0:00:02 > 0:00:05Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress Ashley Judd
0:00:05 > 0:00:08has over 20 film and Broadway credits to her name.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Ashley currently lives outside Nashville
0:00:11 > 0:00:15with her husband, race car driver Dario Franchitti.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Her mother Naomi and sister Wynonna
0:00:17 > 0:00:20are the legendary country music duo the Judds,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24and Ashley can trace her mother's family back eight generations
0:00:24 > 0:00:26in the state of Kentucky.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28I grew up with such an emphasis on the Judd narrative.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31I know so much about my mom's side of the family,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and I can rattle off all these last names,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37and follow those family trees quite far back.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40I would love to know more about my dad's side of the family.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45And now that I have, for some years,
0:00:45 > 0:00:50been working very actively as a feminist social justice activist
0:00:50 > 0:00:53in human rights and public health,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55I've started to become curious
0:00:55 > 0:00:59about whether or not there was anyone else in my family
0:00:59 > 0:01:01who agitated for reform,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05who fought for the poor and the exploited and the disempowered.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Ashley is beginning by focusing on
0:01:33 > 0:01:35her paternal grandmother's side of the family.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39I had the amazing good fortune of spending every summer growing
0:01:39 > 0:01:43up with my dad's folks - my mamaw, Mary Bernadine Dalton,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46and my Papaw, Michael Lawrenson Ciminella,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49as well as my mamaw's mother, Effie Copley, whom we called Granny.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I've got really good information about my papaw Ciminella
0:01:54 > 0:01:58and that classic immigrant story of Sicilians in particular.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01I know very little about my mamaw's side.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04I have a lot of curiosity about how her people
0:02:04 > 0:02:06came here, how they lived.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and a really good place to start would be, I think,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12with my dad in Louisville, Kentucky.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18- Ashley!- Hi, Dad.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24- 'So today I am seeing new treasures.- Yes.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32So this picture's really interesting to me, because this is mamaw...
0:02:32 > 0:02:35- Right.- With her mother. So she's my great-grandmother.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39- Did you call her Granny? What did you call her?- I called her Granny, and her name was Effie.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42What I remember about her is that she had, you know, those deep-set eyes.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Yes.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47One of the things that Mom talked about
0:02:47 > 0:02:52was that there was a line that goes up into New England someplace,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and I don't know much about that.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56One of the other myths that Mamaw talked about
0:02:56 > 0:03:01was that her great-grandfather fought in the Civil War.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05Great-great-great. My triple-great grandfather.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09- Right.- He was Elijah Hensley. Fought for the Union.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Lost a limb, a leg, ended up in prison.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17- Why was he in a prison? - Cos he got caught.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20The American Civil was fought between
0:03:20 > 0:03:21the Union states of the north who wanted to end slavery,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25and the Confederate states of the south who wanted to preserve it.
0:03:25 > 0:03:31Between 1861 and 1865, fighting consumed much of the South,
0:03:31 > 0:03:36and thousands of men from Kentucky volunteered for service.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Among them, Ashley's triple-great grandfather Elijah Hensley.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45To search for Elijah Hensley's military records, Ashley is visiting
0:03:45 > 0:03:48the state archives in the city of Frankfort, Kentucky.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52OK.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04That is amazing.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Elijah Hensley, company I,
0:04:07 > 0:04:1039th Kentucky infantry. Wow.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15"Joined for duty at the age of 18."
0:04:16 > 0:04:18To piece together the stories
0:04:18 > 0:04:20behind the military records, Ashley is meeting
0:04:20 > 0:04:23historian Brian McKnight.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26So my triple great-grandfather, Elijah Hensley,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29he enlisted on 2 November,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32and by this company muster roll,
0:04:32 > 0:04:37he was captured "the fourth day of December, 1862,"
0:04:37 > 0:04:4032 days later. What is that about?
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Well, in the research I've done on the civil war in eastern Kentucky,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49what you have is what is generally called a skirmish.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50In this skirmish,
0:04:50 > 0:04:54many Union soldiers were captured that day.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56So where he most likely was
0:04:56 > 0:04:58was in a prison in Richmond, Virginia.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03OK. "May, June 1863. Present."
0:05:03 > 0:05:05- He's present again, right? - He's present again.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09- He's made it back.- How did he... Was he rescued, or turned loose?
0:05:09 > 0:05:10As far as I can tell,
0:05:10 > 0:05:15he was freed in a broad exchange of Kentucky prisoners
0:05:15 > 0:05:18in the middle of May, 1863.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23- So he was held...approximately five to six months.- Right.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27The last muster roll gives his discharge date.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32"June, '65, discharged by reason of disability,"
0:05:32 > 0:05:35quite possibly from battle injury.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39My dad told me that my great-grandmother told him
0:05:39 > 0:05:42that he lost a leg. Now, maybe that's here.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Possibly so.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46'It appears he was hurt,
0:05:46 > 0:05:51'so maybe that's where the story that my granny used to tell my dad'
0:05:51 > 0:05:53about Elijah Hensley having lost a leg
0:05:53 > 0:05:56in the Civil War factors in.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Ashley is travelling to Saltville, Virginia, where Elijah Hensley
0:05:59 > 0:06:01was in battle, to find out more about the circumstances
0:06:01 > 0:06:03of Elijah's injury
0:06:03 > 0:06:07and what happened to him after the war.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10She's meeting Civil War medical expert George Wunderlich.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Hi. I'm Ashley.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14How are you today? Very pleased to meet you.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17- Nice to meet you. - Come right on in.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21My triple great-grandfather Elijah Hensley
0:06:21 > 0:06:24- came to Virginia to fight in Saltville.- OK.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27He was injured, and there is a family story
0:06:27 > 0:06:32that his injury either was or resulted in an amputated leg.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37These records are going to give you the date of injury and a little more information.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47OK.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54So this says "Wounded October 2, 1864.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57- That's here in Saltville. - That's here.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Date of operation... Immediately after.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04"Done on field near scene of action.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07"Operation-amputation of right thigh."
0:07:07 > 0:07:09That's correct.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Um...so that would have been a battlefield amputation?
0:07:12 > 0:07:15It would have been a battlefield amputation.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18His surgeon left him when the army had to pull out,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21leaving the men behind, and then they fell into the care
0:07:21 > 0:07:23of the Confederate army.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25I think, um...
0:07:25 > 0:07:27The part that touches me the most
0:07:27 > 0:07:31is how psychologically strong and resilient he must have been.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34To have survived being a prisoner of war once...
0:07:34 > 0:07:37and while there's a battle going on around him he can hear,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40having a leg amputated and coming to, knowing that...
0:07:40 > 0:07:44his regiment has left,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47and he's just waiting to be taken prisoner of war a second time.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Yeah. These were heroes.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55That's a lot to think about.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58'My triple great-grandfather,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02'Elijah Hensley, was facing Confederate prison again,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05'this time after a battlefield amputation.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07'I know he survived, because I'm here.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10'But he must have been so concerned about life
0:08:10 > 0:08:13'after war and prison with only one leg.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15'At 17 years old, to have been dealt
0:08:15 > 0:08:19'such a life-changing injury must have been overwhelming.'
0:08:19 > 0:08:26'I'm just flabbergasted at the strength and the resilience.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28'I just don't even have words for it.'
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Now Ashley is ready to research
0:08:36 > 0:08:39another branch of her father's family.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43When I started researching my dad's side of the family,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47he mentioned that we might have some New England roots,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50and so I'm going to try to pursue that family line.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55I'm going to go poke around New England
0:08:55 > 0:08:56and see what I can find.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00To begin her search,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Ashley is visiting the New England Historic Genealogical Society
0:09:03 > 0:09:05in Boston, Massachusetts.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10- Hi, Ashley.- Are you Josh? - I am Josh.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12- Josh, it's so lovely to meet you. - It's nice to meet you, Ashley.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16And what I'm here today in particular to take a look at
0:09:16 > 0:09:17is the family story
0:09:17 > 0:09:21that we have some sort of a New England line...
0:09:21 > 0:09:25- OK.- ..through my grandmother, Mary Bernadine Dalton.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28OK. And her mother was Effie Copley, correct?
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- Exactly.- OK. So we're actually going to transfer over
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- to Effie Copley's husband, who was William H Dalton.- Right. OK.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36So Bill Dalton. Uh-huh.
0:09:36 > 0:09:42William Dalton was Ashley's great-grandfather.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47William Dalton's father was Thomas Jefferson Dalton
0:09:47 > 0:09:51and HIS mother was Rebecca Dalton.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53And so I have a record for you to look at here.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56- This is actually Rebecca's death record.- OK.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01"Rebecca Dalton. Place of birth, Logan County, West Virginia.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03"Name of her parents...
0:10:03 > 0:10:06"E & E Bruster?"
0:10:07 > 0:10:09This name means nothing to me.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13OK. So Brewster is actually a huge New England name.
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Wah!
0:10:14 > 0:10:16THEY LAUGH
0:10:16 > 0:10:20And when you see Brewster on a family tree,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22you immediately think New England.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25So I have a little surprise for you. I will let you undo it if you like.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26Is this a family tree?
0:10:26 > 0:10:27It possibly is a family tree.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29You're in a genealogical society, after all.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37God, this is gorgeous!
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Oh, my gosh!
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Thank you so much!
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Holy cow!
0:10:48 > 0:10:49So here we... there's you, of course.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51- C'est moi.- Um...
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- and there's your grandmother. - Mm-hmm.- And there's Effie.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58- Uh-huh. - And there's Bill Dalton.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03- Uh-huh.- And so there's that Thomas Jefferson Dalton we spoke about,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- and there's Rebecca Bruster. - OK.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08And so we head up the tree to William Brewster.
0:11:08 > 0:11:118, 9, 10, 11, 12.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14- So 13, counting me.- Yes.
0:11:14 > 0:11:1612 generations back.
0:11:16 > 0:11:23"William Brewster. Born 24 January, 1566/67 in England.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26"He lived in Scrowbie, Nottingham,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28"was a gentleman,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31"bailiff to the Archbishop of York."
0:11:31 > 0:11:34So he emigrated in 1620,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37and he died in April of 1644
0:11:37 > 0:11:41curiously... In Massachusetts?
0:11:41 > 0:11:43That correct.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46So what does 1620 mean to you? I saw your eyes light up,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48so you're familiar with it.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Um...well, I remember being in the third grade,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54you know, and learning about a certain boat
0:11:54 > 0:11:57loaded with some folk seeking religious freedom,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00going to what was called "the new world".
0:12:02 > 0:12:06And are you... are you telling me that my ancestor William Brewster
0:12:06 > 0:12:08came over on the Mayflower?
0:12:10 > 0:12:11The Mayflower came in 1620, which would mean
0:12:11 > 0:12:14that if William Brewster was on the Mayflower,
0:12:14 > 0:12:18he's actually going to be one of the first settlers in New England.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Te one thing that we can check is the Mayflower Compact.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25When they got off the boat in November in 1620,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27they signed a letter of agreement
0:12:27 > 0:12:30that was basically kind of how they would govern themselves.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33And so if someone signed the Mayflower Compact,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35they were obviously part of the Mayflower.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37So I actually have...
0:12:37 > 0:12:42The original is lost, but I have a 1772 history of New England
0:12:42 > 0:12:44that has a copy of it in it.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46So we can check and see if William Brewster is there.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48OK, this is completely blowing my mind.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51You know, I call myself... A Sicilian hillbilly.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53- Uh-huh.- Rabble-rouser.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56So now I'm going to have to potentially call myself
0:12:56 > 0:13:00a Mayflower hillbilly Sicilian rabble-rouser.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Potentially, yes.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I'll give you a pair of gloves so we can look at this.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11Ha! This is amazing.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17All right. So here we have the Mayflower Compact.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21I'll actually let you sort of page through to the marker there.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24And I will be looking for William Brewster.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29"John Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow...
0:13:29 > 0:13:33"William Brewster."
0:13:33 > 0:13:35THEY LAUGH
0:13:35 > 0:13:37You are kidding me!
0:13:37 > 0:13:39I'm...
0:13:39 > 0:13:41dumbstruck.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46Um, so there were 102 passengers on the Mayflower,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50and only 60% survived that first year.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54And so William Brewster, of course, is one of those who survived.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59I can't wait to learn more about him, like why did he want to come over?
0:13:59 > 0:14:02We know that some of the pilgrims were seeking religious freedom
0:14:02 > 0:14:05in the colonies. And so that's certainly something that you could investigate.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Looking at the chart here, you know that he was a gentleman,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12and he was a bailiff to the archbishop of York.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15I'm going to recommend that you go to York, England
0:14:15 > 0:14:19and see what you can find out about William Brewster and answer some of those questions.
0:14:19 > 0:14:20- York, England.- Mm-hmm.
0:14:20 > 0:14:28I've learned some information that I think I can genuinely characterise as life-changing.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30My people came over On the Mayflower.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34On the Mayflower.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41To follow the trail of her ancestor William Brewster, Ashley is
0:14:41 > 0:14:44heading to England and the city of York.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47I'm especially curious to find out
0:14:47 > 0:14:50why William Brewster would have left his homeland
0:14:50 > 0:14:51to sail on the Mayflower.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56And how did he make the decision to travel on a very perilous journey
0:14:56 > 0:14:59with no guarantee of anyone surviving?
0:14:59 > 0:15:00That's a huge risk to take.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Whatever I can learn about him
0:15:05 > 0:15:07I would love to learn.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10- Hi, I'm Ashley. - Hi, I'm Bill Sheils.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Pleased to meet you.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14What I know is that William Brewster
0:15:14 > 0:15:16- was a gentleman... - That's right.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19- And that he was bailiff to the Archbishop of York.- That's right.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23He's in Scrowbie in the 1590s and working for the archbishop.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Scrowbie is a part of the world
0:15:26 > 0:15:29where there's always been
0:15:29 > 0:15:31quite a bit of radical religion.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33- Nice. - OK, you like that.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36- Yeah. Love the radicals. - They're puritans, really.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40And although he's the archbishop's bailiff,
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Brewster is attracted to this,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46especially for its emphasis on preaching and on the biblical message.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49So it was quite disruptive socially and politically
0:15:49 > 0:15:50as well as religiously.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54So I have an ancestor who was disruptive socially and politically.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56- You do. - This does not surprise me.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57You do, you do.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00He's a central figure in this group
0:16:00 > 0:16:03of puritan radicals around the area.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05- Wow! - And that's when he begins
0:16:05 > 0:16:07to get to the attention of the authorities.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11By 1607, he's summoned to a court
0:16:11 > 0:16:14headed up by the archbishop.
0:16:14 > 0:16:15Here we are.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17There's William Brewster.
0:16:17 > 0:16:23Oh! OK. Um, this is pretty difficult to read.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26I'm going to now look at the transcription.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32"Office of the lord against William Brewster of Scrowbie, gent. Information is given
0:16:32 > 0:16:36"that he is a...Borrownist?"
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Yeah. Borrownist. A Brownist.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40A Brownist.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Brownists are separatists. These aren't just radicals.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45These are people who think the Church of England
0:16:45 > 0:16:49is irredeemable and not a church, and they want to separate completely from it.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54The Church Of England Was founded in 1534
0:16:54 > 0:16:57when Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59In the years that followed,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01England was riven by religious discord.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03By the early 1600s,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07the Brownists, a separatist group, were gaining notoriety
0:17:07 > 0:17:12by openly criticising the morals and ethics of the church of England.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15William Brewster is summoned into court.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17"But he did not appear.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19"Then the Lords Commissioner aforesaid,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22"on account of his manifest contempt,
0:17:22 > 0:17:27- "further decreed an attachment or summons..." Ooh!- That's right.
0:17:27 > 0:17:28"Should be issued
0:17:28 > 0:17:31"for the apprehension of the said William Brewster."
0:17:31 > 0:17:33He is in trouble with the law.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35He's in deep trouble. That's right.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37This is really serious.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Two weeks later, the court reassembles
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and they're anticipating...
0:17:42 > 0:17:44William Brewster to face his charges.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Yeah. Alongside another of his associates.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51So we've got here a court meeting here in York.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54"An attachment was awarded to Mr Blanchard
0:17:54 > 0:17:58"to apprehend them, but he certifieth that he cannot find them
0:17:58 > 0:18:02"nor understand where they are."
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- So they've gone into hiding. - They've gone into hiding.
0:18:05 > 0:18:06That's when the trail goes cold.
0:18:06 > 0:18:14- Does William Brewster show up on any records back in Scrowbie ever again? - No, he doesn't.- Wow!
0:18:14 > 0:18:16No, he doesn't. That's it.
0:18:16 > 0:18:17That's all we know.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19So he's like a religious refugee.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22- He is - exactly what he is. He's a refugee.- Wow.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26But the obvious thing for Brewster to do
0:18:26 > 0:18:31would be to leave the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of York.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35I think probably the other great centre
0:18:35 > 0:18:37of radical religion in Lincolnshire is in Boston.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41And I think probably that's your next port of call.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45- Boston, Lincolnshire. - Boston, Lincolnshire, yes.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47The trail here in York
0:18:47 > 0:18:52goes cold in 1607 for William Brewster.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54I'd like to see if he was able to find refuge
0:18:54 > 0:18:56in Boston, England.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00I know he doesn't leave on the Mayflower until 1620,
0:19:00 > 0:19:06so there's still a lot of story to track down for those years before William Brewster set sail.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13Ashley is visiting the Guild Hall in Boston, Lincolnshire to see if she can discover any more
0:19:13 > 0:19:16information about William Brewster's time there.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29That is unbelievable.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30"In these cells,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33"William Bradford, William Brewster..."
0:19:33 > 0:19:34Wow.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38"..Afterwards known as
0:19:38 > 0:19:40"The Pilgrim Fathers,
0:19:40 > 0:19:45"were imprisoned on the 23rd September 1607
0:19:45 > 0:19:49"after attempting to escape to religious freedom."
0:19:49 > 0:19:51So this is the jail cell
0:19:51 > 0:19:56in which he would have been held. I don't even know what to say.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08It's really interesting to try to figure all this out. Wow.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11I don't know how long he was in jail.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14I'm going to have to just keep digging and find out more information.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22To help with her research Ashley has arranged to meet Pilgrim expert
0:20:22 > 0:20:24author Nick Bunker.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28I've obviously seen the prison cells downstairs.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31But you probably don't know what the circumstances were in which he ended up in those cells.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33- Right. - And that's why we have with us
0:20:33 > 0:20:36another document which I think will help you
0:20:36 > 0:20:38further down the path of understanding.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43"The history of the Plimoth Plantation."
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Written by William Bradford. Cellmate.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47You just saw his name on the plaque downstairs.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51This is a description of the events that led up to the incarceration of
0:20:51 > 0:20:54William Brewster in the cells that you saw downstairs.
0:20:54 > 0:21:00- "Being thus constrained to leave their native..."- Soil. - "..and country.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02- Ports..." - "..and havens..."
0:21:02 > 0:21:04"..and havens were..."
0:21:04 > 0:21:07- "Shut against..." - Uh-huh. Oh...
0:21:07 > 0:21:09So in 1607, they were already seriously contemplating...
0:21:09 > 0:21:11- Oh, yes, definitely. - ..leaving England,
0:21:11 > 0:21:12- and they wanted to go... - Absolutely.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Because that was when the Archbishop of York
0:21:15 > 0:21:16made it very clear indeed
0:21:16 > 0:21:19that he intended to crack down on separatism very hard
0:21:19 > 0:21:21in their area.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23So really, they had no option but to find some escape route.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26And this was the best place they could find to come.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29So ports and havens were shut against them.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33Technically, you needed to have a licence from the government in London
0:21:33 > 0:21:34if you were going to leave the country.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37They wouldn't have been able to apply for a licence
0:21:37 > 0:21:40because they were already effectively fugitives.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Wow.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45"There was a large company of them
0:21:45 > 0:21:48"that hired a ship wholly to themselves
0:21:48 > 0:21:51"and made agreement with the master to be ready
0:21:51 > 0:21:53"at a certain day.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56"But when he had them and their goods aboard,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59"he betrayed them." Wow.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01"They were presented to the magistrates.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05"After a month's imprisonment,
0:22:05 > 0:22:07"the greatest part were dismissed
0:22:07 > 0:22:09"and sent to the places from whence they came.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11"But seven of the principal
0:22:11 > 0:22:13"were still kept in prison."
0:22:13 > 0:22:16And so William Brewster was one of the seven principles.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18- Oh, definitely, yes. - So for about how long
0:22:18 > 0:22:21- was he in prison in this building? - Several months,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24but it doesn't appear he was ever actually put on trial.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26He was clearly released for whatever reason.
0:22:26 > 0:22:27We're not entirely sure.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Huh.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Do you have any idea where he went from here?
0:22:32 > 0:22:34He went into hiding. That's clear.
0:22:34 > 0:22:35Somehow or other, though,
0:22:35 > 0:22:37he got over to Holland during the course of 1608.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41In Holland, they could enjoy a degree of religious freedom
0:22:41 > 0:22:44because the Dutch did not have an official state church.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46So if he spent 12 years in Holland,
0:22:46 > 0:22:50between 1608 and 1620 is a long period of time
0:22:50 > 0:22:52before he sails on the Mayflower.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Where should I go next?
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Well, you don't actually have to go to Holland.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00What you can do is simply head southwards towards Cambridge,
0:23:00 > 0:23:02specifically Trinity College, Cambridge,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04where I think you'll find they have some material
0:23:04 > 0:23:07that will, er, take you a little bit further.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09'It seems as though William Brewster
0:23:09 > 0:23:12'narrowly escaped death in multiple ways.'
0:23:12 > 0:23:18Knowing that I had an ancestor who was incarcerated
0:23:18 > 0:23:21for his faith is something that
0:23:21 > 0:23:24I think it's going to take time
0:23:24 > 0:23:27for me to truly...
0:23:27 > 0:23:28process.
0:23:30 > 0:23:36Religious tolerance is, um, incredibly important to me.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44And also that passion that William Brewster clearly had
0:23:44 > 0:23:48to...
0:23:48 > 0:23:51even become, um...
0:23:51 > 0:23:56a prisoner and possibly a martyr...
0:23:56 > 0:24:00is, um...
0:24:00 > 0:24:03is something I really respect.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Each of these snippets of the story
0:24:07 > 0:24:10are absolutely life-changing.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22I think that it would be fitting
0:24:22 > 0:24:24to go to Cambridge University,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27where my ten-times great-grandfather was a student
0:24:27 > 0:24:29and was probably exposed initially
0:24:29 > 0:24:32to the ideas that radicalised his faith.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39To try to account for the years before William Brewster's voyage on the Mayflower,
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Ashley is meeting Professor Anthony Milton.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Well, I understand that you may have some answers
0:24:44 > 0:24:47to a series of questions I have about William Brewster,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49whom I know escaped to Holland.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52So...what do you know
0:24:52 > 0:24:56about his time in Holland?
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Um, this is a collection of letters
0:24:59 > 0:25:02from the English ambassador to the Netherlands,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04to Dudley Carleton.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07He's reporting back to the secretary of state
0:25:07 > 0:25:09of King James,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11and he's reporting
0:25:11 > 0:25:16on events in the Netherlands in 1619.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21describing an attempt to seize Brewster.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24"In my last, I advertised your honour
0:25:24 > 0:25:26"that Brewster was taken at Leyden,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28"which proved an error
0:25:28 > 0:25:30"in that the constable
0:25:30 > 0:25:32"who was employed by the magistrates
0:25:32 > 0:25:35"for his apprehension, being a dull drunken fellow,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37"took one man for another."
0:25:37 > 0:25:41Right. They seem to think for a second they'd caught Brewster, but they hadn't.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44They'd caught his colleague Thomas Brewer.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47But that is where the trail goes cold.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52What we do know is that, while he's in London,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54he is able to arrange transportation
0:25:54 > 0:25:56royally approved by King James.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59So the next time we hear of Brewster,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01he's heading off from Plymouth to New England,
0:26:01 > 0:26:03presumably a very relieved man.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10It's a lot to take on board.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13You know, part of what I was reflecting on...
0:26:13 > 0:26:18the American idea inheres in his story.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Everything is implicated.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23All of our basic freedoms that we...
0:26:23 > 0:26:24you know, value, and in many instances
0:26:24 > 0:26:26take for granted in America.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29In here - freedom of speech,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31freedom of religion...
0:26:32 > 0:26:34..separation of church and state.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36That's right.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Thank you so much for your time.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40'You know, when I initially found out
0:26:40 > 0:26:43'that I was descended from folks who came over on the Mayflower,'
0:26:43 > 0:26:45I thought, "I'm so American I'm English."
0:26:45 > 0:26:48But I'm actually so English I'm American.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Ashley has come to the port of Plymouth
0:26:50 > 0:26:54where her ancestor, William Brewster,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56set sail for the New World.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59She's here to meet her dad, Michael.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Welcome to Plymouth!
0:27:01 > 0:27:03'I'm really thrilled my dad is joining me here
0:27:03 > 0:27:05'on the last leg of my journey
0:27:05 > 0:27:06'exploring his mother's genealogy.'
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Oh, my goodness.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11When granny was telling you as a little boy...
0:27:11 > 0:27:12- Yes.- ..that we had
0:27:12 > 0:27:14- a New England line... - Right.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17..we actually are from the line that founded New England.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Our ancestors.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21Yeah.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Unfathomable.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26There was a very great family called the Brewsters.
0:27:26 > 0:27:27Brewsters.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30And William Brewster was my ten-times great-grandfather,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32your nine-times great-grandfather.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36- And he was on a ship called the Mayflower.- Wow.- Yeah.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40Oh, that... that excites me!
0:27:40 > 0:27:43I mean, the thread that you have followed
0:27:43 > 0:27:45is the fabric of our country.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49'What's interesting about knowing these stories'
0:27:49 > 0:27:53is that they're so validating of my experience of myself.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Knowing that William and Mary Brewster
0:27:56 > 0:27:59had such extraordinary faith, you know,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02it is so psychologically imprinted in the narrative
0:28:02 > 0:28:03of my family.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Our ancestors were made of pretty sturdy stuff.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Definitely. A very principled lot.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12This is magnificent.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15I am so thrilled that you have been able to do this.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Well, thanks for gettin' me started.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19Oh, you're more than welcome.