0:00:02 > 0:00:05I left home at 16 and went to Paris.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07My mom made me a bunch of fabulous clothes,
0:00:07 > 0:00:09I had them stuffed in my back-pack,
0:00:09 > 0:00:13but I was so lucky, you know, I just met Helmut Newton
0:00:13 > 0:00:15and started modelling.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Within a month, I was on the cover of French Vogue.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21I think it's part of my family's pioneer spirit.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23If you want to do it, just go do it.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Texan-born Jerry Hall
0:00:27 > 0:00:30is among the most photographed women in the world.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32As one of the original supermodels,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35she has graced the cover of Vogue,
0:00:35 > 0:00:36starred in films
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and appeared on the London Stage.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43She and Mick Jagger were together for 23 years
0:00:43 > 0:00:45and they have four children.
0:00:45 > 0:00:51Elizabeth and Georgia are both models, I'm very proud to say.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Very successful. I'm showing off a bit now!
0:00:55 > 0:01:00I know that my father's side of the family originally came from England.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06Here is a photograph of my mom and dad.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08My mom was so pretty.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10They wanted her to be a model when she was younger,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12but my dad wouldn't let her.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14I know that my mother's family
0:01:14 > 0:01:18are direct descendants of the first families
0:01:18 > 0:01:21who went to Texas in the early 1820s.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Sadly, she passed away two years ago.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28SHE SNIFFS Mm, I'm going to get all teared up.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30But I really want to find out for her.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37I have no idea where our pioneering spirit comes from.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41I suppose it's in the genes. We'll find out.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Jerry lives in Richmond, Surrey.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Her younger son, Gabriel, still lives at home with her.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24So, Gabe, you're going to be curious to find out about our family?
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Yeah, I'm very interested.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Er, you've always told me they're from Texas,
0:02:28 > 0:02:32- but I'd really like to know where beyond Texas we're from.- Yeah.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36I was born in a house in Harwood.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40We had a farm - and it had no electricity and no running water.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45You know, my mom had five kids, so it was quite a tough life.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50That's me as a little girl with my four sisters and Mom and Dad.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51You look just like Georgia there.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Gabriel loves history
0:02:54 > 0:03:00and he is extremely proud of my father's war medals.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04He was with General Patton on all of his campaigns.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07And that's when he came home on leave, when Linda was born.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11My father sadly passed away in 1977.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13He's called John Hall.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17I'd like to find out about his English heritage.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Why they went to Texas.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23You know, where they came from, what they did.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26I know that my great-grandfather, when he came to America,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29he worked as a foreman on the railroad.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32You know, we were always told they came from Oldham.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Jerry is starting with her father's side of the family.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43She's on the trail of her great-grandfather, James Hall.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53I'm not sure what profession my great-grandfather did,
0:03:53 > 0:03:58but I know that Oldham at that point was very big on textiles,
0:03:58 > 0:04:03fabric dyeing, which would tie in with me becoming a fashion model.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05JERRY LAUGHS
0:04:05 > 0:04:06So, I don't know.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11I don't have a picture of my great-grandfather.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15I've got a picture of my great-grandmother, Parthenia Hall.
0:04:17 > 0:04:18- TANNOY:- 'Ladies and gentlemen,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22'we're making our final approach, where this service will terminate.'
0:04:25 > 0:04:27- Wow!- Hi, Jerry.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28Hello. Nice to meet you.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31It's lovely to meet you. Let's go on in.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Jerry hopes social historian Emma Griffin can answer
0:04:35 > 0:04:39the question about what James Hall did before he went to America.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Wow! Oh my gosh!
0:04:44 > 0:04:49So, this is obviously a restored cotton mill.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50Oh, wow!
0:04:50 > 0:04:55So, my great-grandfather, James Hall, worked in a cotton mill?
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Yes. So, he would have worked in something very similar
0:04:58 > 0:05:00to this mill that we're in now.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03- Amazing.- All the different machines on the same floor here.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07MACHINES WHIRR
0:05:08 > 0:05:10They must have gone a bit deaf!
0:05:14 > 0:05:16We could find out a little bit more about what he did,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19- if we look at the 1861 Census. - Oh, yeah? How exciting!
0:05:19 > 0:05:20I've got a copy of that here,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23and your family are mentioned down there.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Oh, my goodness, yeah.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27James, there he is.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32And he's ten years old and a cotton piecer.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34So young.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Yeah, so young to be at work.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40James Hall first started work in the mill as a piecer,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44repairing broken lengths of cotton as the machine spun the yarn
0:05:44 > 0:05:46and wound it onto spindles.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Children were used for this dangerous job
0:05:50 > 0:05:53because they could squeeze in and around the moving machinery.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59We know that as an adult, he's a card room jobber,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and that means he's basically supervising now
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- all the men and women who are using these machines.- Wow.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13There's a few other documents that we've got about James Hall
0:06:13 > 0:06:15that might be of interest to you.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Right. Oh, his marriage.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- He's getting married.- Oh.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Wait a minute, so James Hall married Martha Ann...
0:06:25 > 0:06:27..Standeven.
0:06:27 > 0:06:28Martha Ann Standeven.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Oh, OK.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35Cos the only one I knew about from my father's side was Parthenia.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Don't know where she comes from.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39- So, this is Martha Ann...? - Sorry, so your great...
0:06:39 > 0:06:43- OK, so your great-grandfather is James Hall...- Yeah.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46..and you think your great-grandmother is Parthenia?
0:06:46 > 0:06:47So, he married twice.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49Now, one of the nice things about the Census is,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51we can track families at every ten years.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Right, so this is another one?
0:06:53 > 0:06:57So, another Census, we've moved on to 1881, let me pass that to you.
0:06:57 > 0:06:58Oh, exciting.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01So, we can see a little bit more about what's happening to James now.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03- So, there he is.- There he is. OK.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06James is 30...
0:07:07 > 0:07:09..and his wife...
0:07:09 > 0:07:13They have a daughter, Clara, who's one.
0:07:13 > 0:07:14Clara Hall.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17This tells us the street they're in.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18Waverley Street.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Waverley Street is still in existence,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22so we can go and have a little look at Waverley Street.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- Oh, how exciting. God, I'd love to see that! - Well, let's do that...- Wow!
0:07:25 > 0:07:28..and we can see the houses that they're living in.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Oldham was once the cotton spinning capital of the world.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36In James Hall's time, there were over 200 working mills,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39surrounded by housing built for the workers.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44So, this is the house. One more, this is it, Number 18.
0:07:44 > 0:07:45It's lovely.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48A real, classic mill worker's cottage - two up, two down, brick...
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Amazing. Amazing.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Just next door is his sister and the one down there is his mother.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Oh, you're kidding! Wow!
0:07:55 > 0:07:58So, all of your family were in these three houses altogether.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01- Oh, my God, right next door?- Yes.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03We're keeping a track on not just him,
0:08:03 > 0:08:08but the rest of his family and this is a birth certificate.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10- And he's named his son "James".- Yeah.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13It's their first born son, I think this has got to be, hasn't it?
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Wow. So, when was he born?
0:08:16 > 0:08:19- The date's right up here in the corner.- 1882.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23They've got baby Clara, who's living here as well.
0:08:23 > 0:08:24And then that is...?
0:08:26 > 0:08:291881, we've got this document here.
0:08:31 > 0:08:3318...
0:08:33 > 0:08:37And we're looking at a ship's manifest.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39- Oh! Liverpool.- Yeah.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43And we can see that he's sailing from Liverpool.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Right. So, that's when he went to America.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47- So, what happened to his wife? - Well let's...
0:08:47 > 0:08:50You see, this tells us exactly who's on this ship that's bound...
0:08:50 > 0:08:53- And if we look for James, there's James...- Yeah.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55James Hall, 31.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01Went with one bag, without his children or his wife.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02That's right.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Oh, he's done a runner! LAUGHTER
0:09:05 > 0:09:06He's done a runner.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09- This is from 1881.- Gosh.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11So, if we just think about that birth certificate
0:09:11 > 0:09:16that we saw a moment ago, that's 1882.
0:09:16 > 0:09:17So...
0:09:18 > 0:09:22..that means the baby was born after he left.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25- That's right. - Aww. That's a bit caddish.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Aww. He's left his children. He's left his wife.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31He's left his children and his wife.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Gosh. And gone to Texas.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37- Looking for a new life in the USA.- Wow!
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Well, I've found my great-grandfather's house.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44I don't know, you know, the baby was born after he left,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46so I don't know what happened.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51And you know, I have to go and find out how he met my grandmother,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Parthenia, my great-grandmother,
0:09:53 > 0:09:57whether he was a bigamist, or whether he got a divorce, or what.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00It's very confusing, so I think I have to go and find
0:10:00 > 0:10:02where they keep the records in Texas.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05See if he was a cad.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09OK. So it was 18, 16 and 14.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Oh yeah, I have to get right over here to get it, get all three.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- TV:- 'Plenty of sunshine through today, with seasonal temperatures.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27'We should reach our normal high of about 82 degrees by this afternoon.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31'Clear skies tonight, with a low near 70.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34'Increasing cloudiness tomorrow...'
0:10:34 > 0:10:38I have a spirit of adventure, to go off to Paris alone at 16
0:10:38 > 0:10:44and seems like a lot of people in my family just kind of leave home.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46I mean, why would James, you know...
0:10:48 > 0:10:52..leave his family and leave Oldham and come to this whole new place?
0:10:54 > 0:10:56We knew that he worked in the railroad,
0:10:56 > 0:11:00but you know, how he went from being in the cotton business,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03in a factory all of his life,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05to Texas and the railroad...
0:11:06 > 0:11:09So, that's why I'm here in Houston,
0:11:09 > 0:11:13to try and find what happened to him and also...
0:11:15 > 0:11:18..that woman was not my great-grandmother.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21An adventurous cad. God!
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Seem to always meet those kind of people!
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Jerry is meeting historian Ken Stavinoha
0:11:29 > 0:11:32at the Houston Public Library.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34- Hi, I'm Ken Stavinoha. - Nice to meet you.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Very nice to meet you. Shall we go to the library?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40So Ken, why would my great-grandfather
0:11:40 > 0:11:43have come to the States?
0:11:43 > 0:11:45So, there was a lot of opportunity.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Texas in particular was growing.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51They were looking for good people to populate the country,
0:11:51 > 0:11:53as well as the railroads were looking for people
0:11:53 > 0:11:55to help them expand.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Yes, cos we know he was a railroad foreman.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Well, that makes perfect sense, because the 1870s and 1880s
0:12:01 > 0:12:05were a peak construction period for railroads in Texas.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07This is from the Galveston newspaper
0:12:07 > 0:12:11and this is really about a month before James would have emigrated.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15They want to complete the branch from Harwood to Gonzales.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18So, that's... I was born there and lived there,
0:12:18 > 0:12:19in Harwood, when I was a baby.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21"Intersecting and controlling
0:12:21 > 0:12:25"the heavy business of a section of county of unsurpassed fertility
0:12:25 > 0:12:30"and being rapidly settled by immigrants of the very best class."
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Mass production of steel in the 1880s
0:12:34 > 0:12:38caused a boom in American railroad construction.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42More than 6,000 miles were built in Texas alone
0:12:42 > 0:12:45and companies were running out of local labour.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Immigrants, like James Hall, were tempted over to the United States
0:12:49 > 0:12:53with the promise of high wages and a piece of their own land.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Railroad companies would despatch recruitment agents
0:12:58 > 0:13:00to places like the North of England,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02where there was a plentiful supply of labour.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06They put advertisements and letters in local newspapers.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09This is one of them here -
0:13:09 > 0:13:11the Liverpool Mercury - and of course, it's very small print.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13If you'll look at that passage.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15"A young man can land with little money
0:13:15 > 0:13:18"and get work at once by taking the first thing that offers -
0:13:18 > 0:13:21"only he must be the right kind,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23"for we want good men in Texas."
0:13:23 > 0:13:26He had a couple of things in his resume
0:13:26 > 0:13:29that I think would have been very attractive.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32He had experience with machinery, which of course,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34when you work for the railroad, you're surrounded by machinery.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38And it sounds like he also had some sort of supervisory experience.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Yes.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42And why would he have come...?
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Was it dangerous for the women and children, then?
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Well, it certainly could be.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Obviously, if they're used to a lifestyle in the city
0:13:49 > 0:13:50where there are provisions -
0:13:50 > 0:13:53you have water, you have food, you have shelter -
0:13:53 > 0:13:55coming to a place like Texas,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57you didn't automatically have all of those things.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Plus, being out in the wilderness,
0:14:00 > 0:14:04there were other things like disease that were rampant,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06that you wouldn't necessarily experience in the city.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Do you have any kind of way of knowing if he brought his family?
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Well, there is actually a shipping list.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17This is from 14th October of 1882.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Oh yes!
0:14:19 > 0:14:23So, he did bring... Oh, and there's the children.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Martha is his wife
0:14:26 > 0:14:29and his daughter Clara and his son James.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31Right. And notice that this is their destination.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34They went to Luling. Wow!
0:14:34 > 0:14:38A lot of my relatives are from Luling and around there, yeah.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41So, that makes sense that... Yes, they were coming out to join him.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43So that's... So how many... How much later was that?
0:14:43 > 0:14:47This was 14th October, so it's a year about after he...
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Oh, OK. So he wasn't a cad!
0:14:50 > 0:14:52LAUGHTER
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- Sorry. No, cos she's not my great-grandmother.- OK.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59So, I was trying to figure out what happened.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18So, James didn't desert his family after all.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22He was just selling up and moving here to make a better life for them.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26But I want to find out what happened to Martha,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29because she wasn't my great-grandmother.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Well, I've kind of got a bad feeling about her.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40Jerry is now driving 140 miles due west of Houston,
0:15:40 > 0:15:42to the small town of Luling,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46where James' family arrived in October 1882.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Here we are, in Luling.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53So cute.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Luling grew up around the railroad,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58where James Hall was helping to build a spur line
0:15:58 > 0:16:01from Harwood, south to Gonzales.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Luling attracted cowboys driving cattle north.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13The combination of cowboys and railway workers proved dangerous,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15and Luling soon earned a reputation for being
0:16:15 > 0:16:18"the toughest town in Texas".
0:16:19 > 0:16:22TRAIN HORN BLOWS
0:16:23 > 0:16:26The line, which passes straight through the middle of town,
0:16:26 > 0:16:28is still used for shipping freight.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38Martha, Clara and eight-month-old baby James Hall
0:16:38 > 0:16:42arrived here a year after Jerry's great-grandfather.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Genealogist Dorothy Landoll has been doing some research.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Jerry's hoping she can tell her how they fared.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55I have some information here about James and his family.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Oh, right.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59We have part of a letter here.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03It's from Margaret Clegg, his sister in Oldham, England.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06It's fragile, and there's writing on both sides.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10"It would set our minds at rest if we had a letter.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14"It's eight months since we've had one, so I must write...
0:17:14 > 0:17:15"You must write as soon as you can.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17"Every week is like a month.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24"With kind love from all and your affectionate sister and mother."
0:17:24 > 0:17:27And it says, "kisses to all the children".
0:17:27 > 0:17:28All those kisses, that's sweet.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32So, that means...
0:17:34 > 0:17:37..something's happened to Martha.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Cos it's just "kisses to the children".
0:17:40 > 0:17:45Well, we have The Galveston Daily News from December 30, 1883.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48- Right.- And read the part right in here.
0:17:50 > 0:17:51Mm.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53"The following deaths have been reported
0:17:53 > 0:17:56"to the City Health Office
0:17:56 > 0:17:58"for the weeks ending today."
0:18:00 > 0:18:02And there she is, Martha Hall.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Disease of kidneys.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07And do you know what happened to the children?
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Well, we know that Clara was adopted by a friend.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11JERRY GASPS
0:18:11 > 0:18:14We have no record of what happened to little James.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18It's assumed that he probably died young, but we have no record of him.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22So, poor James, he's lost all of his family.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24Do we know what happened to him next?
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Well, having lost all of his family, he didn't give up.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30The next thing we have is a deed.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Oh, so he bought land. And that was in...?
0:18:33 > 0:18:38It was in August of 1884, almost a year after her death.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43- "118 and a half acres... - ..Half acres...- "..of land."
0:18:43 > 0:18:46He's rebuilding his life in spite of all that he has gone through,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49and then we find this lovely note.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53Oh, OK. So, this is in October, 1886.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56"Miss P Dunham,
0:18:56 > 0:19:00"Please would you accept my company for a walk this evening?
0:19:00 > 0:19:03"If so, please tell the bearer "yes"
0:19:03 > 0:19:07"and I will be a Harvey's house at two o'clock prompt.
0:19:07 > 0:19:08"James Hall.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13"If no, please would you let me sit on the fence while you walk by?"
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Ooh! "I remain your friend as ever, James Hall."
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Ooh!
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- So "P Dunham" is Parthenia?- Yes.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25And that's the marriage license.
0:19:25 > 0:19:26Oh, wow!
0:19:26 > 0:19:29"James Hall and Miss Parthenia Dunham."
0:19:30 > 0:19:35And they got married in November 1886.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38So, how long did it take from courting to marriage?
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Ooh, not very long.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43What?! That's a month later!
0:19:43 > 0:19:46- But it may be...- He's a fast mover.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48So, how did it all turn out for them?
0:19:48 > 0:19:50We have the 1910 Census.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Right. OK. So, there's...
0:19:54 > 0:19:57James Hall, Parthenia, John, Annie,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Mary, Thomas, Margaret, Cecil.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04"John" is John Travis Hall.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Right. So, that... He'd be my grandfather?
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Right. They had a total of eight children.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13They're living in Gonzales County on the land that he purchased -
0:20:13 > 0:20:15the 118 and a half acres.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18The spur from Harwood to Gonzales, the railroad,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21- goes through his land, it was there when he purchased it.- Oh.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25And you might like to go and see the farm.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28I'd love to. It's still there?
0:20:28 > 0:20:31It's still there and part of it is still owned by family members.
0:20:31 > 0:20:32Oh, my goodness!
0:20:41 > 0:20:46James' job on the railway allowed him to buy and farm his own land
0:20:46 > 0:20:49along the spur line where he was working.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54Here, he raised his second family with his new wife, Parthenia -
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Jerry's great-grandmother.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00It's a long way to come from Oldham.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08DOG BARKS
0:21:13 > 0:21:16It's beautiful country.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18So green, isn't it?
0:21:21 > 0:21:23He must have found the greenest spot in Texas.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30I was so excited to hear that my family,
0:21:30 > 0:21:35some of my family still owns that original land that James Hall got.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42And you know, I'm looking forward just to meeting them,
0:21:42 > 0:21:44see who it is.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47Somewhere here.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Oh, it says "Hall". OK.
0:21:56 > 0:21:57This must be it.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21So, is that my relatives?
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Gosh!
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Turn off the engine.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Oh, my goodness!
0:22:35 > 0:22:37So, I haven't seen you in forever.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Do you remember me?
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Oh my goodness! Hello.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45How nice to see you.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46Yeah, you too.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Nice to see you.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50I'm OK, so far. Yeah, last time I saw you...
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- Do you remember us? - ..you was in a crib.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Now, tell me, tell me who you are.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57- I'm Joyce.- Joyce.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00- Annie and Cecil's daughter. - Yeah? Oh.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05Joyce is Jerry's father's cousin, and James Hall's granddaughter,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07through his younger son, Cecil.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09- So, that's Cecil's house?- Yes.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12And is it still...? People don't live there?
0:23:12 > 0:23:15No, but they could, if it was cleaned up a little.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Er, you want to get in the back of the truck and...
0:23:17 > 0:23:19- Yeah- ..we can go up there.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22OK. I'd love to. Fantastic.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Well, I'll drive if I can. Y'all trust me?
0:23:27 > 0:23:28- Yeah.- OK.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30CAR ENGINE STARTS
0:23:30 > 0:23:32JERRY LAUGHS
0:24:02 > 0:24:05So, this land was the original Hall land?
0:24:05 > 0:24:06Yes.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08And I still own...
0:24:08 > 0:24:10I still own the part...
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Part of this fence and part of the pasture here,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17I still own it and the rest of them all sold their land.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20It's beautiful though, with all the wild flowers.
0:24:20 > 0:24:21And it's always cool.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Joyce has been searching for family documents and photographs
0:24:26 > 0:24:29from when James Hall's family lived on the farm.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31You remember her?
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Is that...? Oh my goodness, is that Parthenia?
0:24:34 > 0:24:36- Yes.- Wow.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38That's James' wife.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40And this photo was taken on this land?
0:24:40 > 0:24:44Yeah, I suppose it was, cos right back here behind this house
0:24:44 > 0:24:45is a kind of a low spot.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50We used to have... There used to be a three room house there.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Wow! So there's always been Halls having houses here.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56She lived there with my mother and daddy and us,
0:24:56 > 0:24:58until she passed away.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Oh. Amazing.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04- They must have been so tough, in her time.- Yes.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Well, I believe only the toughest ones made it, back then.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11That's right.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Do you think you might recognise that gentleman in some way?
0:25:15 > 0:25:17Oh my goodness! Is that James?
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Do you know that?
0:25:19 > 0:25:21We don't have no name for that picture
0:25:21 > 0:25:23and that could have very well been him.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27He certainly has my daddy's eyes, doesn't he?
0:25:27 > 0:25:28I think he does.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Yeah. Bit scary!
0:25:30 > 0:25:32LAUGHTER
0:25:32 > 0:25:35And so, this picture was with the family photos?
0:25:35 > 0:25:37- Er, yes, that's... - And you think it's James Hall?
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- That's the only one that we have, that could have been him.- Wow.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Was a good looking guy, wasn't he?
0:25:46 > 0:25:49James Hall raised his family, ran his farm
0:25:49 > 0:25:52and continued to work for the Southern Pacific Railroad
0:25:52 > 0:25:54until he retired.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56He never returned to Oldham.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03So, he's buried somewhere in there?
0:26:03 > 0:26:06You need an axe to get through there now.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09- Here is an obituary... - Oh, my goodness.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12..from James Hall.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16"Funeral services were held at the family home by Reverend SP Harris,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19"in the presence of a large number of friends and relatives,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22"gathered to pay a last tribute to his memory.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25"As the train on the Harwood branch passed,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27"it stopped for a few minutes,
0:26:27 > 0:26:29"the crew going over to view the remains
0:26:29 > 0:26:32"and laying floral offerings on the casket."
0:26:33 > 0:26:36That was sweet. And so, that's that railroad there?
0:26:36 > 0:26:39- Yeah, that's... - So, they just walked over.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42That's where the rail train still goes by there,
0:26:42 > 0:26:43every once in a while.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46That's nice, that they stopped the train in his honour.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48- Yeah, they sure did. - TRAIN APPROACHES
0:26:48 > 0:26:51I can hear a train. I can hear a train now.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54- Just right over there is the train tracks. - TRAIN HORN BLOWS
0:26:57 > 0:27:00I was so proud to read his obituary.
0:27:00 > 0:27:06James Hall seemed to be highly regarded by his railroad colleagues
0:27:06 > 0:27:10and you know, this is the tracks that he was the foreman
0:27:10 > 0:27:12and supervised the building of, and obviously,
0:27:12 > 0:27:17that's where he saw this beautiful piece of land.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Very sad to hear about baby James and Martha.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26I think my father's family had a very hard life.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29He did make a success.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31He married again.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35He bought land and he had eight children.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38And I, you know, luckily came down from them.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Growing up in Texas, we're used to going on these road trips...
0:27:54 > 0:27:57..and I came home from Paris
0:27:57 > 0:28:00and took my friend Antonio
0:28:00 > 0:28:05down to my cousin Jo Nell's wedding, and we stopped...
0:28:05 > 0:28:07He loved all these signs,
0:28:07 > 0:28:11these beautiful, beautiful signs
0:28:11 > 0:28:14and he took all these pictures of me
0:28:14 > 0:28:16in front of all these signs.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22He thought the American signs were so iconic
0:28:22 > 0:28:25and quite artistic.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28I was 16 on that trip
0:28:28 > 0:28:31and you know, stopping everywhere.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33It was great fun.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36But I guess it's that sense of adventure.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42When I was with Mick, we would just travel
0:28:42 > 0:28:46and lived out of suitcases for seven years.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49We never stopped travelling.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Jerry is now investigating her mother's side of the family,
0:28:57 > 0:28:59who also lived in Texas.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05I do know that they were one of the first families that went to Texas.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09I'd love to find out, for my mother, about her family.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12She passed away two years ago.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16I'd like to find out, you know, where they came from over here
0:29:16 > 0:29:18and why they went to Texas.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Jerry has come to the state capital of Texas, Austin,
0:29:24 > 0:29:25where she owns a house.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31She's meeting up with her maternal cousins, Jo Nell and Sylvia.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36So, Mama had this cedar trunk.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39When I opened it up, I just couldn't believe it, you know?
0:29:39 > 0:29:42I haven't even looked through all the photographs,
0:29:42 > 0:29:46because she obviously kept these photographs from her mama
0:29:46 > 0:29:48and they've been in the family.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50Here's your daddy.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54- And my mama.- Oh, perfect.
0:29:54 > 0:29:55Look at where they ...
0:29:55 > 0:29:59Oh, he's so handsome and she's... They were pretty.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02And then, Mama had these pins,
0:30:02 > 0:30:06which are The Daughters Of The Republic of Texas.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09That means it's the first families that settled Texas.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12We're members through these people...
0:30:13 > 0:30:17..Mary Margaret Wilkins and Isaac Best.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19Isaac Best. It's a familiar name.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21Yeah, I've heard of Isaac Best.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Though I don't know very much about him.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26I'd love to know where he came from.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28I don't even know where he came from.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Don't know anything about him.
0:30:30 > 0:30:35I tell you, Mama would just love to find out about all this.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Absolutely.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41The city of Austin was named in honour of Stephen F Austin,
0:30:41 > 0:30:45who established colonies of settlers to farm land in Texas,
0:30:45 > 0:30:51which became part of the United States of America in 1846.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53Jerry wants to know how her own family
0:30:53 > 0:30:57fits into the story of Stephen Austin's pioneers.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00- Hello.- Hi, it's good to meet you. Come on in.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03She's meeting archivist Sharon Hill,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06from The Daughters Of The Republic of Texas.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08This organisation was founded
0:31:08 > 0:31:12to honour the female descendants of those original Texas pioneers.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17So, Sharon, I've come to find out about...
0:31:17 > 0:31:18These were my mother's...
0:31:18 > 0:31:21- Hm-mm.- ..and she passed away a couple of years ago
0:31:21 > 0:31:23and these were her pins.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27The most important name on that is Isaac Best.
0:31:27 > 0:31:28- Oh, is it?- That pin.- Yeah.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32And the one below it, Mary Wilkins, was his wife.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34Oh, I see.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38So, those two are the most important names who you're related to.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40For a woman to become a member,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44she has to trace her lineage before 1846,
0:31:44 > 0:31:47but your relative, Isaac Best, was...
0:31:49 > 0:31:51..goes beyond that.
0:31:51 > 0:31:57He was one of Stephen F Austin's original 300 colonists.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02Mmm. So, we're the real Texans?
0:32:02 > 0:32:05- Yes. But it gets better. - Oh, yeah?
0:32:05 > 0:32:08It gets better. This is your lineage.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11- Your parents... - Yeah, and my grandmother...
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Through their records, The Daughters can trace Jerry's mother's family
0:32:14 > 0:32:17back through seven generations,
0:32:17 > 0:32:21to Jerry's five times great-grandfather, Isaac Best.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25And do you know anything about the Best family, cos I really...
0:32:25 > 0:32:27Do you know like where they came from,
0:32:27 > 0:32:30or is there anything in the records about them?
0:32:32 > 0:32:34This is a list.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37It's dated February 1823
0:32:37 > 0:32:39and it shows...
0:32:39 > 0:32:41It shows who was here first.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44Oh, there he is. "Isaac Best.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48"A man of family, but his family not yet come on.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52"He is a man of good character.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55"He's now here for the purpose of raising crop.
0:32:55 > 0:32:56"Age 47."
0:32:59 > 0:33:03In 1823, Texas was still part of Mexico.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06This land was occupied by Native Americans,
0:33:06 > 0:33:09like the Comanche and Apache tribes.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13It had been their hunting and trading grounds for generations.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15But immigrants like Isaac
0:33:15 > 0:33:18were now being welcomed by the Mexican government
0:33:18 > 0:33:20to come and settle this area.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24During this time, Texas was used...
0:33:24 > 0:33:27Mexico used Texas as a buffer zone,
0:33:27 > 0:33:33to buffer the interior portions of Mexico from Indian attacks.
0:33:33 > 0:33:34JERRY LAUGHS
0:33:34 > 0:33:38Got those crazy Europeans over to get killed off by the Indians first(?)
0:33:38 > 0:33:40- Exactly. - LAUGHTER
0:33:40 > 0:33:43So, let them get killed, we won't... Nothing will happen to us.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Goll-ee! LAUGHTER
0:33:46 > 0:33:50Every settler to Austin's colony got a league of land,
0:33:50 > 0:33:54which was 4,428.4 acres.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Wow! That was a lot of land.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59Well, it was.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01What did he have to pay for this?
0:34:01 > 0:34:03100.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06100 for 4,000 acres?
0:34:06 > 0:34:09That's pretty wild!
0:34:09 > 0:34:12And it was, it was good acreage.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15His particular property was on the Brazos River,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18- cos a river was very important for...- How nice.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20..cattle, crops, trade.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24OK, this is just part of a tax list.
0:34:24 > 0:34:25Oh.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28- And there's a translation.- OK.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32And you might be able to find a name on there.
0:34:32 > 0:34:33So...
0:34:34 > 0:34:37Where is it? Let's see. Oh, Isaac Best.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41"Married, age between 40 and 50."
0:34:42 > 0:34:44So, five children
0:34:44 > 0:34:47and four slaves.
0:34:47 > 0:34:48He had slaves?!
0:34:51 > 0:34:56- God!- No, I know this can be something difficult to understand,
0:34:56 > 0:35:00but during the time Isaac Best came here to Texas,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03slavery was accepted all over the world.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07- So, to have slaves...- Well... - ..he would have been...
0:35:07 > 0:35:10..none of these other people had slaves.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13In Austin's colony in 1825,
0:35:13 > 0:35:1669 families owned slaves.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19That accounted for one fourth of the population.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23His slaves more than likely helped him with the cattle on the ranch.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25What else have you got?
0:35:25 > 0:35:28Now, where did he come from? I really want to know.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Now, I'd like you to look at this document.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35Ooh, OK. So that is...?
0:35:35 > 0:35:39That's dated October 1823.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41"October 1823, Land Deed.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45"Isaac Best selling land to James Tagert,
0:35:45 > 0:35:49"State of Missouri, Township and County of St Charles."
0:35:50 > 0:35:53Missouri. LAUGHTER
0:35:53 > 0:35:54So, Missouri?
0:35:56 > 0:35:58Gosh, I've never been to Missouri.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02That's quite awful,
0:36:02 > 0:36:04to find out he had slaves.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10I suppose it was common in those days,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12but no, that's kind of horrific.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21I'm really curious to find out more about Isaac Best.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33Jerry is now heading 800 miles north,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36to where Isaac Best lived in 1823,
0:36:36 > 0:36:38near St Charles in Missouri.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48Isaac Best must have been a man of quite substantial means,
0:36:48 > 0:36:54to take this family off on such a big journey.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58He must have had a lot of wagons, he must have had some money.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Isaac Best and his family
0:37:00 > 0:37:04were part of the massive expansion across America in the 1800s
0:37:04 > 0:37:07that saw thousands of families migrating West.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11We learnt in school about American history
0:37:11 > 0:37:15and we learnt about the early days,
0:37:15 > 0:37:17the early settlers, the pioneers,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20you know, how many of them died.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22We learnt about Daniel Boone,
0:37:22 > 0:37:26how he was a trailblazer and a great hero...
0:37:27 > 0:37:30..helped to make America what it is.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34But I just can't believe my relatives did it, you know?
0:37:34 > 0:37:38800 miles with children and in wagons -
0:37:38 > 0:37:40they were pretty tough.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46No, it is fun, that thing of being an adventurer, a pioneer,
0:37:46 > 0:37:49just get up and go, you know?
0:37:49 > 0:37:51Curiosity and bravery.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00I've always enjoyed it and now, I see where I get it.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07Jerry is meeting historian Mike Harris
0:38:07 > 0:38:09at a place called Best's Bottom,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11about 60 miles from St Charles.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16Hey, hi.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18Hi. I'm Jerry Hall.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20I'm Michael Harris. How are you?
0:38:20 > 0:38:23- Good. Nice to meet you. Thank you. - Good. Nice meeting you too.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25So, this is named after Isaac Best?
0:38:25 > 0:38:27It is named after Isaac Best and his family, that's correct.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30Oh. So, this is Isaac Best's land?
0:38:30 > 0:38:32You are on Isaac Best's land right now.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34- Oh, my gosh, how amazing!- Yes.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41Jerry, I think I've got something here you can help me with.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Ooh, this is exciting.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Now, one of the things that we're going to need here...
0:38:48 > 0:38:50It's just a few items.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52It's probably not as nice as the purse you've got...
0:38:52 > 0:38:55- Ooh.- ..but let's put your arm in there, like this.
0:38:55 > 0:38:56Wow!
0:38:56 > 0:38:59- OK, that's good. Oh, we've got a few more of...- I like that.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04..few more little niceties to add to your fashion statement.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07- Oooh.- Let's put this on.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09This is where you put your gunpowder?
0:39:09 > 0:39:12That's gunpowder, that's a powder horn.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14This is your priming horn.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16- Ooh.- And now, you're about set. Oh, one more thing.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Priming horn? Oh!
0:39:19 > 0:39:21The last piece of the equipment...
0:39:21 > 0:39:23- What a beauty.- ..would be this.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28This is just like Daniel Boone's gun, isn't it? It's fantastic.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32This is a 50 calibre Flintlock long rifle.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34This is exactly the sort of gun
0:39:34 > 0:39:37that Isaac Best and the people who were out here
0:39:37 > 0:39:40- would have actually been using. - Pow, pow, pow, pow!
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Gosh, it's heavy.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44- Yeah, it's very barrel heavy. - It's beautiful.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47They use this for hunting and of course, defence, if necessary.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51What I have here is a document
0:39:51 > 0:39:57- that shows a map that was drawn of this territory in 1814.- Right.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00You see, here's the Missouri River
0:40:00 > 0:40:03and then over here, you can see...
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Can you read this, what it says here?
0:40:05 > 0:40:07Across from the mouth of this river.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11- Is that "homesteads"?- Yeah. It says, "Settlement of 20 families."
0:40:11 > 0:40:12Oh, right. So...
0:40:12 > 0:40:16And so, that's Isaac Best and those people who were living right here,
0:40:16 > 0:40:20- right directly across from the Gasconade River.- Golly!
0:40:20 > 0:40:24And of course, this was the 1804 Treaty Line
0:40:24 > 0:40:27that was drawn up between the Americans and the Sac and Fox.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30- Indian territory. - The Indian territory, yeah.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35As they pushed west, the settlers colonised land
0:40:35 > 0:40:39previously occupied by Native American tribes.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41This created the Frontier,
0:40:41 > 0:40:43which became a line of conflict
0:40:43 > 0:40:47between settled America and Indian territory.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51Isaac Best's land was right on this line.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55So, this was all Indian land and they wanted it back.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56Right.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58These Indians would come down this region
0:40:58 > 0:41:02and begin to attack the settlements down here, including Isaac Best.
0:41:02 > 0:41:03Wow!
0:41:03 > 0:41:06This is one that I drew up, kind of showing what...
0:41:06 > 0:41:08- It's really good. - ..the farm looked like
0:41:08 > 0:41:11when Isaac Best was probably living here.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13Wow! That's...
0:41:13 > 0:41:17Can you see anything on here that you think is kind of unusual?
0:41:17 > 0:41:21- So, this was like a two storey building?- Right. Right.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23This two storey building here is actually...
0:41:23 > 0:41:25- It would have been a block out. - There's no windows.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Right. And so, instead you had small holes.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30- Oh, yeah.- What do you think those might have been used for?
0:41:30 > 0:41:33- Like a fort?- It was. Very good.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37And remember, I showed you the map showing the 1804 line,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39and that treaty that had been signed.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42There was a lot of the Sac and Fox who were not happy with that at all.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44But this is what Isaac Best and his family would have had to
0:41:44 > 0:41:47kind of live with almost day-to-day, and of course, they would have
0:41:47 > 0:41:49had to be careful, because they never knew
0:41:49 > 0:41:51- what was going- to- come at them.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53It must have been so frightening for them.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55It was very frightening for most of them.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57- He was pretty brave. - He was pretty brave.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59Extremely brave, to be able to live here.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01So, they were real Cowboys and Indians.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03Real Cowboys and Indians back then, yeah.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05Pow!
0:42:05 > 0:42:06Amazing.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08So, right here in this area
0:42:08 > 0:42:11is where Isaac Best would have probably had his home
0:42:11 > 0:42:14and in 1817, when US surveyors came through,
0:42:14 > 0:42:18they marked it, the river came as far up as we're standing.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Now, this is a document that came from a fella
0:42:21 > 0:42:22by the name of Lyman Draper.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26Now, Dr Draper came in this area in the 1840s and '50s
0:42:26 > 0:42:29and began to talk to these old pioneers who lived here.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32So, start right about here, see what you can read of that.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36"In about 1814, Isaac Best's family,
0:42:36 > 0:42:38"residing on the north bank of the Missouri,
0:42:38 > 0:42:40"above the mouth of the Loutre
0:42:40 > 0:42:44"and not far opposite the mouth of the Gasconade...
0:42:44 > 0:42:48"Best and William Callaghan were at Best's house
0:42:48 > 0:42:53"and dogs spied Indians creeping up through the corn towards the house."
0:42:53 > 0:42:55- See, dogs are good.- Hm-mm.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59"The dogs and these two white men kept the Indians at bay
0:42:59 > 0:43:02"till Mrs Best and Mrs Callaghan and children
0:43:02 > 0:43:06- "ran down and got into the canoe and escaped."- Hm-mm.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09"In the fight, Callaghan was shot through the thigh,
0:43:09 > 0:43:13"a flesh wound, and they both escaped to Fort Clemson.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16"Indians robbed the house."
0:43:16 > 0:43:18Mad pioneers, coming out here.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21It was... It took a lot of nerve.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23It took a lot of nerve to live here.
0:43:23 > 0:43:24Yeah.
0:43:25 > 0:43:30With his family safe, but his home ransacked and pillaged,
0:43:30 > 0:43:32Isaac Best travelled more than 50 miles
0:43:32 > 0:43:35to the nearest town of St Charles, to report the attack.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40He arrived here on the 8th August, 1814.
0:43:42 > 0:43:47Dr Steve Dasovich has been searching through the archives in St Charles.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52This is where we're going to go and look at all these great documents.
0:43:52 > 0:43:53Great.
0:44:00 > 0:44:05So, this is a very detailed list of items lost in the raid.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07So, if we start right here.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09"Account of Isaac Best.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11"11 head of horses...
0:44:12 > 0:44:15"..three feathered beds,
0:44:15 > 0:44:18"four cotton counterpanes,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21"eight linen sheets,
0:44:21 > 0:44:23"two Lindsay blankets,
0:44:23 > 0:44:25"two buffalo robes,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28"suspenders and steel thimble."
0:44:29 > 0:44:33So, it came to 1,572.
0:44:33 > 0:44:35Replacement cost, I assume.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37That was a lot of money then.
0:44:37 > 0:44:42So, he reports this on the 8th August and it's at that time that
0:44:42 > 0:44:45Isaac Best decides he's going to do something about these losses.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47This is what he does.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49Oh. "Isaac Best.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54"Lieutenant Dodge's Command, Missouri Militia."
0:44:54 > 0:44:57So, he joins the Missouri Militia?
0:44:57 > 0:45:00- Yes.- "War of 1812."
0:45:00 > 0:45:03And this war was against the Indians?
0:45:03 > 0:45:05Huh. Around here, mostly.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09Technically, the war of 1812 is against Great Britain.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13Britain felt threatened by America's growing economic power
0:45:13 > 0:45:15and colonial expansion
0:45:15 > 0:45:17and attempted to impose trade restrictions.
0:45:18 > 0:45:23America responded by declaring war on the 12th June, 1812.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28Britain engaged American forces by land and sea
0:45:28 > 0:45:29along the Eastern Coast.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32At the same time,
0:45:32 > 0:45:35the British stirred up unrest amongst the Native American tribes,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38who, cheated of land they thought was rightfully theirs,
0:45:38 > 0:45:42now attacked American settlements along the Western Frontier.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46With no military support,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50settlers like Isaac Best formed their own private armies,
0:45:50 > 0:45:52or militias, to protect themselves.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57The people here in Missouri territory
0:45:57 > 0:45:59viewed this much more as being an Indian war,
0:45:59 > 0:46:01than something against Great Britain.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05So, by and large, this is really, you know, the Frontier Americans,
0:46:05 > 0:46:09if you will, against the Native Americans.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11Must have been terrifying.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13Men, women and children were fair targets
0:46:13 > 0:46:16for both sides during this war, there's no doubt about it.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21The unit that Isaac Best joins
0:46:21 > 0:46:25winds up going to help the settlers and Frontiers folks
0:46:25 > 0:46:28against the Indian attacks that were going on.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31He joins what becomes a very famous unit,
0:46:31 > 0:46:34this Lieutenant Colonel Dodge becomes a very famous
0:46:34 > 0:46:37sort of Frontier figure, here in the United States.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40It's under the command of Daniel M Boone.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43Captain Daniel Boone!
0:46:43 > 0:46:45Cool!
0:46:45 > 0:46:47Now, that is not THE Daniel Boone.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49Mounted Militia... Oh, it's not?
0:46:49 > 0:46:51- That's Daniel's son.- Oh!
0:46:52 > 0:46:55"Mounted Militia of Missouri Territory."
0:46:55 > 0:46:56Well, you know,
0:46:56 > 0:47:01these folks were actually rather dangerous units to the Indians.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04They were good at understanding how the Indians worked -
0:47:04 > 0:47:06how they fought, how they moved.
0:47:06 > 0:47:10Isaac Best's Militia brought some relief to the besieged settlers
0:47:10 > 0:47:12along his part of the Frontier -
0:47:12 > 0:47:14but it wasn't to last long.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19The following spring, the attacks started again -
0:47:19 > 0:47:23and this time, it was Isaac Best's eldest son who joined the militia.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29So, this is the account of Isaac Best Junior's,
0:47:29 > 0:47:32- one of the actions he found himself in.- Oh, yes.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35"19-year-old Isaac Best Jr."
0:47:37 > 0:47:40This is in April of 1815.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44"The Detachment proceeded several miles into the woods.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47"Suddenly, they came upon a band of Indians.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51"Savages outnumbered rangers by four or five to one.
0:47:51 > 0:47:56"The militia men turned and fled with Indians in close pursuit.
0:47:56 > 0:48:01"About midday, rangers reached the shoreline
0:48:01 > 0:48:04"and turned to fire on their pursuers, who were closing in
0:48:04 > 0:48:07"and the white men plunged into the water
0:48:07 > 0:48:10"and swam toward a drift in the river.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14"Looking back, Webber saw a savage swimming towards him
0:48:14 > 0:48:16"with a knife in his teeth. JERRY GASPS
0:48:16 > 0:48:18"The ranger dived under the surface
0:48:18 > 0:48:21"and drew his own blade from its scabbard.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24"He came up beside the red man and plunged the steel
0:48:24 > 0:48:28"so deeply into the Indian's breast that he couldn't withdraw it.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31"The savage body sank in the water.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35"Only three men survived the chase.
0:48:35 > 0:48:41"Best's body was taken from the river weeks later near Carondelet,
0:48:41 > 0:48:43"a village below St Louis."
0:48:44 > 0:48:46Gosh!
0:48:46 > 0:48:50So, they didn't just lose aprons and pins and thimbles.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53So, that was Isaac Best's son?
0:48:53 > 0:48:57Isaac Best's son, Isaac Best Jr was killed in this engagement.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59Terrible.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03So, that might explain why their family decided to go to Texas.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07- It could very well explain that. - Got fed up with Indian attacks.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10These Indian attacks were going on all over the place in the Frontier.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12Must have been so frightening for the families.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15I mean, it's quite a moral dilemma in a way,
0:49:15 > 0:49:18because they're taking the Indians' lands.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23But they don't see it like that, do they?
0:49:23 > 0:49:27Hopefully, it fills some gaps in the family story.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29Wow, tons.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31It's like a movie.
0:49:31 > 0:49:32It really is.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36Steve has one last document.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40It provides a clue to where Isaac Best's family came from
0:49:40 > 0:49:43before they pushed West into Missouri.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47"We do hereby certify that Humphrey Best
0:49:47 > 0:49:51"has 400 acres in the District of Kentucky.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54Kentucky County.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56So, Humphrey Best is Isaac Best's father.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58Oh.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00I'm losing track at how many land grants they've had!
0:50:00 > 0:50:02LAUGHTER Phew!
0:50:03 > 0:50:06"Under our hands at Boonesborough,
0:50:06 > 0:50:09"the 20th Day of December, 1779."
0:50:09 > 0:50:13They came from Kentucky to Missouri to Texas.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14Yes.
0:50:18 > 0:50:24It's been amazing today to hear about Isaac Best.
0:50:24 > 0:50:28I mean, really, it's just like a Western movie.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30I mean, you know?
0:50:30 > 0:50:32Cowboys, Indians,
0:50:32 > 0:50:36savages swimming across the river with knives in their mouths!
0:50:36 > 0:50:39Very, very brave people.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41He was being attacked the whole time,
0:50:41 > 0:50:44so he was having to defend his family and children...
0:50:46 > 0:50:50..and constantly going from one frontier
0:50:50 > 0:50:53to a farther frontier,
0:50:53 > 0:50:55never settling down.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57And very surprised to hear...
0:50:58 > 0:51:01..that the story now goes to Kentucky.
0:51:01 > 0:51:02I had no idea.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18Jerry has traced her ancestors on her mother's side
0:51:18 > 0:51:20back eight generations,
0:51:20 > 0:51:23to her six times great-grandfather, Humphrey Best.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27And she has retraced her family's footsteps
0:51:27 > 0:51:30a further 400 miles due east from Missouri.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35We are now in Kentucky.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43I'm so excited to find out that my family came from here.
0:51:56 > 0:52:00The journey West that Humphrey Best and his family undertook
0:52:00 > 0:52:02was arduous and dangerous,
0:52:02 > 0:52:05with the constant threat of attack.
0:52:05 > 0:52:06There were no roads.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10It would have taken them the best part of three weeks on horseback.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14And they used to go down the creeks?
0:52:14 > 0:52:18The streams and dry creek beds,
0:52:18 > 0:52:20this would have been the roadways of the time.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27So this was where
0:52:27 > 0:52:33my great-great-great-great-great- great-grandfather came from -
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Kentucky.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38I don't know much about Kentucky, it sure is beautiful.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48Jerry is riding out with Bill Farmer,
0:52:48 > 0:52:51the curator of this historic fort at Boonesborough -
0:52:51 > 0:52:54a reconstruction of what stood here
0:52:54 > 0:52:58when Humphrey Best had his land, back in the 1770s.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11This is called Boone's Fort. Does that name sound familiar?
0:53:11 > 0:53:13Daniel Boone?
0:53:13 > 0:53:14You could be correct.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21Daniel Boone, the legendary pioneer and Frontiersman,
0:53:21 > 0:53:26was famed for forging a trail out into America's Wild West.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29He and his intrepid band of fellow pioneers,
0:53:29 > 0:53:33known as the axmen, cut through the wilderness.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36They have been immortalised in television series and films.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40Boone is considered to be America's first folk hero.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44So, Bill, I've come here to Kentucky because of this document,
0:53:44 > 0:53:48which says that Humphrey Best...
0:53:48 > 0:53:51was here in 1779.
0:53:51 > 0:53:52He had land.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56He was awarded the land in '79...
0:53:59 > 0:54:02..on account of raising a crop of corn in this country,
0:54:02 > 0:54:05in the year of 1775.
0:54:05 > 0:54:111775 was when Fort Boonesborough was begun.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14The people - Daniel Boone and his 30 axmen
0:54:14 > 0:54:17cleared a trail to Boonesborough.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20They arrived here, first part of April.
0:54:20 > 0:54:25OK? In order to grow that crop in '75,
0:54:25 > 0:54:30it would have had to have been planted in late April or early May,
0:54:30 > 0:54:35so that says he was here at the same time that Daniel Boone was here.
0:54:37 > 0:54:38This is another document.
0:54:38 > 0:54:43This is a listing of early people here at Boonesborough,
0:54:43 > 0:54:47and there's a date right up here, it says '75,
0:54:47 > 0:54:50and of course, we have several Boones.
0:54:52 > 0:54:58We have Banton, we have Boyle, and...
0:54:58 > 0:55:01- JERRY GASPS Humphrey Best!- Yes.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05- Oh, my God! - Is that name familiar to you?
0:55:05 > 0:55:06That is so amazing.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11So, he was like, great friends with Daniel Boone?
0:55:11 > 0:55:14- Very likely could have been. - Well, yeah.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17There's no way that he did not know and associate with Boone...
0:55:17 > 0:55:19That is so cool.
0:55:19 > 0:55:22..there were this few people, out here in the middle of nowhere.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25Gosh! That is so cool.
0:55:25 > 0:55:27Daniel Boone. What a hero!
0:55:27 > 0:55:29That is amazing!
0:55:29 > 0:55:32If you'd like to walk out the front gate there,
0:55:32 > 0:55:35there's actually a monument to this place and...
0:55:37 > 0:55:41- I'd love to. Thank you.- ..walk out here and have a look at it.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02In front of the fort stands a monument to those original pioneers,
0:56:02 > 0:56:06who carved a trail out West into today's Kentucky
0:56:06 > 0:56:07and who settled here.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14Oh, my God!
0:56:14 > 0:56:16That is so amazing.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21Humphrey Best, Moses Best, Stephen Best.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24Three of them.
0:56:24 > 0:56:28That's so great. Goll-ee!
0:56:28 > 0:56:29Aw, I tell you...
0:56:33 > 0:56:35My mom would be so proud.
0:56:40 > 0:56:45So, they were so important in making America.
0:56:45 > 0:56:46Brave men.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49Pioneers.
0:56:51 > 0:56:52SHE SIGHS
0:56:54 > 0:56:55I found where I come from.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10I can see now where I got that sense of adventure,
0:57:10 > 0:57:13and I see it in my children.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16I mean, they love doing things, travelling,
0:57:16 > 0:57:18saying "yes" to everything.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21I guess the pioneer spirit is living on.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24My mother would have been so proud.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28I'm so happy that I did this for her,
0:57:28 > 0:57:31cos she always wanted to find out about her family.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34And I just can't believe that such important information
0:57:34 > 0:57:37was lost all these years.
0:57:38 > 0:57:40But now, my children know.