Roots Less Traveled - Episode Guide

Host Faruq Tauheed takes half-siblings Michelle and Rob to Mexico City, where they discover their relation to a famous Mexican political family and learn that their second cousin Ernesto gave the keys to Mexico City to President John F. Kennedy.

Grandpa and grandson Evan and Scott travel to Montana to learn that Evan's great-grandfather was an integral part of the 1862 U.S. western states expansion and that two of his uncles were prisoners of war in WWII, both receiving Purple Hearts.

Mom and son duo Sharee and Davone travel to Nashville, Tennessee, where they learn that their fourth great-grandfather Larkin Ford was a part of an 1840s landmark Tennessee case in which he was awarded the farm that he worked on as a slave.

Aunt and nephew Tammy and Julian go on an adventure in Brooklyn to learn their relation to undertaker John Baisley, who helped bury the city's dead in the 1856 epidemic, and to James Howell, who was an integral part in building the Brooklyn Bridge.

Host Faruq Tauheed takes uncle and nephew Al and Jr. on an ancestral trip to Havana, Cuba, where Al learns that his grandfather Joseph Barlow owned and developed 34 blocks of downtown Havana, including the now-famous suburban neighborhood Buena Vista. But due to an unfortunate turn of fate, Joseph Barlow lost his riches in a political coup. As the two men connect over their own entrepreneurship, they learn where their family's resilience came from.

Host Faruq Tauheed takes father and daughter Paul and Kalina to the Civil War battleground in Port Republic, Virginia, where they discover that Paul's great-grandfather Austin D. Springer was a drummer boy for the Union Army. At the battlefield, Paul and Kalina learn that Austin was taken prisoner by the Confederate Army but escaped and hid in slave huts until he made his way back to the Union Army. Paul, a Vietnam veteran, connects his own experience and believes that being a combat vet is in his genes.

Host Faruq Tauheed takes brother and sister Ashley and Elliott back to their grandparents' hometown of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. During their trip, they get a sailing lesson and learn that their fifth great-grandfather Henry Osborn was taken prisoner on a boat in the Revolutionary War. While feasting on lobster, they discover that their third great-grandfather Samuel Osborn went from debtor's prison to owning a fleet of whaling ships. A surprise visit from their parents allows them to share their found history.

Host Faruq Tauheed looks back at memorable moments, including a relative who gave John F. Kennedy the keys to Mexico City, a connection to downtown Havana, Cuba, and an African American ancestor who owned land in Tennessee before the Civil War.

Half-siblings Michelle and Rob relive their journey to Mexico City, where they discovered they were related to a famous Mexican political family, and they share how it felt to learn their cousin died on the Titanic after giving up his lifeboat seat.

Father and daughter Paul and Kalina revisit their journey through the battlegrounds of Port Republic, Virginia, including discovering the drummer boy relative captured in battle who found the strength to escape and reunite with his comrades.

Uncle and nephew Al and JR revisit their journey to Havana, Cuba, where they explored the 32 blocks of downtown that their ancestor helped develop and share how the journey allowed them to reconnect in ways they couldn't have imagined.

Grandpa Evan and grandson Scott revisit their time in Billings, Montana, where they learned that their relatives cultivated 160 acres thanks to the Homestead Act of 1862, as well as their journey down the Yellowstone River to go gemstone hunting.

Siblings Ashley and Elliott reminisce about their trip to Martha's Vineyard, Mass., where they sailed on a boat much like the one their ancestor was taken prisoner on during the Revolutionary War and visited an inn with special family ties.

Mum and son Sharee and DeVonn revisit their Nashville trip where they discovered the positive impact their ancestors made in the African American community and followed in their ancestors' footsteps to get the people of Nashville registered to vote.

Aunt Tammy and nephew Julian revisit the ancestral journey they took through Brooklyn, New York, sharing what it was like to try their hand at ironworking after learning their ancestor was a key player in building and maintaining the Brooklyn Bridge.

Faruq Tauheed looks back at memorable moments, including a cousin who gave the keys to Mexico City to John F. Kennedy, a grandfather who owned 32 blocks in Havana, Cuba, and an African American ancestor who owned Tennessee land before the Civil War.

A poignant journey starts from an enslaved family's Kentucky roots and their progression to freedom through a monumental court case, an arduous trek across three states and the start of the American dream.

A family learns that their African American ancestors were farmers and landowners before the emancipation proclamation because of a friendly family of Quakers.

A brother and sister learn about their cousin's past and the time he gave the keys to Mexico City to JFK; an uncle and nephew learn their family has a connection to downtown Havana, Cuba; a mother and son learn about their ancestors.

An aunt and nephew learn they have family ties to the Brooklyn Bridge; siblings learn their ancestor went from debtors' prison to owning a fleet of whaling ships; a father and daughter learn their ancestor was a Union soldier in the Civil War.

Faruq Tauheed hosts as brother and sister Jimmy and Katie seek out their Japanese heritage beginning in 1890s Japan, then in San Francisco, and finally in the farmlands of the Central Valley of California in the 1940s.

Gwendolyn and her daughter, Gabrielle, discover that her great-grandfather was liberated on one of the most significant days of President Abraham Lincoln's presidency and later became a hero with the U.S. Colored Troops 1st Infantry in the Civil War.

Cousins Patti and Damon learn that their African American ancestors were farmers and landowners pre-Emancipation with help from a family of Quakers, and a family discovers how their ancestors gained freedom through a monumental Kentucky court case.

Siblings seek their Japanese heritage beginning in 1890s Japan in California's farmlands in the 1940s; a mother and daughter discover their ancestor was freed from enslavement by President Lincoln and became a Civil War hero.