Declaration Decendants

Ancestry, a leading genealogy and DNA testing service, wanted to celebrate July 4th by highlighting the diversity that makes America special. So we worked with Ancestry's extensive genetics data and genealogical records to track down dozens of living descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The resulting film shows that, while the values enshrined in the Declaration remain as important as ever, America looks very different today than it did in 1777.

We assembled all of the descendants in one place and asked them to read a passage from the document their ancestors signed in 1776. As the film progresses, we see that the group is participating in a recreation of John Trumbull's iconic painting "Declaration of Independence."

Every person featured in the film descends from one (or more) of the men present at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Using Ancestry's genealogical and DNA records, we identified and spoke with dozens of people of all ages and backgrounds from around the country. Some had known about their lineage from birth and others didn't know until we contacted them.