Video: Emmitt gets emotional on Oprah**Merged**

[cowboyjoe]

Emmitt Smith on with Oprah today and on NBC reality show Friday
10:25 AM Tue, Mar 09, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
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Emmitt Smith will appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show today (4 p.m. on WFAA-TV in Dallas) to discuss his family history and his participation in the NBC reality series Who Do You Think You Are? A story about the appearance and what his family history reveals can be found here. Smith will be the featured celebrity on Who Do You Think You Are? this Friday on NBC affiliates (KXAS-TV Ch. 5 locally) at 7 p.m....

[cowboyjoe]

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Emmitt-Smith-Traces-His-Family-History

Some know Emmitt Smith as the National Football League's all-time leading rusher. Others recognize him as a three-time Super Bowl champion or a Dancing with the Stars winner. But do you really know who Emmitt is?

Until he traced his genealogy for the NBC reality series Who Do You Think You Are?, Emmitt says he didn't even know the answer to that question.

To find out more about himself and the family members who paved the way for his success, this hall-of-fame inductee followed his roots to Burnt Corn, Alabama, the town where his great-grandmother was born. "I feel like a detective on a hunt trying to find clues," he says.

In Burnt Corn, Emmitt wandered into a convenience store and asked a clerk if he knew two of his relatives, Bill and Victoria Watson. Coincidentally, Joe, the clerk, turned out to be Emmitt's second cousin.

Emmitt soon learned that his great-great-grandmother, Victoria, had an unusual maiden name—Puryear. Genealogist Marjorie Sholes told Emmitt that "Puryear" was probably the name of a slave owner. "African-Americans, at the end of the Civil War, sometimes picked the names of their last slave owner," she says.

[JustDezIt]

Talked to mom earlier who lives in pensacola, around where emmit came up and she said in an article in the paper today that in the show, (which airs friday at 8 on NBC) that when they were looking for records of his ancestors they found them in Lot #22.

[yimyammer]

Talked to mom earlier who lives in pensacola, around where emmit came up and she said in an article in the paper today that in the show, (which airs friday at 8 on NBC) that when they were looking for records of his ancestors they found them in Lot #22.

It was lot D-22

Emmits speaking seems to have improved immensely

[KJJ]

It was lot D-22

Emmits speaking seems to have improved immensely

He's been so heavily criticized for his grammar I'm sure he's been working on it. It cost him two TV jobs.

[JustDezIt]

It was lot D-22

Emmits speaking seems to have improved immensely

thats a crazy coincidence

[dcfanatic]

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------------------------

The issues in here are tough. I would ask that everyone be respectful in discussing these clips.

[STAR GAZER]

Great story.

I like that Emmitt isn't afraid to show how he feels.

[mldardy]

That's some powerful deep stuff. Makes me want to go back and trace my roots one day. I've always wanted to.

[LatinMind]

emmitt is in my mind the greatest cowboy to ever put the jersey on. :star:

[tunahelper]

It is mind boggling to know that slavery still exists in Haiti and Sudan as well as other countries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5U1kYnsCMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpYTusFqeDM

[hipfake08]

Thanks for postings the vids.

[FLcowboy]

emmitt is in my mind the greatest cowboy to ever put the jersey on. :star:

He is right up there with the best, that's for sure. He is my favorite, only because I got to see him play via three years of season tickets in the early 90's.

[peck-sicilyisland]

I have worked alot of football camps with Emmitt,He is a class guy.Love working with kids,during the camp he works with the kids the whole time camp is going on.

[DallasGirl50]

Emmitt always has worn his heart on his sleeve.

I'm glad that he got the answers and closure he wanted regarding his kin.

[cowboyjoe]

That's some powerful deep stuff. Makes me want to go back and trace my roots one day. I've always wanted to.

mine are traced back to england so far;

[jwhardin]

mine are traced back to england so far;
On my mother's side we have traced all the way back to Scotland.

[Hostile]

Hits me harder than most of you can know. In June of 2008 I accidentally found my half sister while doing some genealogy work. We occasionally converse through e-mail, but there is still a feeling that I am a skeleton in a closet that she doesn't want out. I have traced some of our genealogy to slaves in Florida.

[xWraithx]

emmitt is in my mind the greatest cowboy to ever put the jersey on. :star:

I share this sentiment as well

[jman]

He's been so heavily criticized for his grammar I'm sure he's been working on it. It cost him two TV jobs.

Probably has to do with trying to sound football "intelligent" and trying to be an expert vs. just speaking from the heart.

[UnoDallas]

That's some powerful deep stuff. Makes me want to go back and trace my roots one day. I've always wanted to.

good luck

my mom has been working on ours since the 60's

got it back to 1642 in the US

we are hillbillys - lol

but my 6 G grandfather he and his
father and ten brothers served throughout the war of the Revolution

my Dad side was easy his dad came from Germany in the late 1880's
but am related to Anheuser-Busch family way back

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[xWraithx]

:welcome:

[JustDezIt]

:welcome:
:lmao2:

[mldardy]

good luck

my mom has been working on ours since the 60's

got it back to 1642 in the US

we are hillbillys - lol

but my 6 G grandfather he and his
father and ten brothers served throughout the war of the Revolution

my Dad side was easy his dad came from Germany in the late 1880's
but am related to Anheuser-Busch family way back

zV-yGp4l8B8
Yeah I know it will be tough work and having the time to do it. It would be something my mom would definitely do once she retires. I will probably help her out.

[Bob Sacamano]

I want to trace my geneology, but **** paying like 300 bucks to do so.

[gmoney112]

How do you do this?

[UnoDallas]

Yeah I know it will be tough work and having the time to do it. It would be something my mom would definitely do once she retires. I will probably help her out.

I hope your mom an you get into it

its intriquing - interesting - you find out all kinds of stuff

I mean I just found my 4 Ggrandfathers daughters grave a couple days ago

an see on my moms side being here since 1642 an they all had like 10 kids to or more to work on their farms - it can be become confusing - heck my 4 ggrandfather was in ILL by the year 1833 which amazes me - had to be tough people back then - he knew Lincoln

but hang in their you might get lucky an some one in your famiy has alreay done it

[mldardy]

I hope your mom an you get into it

its intriquing - interesting - you find out all kinds of stuff

I mean I just found my 4 Ggrandfathers daughters grave a couple days ago

an see on my moms side being here since 1642 an they all had like 10 kids to or more to work on their farms - it can be become confusing - heck my 4 ggrandfather was in ILL by the year 1833 which amazes me - had to be tough people back then - he knew Lincoln

but hang in their you might get lucky an some one in your famiy has alreay done it
1642. Man that is going wayyyy back. I would love to see if I could go back that far.

Yeah i am going to start getting into this now and find out the first steps. I am very curious to see what my family history is on my moms and dads side.

[Arch Stanton]

mine are traced back to england so far;

Whereabouts Joe? I happen to know England well. :)

I've traced family back to 1666, unfortunately London suffered from the Great Fire and everything went up in smoke!

On a side note, when the post was made a few weeks back about the show "Who do you think you are?" The subject was treated as if it was a waste, ajoke. However, it has uncovered some interesting stories. The Jerry Springer story was particularly harrowing.

[Chief]

I want to trace my geneology, but **** paying like 300 bucks to do so.

Go to ancestry.com and pay the monthly fee of about $20 or $30 and you can probably find a lot.

[fgoodwin]

Who Do You Think You Are? (http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/bios/emmittS.shtml)

Friday, March 12, 8 p.m., NBC

Dallas Cowboys and Gators legend Emmitt Smith finds his past winds from rural Alabama to Virginia, with a few surprises. His great-great-grandfather helped start the New York Giants.

[UnoDallas]

Go to ancestry.com and pay the monthly fee of about $20 or $30 and you can probably find a lot.

some librarys pay the ancestry.com price

or start at the http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp free

Mormon church out in SL City

Free

http://www.usgenweb.org/
http://genforum.genealogy.com/
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/archives.html

[EMMITTnROY]

great videos.. thanks for posting those, .. i've already got the dvr set to record the show Friday night..

like others have said, i love that Emmitt has never been afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.. and yes, i also agree that he speaks very intelligently when he is just speaking from the heart.. i think he just put too much pressure on himself to sound 'football smart' when he was an analyst and he thought too much.. when he's just speaking, you can tell he's an incredibly sharp guy..