0:00:02 > 0:00:04Actress Helen Hunt is going on a journey into her father's
0:00:04 > 0:00:06family history.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08They're zillionaires! Wow!
0:00:08 > 0:00:10She finds tragedy...
0:00:10 > 0:00:12She was killed by a drunk driver.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14..and also great triumph.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16I'm going to strut around here now
0:00:16 > 0:00:19when I walk down the streets of San Francisco.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24And she's humbled to learn that her paternal ancestors played
0:00:24 > 0:00:28important roles in the growth of America.
0:00:28 > 0:00:29That's amazing.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Accomplished actor, director and screenwriter,
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Helen Hunt has worked on more than 80 films,
0:01:07 > 0:01:11TV shows and Broadway plays in a career that began in childhood.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16She rose to fame playing Jamie on the sitcom Mad About You -
0:01:16 > 0:01:19a role that earned her four Emmys.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23For her performance in the feature As Good As It Gets,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Helen won an Academy Award and the honour of being the second
0:01:26 > 0:01:32woman ever to earn an Emmy, Oscar and Golden Globe in the same year.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Helen lives in Los Angeles with her partner Matthew Carnahan,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40her stepson Emmett Carnahan and daughter Makena Lei.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44I was born here.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46I don't know that much about generations before,
0:01:46 > 0:01:50but I have parents from here and grandparents who lived here.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55I have heard more about my mother's parents, maybe because my mother,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59like me, is a talker and a seeker of those things.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02My mother is like me in that she's interested in photographs
0:02:02 > 0:02:08and records. And on my father's side, I don't know if he's less that way.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13I'm sure some of it has to do with the fact that his mother died when he was so young.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18My dad's mother was killed by a drunk driver, I was told, when he was five,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22which is hard to even talk about even though I didn't know her,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24I was named after her and am
0:02:24 > 0:02:28incredibly close to my father and his siblings.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32The thought of them going through that at such a young age, especially
0:02:32 > 0:02:36as I started to raise my daughter and could imagine what that would mean.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39He didn't have a mother to say, "Here are the photographs
0:02:39 > 0:02:42"and here's what happened and here's what my mother was like
0:02:42 > 0:02:44"and my father and my grandmother."
0:02:44 > 0:02:46So, I'm doing this for my daughter.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Time is speeding up as I get older,
0:02:48 > 0:02:53so I want her to have something in her hand to know where she's from.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55I'm scrapbooking for my life.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Since I already know a good deal about my mom's family,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04I want to explore my dad's side of the family.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I've heard we have European Jewish roots
0:03:07 > 0:03:09and ancestors from the East Coast.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11'I'd like to find out more about that.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14'I'm meeting with my father, Gordon, here in Los Angeles,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17'to see if he has any clues to start me off on my journey.'
0:03:19 > 0:03:24- Now, here we are.- This, I've never seen.- I love that picture.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26It's amazing.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30There's my mother, Helen, and there's my grandmother,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33the power behind the throne.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Florence Roberts.
0:03:35 > 0:03:41I remember hearing that name. And when did Rothenberg become Roberts?
0:03:41 > 0:03:43I know it has to do with her Jewishness,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46but was it when they came to New York?
0:03:46 > 0:03:48I don't know the when of that.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52- And her husband, you never knew?- No.
0:03:52 > 0:03:59She and her husband were immigrants from, I think, Germany.
0:03:59 > 0:04:05They emigrated to New York and then ended up living in Pasadena.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07The building still stands. It's called the Green Hotel.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12- And they lived in a hotel because they could?- That's exactly right.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17- Because they could.- Where did the money come from?- I don't know.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20I would like to find out someday.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Helen is heading to Pasadena, California, where Florence's
0:04:26 > 0:04:30old home, once called the Hotel Green, still stands.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34Helen's grandmother, Helen Roberts,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38lived here with her great grandmother Florence Roberts.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Helen has arranged to meet Marc Dollinger,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43a professor of Jewish American history.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46She has asked him to do some research to our ancestors who
0:04:46 > 0:04:49her father thinks are from New York.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53She also wants to find out how her grandmother had enough money
0:04:53 > 0:04:56to be able to choose to live in a hotel.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02I grew up knowing Florence's name and that she lived in this hotel.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05There was a Roberts... Rothenberg to Roberts thing that
0:05:05 > 0:05:09I always knew growing up and was interested in why that was.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13I asked my dad about his grandfather and he didn't know much about him.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15We're going to search for census records.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18We're going to look for 1900.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Florence Rothenberg.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Let's search in New York.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29- Is that it?- That's it. - OK, Gustav.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33- That's my great-grandfather, right? - Yes.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Florence, Alfred, Edwin - not Edward - and Paul.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Helen, there she is.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46And if you look underneath Helen's name, Rose.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51- Rose.- And after Rose's name?- I can't read it.- Servant.- Oh, goodness.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55And then Ann, servant. Mary.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58One rich child.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03- So, we can conclude that they were quite well off.- Right.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05I have a document to show you.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12Death record for Gustav Rothenberg. Intestinal and gastric haemorrhage.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16- Yes, related to typhoid fever. - Typhoid fever.
0:06:16 > 0:06:181900, oh, my God.
0:06:18 > 0:06:24- I wonder, is that when Florence moved to Pasadena?- Let's do another search.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27OK. Florence Rothenberg.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31So, in 1910, they're in Pasadena.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36- Which means, after the death of her husband...- She goes 3,000 miles.
0:06:36 > 0:06:37With four young kids.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Why don't you stay in New York, where your synagogue is, I wonder?
0:06:40 > 0:06:43We don't know precisely why she chose Pasadena.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47But we know a lot of other people made the same decision.
0:06:47 > 0:06:53The Jewish population in Los Angeles between 1900 and 1915
0:06:53 > 0:06:55- increased eight times.- Wow.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59It was huge growth and Pasadena was also high society.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02- Shall we see how she progressed? - Yes.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Let's do a search for the 1920 census.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13No matches. I know what happened.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17I think. Should I put in Roberts?
0:07:17 > 0:07:19You could try.
0:07:24 > 0:07:25I see her.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28I don't like that she had to get rid of Rothenberg.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32I'm assuming that she was escaping some kind of subtle or overt
0:07:32 > 0:07:35anti-Semitism. Is that a good assumption or a bad assumption?
0:07:35 > 0:07:36It's a good assumption.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Probably, you don't change from Rothenberg to Roberts for any other reason.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Due to famine, war and persecution in the late 1800s,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Jewish refugees were fleeing Europe by the millions,
0:07:47 > 0:07:52as part of a wave of more than 20 million newcomers to America,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54over just four decades.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Many native-born Americans feared this group.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01In 1921, Congress indirectly targeted Jews by passing
0:08:01 > 0:08:05a law limiting the number of immigrants allowed to enter the US.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08These events fuelled a spike in anti-Semitism
0:08:08 > 0:08:11that also impacted Jews already in America,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15who were suddenly facing discrimination themselves.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18It would be a lot more challenging to go through life
0:08:18 > 0:08:21as a Rothenberg than it would as a Roberts.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23The word "restricted" suddenly...
0:08:24 > 0:08:27..becomes a part of your life.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30We learned before that that Gustav died young.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35What I have here for you is a certificate of death for Florence.
0:08:36 > 0:08:4086 years old. She lived a long life.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44This is a very important historical document for us.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Most of all because it gives us information on her father.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51- William Scholle. - Your great-great-grandfather.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Scholle, I didn't even know that name until right now. At all.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Through some research,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01we were, in fact, able to find
0:09:01 > 0:09:06an 1845 passenger ship manifest...
0:09:06 > 0:09:10- Oh, my gosh.- ..from Bavaria... - Germany.- ..to New York City.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Is he on there?
0:09:12 > 0:09:15His name is a little different, as was often the case.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18He went by the name Wolf Scholy
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Wolf is a typical German-language name,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25William certainly sounds much more American.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Helen now knows that her great-great-grandfather
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Wolf Scholy, who became William, was the one who came over from Germany.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36But the question remains -
0:09:36 > 0:09:39where did William's or Florence's money come from?
0:09:42 > 0:09:46If you can see here, Wolf Scholy begins as a farmer.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50Economic depression was hitting in this time period and,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53as was typically the case, they would move into the cities,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56looking for work or greater economic opportunity.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Do we know what William did when he got to America?
0:10:00 > 0:10:04Well, in 1853, the City of New York provides us
0:10:04 > 0:10:06with the business directory. There is William.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10And does that say Abraham? There is an Abraham.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13- Abraham is William's big brother. - Here we go. Abraham, clothing.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16- That's right.- William, clothing. Scholle & Brother Clothing.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19They're on Bowery Street. I know Bowery Street!
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Wait a minute. What happened?
0:10:21 > 0:10:23William is in San Francisco.
0:10:23 > 0:10:24Why?
0:10:26 > 0:10:30Your great-great-grandfather, William, arrived
0:10:30 > 0:10:33at an incredibly fortuitous time,
0:10:33 > 0:10:39because within just a few years from 1848 to 1850,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42when they are establishing themselves in New York,
0:10:42 > 0:10:47gold is discovered in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48Fantastic.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51And your great-great-grandfather, William,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54was very well positioned to join the gold rush.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Do we know what made him well positioned?
0:10:56 > 0:11:00He acquired enough language skills and he had
0:11:00 > 0:11:04enough of a business foundation to afford the journey to the West.
0:11:04 > 0:11:05Wow.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08No idea. I had absolutely no idea.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11I know nothing about the gold rush.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16If that's actually where I'm headed, I will be learning a lot.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18I love San Francisco,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22but I didn't know that that was an important place in my family.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25It's a little tiny clue, but it means something.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30I'm now hot on the trail of my great-great-grandfather, William,
0:11:30 > 0:11:32who moved west at the time of the gold rush.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Helen is heading to Northern California to see what else
0:11:35 > 0:11:37she can discover about him.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43I'm on the Bay Bridge, going into San Francisco.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Many times I've been, but as a child I remember seeing it
0:11:46 > 0:11:51and thinking it was among the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56I had no idea that anybody in my family had any particular
0:11:56 > 0:11:58connection to it.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Helen is meeting with Professor Stephen Aron,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03an expert in the American West.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07They are meeting at the San Francisco Public library.
0:12:07 > 0:12:08Hi, Stevie Aron.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Helen has asked Stephen to investigate William Scholle.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15She wants to know if he made his fortune from the gold rush.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20I was shown a list of merchants that showed William here
0:12:20 > 0:12:24and there was talk of gold rush. That's everything I know.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26And I know nothing about the gold rush.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31We know that he does come to California in the early 1850s,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33because if you look here,
0:12:33 > 0:12:38you will see this is the first census of California in 1852.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40The first census?
0:12:40 > 0:12:43California becomes a state in 1850, right on the heels of the gold rush.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46- Is that him?- That is him.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51San Francisco had been a small village before gold happened.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55Quickly on the heels, thousands rush in.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Beginning in 1848, a promise of gold lured
0:12:59 > 0:13:03thousands from around the world to San Francisco.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06The population rocketed, turning this sleepy seaside
0:13:06 > 0:13:10town into a thriving international seaport almost overnight.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Merchants sought to take advantage of new opportunities that
0:13:15 > 0:13:19gold and the population boom presented.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21While miners searched for gold,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24astute businessmen like William Scholle sought their own
0:13:24 > 0:13:29fortunes supplying, clothing and feeding them.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33But success here was by no means a certainty.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Competition was fierce,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37logistics difficult,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41and widespread crime threatened the surging city.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46Is there any way to know how struggling or well off he was?
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Yes, if you look at this newspaper from 1855,
0:13:50 > 0:13:55you can see here in this tabulation of the weekly shipment of treasures.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Scholle Bros? My Gosh. 10,100.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Roughly, in today's terms,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06that's probably about a quarter of a million dollars.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10That is a significant amount of cargo that he is engaged in.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14If you look then at the 1858 business directory
0:14:14 > 0:14:15for San Francisco.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19- Scholle, (Jacob) & Brother. - This is the common pattern,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23to send the younger brothers out to work together.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26So, William's older brother Abraham stayed in New York
0:14:26 > 0:14:30and his other brother, Jacob, came out to San Francisco.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34William Scholle, manufacturers and importers of clothing.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37They are now declaring themselves as not just importers of goods.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40They have branched out and seem to be engaged in at least
0:14:40 > 0:14:42some manufacturing enterprise.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Obviously, from these, we know that they are doing well enough,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48which is no easy feat.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Here's another census.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54The 1870 census.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56William Scholle. And Rosa.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00- I don't know who that is.- That is his wife.
0:15:00 > 0:15:06Oh, Albert, Amy. Florence, who was my great-grandmother.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Clara, aged six, my God. That says Adolf.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Right, but in the same household here.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15This is the same household, so you can see, also...
0:15:15 > 0:15:20- And Sophia and what is this last name? Walsh?- Walsh.- Willis.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Oh, domestic servant, domestic servant. So they are doing OK.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27They've got three domestic servants and, in fact, here they are.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Oh, my gosh.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35- OK, there's William Scholle. - There's William.- Wow.
0:15:36 > 0:15:37And then Rosa.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41- Here she is. - That's Florence.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Just incredible to see that.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53We have one more document over here
0:15:53 > 0:15:55that I think you'll find fascinating.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01- If you can help me open this very big book...- Oh, my God.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05OK.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09You can see this is the San Francisco newspaper.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14- September 28th, 1874.- This may come in handy.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Take a look right here.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20There we go. "The solid men.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25"The following is a carefully prepared list of individuals
0:16:25 > 0:16:30"and firms in San Francisco whose repeated wealth exceeds 1 million.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32"The individual towers of strength
0:16:32 > 0:16:35"are Michael Reese, DO Mills,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39"A Hayward, Levi Strauss, Louis Strauss, Jacob Scholle!
0:16:39 > 0:16:42"William Scholle!" Oh, my God.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45They are zillionaires!
0:16:45 > 0:16:46Wow.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Really, when you think about it, this is 1874,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52so this is 20-plus years after he first got here.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55What were they made of that they thought they could do it,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58that they thought even maybe they could do it? It's quite incredible.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01This was the dream that brought
0:17:01 > 0:17:04so many hundreds of thousands of people here. They came for gold.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07In some ways, William Scholle, he found the gold.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11I guess, by any measure, it's utterly remarkable.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16It certainly seems like a literally rags-to-riches story in this case.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19We knew there was money in Pasadena.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24I guess the money and the California part of that makes more sense.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26So, you feel like little parts of you are waking up.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Helen has arranged to meet with Frances Dinkelspiel, a writer
0:17:32 > 0:17:36who has traced her own roots to 19th-century San Francisco.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Frances has been researching William Scholle's career
0:17:41 > 0:17:43in order to find out just how successful he was.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47They are meeting at the old San Francisco Mint.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51I wanted to show you something.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53This is a story from the New York Times,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Saturday, February 16th, 1890.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58"The Nevada Bank to be sold.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03"Negotiations have been going on recently between the present
0:18:03 > 0:18:08"proprietors and a syndicate composed of the following wealthy capitalists.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11"Levi Strauss, Scholle Brothers, Louis Schloss
0:18:11 > 0:18:15"and the Hellmans bankers at Los Angeles."
0:18:15 > 0:18:17So, there are two names in there. One, of course,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21is a William Scholle, who was your great-great-grandfather.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28And here's a picture of another man on that list,
0:18:28 > 0:18:33- his name is Isaias Hellman. He is my great-great-grandfather.- No!
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Oh, my God.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38- So, our great-great-grandfathers were friends.- Rich friends!
0:18:38 > 0:18:42- Rich friends. And they were business partners.- My goodness.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43That's amazing.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47So, when word got out, millionaires lined up from all over
0:18:47 > 0:18:51the country trying to get shares of stock in the Nevada Bank.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Here is a list of some of the people who invested in the Nevada Bank.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59- Does that say Lehman Brothers?- Mm-hm.
0:18:59 > 0:19:00Scholle brothers!
0:19:02 > 0:19:06- Helen, do you ever hear today about the Nevada Bank?- No.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Let me show you another article.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11This is also from the New York Times.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Wells Fargo and Nevada Institutions will become
0:19:14 > 0:19:17one at close of today's business.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20- They became Wells Fargo. - Right.- My God.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22I'm going to strut around here now
0:19:22 > 0:19:26when I walk down the streets of San Francisco. It's incredible.
0:19:26 > 0:19:27It's incredible.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32This document shows that your family, the Scholle brothers,
0:19:32 > 0:19:37were part creators of an institution that is now spread
0:19:37 > 0:19:42across the country, that millions and millions of Americans bank at.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43That's amazing.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46So, something that's not well known in history,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48how this group of Bavarian Jews came
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and dug themselves in and said, "This is our country now, we're
0:19:52 > 0:19:55"going to make it a success and dedicate everything to it."
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Right. Well, thank you so much.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03My daughter loves a good story.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05And so the idea that I can say,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09"Your great-great-great-grandfather lived in Germany and came here
0:20:09 > 0:20:11"when there was nothing,"
0:20:11 > 0:20:13it's hard to imagine, but I feel like she'll have a better
0:20:13 > 0:20:17shot at understanding what it means
0:20:17 > 0:20:20to be American,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22because of that story.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26On the trail of her paternal ancestors,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Helen now wants to turn her attention to her father's
0:20:28 > 0:20:32father's side of the family, the Hunts, and to see what
0:20:32 > 0:20:34she can learn about her
0:20:34 > 0:20:38great-great-grandfather, George Hunt I.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Helen's father has told her that her great-great-grandfather was from
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Portland, Maine, so she's heading there to begin her investigation.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54I've only been in Portland, Maine one other time. I was
0:20:54 > 0:20:59working in a small town about an hour and a half outside of Portland.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I was only seven weeks pregnant, not wanting anybody to know,
0:21:02 > 0:21:07because I was so worried that something would happen.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12And so I had a friend who knew a doctor and we heard her heartbeat,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16my daughter's heartbeat, for the first time here, in Portland, Maine.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22All I know about George Hunt is that he was a businessman
0:21:22 > 0:21:26and traded goods. But what did he trade and who was his family?
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Helen has asked local historian Herb Adams to look into George.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34They are meeting at a pub in the same neighbourhood where Helen's
0:21:34 > 0:21:37great-great-grandfather once worked.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- Nice to see you.- Pleased to meet you.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45- You, too.- Welcome to Portland. - Thank you.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49The little bit that I know, if I have it right, is that
0:21:49 > 0:21:54my great-great-grandfather was from here
0:21:54 > 0:21:57and something about trading.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Well, as it turns out, your great-great-grandfather,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03who lived in this town, George S Hunt, was a major sugar
0:22:03 > 0:22:08importer and exported a lot of wood in those days.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11You can't grow sugar in Maine, I assure you.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15But we had plenty of wood, and that made his fortune, that exchange.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17This comes from a publication called
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Representative Businessman of Portland, Maine,
0:22:21 > 0:22:26and his biography and as much about the company as him is there.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30"This company was incorporated in 1863,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34"located on West Commercial Street", which is a block from here, right?
0:22:34 > 0:22:36- Just about.- Right.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39According to the biography, Helen's great-great-grandfather,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42George Hunt, was an extremely successful businessman,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45who traded timber for sugar with the Caribbean.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51"Our facilities for the manufacture of sugar should be so extensive
0:22:51 > 0:22:55"and efficient as to be unequalled by those possessed by any other nation."
0:22:55 > 0:23:01Cool. I had no idea sugar was a thing in my family.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03It would interest you, I thought, to see this.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07"George S Hunt, one of the most prominent
0:23:07 > 0:23:09"and enterprising of the Portland citizens,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12"died very suddenly in the office at four o'clock this afternoon.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15"Mr Hunt leaves a widow, who was very well known in education circles,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17"and two sons.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21"On September 22, 1863, he married Augusta, youngest daughter of the
0:23:21 > 0:23:26"late George S Barstow, a well-known and prominent resident of Portland."
0:23:26 > 0:23:30- Wow.- Your great-great-grandmother, Augusta, the wife of the man
0:23:30 > 0:23:33we have been speaking about, appears in this document,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36which is sort of the women's equivalent of
0:23:36 > 0:23:39the Representative Businessman publication.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42"Augusta M Hunt is a graceful speaker and is identified with
0:23:42 > 0:23:45"various educational and philanthropic institutions.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47"As president of the Home For Aged Women
0:23:47 > 0:23:51"and the Women's Christian Temperance Union and of the Ladies History Club,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54"she has proved herself a wise and efficient leader."
0:23:54 > 0:23:58- I'm guessing she was anti-rum! - You made a good guess.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02Right up until about 1850, Portland, Maine,
0:24:02 > 0:24:07probably drank more rum than any other seaport in the United States.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11The one great 19th-century reform that is a Maine reform,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- is the anti-alcohol crusade. - That started in Maine?- That started
0:24:14 > 0:24:18- in this town, not far from where you're sitting.- Oh, my God.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23In the 19th century, the rise of cheap sugar -
0:24:23 > 0:24:26the same commodity being traded by George Hunt before his death -
0:24:26 > 0:24:29also led to a surge in the availability of rum
0:24:29 > 0:24:32and other spirits, especially in New England.
0:24:33 > 0:24:381830 marked the peak of US per capita alcohol consumption.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41At one time, in a one-mile stretch of Portland,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44some 300 establishments sold alcohol.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47In an effort to curtail the widespread drinking,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49the Maine Law of 1851 was enacted,
0:24:49 > 0:24:52prohibiting the production and sale of alcohol.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57This law made it unlikely that George Hunt's company
0:24:57 > 0:24:59provided sugar to the rum makers.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04This is a national organisation which still
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- exists in Portland, Maine.- Wow.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12I'm pretty sure the Christian Temperance Society was...
0:25:12 > 0:25:14I don't know what it was.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18It makes me want to go have something warm with rum in it.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Helen has discovered that her great-great-grandmother,
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Augusta Hunt, was involved with a number of philanthropic
0:25:24 > 0:25:26institutions in Portland, Maine.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31To find out more about Augusta's work,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Helen is meeting with Professor Carol Mattingly.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36They're meeting at the headquarters of
0:25:36 > 0:25:38the Women's Christian Temperance Union in Maine.
0:25:40 > 0:25:46My great-great-grandfather traded sugar very successfully.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49I learned that his wife was very active in
0:25:49 > 0:25:52the Women's Christian Temperance Union. It does give me
0:25:52 > 0:25:56a slight bit of anxiety to say all those words pushed together.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Why are you so nervous about this?
0:25:59 > 0:26:02I don't know.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04- Tell me more.- OK.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08I'm going to tell you why I think you're nervous.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13Because the WCTU is associated with
0:26:13 > 0:26:16a prudish movement that failed.
0:26:16 > 0:26:22The reason women joined the WCTU in such huge numbers is
0:26:22 > 0:26:27because alcohol abuse was so rampant in the 19th century.
0:26:27 > 0:26:33The primary result, women felt, was the physical
0:26:33 > 0:26:38and sexual abuse of women and children.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41And so they rallied around the temperance topic.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44There was a dark side
0:26:44 > 0:26:47to the 19th-century love affair with alcohol.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Alcoholism spiked, even in children,
0:26:50 > 0:26:55and domestic violence took its toll on families and society as a whole.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59Married women like Augusta had few legal rights at the time.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02They couldn't vote or sign contracts
0:27:02 > 0:27:04and divorcing was difficult at best.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07But women became a powerful force for social change when they
0:27:07 > 0:27:12pulled together to fight against alcohol abuse and other social ills.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17- They were all about getting a voice for women.- That's amazing.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Your great-great-grandmother did the welcoming address
0:27:20 > 0:27:24at the 11th annual convention.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27- If you would start reading... - Here?
0:27:27 > 0:27:32"When we consider the well-known and sad fact that woman has always
0:27:32 > 0:27:37"been the greatest sufferer from the misery caused by intemperance,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41"does it not seem strange that nearly 90 years of such suffering
0:27:41 > 0:27:46"were required to reveal to women their duty upon this question?"
0:27:46 > 0:27:49That's an amazing thing to have done.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52These are pictures of your great-great-grandmother,
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Augusta Barstow-Hunt.
0:27:59 > 0:28:06She was really active in the WCTU in the 1880s and 1890s,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09which would have been their heyday.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12The organisation was huge and very powerful
0:28:12 > 0:28:13and influential by that time.
0:28:15 > 0:28:22We've surmised that this might be your grandfather
0:28:22 > 0:28:26because these are probably her grandchildren.
0:28:26 > 0:28:33And then her grandson's wife is Helen, right?
0:28:33 > 0:28:37- My grandmother. And she was killed by a drunk driver.- Is that true?
0:28:40 > 0:28:45It's just interesting to watch your own snap judgements rise up
0:28:45 > 0:28:47and crumble away.
0:28:47 > 0:28:48I knew nothing about her
0:28:48 > 0:28:51and I heard she had been in these organisations, I heard the word
0:28:51 > 0:28:56"temperance" and I have an utterly uneducated idea about what that is.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59And then to have it sort of blossom in this beautiful,
0:28:59 > 0:29:07painful way, that she was involved in excruciating issues.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09And then how my father's mother was killed
0:29:09 > 0:29:12and that I have a real connection to because I have grown up with
0:29:12 > 0:29:16my dad and wondered or imagined or glimpsed what the effect of that was.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19Pretty amazing.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24I don't know how long she lived,
0:29:24 > 0:29:26so I don't know where in the span of her life this happened.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Was this last thing she did? Was this the beginning?
0:29:30 > 0:29:33It impresses me that, even as a widow with children,
0:29:33 > 0:29:35my great-great-grandmother, Augusta,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38still made it a priority to be involved in social change.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Helen has come to the Maine Historical Society to meet
0:29:43 > 0:29:47with Professor Shannon Risk and to find out what else Augusta was
0:29:47 > 0:29:50able to accomplish for women's rights.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55I just came from the WCTU...
0:29:56 > 0:29:59..the name of which filled me with fear and dread
0:29:59 > 0:30:02until I found out what they did and it humbled me
0:30:02 > 0:30:06and moved me that what they were doing was about much more than
0:30:06 > 0:30:11I ever bothered to learn about or imagine.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14What else can you tell me about Augusta?
0:30:14 > 0:30:17Not only was Augusta involved in the WCTU...
0:30:17 > 0:30:21We have pulled out some things about your great-great-grandmother
0:30:21 > 0:30:23and the first is a biography.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25It starts here and goes on to the next page,
0:30:25 > 0:30:30- so she was about 62 when they are writing about her.- Wow.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32"Mrs Hunt remained president of the
0:30:32 > 0:30:36"Portland Women's Christian Temperance Union for 15 years.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40"Under her direction, the Coffee House and Friendly Inn, day nursery
0:30:40 > 0:30:42"and free kindergartens were adopted
0:30:42 > 0:30:45"as branches of the work of this organisation."
0:30:45 > 0:30:47The biography reveals that Augusta was
0:30:47 > 0:30:51instrumental in starting nursery schools, bringing female
0:30:51 > 0:30:56guards to mixed prisons and getting women elected to school boards.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59"Under her leadership, the council was instrumental
0:30:59 > 0:31:01"in having a law passed which
0:31:01 > 0:31:04"gives to a mother an equal right with the father in the care
0:31:04 > 0:31:07"and guardianship of minor children." Wow.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11This was a way for Augusta and her cohorts to be
0:31:11 > 0:31:15political in a society that did not accept women in politics.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19I know many women have had to choose between being present
0:31:19 > 0:31:22with their children and getting something done in the world
0:31:22 > 0:31:25that's going to affect generations and generations.
0:31:25 > 0:31:31To the extent that she did both at once, I think that's a big deal.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34It was so important to her. This work was so important.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38Again, they have turned outwards into society.
0:31:39 > 0:31:40That's huge.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46As the temperance movement gained strength, women shifted
0:31:46 > 0:31:50their focus to larger issues and the Women's Rights Movement was born.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56Some 40 years before Augusta got involved,
0:31:56 > 0:32:00the American movement for women's rights burst onto the national stage
0:32:00 > 0:32:04in 1848, with a two-day event called the Seneca Falls Convention.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09Here, Elizabeth Cady Stanton made international
0:32:09 > 0:32:12headlines by declaring that women deserved the right to vote -
0:32:12 > 0:32:16a shocking and controversial idea at the time.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21Soon after, Stanton joined forces with Susan B Anthony to focus
0:32:21 > 0:32:25the women's movement on this key issue - voting rights for women.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33And so, I want to show you this document that is
0:32:33 > 0:32:38the proposal from 1917 to be signed into law, they hope,
0:32:38 > 0:32:40giving women the right to vote.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44- So, this is demanding that they put this up to vote.- Right.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47And so Augusta and her colleagues gather
0:32:47 > 0:32:50thousands of signatures on petitions
0:32:50 > 0:32:52and the Maine State Legislator agrees, but now
0:32:52 > 0:32:56they must turn it out into male voting society
0:32:56 > 0:32:58to see what will happen.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00It's thrilling and enraging all at once.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04At this point, Augusta is in her mid-70s,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08but we know that she remains active in the fight for the women's vote.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13The referendum returns come back and, in most communities,
0:33:13 > 0:33:17they vote the resolution down. The ratio is about 2:1.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21I think about women having daughters
0:33:21 > 0:33:25and having to explain that to your daughter.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29My daughter, I'm not looking forward to having her even begin
0:33:29 > 0:33:33to understand that there was a day when women were treated differently
0:33:33 > 0:33:35than men were in such a...
0:33:35 > 0:33:38huge and radical way.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Although suffrage did not pass in Maine,
0:33:42 > 0:33:45women were making headway elsewhere in America.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50By the start of World War I, full suffrage had passed in 12 states.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52Women like Augusta famously mocked
0:33:52 > 0:33:54an address made by President Woodrow Wilson
0:33:54 > 0:33:59when he claimed that the Great War was a struggle for democracy.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03Suffragists contended that the United States was not itself
0:34:03 > 0:34:06a democracy, since women couldn't vote.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09By 1918, President Wilson was swayed,
0:34:09 > 0:34:14and began publicly supporting voting rights for women.
0:34:14 > 0:34:15The tide was turning
0:34:15 > 0:34:19and, in 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified,
0:34:19 > 0:34:23granting all American women the power to vote.
0:34:23 > 0:34:29So, we don't know a tremendous amount about her later years,
0:34:29 > 0:34:35but we do know that she witnessed the passing of the 19th Amendment
0:34:35 > 0:34:38and we have a copy of that here.
0:34:38 > 0:34:43- And she was alive. - She was alive. She's about 77.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46"Proposing an amendment to the Constitution extending
0:34:46 > 0:34:48"the right of suffrage to women."
0:34:48 > 0:34:50She had lived to see the day.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55Thank God.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57Did she live to vote?
0:34:58 > 0:35:02- This is the voter registration book from 1920.- Oh, my God.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07I thought perhaps we might look for Augusta's name.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12Hopkins, Hutchins.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16That's not a good sign. Am I looking in the right place?
0:35:16 > 0:35:19- What we're looking for is District 6.- District 6.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23She worked so hard for so long,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27this is her first chance to register to vote. I hope she's in here.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33Hopkins, Hoppin, Howes, Hume.
0:35:35 > 0:35:36I don't see her.
0:35:36 > 0:35:37Oh, wait.
0:35:39 > 0:35:40Augusta M.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45So, this means she registered to vote.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50After a lifetime of fighting for women's right to vote.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52And these are almost all women.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Delia and Catherine and Mary and Helen.
0:35:56 > 0:35:57And Augusta.
0:35:59 > 0:36:05Incredible. So, she registered, but did she actually cast a ballot?
0:36:05 > 0:36:07I have one last thing to show you.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11It is an article featured in the Portland Sunday Telegram,
0:36:11 > 0:36:13talking about Augusta.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17"Mrs George S Hunt, identified through the years with
0:36:17 > 0:36:20"the organisation and administration of many institutions for social
0:36:20 > 0:36:25"service, including the WCTU, of which she is a charter member,
0:36:25 > 0:36:30"will celebrate her 90th birthday Monday." My goodness. Longevity.
0:36:30 > 0:36:35"And the story of Mrs Hunt's long and useful life is in great part
0:36:35 > 0:36:39"a history of the development of the social agenda of the state.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42"It was indeed fitting that she should be made the first woman
0:36:42 > 0:36:46"member of the Lincoln Club and that when woman's suffrage was last
0:36:46 > 0:36:50"granted, the first woman's ballot to be passed was that of Augusta."
0:36:56 > 0:36:57That's amazing.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06It turns out that Augusta passed away 10 days after this article
0:37:06 > 0:37:08was published.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12"Her name will live long and her work will live always."
0:37:14 > 0:37:15That's incredible.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23It's very moving to see your own name...
0:37:23 > 0:37:25reflected back at you.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28That alone is very moving.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30It's not about being first,
0:37:30 > 0:37:35but it took me a minute to really get that that's a forever thing.
0:37:35 > 0:37:41She is forever the first one in this place to have stepped over that line.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43That's amazing.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51I say to my daughter all the time, "You're a strong woman"
0:37:51 > 0:37:54and I mean it, because she already seems strong,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56but she doesn't yet know,
0:37:56 > 0:38:00but will now know that her great-great-great-grandmother was
0:38:00 > 0:38:05part of this group of women that paved the way for everything.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12Definitely, if I think about carrying this daughter's heartbeat in
0:38:12 > 0:38:15this same place, that's a little...
0:38:15 > 0:38:17A tiny little woman who will vote one day.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd