Who Do You Think You Are? To Feature Ginnifer Goodwin This Sunday

The Learning Channel’s Who Do You Think You Are? Premieres this Sunday, July 26 at 9/8c. Actress Ginnifer Goodwin (from ABC’s Once Upon a Time) is this week’s celebrity. I was allowed to view a “screener” of the episode. I found it to be a bit of a tearjerker, and fascinating. Be sure and tune in this Sunday evening!

Gennifer knew nothing about her paternal grandfather’s family because he refused to talk about his parents. She proceeded to go on a journey to uncover the truth behind her great-grandparents’ story, and was shocked discover turbulent lives filled with court cases, drugs and incarcerations.

The filming was done June 12 to 20, 2015, and the following locations were visited:

  • Ginnifer Goodwin’s home, Los Angeles, CA;
  • Lyons College Library, Batesville, AR;
  • Independence County Courthouse, Batesville, AR;
  • Arkansas History Commission, Little Rock, AR;
  • The Butler Center for Arkansas Library, Little Rock, AR;
  • Shreveport Public Library, Shreveport, LA;
  • Noel Library at LSU Shreveport, Shreveport, LA;
  • Minden Cemetery, Minden, Louisiana.

She never knew her paternal grandfather, John Barton Goodwin, who died when she was an infant. She’s been haunted by the lack of information surrounding his family line; he never talked about his parents to her father, Tim. Understanding the generations that laid the foundation for her has grown more important to her since becoming a mother herself. The birth of her son Oliver has reignited her desire to know why her grandfather never spoke of his mother and father.

Gennifer-Goodwin-300pw

Ginnifer started her search for information with her dad, who recalls that his father John Barton’s parents were named Nellie and John “Al” Goodwin, and that for some unknown reason, John Barton was abandoned when he was just 11 years old. The last time he did any research, Tim found a 1910 Census return in which Nellie, Al and John Barton are living in Batesville, Arkansas. Ginnifer wonders what could have happened for Nellie to let an 11 year old leave her home, and heads to Arkansas to see if she can find some answers.

Local records in Batesville reveal that Nellie’s maiden name was Haynes, and a search for her marriage record returns a result for Nellie and a man named J.D. Williams, not her great grandfather Al Goodwin! What happened with Nellie’s first marriage that she eventually married Al Goodwin? Was Nellie a young widow? The local genealogist explains that death records of this time are incomplete and advises Ginnifer visit the Independence County Courthouse to search for evidence for the other alternative to the end of a marriage: divorce records.

Next, Ginnifer meets with a historian, who has found a case for Nellie suing J.D. Williams (a.k.a. “Duff”) for divorce. Ginnifer discovers that Nellie successfully sued for divorce when Duff abandoned Nellie and their daughter Pearl soon after their marriage, and realizes that the date of the court case is close on the heels of Nellie’s marriage to Al Goodwin, Ginnifer’s great-grandfather.

Continuing her search for Nellie and Al Goodwin, Ginnifer finds that between 1906 and 1911 Al racked up 18 indictments for bootlegging and gambling, and served two years in prison. In Al’s own penitentiary records, Ginnifer is shocked to see her great-grandfather’s mug shot. When Ginnifer discovers Al had syphilis and was being visited by a woman other than his wife while in jail, it comes as little surprise that Nellie filed for divorce while Al was behind bars.

Gennifer-Goodwin-in-Research-Room-300pw

Ginnifer forges on to see what happened to Nellie after her second divorce. She finds Nellie and her daughter Pearl in a Memphis, Tennessee City Directory… but Nellie is listed as Mrs. Nellie Wyllie – next to a third husband, Hugh Wyllie! Next, Ginnifer is surprised to discover that Nellie moved again – this time, to Louisiana! Curious why she ended up there, Ginnifer follows her great-grandmother’s trail south.

In Louisiana, Ginnifer pulls local newspapers which reveal the 1925 headline: “12 Alleged ‘Dope’ Law Violators Indicted” – and among the indicted is Hugh Wyllie. Next, Ginnifer is stunned to find an article about her great-grandmother Nellie, titled “Woman to be tried on Morphine charge.” At age 54, Nellie plead guilty to purchasing and possessing morphine, and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. Saddened to learn her great-grandmother served time in prison, Ginnifer wonders why Nellie would be involved in drug dealing. Was she an addict just supporting her own habit? It’s hard to say based on these documents, but if Nellie and Hugh were addicts, they might have been treated at the most famous clinic of the time, which just happened to be in nearby Shreveport, and may be the reason they ended up there.

Ginnifer meets with a drug historian, who has located the extensive records from the Shreveport drug clinic. Ginnifer comes across her great-grandmother’s entry, which states that she became addicted as a result of using morphine to treat “a heart condition and syphilis.” Ginnifer recalls Al Goodwin’s prison record in which he too suffered from syphilis. Jim informs Ginnifer that a doctor probably introduced Nellie to morphine, as it was liberally prescribed to syphilis patients. Ginnifer discovers that Nellie’s addiction stretched back to a time when John Barton was just 6 years old; finally revealing the most likely reason her son – Ginnifer’s grandfather – was abandoned. Finally, Ginnifer is dismayed to find an additional entry for Nellie’s daughter Pearl, who also suffered from addiction and entered the clinic on the same day as her mother.

Ginnifer heads to Minden Cemetery outside Shreveport to pay respects to her great-grandmother. At Nellie’s gravesite, Ginnifer considers this woman she’s come to know, who suffered through a string of terrible relationships and addiction. Understanding that her great-grandparents weren’t necessarily model citizens, Ginnifer empathizes with Nellie and Al, who battled internal demons. Through bittersweet tears, she’s glad to have finally learned the story of her great-grandparents and hopes it will open up her family’s hearts and let healing begin.

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This isn’t brought up in the TV episode, but one factoid that was discovered during the research process is that Duff Williams sued Nellie for divorce first, and only married Nellie to avoid jail time for having sex with her outside of matrimony. But the tables were turned when he falsely accused Nellie in court of adultery, and his lies sent him to prison… Hmmm… A lot of folks in this generation of the family were doing prison time…

Soo – that’s it… Be sure and watch Sunday, July 26 at 9/8c. Click on the J.K. Rowling Photo to see a promotional video for this season’s TLC Who Do You think You Are?

About Leland Meitzler

Leland K. Meitzler founded Heritage Quest in 1985, and has worked as Managing Editor of both Heritage Quest Magazine and The Genealogical Helper. He currently operates Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com), writes daily at GenealogyBlog.com, writes the weekly Genealogy Newsline, conducts the annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour to the Family History Library, and speaks nationally, having given over 2000 lectures since 1983.

5 Replies to “Who Do You Think You Are? To Feature Ginnifer Goodwin This Sunday”

  1. The show didn’t say what happened to Pearl except that it seems she predeceased her mother Nellie. I looked on Ancestry.com but didn’t come up with anything. Any idea what happened to Pearl and where she ended up?

  2. What happended to pearl and why didnt we find out another that second son till the last 4 seconds of the episode!

  3. I want to know what happened to Pearl William’s too–Jinnifer’s half aunt. Jinnifer said after reading the obituary, “I wondered what happened to Pearl Williams?”. So I would hope to have learned this since she asked. Leaving it seems to leave speculation. Or better to have cut that out. Thanks for checking Jenn. So now there are 3 off us asking and many who did not bother to google this. I will check other sites as well.

  4. Well if you googled, “what happened to Pearl Williams, Ginnifer Goodwin” (even w/ the misspelling of Jinnifer) there is a ancestry.com blog that has way more traffic. If you have a membership maybe consider a check or got to a library that has Ancestry.com. Others said there should have been more explained like what happened to their her grandfather’s father after prison? and more questions. Some found information, like on Duff (and how he died). Still reading the blog but no answer confirmed on Pearl Williams. Someone said there is a death certificate in Caddo (Texas or Louisana) that has a Pearl Williams named. But that could be TX or LA as I have been on Caddo lack and it borders both states. Hope this helps anyone who read this.

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