Leon Emile Rousselle, the great-great-grandfather of CNN's Kate Bolduan, came to the United States from Belgium in February 1912.
Courtesy Kate Bolduan
Kate Bolduan's 'Roots' —
Two months after Rousselle left for the United States, he sent for his wife, Louise Labhaye Rousselle. She is Bolduan's great-great-grandmother.
Courtesy Kate Bolduan
Kate Bolduan's 'Roots' —
Bolduan's great-great-grandmother traveled with her 2-year-old daughter while six months pregnant. Her ship, the SS Lapland, top, rescued some of the Titanic survivors. Bolduan's great-great-grandfather came to the United States aboard the SS Kroonland, bottom.
Courtesy ancestry.com
Kate Bolduan's 'Roots' —
Bolduan recently traveled to Liege, Belgium, where local historian Alain van Wayenberge showed her a family tree dating back centuries.
Courtesy Elizabeth Stuart
Kate Bolduan's 'Roots' —
The small village of Chenee, Belgium, is where Bolduan's relatives lived for many years. Up this staircase was the glass factory where her great-great-grandfather and great-great-uncle once worked. Bolduan comes from a long line of glass workers.
Courtesy Elizabeth Stuart
Kate Bolduan's 'Roots' —
Immigrants traveling to the United States from Belgium mostly left from the port of Antwerp, where there's now a museum dedicated to the Red Star Line ships that brought hundreds of thousands of people to America's shores. At the museum, Bolduan smelled the strong chemicals that everyone had to bathe in for 30 minutes before they were permitted to board the ships.
Courtesy Elizabeth Stuart
Kate Bolduan's 'Roots' —
Bolduan also traveled to Ohio, where many of her ancestors settled after arriving in the United States. At the Toledo Museum of Art, she tried her hand at the family business, glass blowing.
Courtesy Elizabeth Stuart
Kate Bolduan's 'Roots' —
This is a glass flower that Bolduan made for her daughter.
Courtesy Elizabeth Stuart
Kate Bolduan's 'Roots' —
Bolduan visits the cemetery in Columbus, Ohio, where her great-great-grandparents are buried.
Courtesy Elizabeth Stuart
Kate Bolduan's 'Roots' —
Bolduan shared everything she learned with her mother and grandmother at her grandmother's home in Ohio.