Ashley Judd Finds Mayflower Ancestor Brewster | Who Do You Think You Are? USA | S2 E8

An Emmy and Golden Globe nominee traces a lineage she never expected. Ashley Judd follows a trail from a teenage Union soldier who survived a battlefield amputation to a Pilgrim who signed the Mayflower Compact. In Kentucky, Ashley uncovers Elijah Hensley’s Civil War record, learns he was a POW twice, and hears how a surgeon’s 12-minute procedure changed his life. In Virginia, a medical historian reveals the circular flap method used at Saltville. Then Boston and York open a new door: Rebecca Brewster’s line leads to William Brewster, Puritan separatist, fugitive, and one of the Mayflower’s most influential passengers. From a jail cell in Boston, Lincolnshire to secret presses in Leiden, and finally Plymouth, England, the pieces form a portrait of faith, resilience, and dissent that reframes Ashley’s identity. See the documents, hear the revelations, and feel the moment Ashley reads Brewster’s name among the Mayflower Compact signers. Watch to the end for the powerful father-daughter reunion in Plymouth that ties it all together. #AshleyJudd #Mayflower #WilliamBrewster #Genealogy #CivilWar #WhoDoYouThinkYouAre #Pilgrims