On the next episode of Finding Your Roots, actress Claire Danes discovers that her New England ancestor, Margaret Scott, hanged in 1692, was one of the last victims of the Salem witchcraft trials. Actor Jeff Daniels hears that he’s a direct descendant of Thomas Chandler, one of the earliest settlers of what became North Andover in Colonial Massachusetts. Chandler testified at the Salem witchcraft trials.
The two guests also learn about military exploits in their family histories. Peter W. Ebbert of New Jersey (great grandfather of Claire Danes) was killed on the frontlines of France during the first World War; whereas, Jeff Daniels’s Civil War ancestor was captured by Confederates and imprisoned at Andersonville.
Finding Your Roots airs Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, at 8 p.m. (ET) on PBS.