0:00:02 > 0:00:03PIANO PLAYS
0:00:03 > 0:00:08Singer Annie Lennox was born in Aberdeen on Christmas Day, 1954.
0:00:08 > 0:00:09Her parents' only child.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13She left Aberdeen for London at 17.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17# Sweet dreams are made of this
0:00:17 > 0:00:20# Who am I to disagree
0:00:20 > 0:00:23In the early 1980s she shot to global fame
0:00:23 > 0:00:25as one half of the band Eurythmics.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28# Everybody's looking For something. #
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Today, as well has having a successful solo career,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36she is an active campaigner on humanitarian issues.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42People ask me like, what was your background.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46I will always say, well, really, it's working class.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48From what I know of my family,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50nobody came from money.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52You know, nobody had a silver spoon.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55It was hard work and they believed in doing the right thing,
0:00:55 > 0:00:57doing the right thing.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00So for this, I have tremendous respect.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04Although my own life has turned out to be very different.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Completely different. My values are in there, though.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11I knew my grandparents very well.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15As for the generation or two or whoever before, I know nothing about.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19So we're going to really... This is what we're going to find out.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Maybe not.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26It's really very tantalising, the whole thing.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Obviously, I don't know what I'm about to discover,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34whether it's going to be something extraordinary,
0:01:34 > 0:01:39or something disappointing, but for me now it's like, I'll take the risk.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42I won't say, "No, no, no, I don't want to know anything about that."
0:01:42 > 0:01:45I'm like, "Yeah, I want to go on an adventure."
0:02:22 > 0:02:24To start her journey,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Annie is heading back to Aberdeen in north-east Scotland.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Aberdeen is where I was born, and it's where I grew up
0:02:32 > 0:02:37and it's where my grandparents lived, so it is a good starting point.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49First, Annie wants to look into her late father's side of the family.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Her father's mother, Annie's grandmother, Jean Lennox,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58lived into her late 90s, and Annie knew her very well.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01But she knows nothing about her grandmother's background.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06This morning I'm going to visit my Auntie Jean.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08And Auntie Jean is my father's sister.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11My grandmother's youngest daughter. Only daughter, actually.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16It would be really nice to sit down with Jean
0:03:16 > 0:03:19and take the time to talk about my grandmother
0:03:19 > 0:03:21and her side of the family.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25She's got to be able to fill in the dots for me,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28so we'll find out, it'll be really interesting.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30DOORBELL RINGS
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Hello.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Oh! This is a surprise.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Chee, chee, chee. In you go.
0:03:40 > 0:03:41All right.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Anne, do you remember that evening?
0:03:48 > 0:03:53A bus load came down from Aberdeen and there was a proud grandma.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56That's so sweet.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58And then, of course, at the end of the concert
0:03:58 > 0:04:02we all got on to the bus and came back, and we had a wee sing-song.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05- You had a wee sing-song? - We had a wee sing-song.
0:04:05 > 0:04:06- Oh, that's nice.- Yes.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Yes. And of course, there's the wedding photograph.
0:04:08 > 0:04:09The wedding photograph.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13- Grandma was 18, she was quite young when they were married, right? - Mm-hmm.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16I would very much like to know more about her, about gran,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18- about her mother and father. - Yes.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20I don't know anything about them.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Well, there is a picture.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23Oh, gosh.
0:04:23 > 0:04:29I'm hoping that we're going to find out a little bit about, well,
0:04:29 > 0:04:34my grandfather, Henderson, and the rest of his family.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36I have never seen this picture before.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38No.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40So this is grandma's father?
0:04:40 > 0:04:43That's right. Now, when I asked mum about him,
0:04:43 > 0:04:48she said she was only about three or so when he died.
0:04:48 > 0:04:49Yeah.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53And she really couldn't say anything about him at all.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56So you know, we know nothing about...
0:04:56 > 0:04:58That side of the family. This is the Henderson side?
0:04:58 > 0:04:59The Hendersons, yes.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02The Hendersons. OK. God, how strange.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05But maybe you will discover something.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Yeah. Who knows?
0:05:07 > 0:05:09That would be good, wouldn't it?
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Who knows? The mystery. Fascinating.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Annie's grandmother, Jean, was only three when her father,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Charles Henderson, died.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21So nothing is known about his branch of the family.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25To see what she can discover,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Annie has come to Aberdeen Central Library.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33She's being helped by librarian David Main.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35So he was born in 1866.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38OK. So one of the first things that we can try and do
0:05:38 > 0:05:40is to have a look for his birth certificate.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Right. Oh, OK, let's do it then.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45So if we have a look for Henderson.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48And this one we've got a birth record for 1866,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Charles Fraser Henderson, and it's in the Parish of Aberdeen,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54so we know that we've got the right one.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57And what's useful about the birth record
0:05:57 > 0:05:59is it gives us details of his parents.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01So we have Father's name is James Henderson,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04and he's a stoker on a steam vessel.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07And we've got Jessie Henderson, maiden name was Fraser.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12So my great-great-grandparents were James Henderson
0:06:12 > 0:06:15and Jessie Henderson, but her maiden name was Fraser?
0:06:15 > 0:06:17That's absolutely right. Yeah.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21Now Annie has the names of her great-great-grandparents,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24she should be able to discover more about them.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28We now hopefully look on the census records to find them
0:06:28 > 0:06:29as a family living in Aberdeen.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32So if you look for the 1871 Census,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36we'll include Jessie's name
0:06:36 > 0:06:40and just zoom in and we'll go through in a bit more detail.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42- James Henderson. - That's right.
0:06:42 > 0:06:43He's the head of the family.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46And there's Jessie, there's Jessie, his wife, yeah, yeah.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49And she's 24. Ah, what's this bit here?
0:06:49 > 0:06:51So this is showing us where they were born.
0:06:51 > 0:06:52Where they were born.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56So this line here is for James. So we've got him being born in...
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Aberdeenshire. And she was born in Banff, in Banffshire, OK.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Do you know Banff at all?
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Um, ish. I know it's kind of north somewhere.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09It certainly is north.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11- She's a country lass. - Indeed.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Is there any way we can find out a little bit more about her?
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Well, we can try and find out more about her background.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19That might give us some indication as to...
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Why she came to Aberdeen, right, right.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22..maybe why she moved, yeah.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24And we can have a look on the 1851 Census.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Jessie Fraser, but as a little girl, this time.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31And we're looking specifically at Banff
0:07:31 > 0:07:33because we know that that's where she's from.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35And unfortunately, no matches.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Oh.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39So, Jessie being a bit of a pet name,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42it's possible that she had a different birth name,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44and that's why we're not finding her.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46So, what is the original name from Jessie? What...
0:07:46 > 0:07:48The most common name would be Janet.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Janet? Oh, OK. Let's try it.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51So we'll give that a whirl.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53This is real detective work. OK.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Fingers crossed this time.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02Ah! So it's 1851, Janet Fraser, three years old.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04Have a detailed look at it.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06There she is.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08We have Janet, which is Jessie,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11and the rest of her family are all...
0:08:11 > 0:08:14All there, yeah. We've got Mary Fraser, Jessie's mother.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Oh, Mary's the head of the family, so there's no... where's the father?
0:08:18 > 0:08:21He's not here, says she's a widow, formerly horse shoer's wife.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25So her husband would have been a blacksmith.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28So he must have died and left her taking care of all these children?
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Absolutely.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Right. OK.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34And it's showing that Mary's a pauper.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Pauper.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37That's it.
0:08:39 > 0:08:40You never see that word these days.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45And it basically means, I guess, she was just completely impoverished.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Reliant on help.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Reliant on help. Hm.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54She's got five mouths to feed,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57including my great-great-grandmother, Jessie.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03So in 1851 Annie's great-great-grandmother,
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Jessie Fraser, then aged three, was living with her mother Mary
0:09:07 > 0:09:10and four brothers and sisters.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Mary's husband had died, leaving her a widow, and a pauper.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24To try to find out more about Jessie and Mary,
0:09:24 > 0:09:25Annie is leaving Aberdeen
0:09:25 > 0:09:29and travelling to the coastal town of Banff where the family lived.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Jessie was only three years old in the census.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40Her mother, Mary, my great-great-great-grandmother
0:09:40 > 0:09:43was looking after five children - Jessie was the youngest one -
0:09:43 > 0:09:44and marked as a pauper.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48I mean, how she survived at that point with her five children!
0:09:48 > 0:09:53And I think just what is so impactful is that I read in the census
0:09:53 > 0:09:57this word 'pauper', and that's not a word that anybody uses any more.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59It's not used even when I go to developing countries,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02nobody says we're going to meet some paupers.
0:10:02 > 0:10:03So what does it mean if you're a pauper?
0:10:03 > 0:10:07How poor do you have to be in order to get that label?
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Annie has come to St Andrews Episcopal Church in Banff
0:10:22 > 0:10:24to meet archivist Ruaraidh Wishart.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28We've been looking into the background
0:10:28 > 0:10:31of my great-great-grandmother, Jessie Fraser.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34And we had a look at the census from 1851.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37The first thing that really struck me was that her mother,
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Mary Fraser, was described as a pauper.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Aye, well the term 'pauper' means that she was in receipt
0:10:44 > 0:10:49of Poor Relief which was really the Victorian benefit system.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52It's an early form of Welfare State type of thing?
0:10:52 > 0:10:53Yeah, uh-huh.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Victorian Poor Relief was based on the idea
0:10:57 > 0:10:59of the deserving and undeserving poor.
0:10:59 > 0:11:05It was set at the bare minimum so as not to encourage idleness.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08At the time, Poor Relief in Scotland was administered by local boards
0:11:08 > 0:11:10known as Parochial Boards.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14To qualify, a person had to be unable to work.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16It wasn't enough just to be unemployed.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Mary Fraser was unable to work
0:11:20 > 0:11:24because she had five young children to look after, and her husband,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28a blacksmith, had died, leaving her with no means of support.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35I would very much like to know when this blacksmith died.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Well, the burial register has actually survived.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41- This is the original...? - This is the original.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43..book? Looks like an ordinary exercise book.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45- Jotter. - Yeah, jotter.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Mm-hmm. If you have a look here...
0:11:48 > 0:11:53"Charles Fraser, Blacksmith, died here on the 25th January,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57"aged 38, of consumption."
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Consumption is really tuberculosis?
0:11:59 > 0:12:00- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04So the date here is 1851.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07That's the same year as the Census was taken.
0:12:07 > 0:12:08Yeah, that's right.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13So he died just a couple of months before they took the Census, OK.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Yeah. You know, it really gives you an idea of emotional state that Mary
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and the children would have been in, you know, at the time of the Census.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Right. Because it was a recent bereavement.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Mm-hmm. You know, conditions were tough for the family,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27and I'm afraid they actually got tougher.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32This is the old Parish registers, it's a Register of Burials.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Oh, no.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Um, and it's burials in 1853.
0:12:37 > 0:12:38Oh, gosh.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40Mary Fraser, Banff.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Oh, dear me. She died as well?
0:12:45 > 0:12:46- She did.- She did.
0:12:47 > 0:12:48Oh, how sad.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54That means that Jessie, at the age of five,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57has lost her mother and father?
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Yeah, the whole family, yeah, are left, you know,
0:12:59 > 0:13:00without anyone to take care of them.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03To fend for themselves. That's right.
0:13:03 > 0:13:04Wow.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08What would have happened to the children?
0:13:08 > 0:13:12Well at this point the Parochial Board would have stepped in.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Their main concern was to try and keep the children
0:13:14 > 0:13:15out of the Poor House,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18because it was more expensive to keep them in the Poor House,
0:13:18 > 0:13:20so they would have boarded them out with a family.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Is there any way that we can follow that through? Do we know..?
0:13:24 > 0:13:29We can. We've got the Parochial Board Minutes for Banff.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33There is another entry about Jessie or Janet Fraser in 1858.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35How old was she then, then?
0:13:35 > 0:13:37She would have been ten.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38Ten. OK.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39- Janet Fraser.- Yeah.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41That's Jessie.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46"There was read letters from Mrs Cruickshank of Turriff."
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Turriff is only just a few miles away from here?
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Yes, it's about ten, 15 miles away.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54"In reference to Janet Fraser,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58"whereupon the meeting direct the Inspector to write Mrs Cruickshank
0:13:58 > 0:14:03"to send back Janet Fraser when she has no further use for her."
0:14:08 > 0:14:10So, what does that mean?
0:14:10 > 0:14:14Sounds like she's been staying with someone called Mrs Cruickshank.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Mm-hmm. So, in effect, the Board has sent Jessie to, you know,
0:14:18 > 0:14:20to Mrs Cruickshank in Turriff.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24But as to who Mrs Cruickshank is, you know, we really don't know.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26It sounds like she's working for her.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Yes, she's working, but she's only ten.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30Mm-hmm.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34OK. So by the age of five she was orphaned,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37and then between the age of five and ten,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Mrs Cruickshank has come in somewhere.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Mm-hmm.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Jessie must have been on her own,
0:14:44 > 0:14:49sent to Mrs Cruickshank a few miles away from where she was brought up.
0:14:49 > 0:14:55I'm just imagining she was just quite, um, isolated.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57- Wasn't really much of a childhood for her.- No.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59I mean, the phrase "no further use for her", I think,
0:14:59 > 0:15:00depersonalises it.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03It's on the verge of sounding exploitative, it kind of is.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07If an adult has no more use for a child, it definitely means that
0:15:07 > 0:15:12she's been in some kind of working relationship, whatever that was.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16I just imagine her as a sort of scullery maid or something,
0:15:16 > 0:15:17this little, tiny thing.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19I mean, it's a very, very curious entry. I mean, you know,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22other entries in this volume don't leave you with so many questions.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Whereas this one really, really does.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27There's no further reference to Janet,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29there's no mention of Mrs Cruickshank again.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32And who was Mrs Cruickshank, anyway?
0:15:32 > 0:15:35I think I'd like to go and remonstrate with her.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Jessie started out with her mother and father and brothers
0:15:43 > 0:15:46and sisters as a little girl.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Although they were poor, her father had a trade, he was a blacksmith.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53Her father died, and so did her mother.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58It's horrific for any child that loses one parent, let alone two.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00And all of a sudden, you're going into the hands
0:16:00 > 0:16:05and control of adults that sound like very tough Victorians.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10I'd like to know about this woman Cruickshank, who sounds really mean.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Annie has come to the neighbouring parish of MacDuff
0:16:15 > 0:16:18to meet Professor Marjory Harper.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Hello, Marjory.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Marjory has evidence that may throw light on the orphan Jessie's fate.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31The trail begins a generation back with Jessie's mother, Mary,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33and the circumstances of her birth.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37The first clue lies in the record of Mary's baptism,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41which took place in this church in 1821.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46So, here's the Baptismal Record for Mary.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50There she is. Mary, ND. And what does ND mean?
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Well, ND means natural daughter.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55It means that she was born illegitimately.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Ah. Natural daughter. So, ah...
0:16:58 > 0:17:00To James Rose, writer.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02That means solicitor.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Oh!
0:17:04 > 0:17:09OK. So, Mary's father was actually a solicitor.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11Probably practising in Banff.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Well, he's an established man, he's certainly not a pauper.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17And Mary's mother, her name is Ann Stewart.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20I wonder what her background would have been.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Well, we do know a little bit about Ann Stewart's background,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26and it was a rather different background from James Rose's.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29It seems likely her father was a crofter.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Yes. Well, I mean, if Ann was the daughter of a crofter
0:17:32 > 0:17:34then she was very much lower class.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Yes. We simply don't know how they met.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Do we happen to know anything more about James Rose?
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Yes, we do. We do know, for example that he did not marry Ann Stewart.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44He, in fact, married somebody else.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45Right.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48And what we have in the next document
0:17:48 > 0:17:50is his Marriage Certificate.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52- OK. So...- Here we are.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56"Mr James Rose and Miss Isabella Faulder."
0:17:56 > 0:18:00"December 15th 1821."
0:18:01 > 0:18:03So...
0:18:03 > 0:18:05If we go back to the original...
0:18:05 > 0:18:08illegitimate daughter, Mary... Oh, she was just a few months old.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11- Yes.- Yeah.- When he married somebody else.- Yes, OK.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14So I guess no contact with the father?
0:18:16 > 0:18:19We might speculate that at the time Mary was born
0:18:19 > 0:18:24that James was already betrothed, engaged to Miss Isabella Faulder.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27We don't know what Miss Isabella Faulder would have made of these matters.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32Solicitor James Rose had a relationship with Ann Stewart,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35which resulted in the birth of Mary.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Shortly after, he married Miss Isabella Faulder.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44Mary grew up in Banff and had five children including Jessie.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48When the Census was taken in 1851, Mary's husband had just died.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51She was recorded as a pauper.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00Marjory is taking Annie to show her where Mary and her children lived.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06We know from the 1851 Census that the family was living
0:19:06 > 0:19:09in Carmelite Close which would have been a close off Carmelite Street.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12This is the only close that's left, and so we'll go in here
0:19:12 > 0:19:15- and look at what it might have been like.- Right, OK.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21As you can see, it's quite a confined little area.
0:19:21 > 0:19:22Oh wow, look at this!
0:19:22 > 0:19:25So this is where Mary and the children lived.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29You could just imagine kids barefoot, lots of them,
0:19:30 > 0:19:32women in shawls and heads, you know,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34sort of, head scarves and overcrowding.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37It's very unlikely that they would have had a whole house.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39They would have had a room or a couple of rooms,
0:19:39 > 0:19:41and often rooms were sub-divided,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45so you had families living in extremely close proximity.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Certainly there would have been very little light in these closes,
0:19:48 > 0:19:50and within the houses, very, very dark.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56So this Census was taken on the night of the 30th March 1851,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59and this is where Mary was a widow and a pauper?
0:19:59 > 0:20:00Yes.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02And Jessie was just like three,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06a little tiny three-year-old little thingy thing, bairny.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10And then on the very same night that the Census was taken here
0:20:10 > 0:20:12and recorded Mary with her five children,
0:20:12 > 0:20:17the Census also recorded James Rose, Mary's father,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20living in Banff with his very different family
0:20:20 > 0:20:23and living just really round the corner.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26That's ridiculous.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Round the corner. That's incredible.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32- Are we going to go and see it? - We are indeed.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41So here we are coming round just off Carmelite Street onto High Shore,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44and as you see from the Census,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47we have 6 High Shore and the Rose family living here.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48- So we're on the right street.- OK.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50- So just really round the corner. - Right.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53From Mary and her family.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55This is where James Rose would have had his house probably,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57- where this car park is.- Right.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59It would have had a good view out to sea.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02And here we have the Census entry that shows who actually
0:21:02 > 0:21:04lived in the house at 6 High Shore.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06So you see James and his wife Isabella.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Three daughters?
0:21:08 > 0:21:09Yes.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Jean, Georgina and Jemima Rose.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15And we find that also living in the house, they have two servants.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18So James and his wife were living in very different circumstances.
0:21:18 > 0:21:19They have two servants.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21They have two servants,
0:21:21 > 0:21:23whereas Mary has five children and she's living as a pauper.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Yes.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26- It's quite strange, isn't it? - Bizarre.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29- Really juxtaposed with each other. - It's unbelievable.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33His daughter and grandchildren lived absolutely just a few yards away
0:21:33 > 0:21:37round the corner in a complete, sort of, probably like a hovel,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40and you wonder nowadays at how could that possibly be.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45You know, James Rose passing his daughter
0:21:45 > 0:21:47and his grandchildren in the street, you wonder,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50did he acknowledge her, did he acknowledge the children?
0:21:50 > 0:21:54- Probably not, because she has been registered as a pauper.- That's right.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56You know, he could have possibly been such a wealthy man,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58ensured that his daughter maybe had a job
0:21:58 > 0:22:00or maybe even worked for him or whatever.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02But there's just that big divide,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04it's just that denial of existence, clearly.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06And there's a final twist to the story...
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Ah! Well, I am curious.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11..puts another piece into that jigsaw.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18These are baptismal certificates,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22and the first is for James Rose, born in...
0:22:22 > 0:22:25June 10th, 1794.
0:22:25 > 0:22:26And then we move on two years
0:22:26 > 0:22:30to another baptismal entry, same parents.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34So here we have February 1796.
0:22:34 > 0:22:35And a daughter.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Ann Rose.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39So we've had two baptismal certificates,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41we've had James Rose and his sister.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46And then we move on to the 19th century and to 1829
0:22:46 > 0:22:47to a marriage register,
0:22:47 > 0:22:53and we find Ann Rose's marriage to John Cruickshank.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Marriage in the Parish of Turriff.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01OK. OK. So wait a second here. I'm making a connection.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Ann Rose is James Rose's sister.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06That's right.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11She marries a man called Cruickshank, so she becomes Mrs Cruickshank.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Mrs Cruickshank must be the woman that we heard about earlier
0:23:15 > 0:23:18who was taking care of Jessie
0:23:18 > 0:23:21but she had no longer any use for her.
0:23:21 > 0:23:27So that means that Mrs Cruickshank was Jessie's great aunt?
0:23:27 > 0:23:28That's it.
0:23:30 > 0:23:31Hmm.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33The dots are finally joined.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35So there's our Mrs Cruickshank.
0:23:37 > 0:23:43So James Rose had a sister Ann, who became Mrs Cruickshank.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47It seems this is who Jessie Fraser was sent to live with at some point
0:23:47 > 0:23:50between the ages of five and ten.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55So, obviously, James Rose decided that Jessie
0:23:55 > 0:23:59should be taken in by his sister.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02I think James Rose is the real enigma in the whole story.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06He didn't act when Mary, his daughter, was widowed.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10So why did he then act subsequently?
0:24:10 > 0:24:15It could be that the initiative came from his sister, Ann, who needed...
0:24:15 > 0:24:16Yeah, she could have...
0:24:16 > 0:24:20..some sort of help. Had use for Jessie.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22That's right. Oh, well, I need to have a servant.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Ah, I know of an orphaned child, you know, his grandchild.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30James Rose must have had a hand in all of that.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34But the feeling is, not that he's doing it out of love
0:24:34 > 0:24:38or compassion, the feeling is that there's a child there
0:24:38 > 0:24:41that could be of benefit to Mrs Cruickshank, because she says
0:24:41 > 0:24:47very clearly in the Parochial records that Jessie is of no further use.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Jessie was seen very much as commodity, it would seem.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52A commodity, yes. There's no love there.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55- Mrs Cruickshank kicked her out, basically.- Yes.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58So, I mean, if she had really cared for her, a child of ten,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01there's no way she would have kicked her out.
0:25:02 > 0:25:03It's, um, whoo!
0:25:03 > 0:25:06People living cheek by jowl. What is known, what is not known.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Yeah. In the middle of a very close, closed society.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13The whole thing is very dark.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16It's, it's a very Victorian melodrama to me.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28This is, oh, what a complex web we weave.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35Tells you that it's acceptable for a man of a certain class
0:25:35 > 0:25:38to sire children out of wedlock,
0:25:38 > 0:25:43have his own life with his servants and with his own family,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46but the others are almost like mongrels, and it's fine.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49You don't have to have too much responsibility for them.
0:25:49 > 0:25:55And this little girl, Jessie, at no point do you feel that there's
0:25:55 > 0:26:00anyone really loving her, taking care of her at all.
0:26:00 > 0:26:01It's just rough.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10Now Annie wants to find out
0:26:10 > 0:26:14if she can pick up the thread of Jessie's life from the age of ten.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18I would like to find out what happened to Jessie
0:26:18 > 0:26:22after Mrs Cruickshank had no further use of her.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26So we're going to look into the next Census that was taken.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29That would have been in 1861.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32If we find her, she should be 13 years old.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37So her first name is Janet, going to look for Banff,
0:26:37 > 0:26:41because she was going to be sent back to Banff by Mrs Cruickshank.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45No matches. OK.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Little bit frustrating.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52What I think I might do is look for her in the town
0:26:52 > 0:26:55that I know she went to ultimately, which is Aberdeen.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Do the search.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59No matches.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04Well, maybe Janet starts to become Jessie by now.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05So I think I'm going to try that.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Um...
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Oh, two matches.
0:27:11 > 0:27:18OK, so here's Jessie Fraser, she's come from Banff, 13, yes!
0:27:18 > 0:27:20That's definitely her.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24It looks like Jessie is a boarder in a household,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28on her own at 13 years old.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Jessie... oh, God!
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Jessie Fraser, I can't read this, this writing.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Is it Flax? Flax.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Flax mill worker.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46The flax mill actually, that I know of,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49was right across the street where I was brought up.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Broadford, yeah. She must have worked in there.
0:27:53 > 0:27:54Wow!
0:27:54 > 0:28:00It's round the corner from where we lived, ironically, bizarrely.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02That's quite...
0:28:03 > 0:28:05quite amazing, actually.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10So my great-great-grandmother, Jessie Fraser,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13she was sent out from Mrs Cruickshank's at the age of ten
0:28:13 > 0:28:15and then this little girl,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18she's ended up three years later in Aberdeen,
0:28:18 > 0:28:24on her own, in this hardcore work in a factory.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27It's like a pillar-to-post existence.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29She's had a rotten life.
0:28:30 > 0:28:31Really terrible.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35Gosh.
0:28:35 > 0:28:36Oh.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Following in the footsteps of her great-great-grandmother Jessie,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Annie has come back to Aberdeen.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55For Jessie, the city must have been overwhelming.
0:28:55 > 0:29:00I mean, it's a big, dark, dangerous place. She's only little.
0:29:02 > 0:29:03Annie's on her way to Broadford Mill
0:29:03 > 0:29:06in the neighbourhood where she grew up.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09I remember these walls when I was a little girl
0:29:09 > 0:29:13because I lived here since I was a baby
0:29:13 > 0:29:17until I was about eight years old and I used to play with balls,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21you know, up against the wall, and it was very imposing.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25If I had known that my great-great-grandmother
0:29:25 > 0:29:28as a teenager was working there, in the Victorian times,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32it's almost like fiction.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35Annie is being met by Dr Alistair Durie.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37- Hi, Alistair.- Hello, Annie.
0:29:37 > 0:29:38Good to meet you.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40Welcome to Broadford Works.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42This is where Jessie would have come.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Every day, six days a week, a hundred and what, 50 odd years ago.
0:29:46 > 0:29:47That's right.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49I'm afraid you're going to need a hat...
0:29:49 > 0:29:50OK.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54..before we go in, and we'll unlock the gates. Come away in.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04Girls did start in a mill like this at the age of nine.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07She was what, perhaps ten?
0:30:07 > 0:30:09Think she was about...
0:30:09 > 0:30:11Well, we know that she was working here when she was 13.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14At 13, she would have been full-time here,
0:30:14 > 0:30:18ten hours a day, six days a week.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22Flax mills like Broadford were engaged in making linen thread
0:30:22 > 0:30:25and linen products from the plant flax.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Linen was stronger and more durable than its competitor cotton,
0:30:29 > 0:30:34and Broadford specialised in the manufacturer of linen canvas goods,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37like hosepipes and tarpaulin.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42In the early 1860s when Jessie arrived here, business was booming.
0:30:42 > 0:30:47She was a country girl. She came in from either Banff or Turriff.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49What would have the contrast been like?
0:30:49 > 0:30:53For a girl like her, coming into a mill would be a bit of a shock.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56Although it's deserted now,
0:30:56 > 0:31:01in its day this would have been a hive of noise and industry and dust.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05After all, the machinery is running full-time,
0:31:05 > 0:31:08the temperature goes up and down, the noise of the machines,
0:31:08 > 0:31:12but I suspect most people adjusted, and she will have done so.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Broadford was one of the biggest textile mills in Scotland,
0:31:16 > 0:31:21employing more than 2,000 hands, most of them women and young girls.
0:31:22 > 0:31:27With long hours, six-day weeks and meagre pay, it was a gruelling life.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32This is where Jessie would have spent her working day,
0:31:32 > 0:31:38and she spent it in company with 60 to 100, maybe more girls,
0:31:38 > 0:31:41most of them teenage, 13 to 18, some younger,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44operating the spinning machines.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49The thing is, of course, when they got to 18, they were on full wages.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52What often happened was that milliners,
0:31:52 > 0:31:57should the girl decide to get married, used that as an opportunity
0:31:57 > 0:32:00to dismiss them and then engage a younger girl who'd be cheaper.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03Well, we know she did get married actually, obviously,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06because my great-grandfather is her son.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09Alistair has documents that will
0:32:09 > 0:32:13help Annie piece together Jessie's later life.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Here's the Census for 1871.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Ah. This is the Census that I saw earlier on
0:32:18 > 0:32:20when I was in the Aberdeen Library.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24Jessie is now 24, she's married to James Henderson
0:32:24 > 0:32:29and they have a son of four years old whose name is Charles.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32That is my great-grandfather, my grandmother's father.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35You'll notice she's described merely as a wife.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39- Wife.- So she's obviously given up work. She's settled.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41She's part of a family. Her family.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44So it's a little bit brighter, hopefully.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47It is, indeed. 1881 is the next Census.
0:32:47 > 0:32:48Ah, fabulous.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50And the family has grown.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53Oh, the family has grown, hasn't it?
0:32:53 > 0:32:57One, two, three. She's got four sons. Charles is 14 here.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00I'm afraid four years later, 1885...
0:33:02 > 0:33:05..this is not Census, but this is a death certificate.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08- Oh, no. - Jessie's death certificate.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10Ah! So there's Jessie Henderson.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12- Yeah.- Oh, dear me.
0:33:12 > 0:33:19Death, 22nd November. Now, let me see if it says cause of death.
0:33:21 > 0:33:22Carcinoma. Would that be...
0:33:22 > 0:33:25- Ulcerous. - Ulcerous Carcinoma.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28And she was 35. She was just 35. Ah.
0:33:32 > 0:33:33Oh, how sad.
0:33:40 > 0:33:45Now I have some sense of Jessie. And who she was.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50It's a life of tremendous hardship, and very few opportunities.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53I'd like to think that her husband was kind to her.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57And I'd like to think that they had some kind of a better life.
0:33:58 > 0:34:03But it is pretty overshadowed with tragedy, really.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07When I first looked at this photograph,
0:34:07 > 0:34:09it was just this picture of a man,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13but now as I look at him, knowing that he's Jessie's son,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16and I know her story,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19there's a whole different sort of connection as I look at him
0:34:19 > 0:34:23and it's almost as if I'm feeling like they know I know.
0:34:24 > 0:34:29Maybe, you know, there's a trace of his mother Jessie in his face.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32It's quite a dramatic story.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35It would have been lovely if my grandmother would be around
0:34:35 > 0:34:37to have that knowledge, but you know,
0:34:37 > 0:34:39we'll take it forward which is just really beautiful.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42It hasn't been lost, and that's really a lovely thing.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54Now Annie wants to turn her attention
0:34:54 > 0:34:56to her mother's side of the family,
0:34:56 > 0:35:00to her maternal grandparents William and Dora Ferguson.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09'My grandmother and grandfather, the Ferguson side,
0:35:09 > 0:35:13'were country people, and my grandfather worked as a gamekeeper
0:35:13 > 0:35:14on various estates,
0:35:14 > 0:35:18and they actually met each other in Balmoral in the Royal Estate there,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20where my grandmother was originally a dairy maid.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24My grandfather died when I was about nine years old,
0:35:24 > 0:35:26but he left a distinctive impression on me.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30I have quite an attachment to him, I always have, since I was kid,
0:35:30 > 0:35:35and anything I can find out about him would be really nice.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39There's a family story that my grandfather was probably illegitimate
0:35:39 > 0:35:41but that's all we know about it.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43There's no further information.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45There are a few questions that would be interesting
0:35:45 > 0:35:49to piece together the answers, if there are any answers.
0:35:51 > 0:35:52To start her search,
0:35:52 > 0:35:54Annie has come to her cousin Shirley's house to meet up
0:35:54 > 0:35:58with her mother's brother, her Uncle Alistair and his wife Biddy.
0:36:00 > 0:36:01Hey!
0:36:02 > 0:36:05Good to meet you. Come away in.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09Here's a photograph there that they had taken at Balmoral.
0:36:09 > 0:36:10Grandma?
0:36:10 > 0:36:11- Yes.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13And do you think that's at Balmoral?
0:36:13 > 0:36:15That's at Balmoral.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17- While she was working there?- Yes.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20I haven't seen this picture. My goodness.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Now, that is granddad.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25He's a young gamekeeper there, granddad, isn't he?
0:36:25 > 0:36:26Very dapper again.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29Yes, indeed. Smartly turned out as usual.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31- Yes. So they met in Balmoral. - Aye.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Maybe mum, you could tell Ann the story about the ghillies'
0:36:34 > 0:36:36ball at Balmoral, about granddad.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39- Have you heard the story about it? - No.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42No. Well, you maybe know that granddad was a very good dancer,
0:36:42 > 0:36:46he could do the Quadrilles and the Lancers and oh, just fantastic.
0:36:46 > 0:36:53Anyway, he was such a good dancer that the night of the workers' ball
0:36:53 > 0:36:56he was asked to dance with the Queen.
0:36:56 > 0:36:57Well, the Queen Mother.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59You mean our current Queen's mother?
0:36:59 > 0:37:00Mother, yes.
0:37:00 > 0:37:01Oh.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05And grandma, she wasn't invited, but I don't know
0:37:05 > 0:37:10if she was allowed to watch or maybe she just sneaked a peep,
0:37:10 > 0:37:16but anyway, she saw granddad from the balcony dancing with the Queen.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20I think it was a waltz, and he was...
0:37:20 > 0:37:21Not a tango!
0:37:21 > 0:37:24Not a tango. Nor a... What's this latest..?
0:37:24 > 0:37:26Zumba.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28Zumba. That's the word I was trying to find.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Isn't that funny.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32And she watched her fiance.
0:37:32 > 0:37:33Was he a bit miffed?
0:37:33 > 0:37:34Ah, a wee bit.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Do you know how long granddad was at Balmoral?
0:37:40 > 0:37:41How long he worked there for?
0:37:41 > 0:37:43- No.- No.
0:37:43 > 0:37:44Well, maybe you could find that one out.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47It would be quite interesting to know.
0:37:47 > 0:37:48Yes.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51We've got one more picture of granddad, and I love this one.
0:37:51 > 0:37:52I just think this is the sweetest.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55I love that, I know.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58- And again, he's so well turned out there.- I know.- He's so sweet.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01I've always had this funny question about granddad,
0:38:01 > 0:38:06because I was never really sure if he was born illegitimately.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09Was he? Is that the case?
0:38:09 > 0:38:10No. Definitely not.
0:38:10 > 0:38:11Definitely not.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13So that means we can find out more about him, then.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15- Aye.- Oh, fantastic.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25I was a bit confused when they said that my grandfather
0:38:25 > 0:38:29wasn't illegitimate, because I'm sure that that little family rumour
0:38:29 > 0:38:33had been going around for quite a few years.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37But apparently not, which is actually really good
0:38:37 > 0:38:41because I kind of like the idea that, you know, that there
0:38:41 > 0:38:43was some kind of solidity in his background.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46So now I'm going to Balmoral Castle,
0:38:46 > 0:38:49and that's an extraordinary thing to be doing.
0:38:49 > 0:38:55It would be very interesting to know when my grandfather went into service
0:38:55 > 0:38:58and my grandmother too, specifically what they did.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01Wow!
0:39:01 > 0:39:05Oh, my God, this scenery is to die for.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07It's truly amazing.
0:39:20 > 0:39:21Wow!
0:39:22 > 0:39:25The Balmoral Estate was purchased for Queen Victoria
0:39:25 > 0:39:28by Prince Albert in 1852,
0:39:28 > 0:39:30after she fell in love with the Scottish Highlands.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35From the early days, ghillies and gamekeepers played a crucial role
0:39:35 > 0:39:39in the Royal pastimes of hunting and fishing.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43Annie's grandfather William Ferguson worked on the estate
0:39:43 > 0:39:46in the early 1900s when King George V was on the throne.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Annie has an appointment with Royal expert Charles Mosley.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56So here we are in the great outdoors, where your grandfather
0:39:56 > 0:39:58would have roamed, up on the hills there...
0:39:58 > 0:39:59That's right.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03..where the snow's still lying even in late April.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07He'd have been helping the gentry and the Royals to stalk dear,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10and he'd have driven grouse and he may have acted as a loader.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12Does that mean that he loaded guns?
0:40:12 > 0:40:15He was stuffing cartridges into a double-barrelled shotgun
0:40:15 > 0:40:20to hand to the game bird shooter, let us call him George V,
0:40:20 > 0:40:23who was known for bringing down four or five birds
0:40:23 > 0:40:24before they'd hit the ground, he was so good,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27and that was an important part of being a ghillie.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29So it's all about hunting, shooting and fishing?
0:40:29 > 0:40:31Real countryman skills.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33Mmm. He was very strongly connected with the land.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Well, being a ghillie, you were helping manage nature, really,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38keeping it in harmony.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40In some ways I think they had a really excellent life,
0:40:40 > 0:40:42you know, my grandparents.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44I think if you lived in this part of the world,
0:40:44 > 0:40:45with this beautiful scenery,
0:40:45 > 0:40:47it was a very good place to identify with,
0:40:47 > 0:40:49and you dined off salmon much more frequently
0:40:49 > 0:40:51than the poor wretches in the south did.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55I mean, the first time I ever ate salmon was actually a fish
0:40:55 > 0:40:58that my grandfather had caught out of the River Spey.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01My grandmother grilled it for me under the grill with a little
0:41:01 > 0:41:04bit of butter, and it was the most extraordinary flavour,
0:41:04 > 0:41:06and I've never forgotten that.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08I don't think anything has ever matched it since, you know.
0:41:08 > 0:41:09- Fresh caught salmon.- Yes.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11Yes, delicious. There's nothing like it.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Gamekeepers like William Ferguson
0:41:15 > 0:41:18spent most of their time out on the estate,
0:41:18 > 0:41:22but they were invited into the castle itself for the staff balls.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33This is the room where the ghillies' ball is held.
0:41:33 > 0:41:34Let's go over and have a look.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36It's very splendid.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38According to family history,
0:41:38 > 0:41:42my grandfather danced in this ballroom, and one particular
0:41:42 > 0:41:45occasion, apparently he was a very good dancer,
0:41:45 > 0:41:50so he was invited to dance with our current Queen's mother.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53And my auntie told me that my grandmother wasn't invited
0:41:53 > 0:41:56to this ball, you see, but she was kind of sneaking a peek.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59But now that we've come in here, I have noticed that there's
0:41:59 > 0:42:02a balcony and thinking there's no other place that she could
0:42:02 > 0:42:05have sneaked a peek from, so do you think it might have been there?
0:42:05 > 0:42:06I think so, it's a very good vantage point,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09and if she kept her head down, as I'm sure a ghillie's girlfriend
0:42:09 > 0:42:12would have done, would have learned how to do, then she would have
0:42:12 > 0:42:15been able to keep out of sight while she watched her quarry.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20So I'm curious to know a little bit more about the specific dates
0:42:20 > 0:42:22when my grandparents were here, and you're,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25you're holding in your hands some very authentic-looking records.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27They come from the Royal Archives in Windsor,
0:42:27 > 0:42:32and that's your grandfather's employment record.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35William Ferguson, born in 1896, taken on in 1913,
0:42:35 > 0:42:38so he was 16 at the time.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40- And here's my grandma's record! - That's your grandmother.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44Oh, my goodness! Paton, Dora Jean. The Dairy.
0:42:44 > 0:42:49So the date of commencement of service was the 22nd January, 1924.
0:42:49 > 0:42:54She was here until she left to get married, which is in 1929,
0:42:54 > 0:42:59so she was probably on the premises, milking and churning her butter,
0:42:59 > 0:43:02and catching the eye of William Ferguson for four years.
0:43:02 > 0:43:03Right.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07So whatever courtship it was, was probably not a lightning one.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10Whatever his twinkling toes may have done on the dance floor,
0:43:10 > 0:43:13he was a more steady wooer, let's put it that way.
0:43:13 > 0:43:14Yes, yes.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17Well, he was a modest person, you know, I don't imagine him...
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Great dancers often are. Great dancers often are.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27Now Annie wants to look into her grandfather's family background.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31I know nothing about my grandfather's parents.
0:43:31 > 0:43:36There was a question mark around this thing about illegitimacy,
0:43:36 > 0:43:39that had been touched on but I just don't know.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41This is his record of employment at Balmoral,
0:43:41 > 0:43:43and it marks his birthday,
0:43:43 > 0:43:47so now I'm going to try and find my grandfather's birth record.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52And the district is Braemar, because it's local to here,
0:43:52 > 0:43:54and let's find out what happens.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58So we've found one match, which is very hopeful.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01Ah, William Ferguson.
0:44:01 > 0:44:02All right.
0:44:02 > 0:44:08Now, his father's George Ferguson and his mother is Sophia Ferguson.
0:44:08 > 0:44:10It's so exciting.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13So the parents were married in 1895 on May 24th.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15But wait a minute.
0:44:15 > 0:44:19My grandfather was born in 1895, in August,
0:44:19 > 0:44:23which means that Sophia was six months pregnant
0:44:23 > 0:44:25when they got married.
0:44:25 > 0:44:26Ah, OK.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30Perhaps the fact that my great-grandma was expecting a baby
0:44:30 > 0:44:33was probably fairly notable,
0:44:33 > 0:44:37and so this thing about illegitimacy, I mean, if she hadn't got married,
0:44:37 > 0:44:40my grandfather would have been born illegitimately a few months later.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43It might be where the rumour came from.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45But I have a feeling there's something else.
0:44:45 > 0:44:50I'd like to check out George Ferguson, my grandfather's father.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53Oh, gosh, look at this.
0:44:53 > 0:44:58My great-grandfather George Ferguson's parents were
0:44:58 > 0:45:00William Ferguson and Isabella McHardy.
0:45:02 > 0:45:08"William Ferguson and Isabella McHardy had 'something' child
0:45:08 > 0:45:12"born on the..." Oh, gosh.
0:45:12 > 0:45:18"On the 23rd of February, 1852 years. Name, George."
0:45:18 > 0:45:21What does that...? Illegitimate child.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26That's what it says. Illegitimate. Is that what it says?
0:45:26 > 0:45:29Illegitimate child? It is.
0:45:29 > 0:45:35So that's my grandfather's father, was illegitimate.
0:45:35 > 0:45:36Ah, OK. Phew.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38They've skipped. Not that it... it doesn't matter,
0:45:38 > 0:45:43but this thing about finding something illegitimate.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45And it's interesting that they've written the world
0:45:45 > 0:45:49'illegitimate' in the records, because I've never seen that before.
0:45:49 > 0:45:50Fascinating.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55So it wasn't Annie's grandfather William Ferguson,
0:45:55 > 0:45:58the Royal gamekeeper who was illegitimate,
0:45:58 > 0:45:59it was his father, George,
0:45:59 > 0:46:04born in 1852 to William Ferguson and Isabella McHardy.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13Annie's heading to the town of Braemar where George was born,
0:46:13 > 0:46:18to see if she can discover anything further about him and his parents.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20If you'd like to just take a seat.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Archivist Pete Wadley has been doing some research for her.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29You were interested in the history of George Ferguson
0:46:29 > 0:46:31who's your great-grandfather.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34So let's start right at the beginning with his birth.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38What we have here are the records of the Kirk Session of Braemar.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40What's a Kirk Session?
0:46:40 > 0:46:43It's a meeting of a body who act like a court
0:46:43 > 0:46:45and it's made up of the elders of the church
0:46:45 > 0:46:49and they meet to discuss things that are going on in the local society.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51If you take a look here,
0:46:51 > 0:46:56we have Isabella McHardy appearing before the session.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58Isabella, George's mother?
0:46:58 > 0:47:01George's mother, it's your great-great-grandmother.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04She has been brought before the Kirk Session
0:47:04 > 0:47:08to be admonished for the sin of having a child out of wedlock.
0:47:08 > 0:47:09Oh!
0:47:09 > 0:47:14At this time the Kirk was not just a place of worship,
0:47:14 > 0:47:16it also had the power to actively police
0:47:16 > 0:47:19the moral behaviour of the community.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23The elders who made up Kirk Sessions were leading members of the Parish.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28Part of their remit was to investigate sexual transgressions,
0:47:28 > 0:47:31including illegitimate births.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34Proceedings began when the elders issued a summons to the mother,
0:47:34 > 0:47:40in this case, Isabella McHardy, to force her to appear before them.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42She would sit here, at the front of the church,
0:47:42 > 0:47:45the Kirk Session would have gathered round a table,
0:47:45 > 0:47:47a minister would rise and would say,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50"You are accused as an unmarried woman of bringing forth a child."
0:47:50 > 0:47:53Well, now, she would know these people, they're prominent members
0:47:53 > 0:47:56of her society, it's a small area, they would know her,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59and there is an embarrassment or a stigma or a shame
0:47:59 > 0:48:02to having to appear and apologise for her behaviour.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05And they'd be censured and have...
0:48:05 > 0:48:07Oh, it's terrifying.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10- It's not a pleasant thing.- No.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13But the Church is responsible for the moral welfare of society
0:48:13 > 0:48:15- and this is the way they deal with it at the time.- Right.
0:48:15 > 0:48:20So, "On being interrogated, she declared that the father
0:48:20 > 0:48:24"was William Ferguson, farm servant in the Parish of Kettins."
0:48:26 > 0:48:29OK. What the story is here, is that Isabella, who's from Braemar,
0:48:29 > 0:48:33had left Braemar and gone to this other Parish, Kettins.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36She had a job for two years as a domestic servant, and that's
0:48:36 > 0:48:41where she met William Ferguson and she's come home to have the baby.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44The Kirk Session didn't just summon
0:48:44 > 0:48:47the mothers of the illegitimate children, they also pursued the
0:48:47 > 0:48:52fathers, to rebuke them and to seek financial support for the child.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57But in this case there is no record that the Kirk managed to
0:48:57 > 0:48:58track down William Ferguson.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03So now that makes me really interested in Isabella,
0:49:03 > 0:49:05because here's a single mother with a child.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Do we have any knowledge about Isabella?
0:49:08 > 0:49:10- We know quite a lot about Isabella. - Ah!
0:49:10 > 0:49:11We're very fortunate in that, in that way.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Isabella's quite interesting.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16She's back here again, in front of the Kirk Session.
0:49:16 > 0:49:17Oh, no.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Eight years later.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21Oh, what's happened this time?
0:49:21 > 0:49:23This is the 1860, it's the same people.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25Oh, the same people!
0:49:25 > 0:49:27And here, appearing before the meeting, voluntarily.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30OK, so...
0:49:30 > 0:49:36"Isabella McHardy confessing herself guilty of a relapse in fornication...
0:49:38 > 0:49:41"..being solemnly admonished to adhere strictly to truth she declared
0:49:41 > 0:49:44"that Thomas Russell, watchmaker, is the father of her pregnancy."
0:49:46 > 0:49:48- She has another pregnancy? - She does. Eight years later.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50- Right.- With another man.
0:49:50 > 0:49:51In this case, Thomas Russell.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54And he's a watchmaker.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57"That guilt took place betwixt them
0:49:57 > 0:50:03"in her mother's house at Tomintoul in this Parish."
0:50:03 > 0:50:08"That guilt took place betwixt them only once."
0:50:08 > 0:50:11God, they're into the detail!
0:50:11 > 0:50:12Absolutely.
0:50:12 > 0:50:17"He had promised to marry her before guilt took place betwixt them."
0:50:17 > 0:50:19It's equivalent of being engaged, if you like.
0:50:19 > 0:50:24He had said he was going to marry her, and then guilt takes place.
0:50:24 > 0:50:25Right.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28"Being asked if she had any writing from him
0:50:28 > 0:50:32"of a promise of marriage, declared she had not,
0:50:32 > 0:50:38"but that he told her uncle, George McHardy and his wife.
0:50:38 > 0:50:42"Being solemnly admonished, she was dismissed for the present."
0:50:42 > 0:50:47She's pregnant by this man Russell now, but unlike Ferguson,
0:50:47 > 0:50:49what she's saying here is that he's promised to marry her.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52And not only has he done that, he's let it be known,
0:50:52 > 0:50:55and they list some people, other members of your family,
0:50:55 > 0:50:58George McHardy, that he's going to marry her and then he doesn't.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00What's quite interesting about this one,
0:51:00 > 0:51:02is that she appeared, voluntarily.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05Everybody would have known that she's pregnant again and she,
0:51:05 > 0:51:08I think she wanted it formally recorded that this isn't her fault,
0:51:08 > 0:51:11she had promises that were broken.
0:51:11 > 0:51:12It's Russell's fault.
0:51:12 > 0:51:17Right. She met somebody, she'd had this tryst with him,
0:51:17 > 0:51:20he told everybody they're going to get married, so she's thinking,
0:51:20 > 0:51:23"Oh, great, I've got a future. I've got a father for my other child."
0:51:23 > 0:51:27- She must have been very pleased with this promise of marriage.- Yeah.
0:51:27 > 0:51:28But the marriage never took place.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30It never took place.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38This is Isabella's second child, Jane McHardy.
0:51:38 > 0:51:39Oh, it's a girl.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42- And she's listed as... - Illegitimate.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44What's really interesting is this bit here.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47- It's a cross, in between... - That's her mark.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49Oh, it says here, her mark.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51Her mark. She can't write.
0:51:51 > 0:51:52Ah.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54So when the Kirk Session said
0:51:54 > 0:51:56"Do you have something in writing from Thomas Russell?",
0:51:56 > 0:51:59what good would it have been to her? She can't read it.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02- Yes. So she's had two children and both times...- She's been let down.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04- She's been abandoned, as it were. - She has.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10Isabella McHardy had two children, both illegitimate,
0:52:10 > 0:52:13and no husband to help her support either of them.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17We know that Isabella came back to this Kirk Session,
0:52:17 > 0:52:19to these same people, for a third time.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21Don't worry, there's not a third child.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25In this case, she comes back to ask for financial help,
0:52:25 > 0:52:28but she's not asking for financial help for herself,
0:52:28 > 0:52:32she comes back to ask if they will pay for George's education.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34Oh, OK.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Now, that's quite interesting. She's illiterate herself
0:52:36 > 0:52:40- and she clearly doesn't want her son to have that difficulty.- Yes.
0:52:40 > 0:52:41So she comes back to the church,
0:52:41 > 0:52:44despite the fact she's been admonished twice by these people.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47She swallows her pride and she comes back and says,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49"Can you help educate my son?" And they do.
0:52:50 > 0:52:51Wow.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54George Ferguson, for school fees.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56I think it must be seven shillings and sixpence.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58- That's correct. - So he's at school.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00And we know that Isabella made sure that her daughter
0:53:00 > 0:53:02also has an education.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Incredible.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08Education is a passport, in a way, to a better future.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11I believe Isabella gets how important that is.
0:53:11 > 0:53:12Because she hasn't had it herself.
0:53:12 > 0:53:13No.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16So do we know what happens to her next?
0:53:16 > 0:53:17We know she never applies for Poor Fund.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19The Poor Fund records exist for Braemar,
0:53:19 > 0:53:21her name never appears on it.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23She's always managed to get just enough to keep going
0:53:23 > 0:53:27and to see her children educated and perhaps point them for,
0:53:27 > 0:53:29to a different, if not better life.
0:53:29 > 0:53:35Tomintoul seems to come up quite a bit here in the records.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37It does, yeah. What it's referring to is a farm called Tomintoul...
0:53:37 > 0:53:38Oh, I see.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40..which is in Braemar,
0:53:40 > 0:53:43and it's a vital place in, in this story.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55And we're coming up to Tomintoul, and to remind you, this is
0:53:55 > 0:53:59where your great-great-grandmother Isabella, was born.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02It's where she retreated to when she fell pregnant
0:54:02 > 0:54:04with your great-grandfather, George.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08It's where that 'guilt' took place with Russell
0:54:08 > 0:54:11and where her second child was born.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14And it's where she lived a great deal of her life.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21And I think this is the original stone,
0:54:21 > 0:54:23and a spectacular view over Braemar.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32It's unbelievable. So they're looking directly over Braemar.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34Yes, indeed. You can see the church.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37Pete, do we have any information about what happened to Isabella
0:54:37 > 0:54:38later on in life?
0:54:38 > 0:54:44Yes, we do. If you look here, this is the 1881 Census, here she is.
0:54:44 > 0:54:45Isabella McHardy.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48She seems to be on her own.
0:54:48 > 0:54:49- Yes.- Living here.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52She's 51 and she's a poultry keeper.
0:54:52 > 0:54:53Poultry keeper.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55The 1891 Census...
0:54:55 > 0:54:5662 years old.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59Yes, indeed. She's still a poultry maid living on her own.
0:54:59 > 0:55:01So that's 1891.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05We go to the next Census, 1901. She's now in her 70s.
0:55:05 > 0:55:081901. And I've just stopped to think that this Census goes up to 1901.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10Yes.
0:55:10 > 0:55:15And my grandfather was born in 1896, perhaps.
0:55:15 > 0:55:16- He must have met his grandmother. - Yeah.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20Maybe my grandfather came to this cottage to visit her, you know.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24And he was such a sweet-looking young boy, and terribly nicely
0:55:24 > 0:55:27turned out, so I would imagine she would have been proud of him.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31And there she is living alone, this little old lady, and...
0:55:31 > 0:55:33Poultry maid.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35She's still working in her 70s.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37Still hanging on in there.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40- And finally, here's the 1911 Census. She's now in her 80s.- Yeah.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44Isabella McHardy, living alone.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48She's aged 81 and she's a pensioner.
0:55:48 > 0:55:53Wow, I didn't know that they had the Old Age Pension back in the day.
0:55:53 > 0:55:54That's right, they do.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56The Old Age Pension comes in in Scotland in 1908.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59She's lived right into the modern era.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01It means she can stop being a poultry maid.
0:56:05 > 0:56:10She died in 1913. So she died when she was 83.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13The cause of death is given as senile dementia,
0:56:13 > 0:56:15but really what we're talking about is old age.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18She's lived in this harsh environment for 83 years,
0:56:18 > 0:56:22and her death is reported by her son, your great-grandfather, George.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26It's quite a testimony to survival, isn't it, really?
0:56:26 > 0:56:28Tough cookie.
0:56:28 > 0:56:29Mmm.
0:56:34 > 0:56:40It's a hard life, underscored by poverty, Isabella's life.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43And what is strong about her is that as a single person
0:56:43 > 0:56:45she brought up her children.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48And then you see her life scored by so many decades
0:56:48 > 0:56:51of living alone up here in the hills.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54It's funny, because I'm just thinking,
0:56:54 > 0:56:59there's two kinds of poverty. Rural poverty and urban poverty.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01And I'm wondering, you know, what is the better poverty?
0:57:01 > 0:57:03And I'm thinking neither, actually.
0:57:03 > 0:57:08Poverty is just ugly stuff, at the end of the day. It's really tough.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10But that's one of the most interesting things about
0:57:10 > 0:57:13Isabella McHardy, it's not what she did, it's what she did not do.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16She didn't pack her bags when she was young and go to the city.
0:57:16 > 0:57:18She stays right here.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21She's born here, and while hundreds of other of her contemporaries
0:57:21 > 0:57:24from Braemar and all parishes around here, will have packed up
0:57:24 > 0:57:27and gone to the hill town of Dundee or the tenements of Glasgow.
0:57:27 > 0:57:28She stays on the land.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33And that's really quite interesting because that makes her
0:57:33 > 0:57:35part of the story of this land.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37- Mmm. The continuum. - Absolutely.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40- Yeah.- Absolutely, and this really is home.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52The lives that I've discovered on both sides of my family
0:57:52 > 0:57:55will definitely resonate with me for ever,
0:57:55 > 0:57:57there's no question about that.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00You take this knowledge with you, it doesn't go away once you know it.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05Now I have a sense of the Victorian times here in Scotland,
0:58:05 > 0:58:09and they were incredibly tough, and it ceases to be a fiction for me
0:58:09 > 0:58:13or an abstraction, it becomes far more clearly focused.
0:58:14 > 0:58:18The other feeling that I have is a tremendous sense of gratitude
0:58:18 > 0:58:21for anything that I have received from all the hard work
0:58:21 > 0:58:23that my ancestors put in.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25It's all about survival, you know,
0:58:25 > 0:58:29and I wouldn't be here without them and without their struggle.
0:58:29 > 0:58:33So there's a deep sort of sense of gratitude and a sense of,
0:58:33 > 0:58:36you know, understanding better why I feel so passionately
0:58:36 > 0:58:39about issues like poverty, really.
0:58:40 > 0:58:42It's been an incredible journey for me.
0:59:07 > 0:59:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd