Edward Norton finds out that his 12th great-grandmother is Pocahontas
Edward Norton has found out that his 12th great-grandmother is Pocahontas. The actor made an appearance in an episode of season nine of Finding Your Roots this week, in which it was revealed that his ancestor is the legendary historical figure.
In the episode, Henry Louis Gates, the host of the show, showed recorded documents to Norton that explained that Pocahontas and John Rolfe were married in Jamestown, Virginia on April 5th 1614. He provided other documents that showed how Norton’s history leads back to the couple.
Gates told Norton, “This is about as far back as you can go.” Norton replied, “This just makes you realise what a small piece of the whole human story you are.” Just two years after Rolfe and Pocahontas married, William Shakespeare died.
Pocahontas was part of the Powhatan people, who were acknowledged for their association with a colony in Jamestown, Virginia. Powhatan is also the name of the chief of a number of tribes that originated in the Tsenacommacah, part of the Tidewater area in Virginia.
Gates also informed Norton that some of his ancestors were slave owners, and later, he asked Norton how he felt about the news, to which Norton replied, “The short answer is these things are uncomfortable. Everybody should be uncomfortable with it. It’s a judgment on the history of this country, and it needs to be contended with. When you read ‘Slave, age 8’, you just want to die.”
Pocahontas died in Gravesend, England, just three years after marrying Rolfe, who himself died a few years later in 1622. A 2007 book named The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of History explained that she had, in fact, been married to a Native American called Kocoum, with whom she had a child before Rolfe kidnapped her and took her hand for himself.
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