UNK press release

Actor Bradley Whitford’s journey to trace his ancestry started in sunny California and ended at a snow-covered Nebraska cemetery. Along the way, he met several experts who helped him uncover his family history, including a University of Nebraska at Kearney faculty member.

UNK assistant history professor Nathan Tye appeared with Whitford on the most recent episode of “Who Do You Think You Are?” an NBC show that follows celebrities as they search for information about their ancestors.

The episode, which aired Aug. 7, focuse6 on Whitford’s great-great-grandfather Frederick Neu and the events that brought him from Prussia to Nebraska City in the 1800s.

Whitford learned that Neu immigrated to the United States as a teenager in 1846 and the family settled in Indiana. In August 1862, Neu and two younger brothers, Valentine and John, volunteered to serve with the 83rd Indiana Infantry Regiment, which fought for the Union Army during the Civil War.

At Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi, Whitford described a “weirdly serene” moment while standing atop a hill overlooking the battlefield.

“It’s amazing to think that these three brothers were here. And if they’d have died that day, nothing that followed them would have happened,” said Whitford, whose acting credits include “The West Wing,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Get Out,” “Godzilla: King of the…