Who Do You Think You Are? Episode 1.01 Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah meets with her brother Toby before starting her journey. The two siblings would both be surprised if they had roots that dated back to the Mayflower and Sarah hopes to find something of interest to tell her children. Sarah's father's side of the family dates back to Eastern European Jewish, but there is a lot unknown about her mother's side.

Sarah only knows tiny fragments about her mother's ancestry and so she begins her journey in New Jersey, where her mother, Barbara, resides. To learn more about their family would be a tremendous gift to Sarah's mother. Barbara was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio in its German community. This is where most of Sarah's known relatives date back to. However, Sarah's great grandmother's maiden name was Hodge, a new and unfamiliar name to Sarah. Sarah's great-great grandfather, Alva Hodge, also lived in Cincinnati--leading Sarah back to her hometown to trace the Hodges' roots.

Cincinnati, Ohio: First stop is the public library where Sarah meets with Natalie Cottrill from Progenealogist, Inc. Natalie tells Sarah that the Hodge surname is a very old name in American history and dates back to colonial New England. Sarah reads Alva's death certificate where she learns about John E. Hodge, her great-great-great grandfather who grew up a fatherless boy. Natalie was able to find John's obituary, which states that John's father died on a trip to California in 1849. He very well could have been part of the Gold Rush. Using Ancestory.com, Sarah and Natalie identify John E. Hodge's father as John S. Hodge, who was a miner in California. However, the California census shows that John S. Hodge was alive in 1850--which means he may have abandoned his family and faked his death.

At the Cincinnati's Museum Center, Sarah meets with Steven Aaron, a professor of the American West at UCLA. After showing Steven the census, it is clear that John S. Hodge did not die in 1849. Steven shows Sarah an article of agreement that mentions John S. Hodge as part of a company traveling to California in the search of gold. Sarah is amazed. She also learns that John E. Hodge was born while John S. Hodge was in California and that John S. Hodge may not have known his wife was pregnant when he left.

John Hodge was only 24 years old when he left Ohio in a covered wagon on a 2,300 mile trek to California. It was a dangerous journey and as many as 10 people died per mile on this route. After four months of travel, John S. Hodge crossed the Sierra Mountains into California. Sarah learns that she is actually a relative of an archetypical American and is intertwined with a very important part of American history.

In order to answer the questions about John S. Hodge, Sarah travels to El Dorado County, California. Sarah wants to know if he made it to California and if he did, why did he never come home? Sarah meets with a local historian, John McCabe, who shows Sarah where John S. Hodge lived and worked. John set up shop in a tent town, like many other prospectors in the county, and became a miner. John McCabe even shows Sarah the coveted pieces of gold her ancestor was looking for.

In El Dorado County, Sarah stands on a mining field and John McCabe shows her a letter that reveals what happened to her fourth great grandfather. It turns out that John S. Hodge had fallen ill and died. Sarah is heartbroken over this news, but takes comfort that one of her relatives played such an important part in American history.

After learning that her fourth great-grandfather, John S. Hodge, had died during the Gold Rush, Sarah travels to New England to explore the Hodges in colonial times. In Boston, Sarah meets with genealogist Josh Taylor who tells her that Hodge is a big New England name. In fact, Josh found the estate of John S. Hodge and his father, Eber Hodge. Eber Hodge, Sarah's fifth great grandfather, was born in Connecticut right after the American Revolution ended. In fact, he was the first generation born as an American.

Josh explains a long list of Sarah's ancestors in New England. Eber's mother was Abigail Elwell, and her father's name was Jabez Elwell. Jabez came from three generations of Samuel Elwells. This places Sarah's family five generations deep in New England, and the first Samuel was born in 1635, only 15 years after the Mayflower arrived.

There are more surprises for Sarah as Josh uses the Great Migration Study Project to track Robert Elwell, who came over from England and was the first Elwell in America. Sarah discovers that Robert Elwell had been admitted to the Salem Church. Robert died before the Salem Witch Trials but his son Samuel and Samuel's wife, Esther, were alive during that time. Josh tells Sarah that genealogists know that anyone alive in Essex, Massachusetts in 1692 was most likely involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Sarah is astounded by this news.

During the Salem Witch Trials, hysteria swept across a small village in Massachusetts and innocent people were tried and put to death for the supposed crime of witchcraft. Sarah isn't sure if her ancestors were the accused or the accusers during this time. She searches through documents at the Massachusetts Historical Society and meets with the librarian, Elaine Grublin. Sarah discovers that Esther Elwell, her tenth great grandmother, and two other women were on a list with a marked "warrant" label. Sarah is unsure of what that means--did the women issue a warrant or was it for their arrest?

Sarah learns that Esther Elwell had a warrant out for her arrest for practicing witchcraft. According to the warrant, Esther and two other women were accused of performing witchcraft on a neighbor, Mary Fitch, causing the woman bodily harm. Sarah reads the original 300-year-old complaint and learns that Mary Fitch died and Esther and the other women were accused of murder. Sarah says she finds this news of her tenth great-grandmother "actually physically upsetting" and now must move on to see if Esther was put to death for the insane accusation of practicing witchcraft.

Sarah meets with historian Professor Mary Beth Norton who has the information about Esther's case. Sarah learns that Mary Fitch fell ill and 17-year-old Betty Hubbard had claimed she saw the "three specters" of the accused women, including Esther Elwell, pressing down on Mary Fitch. Betty Hubbard didn't actually see these women but when Mary Fitch died, she accused the three women of witchcraft to explain the sudden death. The Court of Oyer and Terminer was a specialized court dedicated to these trials and every person who was tried there was convicted and put to death.

However, Esther Elwell was lucky. The date of the deposition, November 8th, 1692, happened after the dissolution of the Court of Oyer and Terminer and her case never went to trial. The court realized what a big mistake they were making in sentencing people to death on the basis of the devil's work. Sarah is ecstatic to hear this news and more than that, Esther's accusation is the last one in Salem Witch Trial history. Not only did Esther survive the witch trials, but she lived to be 82 years old. Sarah pays her respects to those who did not have the good fortune of her ancestors and feels the weight of this horrible scar in American history.

According to Sarah, this journey has "changed everything about who I thought I was." She returns home to tell her mother everything she has learned about their family and hopes that someone can write it all down for the next generation.

Sarah went into this thinking she had no link to the past, and she is thrilled to find out that she was wrong. Sarah is left with a sense of clarity and now feels that she is really, truly an American.