAT YOUR GRANDFATHER CAME FROM, KOPKI, IS RENOWNED FOR ITS WICKER AND BASKET PRODUCTION.

Gates: HER GRANDFATHER'S PROFESSION BACK IN POLAND WAS CERTAINLY NEWS TO MARTHA.

IN FACT, HE WASN'T ALONE: SURPRISINGLY, IT TURNS OUT THAT MANY OF HER ANCESTORS WERE HIGHLY SKILLED IN THE DOMESTIC ARTS.

IN ADDITION TO BASKET MAKERS, HER FAMILY TREE IS POPULATED WITH BUTCHERS, GARDENERS, SHOEMAKERS, DECORATIVE IRONWORKERS, SEAMSTRESSES... YOU HAVE A WHOLE LEITMOTIF RUNNING THROUGH YOUR FAMILY.

I MEAN, YOU ARE AN EXTENSION OF THIS CONCERN WITH SEWING AND CRAFTSMANSHIP AND GARDENING.

IT'S JUST ON EVERY BRANCH OF YOUR FAMILY TREE.

IT JUST KEPT REPEATING.

I THINK THAT THOSE INHERENT INTERESTS, BECAUSE THEY DID COME DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION PRETTY STRONG, STRONG FEELINGS FOR, FOR LIVING THE GOOD LIFE.

IT'S TRUE.

IT MAKES YOU BELIEVE IN GENETIC DETERMINISM.

BUT AS WE DUG MORE DEEPLY, WE DISCOVERED SOME TROUBLING GAPS IN MARTHA'S GENEALOGY, WHERE DETAILS ON HER FAMILY TREE SIMPLY DISAPPEAR.

GROWING UP, MARTHA WAS VERY CLOSE TO HER GRANDMOTHER HELEN, THE GRANDMOTHER WHO CAME TO AMERICA BY HERSELF AT THE AGE OF 16 MANY DECADES BEFORE.

NEVERTHELESS, MARTHA KNOWS VIRTUALLY NOTHING ABOUT THE LIVES OF HELEN'S PARENTS.

HELEN AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS DIDN'T CARE TO DWELL ON THE PAST.

DID THEY TALK ABOUT, "LET ME TELL YOU HOW GOOD IT WAS IN THE OLD COUNTRY?"

NO.

I HAD TO GET IT OUT OF THEM.

I MEAN MEMORIES WERE NOT AS PREVALENT OR SPOKEN ABOUT IN THOSE DAYS.

I DON'T KNOW A LOT, AND I'M SORRY I DON'T.

I WISH I HAD BEEN A LITTLE BIT MORE INQUISITIVE.

Gates: THESE ARE MARTHA'S GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, TEKLA GROSIEWICZ AND WALENTY KRUKAR -- WHO DIDN'T LEAVE POLAND WHEN THEIR DAUGHTER HELEN DID.

MYSTERIOUSLY, BOTH DIED IN 1920.

OUR RESEARCH UNEARTHED A REMARKABLE LETTER FROM HELEN'S HUSBAND TO HIS FAMILY THAT HOLDS CLUES ABOUT THEIR FATE.

MARTHA HAS NEVER SEEN THIS LETTER BEFORE.

"WE HAD LOTS OF CLOTHES AND SHOES TO SEND HOME TO MY WIFE'S PARENTS BUT NOW BOLSHEVIKS TOOK EVERYTHING AND THEY DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING.

WE SENT TWO SHIP TICKETS FOR PASSAGE TO AMERICA TO MY WIFE'S SISTER AND BROTHER BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS DIED AND THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN AND THEY DO NOT HAVE ANYBODY THERE IN THE COUNTRY."

THAT'S ASTONISHING.

WOW.

Gates: IN 1919, LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER THE END OF WORLD WAR I, BITTER FIGHTING BROKE OUT IN A WAR BETWEEN THE NEWLY INDEPENDENT POLISH STATE AND SOVIET RUSSIA.

THE TOWN OF ZAGORZE, HOME TO MARTHA'S GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, WAS TORN APART BY THE FIGHTING.

Gates: THE BOLSHEVIKS TOOK EVERYTHING.

AND THEY DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING.

AND THE PARENTS DIED BUT THEY DON'T SAY WHY.

NO.

THEY DON'T SAY WHY.

DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?

NO.

Gates: WE SUSPECT THAT BOTH OF MARTHA'S GREAT-GRANDPARENTS DIED IN 1920 WHEN THE FIGHTING REACHED ZAGORZE.

WITH NO PARENTS OR HOME TO RETURN TO, 6 OUT OF THEIR 8 CHILDREN ULTIMATELY SETTLED IN AMERICA.

FOR MARTHA STEWART, MARGARET CHO, AND SANJAY GUPTA, THE COURAGEOUS, PIONEERING SPIRIT THAT COMPELLED THEIR FAMILIES TO RISK EVERYTHING AND MOVE TO AMERICA WAS SHAPED BY STRIKINGLY SIMILAR THEMES OF EXODUS AND UPHEAVAL.

THEIR FAMILY HISTORIES ARE EACH COLORED BY A DEEP SENSE OF LOSS.

AND NO WONDER.

EACH WAS DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY POLITICAL TURMOIL THAT TORE APART FAMILIES -- AND ENTIRE NATIONS -- IN THE PROCESS.

Gupta: ...FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

Gates: IN FACT, SANJAY GUPTA'S MOTHER, DAMYANTI, LIVED THROUGH ONE OF THE WORST SOCIAL UPHEAVALS IN CONTEMPORARY HISTORY -- THE PARTITION OF INDIA.

Gupta: SHE WAS VERY YOUNG WHEN THIS TERRIBLE PARTITION HAPPENED.

I'VE TRIED TO FIND OUT JUST HOW VIOLENT WAS IT FOR REAL, WHAT SHE SAW, BUT SHE DOESN'T TALK ABOUT IT THAT MUCH.

Man: TO SECURE INDEPENDENCE, THE HINDUS HAD, WITH GREAT RELUCTANCE, ACCEPTED PARTITION.

Gates: IN 1947, PARTITION DIVIDED INDIA INTO TWO NATIONS, CREATING THE NEW MUSLIM STATE OF PAKISTAN.

IN THE CHAOS, MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES.

14 MILLION MUSLIMS AND HINDUS WERE DISPLACED -- AMONG THEM, 5-YEAR-OLD DAMYANTI AND HER HINDU FAMILY.

THEY WERE FORCED TO FLEE THEIR ANCESTRAL HOME IN SINDH, PAKISTAN.

DAMYANTI SPOKE WITH US ABOUT HER MEMORIES OF THAT NIGHT.

Damyanti: I REMEMBER THAT WE HAD TO LEAVE VERY, VERY EARLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, SO NOBODY CAN RECOGNIZE US.

MY DAD'S MOTHER, SHE DIDN'T WANT TO EVEN LEAVE.

SHE SAID, "I CAME AS A BRIDE, AND I'M NOT LEAVING THIS PLACE."

SHE LOVED HER PLACE SO MUCH.

AND ACTUALLY, I REMEMBER, SHE USED TO CARRY A BIG KEY CHAIN.

IT WAS ROUND, AND SHE HAD SEVERAL KEYS, AND SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHICH KEY FITTED WHICH LOCK.

SHE HAD LOCKED EVERYTHING, AND SHE USED TO TELL ME ONE DAY SHE IS GOING TO GO BACK AND OPEN ALL THAT.

Gates: SANJAY'S GREAT GRANDMOTHER RELUCTANTLY LEFT WITH THE REST OF THE FAMILY.

THEY MADE THE PERILOUS JOURNEY OVER LAND FROM THEIR HOME IN SINDH TO KARACHI, THEN BY BOAT TO BOMBAY.

WITH EVERY MILE THEY TRAVELED, THEY WERE UNWITTINGLY, AND PERMANENTLY, LEAVING SO MUCH OF THEIR PAST -- AND OF THEIR FAMILY'S HISTORY - FURTHER AND FURTHER BEHIND.

THEY WOULD NEVER RETURN TO THEIR ANCESTRAL HOME AGAIN.

Gates: I FIND THE STORY OF THE KEY SO DEEPLY MOVING.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THEY HUNG ON TO THIS KEY.

THAT'S PROOF OF WHERE THEY EXPECTED THEIR LIVES TO GO.

THEY WANTED TO GO BACK.

THEY WANTED TO GO BACK TO WHERE THEIR HOMES WERE.

OR PROOF THAT EVEN IF SHE KNEW SHE COULDN'T GO BACK, WHERE HER HEART WAS.

YEAH.

RIGHT, RIGHT.

Gates: FORCED TO LEAVE ALMOST ALL OF THEIR WORLDLY POSSESSIONS BEHIND, SANJAY'S FAMILY'S ANCESTRAL PAPER TRAIL ON HIS MOTHER'S SIDE RUNS OUT.

THE STORY OF SANJAY'S MOTHER BEING FORCED TO FLEE HER HOME WITH VIRTUALLY NOTHING STILL RESONATES DEEPLY WITH HIM.

IT'S THE DEFINING, CLIMACTIC EVENT THAT SEPARATES HIM FROM THE ABILITY TO GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HIS FAMILY'S ROOTS.

Gupta: THERE IS A CULTURAL THING THAT I SEE AMONG INDIANS.

AND MAYBE IT'S AMONG INDIANS WHO IMMIGRATED AWAY FROM INDIA.

THERE IS A DESIRE TO PROTECT THEIR KIDS FROM SOME OF THE TOUGHER PARTS OF THEIR LIVES.

Gates: MARGARET CHO ALSO HAS GAPS IN HER FAMILY TREE BECAUSE OF WHAT SHE KNOWS -- OR DOESN'T KNOW -- ABOUT WHY HER FATHER HAD TO ABANDON HIS ANCESTRAL HOME IN 1948.

THE REASONS BEHIND HIS FAMILY'S HURRIED ESCAPE FROM WHAT'S NOW NORTH KOREA HAVE LONG BEEN SHROUDED IN MYSTERY.

WHAT DID YOUR FATHER TELL YOU ABOUT HIS CHILDHOOD DURING THIS TIME?

THERE WAS NOT A LOT OF LIKE REAL LIKE EVIDENCE OF WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FAMILY, SO...

I THINK A LOT OF LIKE THE SPECIFIC MEMORIES ARE REALLY STIFLED.

THEY DIDN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT WITH US.

MANY OLDER BLACK PEOPLE WERE LIKE THAT.

TRAUMA.

YOU DIDN'T PASS IT ON -- IF YOU DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IT, IT NEVER HAPPENED, OR IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

Gates: WHEN I VISITED MARGARET'S PARENTS, I LEARNED THAT HER FATHER IS STILL VERY CONFLICTED ABOUT THE LONG-BURIED FAMILY SECRET THAT COMPELLED HIS FAMILY TO LEAVE THE NORTH.

IN FACT, HE'S NEVER REVEALED THE REASON TO MARGARET.

MR Cho: I WANTED TO HAVE HER KNOW WHAT KIND OF WORLD WE WENT THROUGH.

BUT WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO SHOW HER, YOU KNOW, FULLY.

AND I HAVE MANY REGRETS ABOUT THAT THING REALLY.

Gates: MR. CHO'S FATHER, MYUNG-SOOK CHO, WORKED FOR THE JAPANESE AS A STATION MASTER DURING THEIR OCCUPATION OF KOREA, WHICH BEGAN IN 1905.

ACCORDING TO MR. CHO, WHEN JAPAN WITHDREW FROM KOREA AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II, HIS FATHER WAS BRANDED A TRAITOR BY NORTH KOREA'S NEW COMMUNIST LEADERSHIP.

Mr. Cho: SO OUR FAMILY DECIDED TO MOVE FROM NORTH KOREA TO SOUTH KOREA.

SO THAT WAS WHY.

RIGHT.

MR. CHO WAS A 10 YEAR OLD BOY AT THE TIME.

I WONDERED HOW MARGARET WOULD REACT TO THE DETAILS OF THIS STORY, WHICH SHE HAD NEVER HEARD BEFORE.

TO THE COMMUNISTS, YOUR GRANDFATHER'S FORMER JOB AS A CIVIL SERVANT FOR THE JAPANESE MADE HIM AN ENEMY OF THE STATE.

DID YOU KNOW THAT?

HM-MM.

DID YOUR FATHER EVER TALK ABOUT THIS?

NO.

NO, NO.

THEY NEVER, NEVER.

THEY WOULDN'T HAVE.

THEY WOULDN'T HAVE.

THEY WOULDN'T HAVE.

YOU KNOW, I CAN SEE WHY THEY WOULDN'T REVEAL THAT, TO ME OR TO ANY OF, UM, MY GENERATION.

YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE TOO HARD TO FACE.

Gates: IN 1948, KOREA WAS DIVIDED ALONG THE 38th PARALLEL INTO TWO COUNTRIES.

TODAY, THIS 160-MILE-LONG FORTIFIED BORDER HAS CUT THE CHOS OFF FROM ANY RECORDS CONTAINING DETAILS ABOUT THEIR FAMILY'S HISTORY IN THE NORTH.

THE DIVIDING LINES THAT CAN SEPARATE US FROM OUR PAST AREN'T ALWAYS DELINEATED BY GUN TOWERS, BARBED WIRE, OR HEAVILY GUARDED BORDERS.

TIME...

DISTANCE...

THE INSCRUTABLE NATURE OF MEMORY CAN ALSO WEAR AWAY AT OUR FAMILY'S COLLECTIVE HISTORY UNTIL IT IS ALL BUT LOST TO US.

SANJAY GUPTA'S PATERNAL ANCESTORS HAVE LIVED FOR GENERATIONS IN THE SAME PART OF INDIA -- THE STATE OF HARYANA, JUST OUTSIDE OF DELHI.

EVEN SO, SANJAY CAN ONLY TRACE HIS ANCESTORS ON HIS FATHER'S SIDE BACK TO HIS GRANDFATHER.

WE WANTED TO SEE IF WE COULD GO BACK FURTHER.

ALL OF THE EXPERTS WE ASKED TOLD US THE SAME THING: IN INDIA, GENEALOGY REMAINS AN ORAL TRADITION.

IN SHORT, YOU HAVE TO GO TO WHERE THE FAMILY CAME FROM AND ASK AROUND.

LIKE, "WHO'S THE BOY'S DADDY?

WHO DOES HE REALLY LOOK LIKE?"

SO, THAT'S WHAT WE DID.

Gates: OUR RESEARCHERS WENT STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE -- INDIA, WHERE THEY TRACKED DOWN A DISTANT COUSIN OF SANJAY'S -- VINOD MITTAL.

EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE BLOOD RELATIVES, SANJAY AND VINOD HAVE NEVER MET.

WE ASKED VINOD TO TRAVEL TO THE VILLAGE OF DOAB IN AN ATTEMPT TO LOCATE HIS GREAT-GRANDFATHER'S HOME.

THE GREAT-GRANDFATHER THAT HE AND SANJAY BOTH SHARE.

VINOD KNEW HIM PERSONALLY, BUT SANJAY DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HIS NAME.

A RELATIVE STILL LIVING NEARBY PROMISED TO TAKE VINOD TO THE HOUSE.

Gates: THROUGHOUT THE JOURNEY, VILLAGERS WERE EXCITED TO SHARE STORIES ABOUT SANJAY'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

HIS NAME, WE LEARNED, WAS MOLARCHAND.

Gates: SANJAY, WHEN WE WENT BACK, MANY PEOPLE WANTED TO TELL US STORIES ABOUT YOUR GREAT GRANDFATHER.

HE HAS A KIND OF LEGENDARY STATUS.

IS THAT RIGHT?

WHAT DID THEY TELL YOU?

PEOPLE SAID THAT MOLARCHAND WAS A BIG MAN.

THAT WAS THE MOST FREQUENTLY USED ADJECTIVE.

THAT HE WAS A BIG MAN, BOTH IN HIS COMMUNITY AND PHYSICALLY.

Gates: NEARBY, SANJAY'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER OWNED ANOTHER HOME, WHICH HE BUILT EARLY IN THE 20th CENTURY.

ALL THAT REMAINS TODAY IS THE FOUNDATION.

HE WAS ALSO GENEROUS AND RELIGIOUS.

WHEN HE LEFT THE VILLAGE, HE GAVE HIS HOUSE TO THE VILLAGE PRIESTS.

AND THEY WERE STILL LIVING HERE IN THAT SAME HOUSE UP TO THE MONSOON OF 2011.

I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS STUFF STILL HAPPENING NOW.

I MEAN, THIS IS A COMPLETE COLLISION OF MY WORLDS.

Gates: TO DIG EVEN DEEPER, WE SENT SANJAY'S COUSIN TO HARDIWAR, LOCATED ON THE GANGES RIVER.

HARDIWAR IS A PLACE OF TREMENDOUS GENEALOGICAL IMPORTANCE TO HINDUS.

PILGRIMS COME TO HARDIWAR TO CONSULT WITH FAMILY PRIESTS WHO HAVE RECORD THEIR GOTRAS -- THE MALE LINEAGES ON THEIR FAMILY TREES.

WE ARRANGED FOR VINOD TO MEET WITH TWO PRIESTS WHO HAVE DEVOTED THEIR LIVES TO WRITING DOWN FAMILY HISTORIES.

WE'RE HOPING THAT WE'LL DISCOVER OTHER DETAILS ABOUT SANJAY'S EXTENDED FAMILY, HIDDEN IN THESE CRYPTICALLY ENCODED SCROLLS.

Gates: THESE ARE TWO PRIESTS, THEY'RE BROTHERS.

AND THEY ARE THE KEEPERS OF YOUR FAMILY'S LEDGER, OR "BAHI."

THEY INHERITED THIS RESPONSIBILITY FROM THEIR FATHER, WHO INHERITED IT FROM HIS FATHER.

THAT'S AMAZING.

AND ONE DAY THEIR SONS WILL TAKE OVER FROM THEM.

SO, IT'S ALL...I MEAN IT'S ALL WRITTEN DOWN THEN?

THAT'S YOUR FAMILY HISTORY, MY BROTHER.

THAT'S UH, THAT'S AN AMAZING THING.

I HAVE TO GO.

OH, YOU HAVE TO GO.

I HAVE TO GO SEE THIS.

Gates: THE SCROLLS CONTAIN INFORMATION GOING BACK, INCREDIBLY, EIGHT GENERATIONS ON SANJAY'S FATHER'S LINE.

COUSINS, GRANDPARENTS, GREAT-GRANDPARENTS AND BEYOND -- THEY'RE ALL HERE, A SYMBOLIC GATHERING OF GENERATIONS OF ANCESTORS, OF FAMILY MEMBERS THAT SANJAY NEVER EVEN KNEW HE HAD.

THE PRECIOUS INFORMATION FOUND IN THIS SCROLL ALLOWED US TO RECOVER OVER 2 CENTURIES OF SANJAY'S LOST FAMILY HISTORY.

COULD YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THIS?

YOU'RE GOING TO NEED A LITTLE HELP.

SEE WHAT DESTINY HAS TO OFFER HERE.

WOW!

THAT'S A FAMILY TREE.

THAT IS YOUR FAMILY TREE, MY BROTHER.

THAT IS A BIG TREE, SKIP.

WOW.

LOOK AT THIS.

Gates: AND THIS IS ONLY THE MALE ANCESTORS ON YOUR PATERNAL LINE, YOUR FATHER'S LINE.

THIS IS, UH, THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE PIECES OF PAPER I'M GOING TO HAVE IN MY LIFE, THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE.

Gates: THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE FROM EUROPE WHO CAN'T TRACE THEIR ANCESTORS BY NAME BACK TO THE LATE-18th CENTURY.

THAT'S REALLY SOMETHING.

AND I JUST DIDN'T KNOW SO MUCH OF THIS.

I DIDN'T KNOW ANY OF THIS.

THIS IS, UH...

I NEED TO REALLY PROCESS ALL THIS.

Gates: TWO LUCKY BREAKS -- LOCATING SANJAY'S COUSIN, VINOD, AND THEN THE HARDIWAR SCROLLS - MADE THESE DISCOVERIES POSSIBLE.

I'M HOPING WE CAN DO THE SAME FOR MARGARET, WHO CAN ONLY TRACE HER FATHER'S FAMILY LINE BACK TO HER GREAT GRANDFATHER.

EVEN SO, SHE'S DETERMINED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HER FAMILY TREE.

Cho: WE ALL WANT TO KNOW.

WE ALL WANT TO SEE WHERE WE COME FROM.

IT'S SUCH A TERRIBLE PAIN TO KIND OF BE CUT OFF FROM YOUR FAMILY AND TO BE CUT OFF FROM WHAT REALLY IS YOUR HOME.

Gates: TO HELP ME DISCOVER MORE ABOUT MARGARET'S ROOTS, I'VE CALLED ON PROFESSOR EUGENE PARK, A SPECIALIST IN KOREAN SOCIAL HISTORY, AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

PROFESSOR PARK SHARED WITH ME AN INTERESTING FACT: IN KOREA, FAMILY CLANS CAN BE TRACED BACK HUNDREDS OF YEARS TO A GENEALOGICAL POINT OF ORIGIN: A PROGENITOR.

THINK OF THIS PROGENITOR AS THE SORT OF "FOUNDING FATHER," THE INDIVIDUAL WHO GIVES THE CLAN ITS NAME AND ITS STATUS.

Park: WITH KOREAN GENEALOGIES, WE'RE LOOKING AT A TRIANGLE WITH THE PROGENITOR LOCATED AT THE TOP OF THE TRIANGLE.

OF COURSE, AS WE GO DOWN THE TRIANGLE, THE BASE BECOMES WIDER.

AND THE BASE CONSISTS OF THE PROGENITOR'S DIRECT MALE DESCENDANTS.

Gates: THE PROGENITOR'S MALE DESCENDANTS ARE ALL RECORDED IN A GENEALOGICAL RECORD CALLED "A JOAKBO," WHICH IS PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.

TODAY, THERE ARE ALMOST FOUR THOUSAND CLANS IN KOREA, EACH WITH ITS OWN JOAKBO.

Park: I THINK FOR SOMEONE INTERESTED IN TRACING HIS OR HER ANCESTRY, IT'S A VERY SPECIAL ENDEAVOR.

IN MANY WAYS IT'S ABOUT HIS OR HER EXISTENCE, FINDING HIS OR HER PLACE IN THE HISTORY.

Gates: THERE'S REASON TO BELIEVE THAT MARGARET'S FATHER'S FAMILY DESCENDS FROM THE PYONGYANG CHO CLAN.

WE DISCOVERED THIS FROM A FAMILY REGISTRY KEPT BY THE SOUTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT.

WE BEGIN OUR SEARCH FOR THE CLAN'S PROGENITOR NOT IN KOREA, BUT INSTEAD, MUCH CLOSER TO HOME -- AT THE FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

WE'RE GETTING CLOSE.

THIS HAS GOT TO TIE INTO THAT.

Gates: ADMINISTERED BY THE MORMON CHURCH, THE LIBRARY COLLECTS, CATALOGUES AND PRESERVES GENEALOGIES FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD.

HI.

HOW'S THE RESEARCH GOING?

Gates: TAMARA STANSFIELD IS A RESEARCH EXPERT IN THE LIBRARY'S INTERNATIONAL WING.

OH, OKAY.

Stansfield: OUR FOCUS IS TO COLLECT ANY KIND OF RECORDS THAT REFLECT GENEALOGICAL NEED.

WE GATHER GAZETTEERS, HISTORY BOOKS, ADDRESS BOOKS, ANYTHING THAT WOULD ASSIST SOMEONE IN FINDING THEIR ANCESTOR ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

ON-SITE WE HAVE OVER 150,000 BOOKS, AND WE HAVE AROUND 2.5 MILLION MICROFILMS THAT WOULD CONTAIN BILLIONS OF IMAGES.

Gates: FOR THE MORMONS, GENEALOGY IS A CRITICAL PART OF THEIR RELIGION.

THEY RESEARCH FAMILY TREES TO IDENTIFY DECEASED ANCESTORS SO THEY CAN BE POSTHUMOUSLY BAPTIZED AND ACCORDING TO THE FAITH, REUNITED WITH THEIR FAMILIES IN THE AFTERLIFE.

TODAY, THE CHURCH'S FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY CONTAINS ALL SORTS OF FAMILY RECORDS AND DOCUMENTS, BOTH ABOUT MORMONS AND NON-MORMONS.

IT'S THE LARGEST GENEALOGICAL COLLECTION OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD.

WITH A BIT OF LUCK, MARGARET'S FAMILY'S CLAN HISTORY WILL BE HERE.

ELLEN LEE IS A SPECIALIST IN ASIAN CLAN GENEALOGIES.

AFTER COMBING THROUGH THE LIBRARY'S HOLDINGS, SHE'S LOCATED A MICROFILM COPY OF MARGARET'S FAMILY'S PARTICULAR JOAKBO -- THEIR FAMILY'S RECORD BOOK.

AND HERE, BURIED IN THESE RECORDS IS THE ACTUAL NAME AND BIOGRAPHY OF MARGARET'S FAMILY'S PROGENITOR -- CHO IN GYU, BORN IN THE YEAR 1237.

Lee: HE IS LIKE THE MAIN ANCESTOR BECAUSE HE DID A LOT OF GREAT THINGS ACCORDING TO THE BIOGRAPHIES.

Gates: THE JOAKBO IS FILLED WITH DETAILS ABOUT CHO'S LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

HE WAS A TRANSLATOR WHO BRIDGED THE LANGUAGE GAP BETWEEN THE KOREAN KING AND THE MONGOL RULERS OF CHINA.

ONE OF HIS DAUGHTERS WAS EVEN MARRIED OFF TO THE KING.

MARGARET HAS ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA THAT SHE CAN TRACE HER FAMILY TREE BACK THIS FAR... NOW, THIS IS THE JOAKBO ENTRY FOR YOUR MOST ILLUSTRIOUS ANCESTOR.

HIS NAME WAS CHO IN GYU, AND HE WAS BORN IN THE YEAR 1237.

AND THAT'S HOW FAR YOU CAN GO BACK ON YOUR FAMILY TREE.

[Laughing] IT'S AMAZING.

ONLY A FEW AMERICANS COULD POSSIBLY EVER DO THAT.

DOES THIS KNOWING THAT YOU COME FROM SUCH DISTINGUISHED ANCESTORS IN KOREA, WOULD THAT HAVE HELPED YOU WHEN YOU WERE A KID TO KNOW THIS?

OH, I THINK IT WOULD HAVE HELPED TREMENDOUSLY.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY POWERFUL TO HAVE A SENSE OF HISTORY.

WHEN I WAS GOING TO SCHOOL, SEEMED LIKE OTHER KIDS COULD REALLY RECOGNIZE OR RESPOND TO HISTORY, IN A WAY THAT WAS PERSONAL, AND I COULD NEVER.

I THINK IT'S REALLY POWERFUL TO KNOW.

Gates: FOR MARGARET, THE DETAILS WE DISCOVERED IN THE FAMILY JOAKBO COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED HER UNDERSTANDING OF HER ANCESTRY.

MARTHA STEWART IS IN FOR A BIG SURPRISE, AS WELL.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HER ANCESTORS ON HER MOTHER'S SIDE, OUR RESEARCH TEAM LOCATED HER FAMILY'S BAPTISM RECORDS IN POLAND.

AND IN THEM, THEY DISCOVERED SOMETHING QUITE EXTRAORDINARY.

YOU GREW UP PRACTICING ROMAN CATHOLICISM.

Stewart: EXACTLY.

AS FAR AS YOU KNOW, ALL YOUR RELATIVES AND DISTANT ANCESTORS IN POLAND WERE ROMAN CATHOLIC, TOO, RIGHT?

I HAD NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ELSE.

WELL, NOT ALL OF THEM.

BECAUSE THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE OH.

THAT AT LEAST SOME OF YOUR ANCESTORS WERE MUSLIM.

OH, MUSLIM.

MUSLIM.

AH.

Gates: IT TURNS OUT MARTHA'S POSSIBLE MUSLIM ANCESTRY IS CONNECTED TO HER GRANDMOTHER'S LAST NAME, "ALBINIAK," WHICH GOES BACK MULTIPLE GENERATIONS, AND TO THE TOWN -- CALLED JANOW -- WHERE HER FAMILY ONCE LIVED.

THE NAME ALBINIAK IS ASSOCIATED WITH AN ETHNIC GROUP CALLED THE TATARS.

AND THE TOWN OF JANOW HAS BEEN INHABITED BY TATARS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS FOR CENTURIES AND CENTURIES.

THEY WERE PART OF GENGHIS KHAN'S MONGOL EMPIRE.

AND MY DOG'S NAME IS GENGHIS KHAN.

REALLY?

YES!

WELL, IT ALL LINES UP.

ARE YOU SURPRISED OR NOT SURPRISED?

NO.

I'M NOT SURPRISED.

I'M OPEN TO ANY KIND OF THING LIKE THIS BECAUSE EUROPE WAS CONSTANTLY CHANGING.

PEOPLE WERE COMING FROM EVERYWHERE TO GOING EVERYWHERE.

AND IT'S EXTREMELY SORT OF EXCITING TO FIND THIS OUT.

Gates: THE TATARS, A NOMADIC PEOPLE WHO LIVED THROUGHOUT EAST AND CENTRAL ASIA, WERE CONQUERED BY GENGHIS KHAN'S ARMY IN 1202.

LATER, MOST TATARS EMBRACED ISLAM.

SOME BEGAN SETTLING IN POLAND AS EARLY AS THE 15th CENTURY.

BUT CAN WE GO BACK EVEN FURTHER IN TIME?

CAN WE CONFIRM MARTHA'S TATAR ROOTS THROUGH HER DNA?

CERTAIN DNA TESTS ACT LIKE A GENETIC "GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM," PROVIDING VALUABLE CLUES ABOUT WHERE OUR ANCESTORS ONCE LIVED.

IN MARTHA'S CASE, WE CAN'T TEST THE ALBINIAK LINE DIRECTLY, BUT WORKING WITH 23&ME -- A GENETIC TESTING SERVICE -- WE CAN IDENTIFY THE HAPLOGROUP, OR GENETIC SIGNATURE, ENCODED IN MARTHA'S DIRECT MATERNAL LINE.

YOUR MATERNAL HAPLOGROUP IS W6.

NOW, W6 IS ALL THESE WOMEN STRAIGHT UP HAVE THE SAME GENETIC SIGNATURE, RIGHT?

Gates: W6 ORIGINATED IN CENTRAL ASIA OVER 35,000 YEARS AGO.

THEN IT SPREAD TO THE AREA AROUND PRESENT-DAY PAKISTAN, LENDING SUPPORT TO THE THEORY THAT AT LEAST SOME OF MARTHA'S ANCESTORS -- THOSE ON HER MOTHER'S MOTHER'S LINE -- WERE MUSLIM TATARS.

I WOULDN'T MIND BEING RELATED TO GENGHIS KAHN.

I WOULD THINK YOU PROBABLY ARE.

Gates: WE ALSO WANTED TO FIND OUT WHAT DNA ANALYSIS COULD TELL US ABOUT SANJAY GUPTA'S FAMILY TREE.

I'M HOPING THAT THE SAME DNA TEST WE GAVE MARTHA CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND WHERE SANJAY'S MATERNAL ANCESTORS WERE FROM.

YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS MAP THAT U2C OCCURS IN A VERY CONCENTRATED AREA.

U2 AROSE IN THE NEAR EAST ABOUT 45,000 YEARS AGO.

Gates: IT TURNS OUT THAT U2C, SANJAY'S MOTHER'S HAPLOGROUP, APPEARS MOST OFTEN AMONG THE SINDHI PEOPLE OF SOUTHERN PAKISTAN.

SO WE HAVE A SLAM DUNK BETWEEN OUR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH AND THE GENETIC EVIDENCE IN YOUR DNA.

YEAH.

SO IT ALL FITS.

THIS SUGGESTS THAT YOUR MOTHER'S FAMILY MAY HAVE BEEN IN THE SINDH REGION FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME.

THAT'S... WE KNOW WHERE HOME IS.

YEP.

THEY'VE BEEN THERE FOREVER.

FOREVER.

SINCE THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION IN INDIA.

YEAH.

Gates: FOR MARGARET, I'M HOPING THAT THE DNA TEST WILL BE A WAY TO RESTORE SOME OF HER MISSING FAMILY HISTORY, AS WELL.

MARGARET'S TEST REVEALED THAT THE HAPLOGROUP EXTENDING ALONG HER MATERNAL LINE IS CALLED D5A, WHICH IS COMMON IN CHINA.

BUT IT TURNS OUT IT'S EXTREMELY RARE IN KOREA.

IT ONLY APPEARS IN LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF ALL KOREAN WOMEN.

IT IS EXTREMELY RARE.

Gates: THIS SUGGESTS THAT MARGARET'S ANCESTORS ON HER MOTHER'S SIDE WEREN'T ORIGINALLY FROM KOREA.

AND, ACCORDING TO ANOTHER DNA TEST, NEITHER WERE HER FATHER'S.

Cho: I THINK THAT'S REALLY FASCINATING.

I THINK, BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF NATIONAL PRIDE THAT MY PARENTS BOTH SEEM TO HAVE, THAT IT'S SURPRISING THAT THEY'RE FROM LIKE OTHER PLACES ACTUALLY.

Gates: THE FACT IS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TOO FAR BACK IN TIME TO SEE THAT OUR ANCESTORS HAVE ALL BEEN CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE AND IT CAN BE MEASURED IN OUR GENES JUST AS IT CAN IN THE PAPER RECORDS OUR ANCESTORS LEFT BEHIND.

OH, HOW BEAUTIFUL.

I CAN'T WAIT TO GO OVER THIS WITH MY FAMILY.

EVERYBODY'S GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTED.

WE WILL HAVE A ANCESTOR DAY.

THIS IS YOUR FAMILY TREE, THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY TRACE WITH A PAPER TRAIL.

IT'S WONDERFUL, I MEAN, IT'S REALLY WONDERFUL TO KNOW.

I THINK THEY WOULD BE REALLY MAYBE PRETTY SHOCKED AT THE WAY THAT I LIVE.

Gates: AND WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES ON NEW AND UNFAMILIAR SHORES, THOSE DEEPER CONNECTIONS TO OUR PAST CAN HELP TO GROUND US.

Gates: DO YOU FEEL MORE INDIAN TODAY THAN YOU DID YESTERDAY?

YEAH, I FEEL MORE INDIAN TODAY, AND I FEEL GREATER PRIDE ABOUT IT AS WELL.

I'VE ALWAYS BEEN PROUD TO BE INDIAN.

BUT NOW I FEEL LIKE I HAVE A REAL STORY TO TELL.

PLEASE JOIN US NEXT TIME AS WE INTRODUCE MORE GUESTS TO LONG LOST ANCESTORS ON THEIR FAMILY TREES ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF "FINDING YOUR ROOTS."