1 00:00:05,750 --> 00:00:07,630 So this is the track. 2 00:00:09,150 --> 00:00:11,870 I spent pretty much every day here. 3 00:00:13,390 --> 00:00:17,510 This was just my whole life, really, for so many years. 4 00:00:18,670 --> 00:00:21,230 It's not changed, though. It's exactly the same. 5 00:00:23,230 --> 00:00:26,350 Jessica Ennis-Hill is one of the world's greatest 6 00:00:26,390 --> 00:00:28,070 track and field athletes. 7 00:00:28,110 --> 00:00:31,670 I started athletics when I was nine or ten years old, 8 00:00:31,710 --> 00:00:34,510 and from that point I was always training 9 00:00:34,550 --> 00:00:38,910 and working towards that end goal, you know, becoming an Olympian. 10 00:00:42,230 --> 00:00:44,950 The pinnacle of her career was at London 2012, 11 00:00:44,990 --> 00:00:47,990 when she won the Olympic gold medal for the heptathlon. 12 00:00:48,030 --> 00:00:50,070 COMMENTARY:And here goes Jess! 13 00:00:50,110 --> 00:00:56,070 It was just the best experience ever and me feeling mentally ready to go, 14 00:00:56,110 --> 00:00:58,470 physically in the best shape of my life. 15 00:00:58,510 --> 00:01:01,470 COMMENTARY:Jessica Ennis is the Olympic champion! 16 00:01:03,830 --> 00:01:06,230 It's a really interesting question, 17 00:01:06,270 --> 00:01:09,790 like, what does it take to become an Olympic champion? 18 00:01:11,590 --> 00:01:15,510 I think I owe my success to my resilience 19 00:01:15,550 --> 00:01:17,670 and mentality during those times. 20 00:01:17,710 --> 00:01:19,990 So I am really interested to understand 21 00:01:20,030 --> 00:01:22,430 where some of those traits come from. 22 00:01:22,470 --> 00:01:25,990 Awarded a damehood for services to athletics, 23 00:01:26,030 --> 00:01:29,190 Jess was born and raised in Sheffield. 24 00:01:29,230 --> 00:01:33,630 So I've literally been rooted in Sheffield my whole life, 25 00:01:33,670 --> 00:01:36,950 where my family are and all those people closest to me. 26 00:01:36,990 --> 00:01:43,750 There was me, my mum Alison, my dad Vinnie and my little sister Carmel. 27 00:01:43,790 --> 00:01:47,110 My mum was born and brought up in the Peak District, 28 00:01:47,150 --> 00:01:50,510 and my dad's family are from Jamaica. 29 00:01:50,550 --> 00:01:53,910 And then my grandparents, particularly my grandad Rod, 30 00:01:53,950 --> 00:01:57,430 was very hands on with all my athletics. 31 00:01:58,990 --> 00:02:01,750 So many 800 metre sessions around here. 32 00:02:01,790 --> 00:02:05,030 I can remember how...oh, how hard it was. 33 00:02:05,070 --> 00:02:07,670 I just wanted to be the best I could be, 34 00:02:07,710 --> 00:02:11,830 and that was something that was kind of instilled in me from a young age. 35 00:02:13,590 --> 00:02:17,790 I think to understand what my ancestors have been through 36 00:02:17,830 --> 00:02:19,550 and the challenges that they faced, 37 00:02:19,590 --> 00:02:22,230 whether there was something that fed down to me 38 00:02:22,270 --> 00:02:24,790 to help me get to the top of my game, 39 00:02:24,830 --> 00:02:27,190 would be really interesting to find out. 40 00:02:27,230 --> 00:02:29,230 I'm maybe a bit of a control freak, 41 00:02:29,270 --> 00:02:32,590 so I'm always kind of prepared and know what's coming up next. 42 00:02:32,630 --> 00:02:36,190 Whereas with this experience and this journey, 43 00:02:36,230 --> 00:02:38,350 I don't really know anything. 44 00:02:38,390 --> 00:02:42,030 I don't know what I'm going to find, who I'm going to find. 45 00:02:42,070 --> 00:02:44,390 Erm, yeah. What details? 46 00:02:44,430 --> 00:02:46,990 It's just a massive unknown. 47 00:03:20,590 --> 00:03:22,870 So this is the Peak District, 48 00:03:22,910 --> 00:03:26,430 and this is obviously an area that is so close to my heart 49 00:03:26,470 --> 00:03:29,030 because my grandparents live out here. 50 00:03:29,070 --> 00:03:32,150 Me and my sister would spend so much time coming out here 51 00:03:32,190 --> 00:03:34,230 for weekends and sleepovers, 52 00:03:34,270 --> 00:03:36,670 so it's a really familiar place for me. 53 00:03:37,750 --> 00:03:40,790 Jess is starting with her mum's side of the family. 54 00:03:40,830 --> 00:03:43,870 She's visiting her grandparents Rodney and Margaret 55 00:03:43,910 --> 00:03:45,870 to find out what they can tell her. 56 00:03:47,430 --> 00:03:50,550 Hi. Hey, Jess. You all right? Yeah. I'm good, thanks. You? Yeah. 57 00:03:50,590 --> 00:03:52,350 Nice to see you again. 58 00:03:53,910 --> 00:03:56,510 Can you remember when you were seven and I used to time you 59 00:03:56,550 --> 00:03:57,950 running up and down this yard? 60 00:03:57,990 --> 00:04:00,870 Yeah. And each time you wanted to do it faster. 61 00:04:00,910 --> 00:04:03,870 Was that you wanting to time me? No, no, it was you. 62 00:04:03,910 --> 00:04:06,830 It was you. Because you love competition. 63 00:04:06,870 --> 00:04:10,790 Do you know what? It felt so much longer than it looks now. 64 00:04:10,830 --> 00:04:13,350 But, yeah, I do remember. Yeah. 65 00:04:15,030 --> 00:04:18,870 So I've come to find a little bit more about your side of the family. 66 00:04:18,910 --> 00:04:21,350 So is there anything you can tell me? 67 00:04:21,390 --> 00:04:23,310 We've got some photographs here. 68 00:04:23,350 --> 00:04:25,950 That's you when you were a little girl with your mum. 69 00:04:25,990 --> 00:04:27,910 Oh, I've never seen this one. 70 00:04:27,950 --> 00:04:29,790 Mum looks so young. 71 00:04:29,830 --> 00:04:31,830 Look at her hair! 72 00:04:31,870 --> 00:04:33,990 She's rocking that hair! 73 00:04:34,030 --> 00:04:37,070 Oh. This is a photograph of you. 74 00:04:37,110 --> 00:04:40,310 I remember that jumper so well. I loved it. 75 00:04:40,350 --> 00:04:43,790 You did love it. You wore it all the time. Yeah. 76 00:04:43,830 --> 00:04:46,110 It's a great picture. Yeah. 77 00:04:46,150 --> 00:04:47,990 This is my dad. 78 00:04:48,030 --> 00:04:50,230 Your great-grandad Ray. 79 00:04:50,270 --> 00:04:53,110 Wow! With all his trophies. 80 00:04:53,150 --> 00:04:57,270 Great-grandad Ray Ollerenshaw. Yeah. That's a collection. 81 00:04:57,310 --> 00:05:00,950 Yeah. It's like he's trying to outshine me there, isn't he?! 82 00:05:00,990 --> 00:05:03,750 They were all for sheepdog trialling. 83 00:05:03,790 --> 00:05:07,030 Wow. I did not know this. This is so exciting. 84 00:05:07,070 --> 00:05:11,110 I mean, obviously, I've always been super competitive. 85 00:05:11,150 --> 00:05:14,950 I always wondered, is there some, like, genetic part of it? 86 00:05:14,990 --> 00:05:18,870 It sounds like it probably came from my great-grandad Ray. 87 00:05:18,910 --> 00:05:22,030 Yeah. Well, he got the OBE for services to farming. 88 00:05:22,070 --> 00:05:24,270 So between you, you've got them all. 89 00:05:24,310 --> 00:05:27,790 Me and great-grandad Ray... Yeah. ..we've cleaned up! 90 00:05:29,590 --> 00:05:31,350 That's amazing. 91 00:05:31,390 --> 00:05:34,270 So what about your side of the family, Grandad? 92 00:05:34,310 --> 00:05:38,190 Well, that's one of you with my dad, your great-grandad Jack. 93 00:05:38,230 --> 00:05:40,150 I remember that one. 94 00:05:40,190 --> 00:05:43,110 You were very lucky, really, because you had your great-grandad 95 00:05:43,150 --> 00:05:44,830 in your life for 20 years, didn't you? 96 00:05:44,870 --> 00:05:47,710 Yeah. I feel like I got to know him really well, 97 00:05:47,750 --> 00:05:49,630 even though I was still quite young. 98 00:05:49,670 --> 00:05:51,790 Such a great sense of humour. Yeah. 99 00:05:51,830 --> 00:05:55,190 That's him with his father, William Powell. 100 00:05:55,230 --> 00:05:58,310 So that's, like, your great-great-grandad. 101 00:05:58,350 --> 00:06:02,030 And the girl is Little Maud, 102 00:06:02,070 --> 00:06:04,830 your great-grandad's sister. 103 00:06:04,870 --> 00:06:06,590 Oh, wow. 104 00:06:06,630 --> 00:06:11,230 And that's a copy of Jack's birth certificate. 105 00:06:11,270 --> 00:06:15,670 So, born 10th August 1911. 106 00:06:15,710 --> 00:06:19,630 So his mother was Emily Maud Powell. 107 00:06:19,670 --> 00:06:23,670 So she was my great-great-grandmother. Yeah. 108 00:06:23,710 --> 00:06:25,950 Her full name was Emily Maud, 109 00:06:25,990 --> 00:06:27,670 but she was known as Maud. 110 00:06:27,710 --> 00:06:31,070 And we don't really know anything about her at all, 111 00:06:31,110 --> 00:06:35,550 because one day, William took Jack and Maud out for a walk. 112 00:06:35,590 --> 00:06:37,550 And when they came back, 113 00:06:37,590 --> 00:06:40,950 they met their mum coming down the street with a suitcase. 114 00:06:40,990 --> 00:06:44,350 And she just kissed him and he never saw her again. 115 00:06:44,390 --> 00:06:47,830 Really? Yeah. And where did she go? Well, we don't know. 116 00:06:47,870 --> 00:06:51,190 So great-grandad never saw her again? No. 117 00:06:51,230 --> 00:06:53,590 And he never, ever talked about it. 118 00:06:53,630 --> 00:06:55,190 Never, ever. 119 00:06:56,590 --> 00:06:59,550 That must have been so... It's sad, isn't it? ..awful. 120 00:06:59,590 --> 00:07:02,670 It's sad, really. So how old was he then? 121 00:07:02,710 --> 00:07:06,230 He'd be, erm, about seven or eight. 122 00:07:06,270 --> 00:07:09,830 It would be nice to know. I mean, even if it's sad... 123 00:07:09,870 --> 00:07:12,830 Yeah. ..it's nice to know what happened to them. 124 00:07:12,870 --> 00:07:16,550 Losing your mum and just not having an explanation. Yeah. 125 00:07:16,590 --> 00:07:18,190 Wow. 126 00:07:18,230 --> 00:07:20,630 I mean, we've started off quite... 127 00:07:21,670 --> 00:07:23,390 ..quite deep already. 128 00:07:23,430 --> 00:07:26,870 I wasn't expecting this from the start. Yeah. Wow. 129 00:07:26,910 --> 00:07:30,150 So I feel like there's definitely a bit of a mystery... 130 00:07:30,190 --> 00:07:34,190 Yeah, there is. Yeah. ..to solve already with this one here. 131 00:07:35,390 --> 00:07:37,590 With the help of her grandparents, 132 00:07:37,630 --> 00:07:41,590 Jess can now take her maternal family tree back four generations. 133 00:07:41,630 --> 00:07:44,470 She's also uncovered a century-old mystery - 134 00:07:44,510 --> 00:07:49,350 the sudden disappearance of her great-great-grandmother Emily Maud, 135 00:07:49,390 --> 00:07:52,150 known to the family as Maud. 136 00:07:52,190 --> 00:07:54,870 She seemingly abandoned her children, 137 00:07:54,910 --> 00:07:59,310 Jess's great-grandfather Jack and his sister Little Maud. 138 00:07:59,350 --> 00:08:03,590 It's really surprising to find out that my great-grandad Jack's mum 139 00:08:03,630 --> 00:08:08,830 gave them a kiss one day and packed her suitcases and went. 140 00:08:08,870 --> 00:08:11,470 And then they never saw her again. 141 00:08:11,510 --> 00:08:13,910 It's just really, really sad. 142 00:08:13,950 --> 00:08:17,350 I'd love to know what happened, what changed. 143 00:08:17,390 --> 00:08:20,150 You know, how was she feeling to leave like that? 144 00:08:20,190 --> 00:08:24,590 Where did she go? Did she start another family? I don't know. 145 00:08:24,630 --> 00:08:28,470 To find out if there are any records that might shed light 146 00:08:28,510 --> 00:08:31,110 on her great-great-grandmother's disappearance, 147 00:08:31,150 --> 00:08:33,750 Jess has come to Sheffield City Archives 148 00:08:33,790 --> 00:08:36,230 to meet historian Dr Jennifer Aston. 149 00:08:36,270 --> 00:08:42,230 So I'm trying to find out more about my great-great-grandmother Maud. 150 00:08:42,270 --> 00:08:44,670 So my great-grandad's mother. 151 00:08:44,710 --> 00:08:49,230 Erm, and there's a bit of a mystery around what happened to her. 152 00:08:49,270 --> 00:08:51,510 I think we can show you this document 153 00:08:51,550 --> 00:08:53,150 that might show you a little bit more. OK. 154 00:08:53,190 --> 00:08:55,510 If we look in the magistrates court records, 155 00:08:55,550 --> 00:08:58,110 we can see more about the relationship 156 00:08:58,150 --> 00:09:00,030 between William and Maud. 157 00:09:00,070 --> 00:09:01,870 Where do we start? 158 00:09:01,910 --> 00:09:03,950 So this is a magistrates court, 159 00:09:03,990 --> 00:09:07,630 which is a smaller local court in the city of Sheffield. 160 00:09:07,670 --> 00:09:09,550 Yeah. In 1919. 161 00:09:09,590 --> 00:09:12,590 So it says number 48 here, Maud Powell, 162 00:09:12,630 --> 00:09:15,910 and then defendant William Powell. 163 00:09:15,950 --> 00:09:19,510 My great-great-grandparents. Yes. 164 00:09:19,550 --> 00:09:23,550 So what we have is Maud Powell as a complainant 165 00:09:23,590 --> 00:09:26,190 and then William as a defendant. 166 00:09:26,230 --> 00:09:31,430 And then nature of offence - assaulting complainant. 167 00:09:31,470 --> 00:09:34,950 So William assaulted Maud? 168 00:09:34,990 --> 00:09:37,830 Well, that's what she's accused him of, 169 00:09:37,870 --> 00:09:40,110 and that's the case that's been brought to court. 170 00:09:40,150 --> 00:09:43,390 I suppose I didn't know what had happened and why she left. 171 00:09:43,430 --> 00:09:45,670 And my initial thought was, gosh, 172 00:09:45,710 --> 00:09:49,150 how could she have just walked away and left her children? 173 00:09:49,190 --> 00:09:51,350 And then obviously now, 174 00:09:51,390 --> 00:09:56,070 it looks like there was some kind of physical abuse in the home, 175 00:09:56,110 --> 00:09:58,910 which is really awful. 176 00:09:58,950 --> 00:10:04,430 So it was June 30th 1919... 177 00:10:04,470 --> 00:10:08,070 ..when obviously she left the family. 178 00:10:08,110 --> 00:10:09,750 Erm... 179 00:10:09,790 --> 00:10:12,550 And then he was found not guilty. 180 00:10:12,590 --> 00:10:16,070 Well, his plea was... Oh, his plea was not guilty. Yeah. 181 00:10:16,110 --> 00:10:19,910 We can see what happens in the case if we look in this final column. 182 00:10:19,950 --> 00:10:21,670 "Withdrawn." 183 00:10:21,710 --> 00:10:24,790 Maud decided to withdraw the case... Oh, she withdrew it. Yeah. 184 00:10:24,830 --> 00:10:27,470 And why would she do that? We have a clue. 185 00:10:27,510 --> 00:10:30,630 If we look here, it says to see number 58 below. 186 00:10:32,150 --> 00:10:34,310 OK. So number 58 here. 187 00:10:34,350 --> 00:10:38,550 "Information for order on desertion." 188 00:10:38,590 --> 00:10:40,550 And what does that mean? 189 00:10:40,590 --> 00:10:43,150 So an order on desertion can be issued 190 00:10:43,190 --> 00:10:45,190 if a husband deserts his wife. 191 00:10:45,230 --> 00:10:48,430 So if we keep following... So order by consent... 192 00:10:49,830 --> 00:10:51,310 ..to pay. 193 00:10:51,350 --> 00:10:54,990 So the court's ordering him to pay 12 shillings and sixpence 194 00:10:55,030 --> 00:10:56,830 to Maud every week. 195 00:10:56,870 --> 00:11:00,950 And that gives her the money needed to live respectably. OK. 196 00:11:00,990 --> 00:11:04,550 It's enough for her not to starve or be destitute. 197 00:11:04,590 --> 00:11:06,430 So by her withdrawing, 198 00:11:06,470 --> 00:11:09,710 was that a way of coming to a bit of an agreement? 199 00:11:09,750 --> 00:11:13,070 He pays for her to continue living, but separately. 200 00:11:13,110 --> 00:11:15,030 I think that sounds quite likely. 201 00:11:15,070 --> 00:11:16,950 I think what these events show 202 00:11:16,990 --> 00:11:19,910 is the kind of legal unravelling of their relationship. 203 00:11:19,950 --> 00:11:24,470 We see the assault case being brought to court on 30th June. 204 00:11:24,510 --> 00:11:27,670 A week later, there's a maintenance order. 205 00:11:27,710 --> 00:11:29,670 She's on her own. Wow. 206 00:11:31,990 --> 00:11:36,950 In 1919, getting a divorce was incredibly difficult and expensive, 207 00:11:36,990 --> 00:11:40,310 but couples did separate, and women like Maud 208 00:11:40,350 --> 00:11:43,830 could apply for maintenance on grounds of desertion. 209 00:11:43,870 --> 00:11:47,750 For most women, separation meant having to leave the marital home 210 00:11:47,790 --> 00:11:50,870 and leaving the children with their father. 211 00:11:50,910 --> 00:11:57,430 She was obviously suffering and not living a very nice life, 212 00:11:57,470 --> 00:12:01,430 and then she's the one that has to leave the home 213 00:12:01,470 --> 00:12:03,910 and leave her kids. 214 00:12:03,950 --> 00:12:07,790 But I suppose the question is, where did she go? OK. 215 00:12:09,030 --> 00:12:11,150 So this is two years after the cases 216 00:12:11,190 --> 00:12:14,030 that we see in the magistrates courts. 217 00:12:14,070 --> 00:12:17,350 So this is a census from 1921. 218 00:12:18,390 --> 00:12:20,110 So South Yorkshire... 219 00:12:21,150 --> 00:12:22,630 ..Asylum? 220 00:12:22,670 --> 00:12:23,950 Yes. 221 00:12:25,710 --> 00:12:27,110 Gosh. 222 00:12:27,150 --> 00:12:29,310 This is a list of all the people 223 00:12:29,350 --> 00:12:32,790 who were in the institution on the census day. 224 00:12:32,830 --> 00:12:35,350 They've been identified by initials. 225 00:12:36,750 --> 00:12:38,470 So Emily... 226 00:12:39,510 --> 00:12:41,630 ..Maud Powell. Yeah? That's her. 227 00:12:43,070 --> 00:12:44,630 Wow. 228 00:12:44,670 --> 00:12:47,390 I didn't expect to find that. 229 00:12:48,790 --> 00:12:51,030 I'm just, erm, quite shocked. 230 00:12:51,070 --> 00:12:53,750 There's so many questions I want to know. 231 00:12:53,790 --> 00:12:56,110 I feel like you've helped me answer a few, 232 00:12:56,150 --> 00:12:58,750 but you've unravelled so many more questions. 233 00:13:04,630 --> 00:13:06,750 I kind of understand what happened 234 00:13:06,790 --> 00:13:09,630 with their relationship and their marriage. 235 00:13:09,670 --> 00:13:15,870 But then I found out that two years later, Maud was in an asylum. 236 00:13:15,910 --> 00:13:19,270 So this is the census for 1921 237 00:13:19,310 --> 00:13:23,910 and it says South Yorkshire Asylum, Wadsley. 238 00:13:23,950 --> 00:13:25,750 I want to go there. 239 00:13:25,790 --> 00:13:29,710 Erm, I've just got to know more of what happened to her. 240 00:13:29,750 --> 00:13:35,430 Wadsley is a quiet suburb, three miles from Sheffield city centre. 241 00:13:35,470 --> 00:13:39,990 Jess has come to the grounds of what was once South Yorkshire Asylum 242 00:13:40,030 --> 00:13:42,670 to meet historian Dr Alice Brumby. 243 00:13:43,830 --> 00:13:46,790 Hi, Alice. Hello, Jess. Oh, really nice to meet you. 244 00:13:46,830 --> 00:13:49,350 Pleased to meet you. Thank you for seeing me. 245 00:13:49,390 --> 00:13:51,390 So is this the original building? 246 00:13:51,430 --> 00:13:54,830 Is this what it would have looked like for Maud when she was here? 247 00:13:54,870 --> 00:13:56,670 Yes, it would have been. 248 00:13:56,710 --> 00:14:00,150 What we're standing in front of now is the administration block. 249 00:14:00,190 --> 00:14:04,350 And this is an image of how big it used to be. 250 00:14:04,390 --> 00:14:06,830 Wow. It's huge. 251 00:14:08,310 --> 00:14:13,270 South Yorkshire was a public asylum run by the local authority. 252 00:14:13,310 --> 00:14:16,910 It cared for over 1,000 patients in 1921, 253 00:14:16,950 --> 00:14:20,710 when Maud was recorded on the census as living there. 254 00:14:20,750 --> 00:14:25,430 I just really want to find out why, why was Maud here? 255 00:14:25,470 --> 00:14:28,590 I've got your great-great-grandmother Maud's 256 00:14:28,630 --> 00:14:31,510 admission records here, if you'd like to take a look. 257 00:14:31,550 --> 00:14:33,590 Yeah. That's the first one. 258 00:14:33,630 --> 00:14:36,190 So name of patient, Emily Maud Powell. 259 00:14:36,230 --> 00:14:38,030 Female, 35 years. 260 00:14:38,070 --> 00:14:41,470 17th November 1919. 261 00:14:41,510 --> 00:14:44,590 So after the court case? 262 00:14:44,630 --> 00:14:46,350 OK. 263 00:14:46,390 --> 00:14:50,430 So, "I, the undersigned, William Smith Porter, medical officer, 264 00:14:50,470 --> 00:14:54,150 "I personally examined the said Emily Maud Powell 265 00:14:54,190 --> 00:14:58,270 "and came to the conclusion that she is a person of unsound mind. 266 00:14:58,310 --> 00:15:01,590 'She has delusions that she was communicating secrets 267 00:15:01,630 --> 00:15:03,150 "she heard during the war, 268 00:15:03,190 --> 00:15:05,870 "and she says that she heard these secrets 269 00:15:05,910 --> 00:15:08,550 "spoken in the streets under the windows, 270 00:15:08,590 --> 00:15:11,830 "and that her actions had influence on the war. 271 00:15:11,870 --> 00:15:17,110 "She has also a delusion that she has been robbed of valuable papers." 272 00:15:18,390 --> 00:15:20,430 Gosh. 273 00:15:20,470 --> 00:15:23,710 "Whether dangerous to others and in what way? 274 00:15:23,750 --> 00:15:27,150 "Yes. Violent and excitable at times." 275 00:15:27,190 --> 00:15:29,790 Wow. I didn't expect... 276 00:15:30,830 --> 00:15:32,750 ..to read that. 277 00:15:32,790 --> 00:15:36,630 And do we know more about her actual diagnosis? 278 00:15:36,670 --> 00:15:39,070 If we were going to think about 279 00:15:39,110 --> 00:15:42,750 how it might translate to today's illnesses, 280 00:15:42,790 --> 00:15:48,990 she's clearly suffering from kind of psychotic instances. 281 00:15:49,030 --> 00:15:52,910 We could perhaps say potentially it's schizophrenia, 282 00:15:52,950 --> 00:15:55,070 potentially bipolar. 283 00:15:55,110 --> 00:15:58,710 But she's never actually given a diagnosis. 284 00:15:58,750 --> 00:16:02,070 And I wonder what kind of treatment she actually had 285 00:16:02,110 --> 00:16:04,110 when she was there, though? 286 00:16:04,150 --> 00:16:07,830 OK. So there's kind of sedative drugs that they could give her 287 00:16:07,870 --> 00:16:11,070 because of her excitement, because of her delusions. 288 00:16:11,110 --> 00:16:14,470 So drugs to make her a little bit sleepy, a little bit calmer. 289 00:16:14,510 --> 00:16:15,910 OK. 290 00:16:15,950 --> 00:16:18,870 So, "Whether first attack? No." 291 00:16:18,910 --> 00:16:20,950 What does that mean? 292 00:16:20,990 --> 00:16:23,310 That she's been poorly before. 293 00:16:23,350 --> 00:16:25,990 What you need to look at here is the date. 294 00:16:26,030 --> 00:16:28,990 "When and where previously under care and treatment. 295 00:16:29,030 --> 00:16:32,630 "The 23rd to 30th of January 1919." 296 00:16:32,670 --> 00:16:34,990 Oh, no. So I'm confused. 297 00:16:35,030 --> 00:16:37,630 So the 23rd to 30th of January 1919, 298 00:16:37,670 --> 00:16:40,550 she's struggling, she's having problems. 299 00:16:40,590 --> 00:16:42,590 She's not very well. Yeah. 300 00:16:42,630 --> 00:16:44,630 This happened before the court case. 301 00:16:44,670 --> 00:16:46,950 And then July, she went to court 302 00:16:46,990 --> 00:16:51,110 to put a claim against her husband for assaulting her, 303 00:16:51,150 --> 00:16:55,870 but actually it seems that she had the violent tendencies. 304 00:16:56,910 --> 00:17:02,630 And then November 1919, she suffers another attack... 305 00:17:04,110 --> 00:17:07,230 ..before she's then committed? Yes. 306 00:17:09,430 --> 00:17:11,590 It's just awful in every way. 307 00:17:11,630 --> 00:17:15,910 I wonder if my great-grandad Jack actually knew. 308 00:17:15,950 --> 00:17:17,950 He may well not have done. 309 00:17:17,990 --> 00:17:20,670 There was a huge stigma attached to mental health care 310 00:17:20,710 --> 00:17:22,030 during this period, 311 00:17:22,070 --> 00:17:24,910 so it's possible that it would be preferable 312 00:17:24,950 --> 00:17:27,550 to tell the children that she just left, 313 00:17:27,590 --> 00:17:30,670 as opposed to the fact that she was poorly and needed help. 314 00:17:30,710 --> 00:17:32,390 Yeah. 315 00:17:32,430 --> 00:17:35,950 I just feel so sad for my great-grandad Jack 316 00:17:35,990 --> 00:17:38,710 and his sister Little Maud. 317 00:17:39,870 --> 00:17:41,310 Do we know... 318 00:17:42,350 --> 00:17:46,510 ..anything else? I think we should look at the next document. OK. 319 00:17:48,470 --> 00:17:51,630 So... OK, this is a death certificate. 320 00:17:53,990 --> 00:17:55,550 Oh, my gosh. 321 00:17:57,030 --> 00:17:58,950 Little Maud, the daughter. 322 00:18:00,350 --> 00:18:02,230 Oh, it's really sad. 323 00:18:02,270 --> 00:18:03,830 Oh, God. 324 00:18:03,870 --> 00:18:05,710 I was like, "I will not cry." 325 00:18:05,750 --> 00:18:07,190 Erm... 326 00:18:07,230 --> 00:18:09,390 Oh, so Maud was 11. 327 00:18:11,030 --> 00:18:12,870 This is 1924. 328 00:18:12,910 --> 00:18:16,390 And the cause of death is mitral obstruction. 329 00:18:16,430 --> 00:18:19,270 It's basically a condition of the heart. 330 00:18:19,310 --> 00:18:22,270 I can't imagine how Maud must have... 331 00:18:23,790 --> 00:18:26,990 ..taken it...and that she wasn't there. 332 00:18:27,030 --> 00:18:31,950 We don't know whether she got told that her daughter had died or not. 333 00:18:31,990 --> 00:18:35,470 For fear of making her worse? Potentially. 334 00:18:36,710 --> 00:18:38,430 I'm just in shock. 335 00:18:38,470 --> 00:18:41,070 I just did not expect to find this. 336 00:18:41,110 --> 00:18:43,670 I don't know who knew about this. 337 00:18:43,710 --> 00:18:46,550 I don't... It's so sad. 338 00:18:46,590 --> 00:18:47,990 Yeah. 339 00:18:48,030 --> 00:18:50,830 I just know how, obviously as a mother, 340 00:18:50,870 --> 00:18:54,230 and that emotion of thinking how would I feel 341 00:18:54,270 --> 00:18:56,430 if I wasn't with my kids, 342 00:18:56,470 --> 00:18:59,750 how Maud must have felt when she had to leave them, 343 00:18:59,790 --> 00:19:05,870 and then the realisation now, here, that, you know, she never... 344 00:19:06,910 --> 00:19:11,070 ..she would never have got to see her daughter again. Mm. 345 00:19:11,110 --> 00:19:12,670 It's so sad. 346 00:19:14,990 --> 00:19:16,950 And so Maud stayed... 347 00:19:16,990 --> 00:19:19,390 She stayed in the asylum? 348 00:19:19,430 --> 00:19:24,030 Well, our final document might shed a little bit of light on to that. 349 00:19:26,270 --> 00:19:27,750 What is this? 350 00:19:27,790 --> 00:19:30,790 "Emily Maud Powell received at this hospital 351 00:19:30,830 --> 00:19:34,230 "on transfer on 6th January 1944." 352 00:19:34,270 --> 00:19:38,950 So she leaves to be transferred to another hospital 353 00:19:38,990 --> 00:19:41,870 called Storthes Hall in Huddersfield. 354 00:19:44,990 --> 00:19:48,110 Gosh. I'm just... Yeah, just... I'm in shock. 355 00:19:57,350 --> 00:19:59,910 I don't know how much my great-grandfather knew, 356 00:19:59,950 --> 00:20:03,790 but it definitely changes the narrative for the family 357 00:20:03,830 --> 00:20:08,230 because the assumption was that she left one day 358 00:20:08,270 --> 00:20:10,830 for, you know, no reason. 359 00:20:10,870 --> 00:20:14,870 No-one knew why she left, and it was hard to understand, 360 00:20:14,910 --> 00:20:17,350 you know, why she would do that, 361 00:20:17,390 --> 00:20:21,190 but, actually, we now know the reasons for why she left. 362 00:20:23,030 --> 00:20:26,470 For her to be in that asylum for 25 years, 363 00:20:26,510 --> 00:20:30,110 that is such a long time. 364 00:20:30,150 --> 00:20:33,470 And I don't know if she ever came out. 365 00:20:33,510 --> 00:20:35,270 To find out more, 366 00:20:35,310 --> 00:20:38,790 Jess is heading to what was once Storthes Hall Hospital, 367 00:20:38,830 --> 00:20:43,430 where her great-great-grandmother Maud was transferred in 1944. 368 00:20:43,470 --> 00:20:46,870 She's here to meet historian Dr Stephen Taylor. 369 00:20:46,910 --> 00:20:50,110 Hi, Stephen. Hi. Nice to meet you, Jess. Nice to meet you, too. 370 00:20:50,150 --> 00:20:53,710 Thank you for taking the time to speak to me today. You're welcome. 371 00:20:53,750 --> 00:20:57,510 Obviously, I've been on a bit of a journey trying to find out, 372 00:20:57,550 --> 00:21:00,910 you know, a bit more about my great-great-grandmother's life. 373 00:21:00,950 --> 00:21:04,630 So I suppose I'd love to just know more about how long she was here 374 00:21:04,670 --> 00:21:07,510 and what was it like while she was staying here? 375 00:21:07,550 --> 00:21:09,990 Yeah, well, we've got these photographs. 376 00:21:10,030 --> 00:21:12,550 There's three that depict what life was like... 377 00:21:12,590 --> 00:21:14,750 Thank you. ..here in the asylum. 378 00:21:14,790 --> 00:21:16,350 Oh, wow. 379 00:21:18,270 --> 00:21:20,470 So they had hairdressers? Yes. 380 00:21:20,510 --> 00:21:22,070 Gosh. 381 00:21:23,630 --> 00:21:26,350 A shop? Yes, very much a community. 382 00:21:26,390 --> 00:21:29,070 She would have probably made friends with people on the wards. 383 00:21:29,110 --> 00:21:31,110 She would have had people who knew her. 384 00:21:31,150 --> 00:21:33,030 Also, patients worked quite often. 385 00:21:33,070 --> 00:21:35,030 She might have been in the laundries 386 00:21:35,070 --> 00:21:37,510 or working on needlework and dressmaking. 387 00:21:37,550 --> 00:21:41,030 So life here would have had elements of a care facility 388 00:21:41,070 --> 00:21:43,630 rather than a hospital. Mm. 389 00:21:43,670 --> 00:21:47,190 It makes me feel a little bit better that, obviously, 390 00:21:47,230 --> 00:21:50,470 it wasn't just a case of, you know, you have your treatment 391 00:21:50,510 --> 00:21:52,470 and whatever that might be. 392 00:21:52,510 --> 00:21:56,670 There was actually space to kind of live her life in a certain way. 393 00:21:56,710 --> 00:22:00,030 And then I suppose my next question is... 394 00:22:01,070 --> 00:22:03,710 ..you know, did she...did she leave? 395 00:22:03,750 --> 00:22:07,950 So we have a document that comes from 1970. 396 00:22:09,110 --> 00:22:10,910 OK. 397 00:22:10,950 --> 00:22:13,390 This is the death certificate. 398 00:22:13,430 --> 00:22:19,030 And the date of death on here is 13th February 1970. 399 00:22:19,070 --> 00:22:24,350 It says here that she died in North Spring House in Kirkburton. 400 00:22:24,390 --> 00:22:30,510 Yes. So North Spring House was another name for Storthes Hall. 401 00:22:30,550 --> 00:22:33,830 It was a way of protecting the family almost 402 00:22:33,870 --> 00:22:36,710 from the stigma of the mental hospital. 403 00:22:36,750 --> 00:22:40,630 So still just keeping it a secret and covering it up, essentially. 404 00:22:40,670 --> 00:22:42,710 Essentially. Wow. 405 00:22:44,190 --> 00:22:45,430 So... 406 00:22:46,870 --> 00:22:50,070 ..she didn't leave? She didn't leave, sadly. 407 00:22:50,110 --> 00:22:52,630 And this was 1970? 408 00:22:52,670 --> 00:22:53,990 Yes. 409 00:22:54,030 --> 00:22:58,230 And she came in in 1919, in Sheffield. 410 00:22:58,270 --> 00:23:01,150 That is such a long time. 411 00:23:02,630 --> 00:23:06,390 My great-grandad Jack would have been about 58 412 00:23:06,430 --> 00:23:10,310 and my grandad would have been about 31. 413 00:23:10,350 --> 00:23:12,870 And then my mum would have been born 414 00:23:12,910 --> 00:23:16,230 and she would have been about four years old. 415 00:23:16,270 --> 00:23:21,710 So Maud had this whole expanding family that she didn't know about, 416 00:23:21,750 --> 00:23:24,230 and they didn't know about her. 417 00:23:24,270 --> 00:23:26,990 It's almost like she didn't exist, in a way. 418 00:23:28,550 --> 00:23:30,870 I don't even know what she looks like. 419 00:23:30,910 --> 00:23:33,510 I might be able to help you with that. 420 00:23:33,550 --> 00:23:35,710 Oh, wow. 421 00:23:37,030 --> 00:23:39,390 This was her. That's incredible. 422 00:23:40,670 --> 00:23:44,150 It's so, so nice to see a picture of her. 423 00:23:44,190 --> 00:23:46,230 Yeah. You see a person. 424 00:23:46,270 --> 00:23:48,350 Yeah. This is an actual person. 425 00:23:50,390 --> 00:23:53,590 Hopefully, she had some kind of life within here. 426 00:23:56,390 --> 00:23:57,750 Oh... 427 00:24:03,190 --> 00:24:05,070 At the start of this journey, 428 00:24:05,110 --> 00:24:08,350 I couldn't understand why she would leave her children, 429 00:24:08,390 --> 00:24:10,310 her family, her life, 430 00:24:10,350 --> 00:24:13,110 but, actually, she didn't want to leave her children. 431 00:24:13,150 --> 00:24:14,790 But she had to. 432 00:24:16,150 --> 00:24:19,990 Experiencing something like that at the age great-grandad Jack did 433 00:24:20,030 --> 00:24:23,550 could have had a really negative effect on his life. 434 00:24:23,590 --> 00:24:27,270 And from what I saw and the person he was, that wasn't the case. 435 00:24:27,310 --> 00:24:32,710 You know, he dealt with it and he created his own future. 436 00:24:32,750 --> 00:24:34,710 And, erm, yeah, that's... 437 00:24:34,750 --> 00:24:36,710 That's really amazing. 438 00:24:48,430 --> 00:24:51,950 Now Jess has found out more about the maternal side of her family, 439 00:24:51,990 --> 00:24:54,950 she wants to investigate her Jamaican heritage. 440 00:24:54,990 --> 00:24:59,230 So she's heading back to Sheffield to meet up with her dad Vinnie. 441 00:24:59,270 --> 00:25:01,950 My dad was always very conscious 442 00:25:01,990 --> 00:25:05,630 that although he'd lived here for so many years, 443 00:25:05,670 --> 00:25:08,110 he was still very much Jamaican. 444 00:25:08,150 --> 00:25:11,350 And I think he really wanted me and my sister 445 00:25:11,390 --> 00:25:15,310 to always understand that side of our heritage. 446 00:25:15,350 --> 00:25:21,230 And I remember my mum and dad weaned me on liquidised tripe. 447 00:25:21,270 --> 00:25:24,710 And for my dad that was...you know, that's normal. 448 00:25:24,750 --> 00:25:28,230 He would eat cow's feet and, you know, that kind of thing 449 00:25:28,270 --> 00:25:31,110 was, you know, a Jamaican delicacy. 450 00:25:31,150 --> 00:25:34,870 You know, my mum and dad both say that that's why I'm such a... 451 00:25:34,910 --> 00:25:36,830 ..well, I was such a good athlete - 452 00:25:36,870 --> 00:25:39,510 because I had a diet of liquidised tripe! 453 00:25:41,150 --> 00:25:44,590 So I'm heading to Meersbrook Road, which is in Sheffield, 454 00:25:44,630 --> 00:25:49,670 and I'm going to meet my dad there to see the house that he moved to 455 00:25:49,710 --> 00:25:52,710 with his family when he first moved here from Jamaica 456 00:25:52,750 --> 00:25:55,230 all those years ago. 457 00:25:56,350 --> 00:25:59,150 Vinnie Ennis moved to Meersbrook in south Sheffield 458 00:25:59,190 --> 00:26:01,190 when he was 13 years old. 459 00:26:01,230 --> 00:26:04,990 Hi, Dad. Wagwan, Jess. You all right? You OK? Yes. 460 00:26:05,030 --> 00:26:07,990 Nice seeing you, girl. How are you keeping, all right? 461 00:26:08,030 --> 00:26:09,870 I'm good. Good. 462 00:26:09,910 --> 00:26:12,070 This is where it all started, Jess. 463 00:26:12,110 --> 00:26:14,790 Your first house. This is my first address 464 00:26:14,830 --> 00:26:17,870 when I came to England in 1963. Wow. 465 00:26:17,910 --> 00:26:22,790 The current owners have let Jess and Vinnie take a look inside. 466 00:26:22,830 --> 00:26:25,790 When your dad first came to England, this is where we lived. 467 00:26:25,830 --> 00:26:28,790 And my brother, auntie, uncle, cousins. 468 00:26:28,830 --> 00:26:30,790 I had a lot of fun here, really, 469 00:26:30,830 --> 00:26:33,270 even though there were a lot of us living here. 470 00:26:33,310 --> 00:26:36,190 Have you got any pictures to share? Erm, the first one... 471 00:26:36,230 --> 00:26:39,350 Oh, this... This one's a lovely picture. 472 00:26:41,950 --> 00:26:43,710 I remember that bed. 473 00:26:43,750 --> 00:26:48,630 That... I mean, tapes, it had an in-built stereo! 474 00:26:48,670 --> 00:26:51,470 And look at Mel's little cheeky face. 475 00:26:51,510 --> 00:26:54,510 She's still got a cheeky faces. She's got the same cheeky face. 476 00:26:54,550 --> 00:26:55,950 Yeah. 477 00:26:55,990 --> 00:26:58,710 And your passport? The passport. Yes, the passport. 478 00:26:58,750 --> 00:27:00,390 That's your dad. 479 00:27:00,430 --> 00:27:03,310 You look completely different. Totally, isn't it? 480 00:27:03,350 --> 00:27:08,070 That was probably taken, erm, the year before we came here. 481 00:27:08,110 --> 00:27:10,430 So you were born in Linstead. 482 00:27:10,470 --> 00:27:13,230 Linstead, St Catherine. Yeah. 483 00:27:13,270 --> 00:27:16,790 You've got your stamp for 24th January 1963. 484 00:27:16,830 --> 00:27:19,590 So I think... That's the day when you came. Yeah. 485 00:27:19,630 --> 00:27:22,470 I mean, of all the months to come... Shocking, Jess. 486 00:27:22,510 --> 00:27:24,030 ..from Jamaica to England, 487 00:27:24,070 --> 00:27:26,510 January has got to be the worst, hasn't it? 488 00:27:26,550 --> 00:27:29,070 And the weather was so bad, Jess. 489 00:27:29,110 --> 00:27:31,390 It's just snow. 490 00:27:31,430 --> 00:27:33,270 I literally cried. 491 00:27:33,310 --> 00:27:36,310 I just wanted to be back on my island, you know? 492 00:27:36,350 --> 00:27:38,710 What other pictures have you got? 493 00:27:38,750 --> 00:27:41,590 Right, this one is where...? 494 00:27:41,630 --> 00:27:43,310 You tell me. 495 00:27:43,350 --> 00:27:44,750 Wow. 496 00:27:44,790 --> 00:27:46,830 Grandma and Grandad. 497 00:27:46,870 --> 00:27:49,350 Winston Ennis. Yeah. 498 00:27:49,390 --> 00:27:54,230 My grandma, they called her Grace, but her proper name is Muriel. 499 00:27:54,270 --> 00:27:56,910 Muriel? Muriel, yeah. Oh, wow. 500 00:27:56,950 --> 00:27:59,950 I didn't really know them that well. No, you didn't. 501 00:27:59,990 --> 00:28:02,710 He was a nice dad. He really was. 502 00:28:02,750 --> 00:28:04,990 It's a good picture, though. 503 00:28:05,030 --> 00:28:08,710 So what was life like for Grandma Grace and Grandad Winston 504 00:28:08,750 --> 00:28:10,710 when they first moved here? 505 00:28:10,750 --> 00:28:14,510 Erm, from what I can gather, it weren't very nice for them 506 00:28:14,550 --> 00:28:17,390 because there was a lot of racism. 507 00:28:17,430 --> 00:28:23,350 And, you know, they'd go on the bus and people have a go at them. 508 00:28:23,390 --> 00:28:26,590 But, erm, they just got on with it 509 00:28:26,630 --> 00:28:30,350 because they had kids to support and things like that. 510 00:28:30,390 --> 00:28:33,470 And what did they do for work when they came here? 511 00:28:33,510 --> 00:28:36,070 Do you know? Your grandad's a builder. 512 00:28:36,110 --> 00:28:38,310 I think Mum trained up to be a nurse. 513 00:28:38,350 --> 00:28:40,670 OK, yeah. I remember you saying. Yeah. 514 00:28:40,710 --> 00:28:46,270 We came and we settled down and just kind of got on with life. 515 00:28:46,310 --> 00:28:49,630 So, I mean, I've never been to Jamaica. 516 00:28:49,670 --> 00:28:52,750 I haven't been for 60 years. Yeah. You've never been back. 517 00:28:52,790 --> 00:28:54,710 I've never been back, no. 518 00:28:54,750 --> 00:28:59,430 But I just feel like now's the time where I have this opportunity to, 519 00:28:59,470 --> 00:29:04,310 you know, go to Jamaica, and I want to find out more about my family. 520 00:29:04,350 --> 00:29:07,110 And I'm really looking forward to going back. Yeah. 521 00:29:07,150 --> 00:29:09,190 For us to do it together is special. 522 00:29:09,230 --> 00:29:12,950 For us to do it together is just a special thing. Yeah. 523 00:29:18,150 --> 00:29:22,750 Jess and her dad have travelled over 4,500 miles to Jamaica. 524 00:29:27,350 --> 00:29:31,150 I don't know what I imagined it would be like, but it's amazing. 525 00:29:31,190 --> 00:29:34,710 Like, just the little rivers and all the fruit on the trees 526 00:29:34,750 --> 00:29:36,430 and the heat. 527 00:29:36,470 --> 00:29:38,350 The heat is nice! 528 00:29:40,150 --> 00:29:43,230 It's Jess's first-ever visit to the island, 529 00:29:43,270 --> 00:29:46,630 and she's starting her journey by heading to where her dad grew up, 530 00:29:46,670 --> 00:29:50,230 a town called Linstead in the parish of St Catherine. 531 00:29:51,390 --> 00:29:53,390 So we're on our way to Linstead. 532 00:29:53,430 --> 00:29:56,710 Yes. We're going to go and meet some of the family. 533 00:29:56,750 --> 00:29:59,990 I've heard names and lots of aunts. 534 00:30:00,030 --> 00:30:02,670 And there's lots of cousins. 535 00:30:02,710 --> 00:30:05,230 But I've never met many of them. 536 00:30:05,270 --> 00:30:07,710 Yeah, I'm so excited, Jess, you won't believe it. 537 00:30:09,190 --> 00:30:12,750 Jess's extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins 538 00:30:12,790 --> 00:30:15,870 have gathered in Linstead to welcome her and Vinnie. 539 00:30:17,430 --> 00:30:19,990 Oh, it's so nice to meet you. 540 00:30:26,790 --> 00:30:29,430 Oh, nice to finally meet you. 541 00:30:29,470 --> 00:30:33,510 I remember Aunt Edna. You remember Aunt Edna, good. Lovely. 542 00:30:41,030 --> 00:30:42,350 Oh. 543 00:30:42,390 --> 00:30:44,750 I've met everyone. I know everyone now. 544 00:30:44,790 --> 00:30:46,790 You know everyone. OK. 545 00:30:46,830 --> 00:30:48,830 That's good, that's good. 546 00:30:48,870 --> 00:30:50,270 Hey, man. 547 00:30:50,310 --> 00:30:52,350 Sorry me take so long. 548 00:30:52,390 --> 00:30:56,590 Long to come. Oh, but you are here now. You are here now. 549 00:30:57,950 --> 00:30:59,230 Mm. 550 00:31:01,030 --> 00:31:05,350 Yeah, it's really surreal to actually be here because, you know, 551 00:31:05,390 --> 00:31:08,630 I've heard so many stories that my dad's told over the years 552 00:31:08,670 --> 00:31:10,430 about his time here. 553 00:31:10,470 --> 00:31:15,070 And for me to see it in real life and meet the rest of the family, 554 00:31:15,110 --> 00:31:18,230 and, yeah, it's just really emotional. 555 00:31:18,270 --> 00:31:20,950 To help her trace her family further back, 556 00:31:20,990 --> 00:31:24,510 Jess is talking to Edna, her grandmother Grace's younger sister. 557 00:31:25,550 --> 00:31:28,110 Jessica, it's so nice to meet you. 558 00:31:28,150 --> 00:31:30,190 Oh, thank you for having me. 559 00:31:30,230 --> 00:31:35,070 I am your great-auntie, sister of Grace. 560 00:31:35,110 --> 00:31:37,190 My grandmother Grace, yeah. 561 00:31:37,230 --> 00:31:40,150 So you're one of 12? I'm one of 12. 562 00:31:40,190 --> 00:31:42,710 Seven girls and five boys. 563 00:31:42,750 --> 00:31:46,110 That's a big family. But I'm the last of the 12. 564 00:31:46,150 --> 00:31:48,190 You're the last one? Yes. 565 00:31:48,230 --> 00:31:52,630 So this house was where we lived. 566 00:31:52,670 --> 00:31:56,870 And it meant a lot to us as children. 567 00:31:56,910 --> 00:32:00,350 I really cherish the memories of Mum and Dad. 568 00:32:01,750 --> 00:32:03,190 Look at him. 569 00:32:04,390 --> 00:32:07,150 Wow. So this is... That's my father. 570 00:32:07,190 --> 00:32:10,550 So my great-grandad. Yes. Your great-grandad. 571 00:32:10,590 --> 00:32:12,870 And his name is James Thomas. 572 00:32:14,230 --> 00:32:16,830 Wow. And we called him Imey. 573 00:32:16,870 --> 00:32:18,390 Wow. 574 00:32:18,430 --> 00:32:20,430 He looks very smart. 575 00:32:20,470 --> 00:32:21,870 Imey. 576 00:32:21,910 --> 00:32:25,590 He really was a lovely man. You would have loved him, Jessica. 577 00:32:25,630 --> 00:32:27,070 This is... 578 00:32:28,110 --> 00:32:30,070 ..a picture of my mother. 579 00:32:30,110 --> 00:32:32,470 Wow. Louise White. 580 00:32:32,510 --> 00:32:35,390 My great-grandma. Your great-grandma. 581 00:32:35,430 --> 00:32:37,350 She looks so... 582 00:32:37,390 --> 00:32:41,550 Very proper and very... She was. ..you know, very well dressed. 583 00:32:41,590 --> 00:32:45,870 Beautiful white dress. You can see the buttons down the middle. 584 00:32:45,910 --> 00:32:47,990 Hair's perfect. 585 00:32:48,030 --> 00:32:50,550 Even going down the road, 586 00:32:50,590 --> 00:32:54,350 she would make sure that she's properly dressed. 587 00:32:54,390 --> 00:32:57,070 She was so well put together. 588 00:32:57,110 --> 00:33:01,310 So where was grandma, my great-grandma Louise, born? 589 00:33:01,350 --> 00:33:04,430 The area was known as St John's. 590 00:33:04,470 --> 00:33:10,310 Now, in the White family, they have a lot of farms. 591 00:33:10,350 --> 00:33:15,110 Coffee was one of the main products, along with sugar cane. 592 00:33:15,150 --> 00:33:17,910 So great-grandma's family, you know, 593 00:33:17,950 --> 00:33:21,710 they come from quite a wealthy family, really, with lots of land. 594 00:33:21,750 --> 00:33:24,830 Yes. So we still have a lot of land here. 595 00:33:24,870 --> 00:33:26,870 And where does it all come from? 596 00:33:26,910 --> 00:33:30,350 From what I can recall, it was always there. 597 00:33:30,390 --> 00:33:34,790 My mum's side of the family, they all have big farms, 598 00:33:34,830 --> 00:33:40,750 and all the family around would seem to be very productive. 599 00:33:40,790 --> 00:33:45,670 Gosh. I'd love to understand where it all started for them. 600 00:33:47,950 --> 00:33:51,870 Meeting her relatives has helped Jess trace her Jamaican ancestry 601 00:33:51,910 --> 00:33:56,350 back to her great-grandparents, James - or Imey - Thomas, 602 00:33:56,390 --> 00:34:00,630 and Louise White, who came from a landowning family. 603 00:34:01,910 --> 00:34:04,110 So while her dad stays to catch up, 604 00:34:04,150 --> 00:34:08,790 Jess wants to find out how the White family came to own so much land. 605 00:34:08,830 --> 00:34:11,670 She's come to St John's Anglican Church 606 00:34:11,710 --> 00:34:14,790 in the parish where her great-grandmother was born 607 00:34:14,830 --> 00:34:17,390 to meet historian Dr Shani Roper. 608 00:34:17,430 --> 00:34:18,870 Hi. 609 00:34:18,910 --> 00:34:20,910 Hi. Really nice to meet you. 610 00:34:20,950 --> 00:34:23,350 I'm Shani. Nice to meet you, Shani. 611 00:34:23,390 --> 00:34:25,630 Welcome to St John's Anglican Church, 612 00:34:25,670 --> 00:34:28,070 one of the oldest churches in the country. 613 00:34:29,510 --> 00:34:32,550 So I've found out a little bit about my family. 614 00:34:32,590 --> 00:34:36,550 My great-grandma Louise, her family had a lot of land. 615 00:34:36,590 --> 00:34:40,510 And I'm trying to understand, you know, where it all started. 616 00:34:40,550 --> 00:34:43,350 OK, so as we start that journey, 617 00:34:43,390 --> 00:34:49,710 I'd like to share this will with you...dated 1900. 618 00:34:49,750 --> 00:34:53,150 So this is the will for George McLeod White. 619 00:34:53,190 --> 00:34:56,230 So this is your three times great-grandfather. 620 00:34:56,270 --> 00:34:57,750 Wow. 621 00:34:57,790 --> 00:35:02,870 So, "I give and bequeath to my beloved wife, Mary Ann White, 622 00:35:02,910 --> 00:35:05,390 "my dwelling house and furniture, 623 00:35:05,430 --> 00:35:08,910 "with a piece of land with coffee and fruit trees." 624 00:35:08,950 --> 00:35:15,270 And then he's saying he's giving to his son, Felix Augustus White... 625 00:35:15,310 --> 00:35:19,510 So this is your two times... Great-grandfather. Right. 626 00:35:19,550 --> 00:35:22,790 "Two acres of land off Long Hill." 627 00:35:24,030 --> 00:35:27,230 It looks like he owns maybe about 15 acres of land. 628 00:35:27,270 --> 00:35:29,270 Yes, that's exactly correct. 629 00:35:29,310 --> 00:35:32,430 So he's got a lot of land. He's got a lot of land. 630 00:35:32,470 --> 00:35:35,790 And then got passed down through the family to Felix, 631 00:35:35,830 --> 00:35:40,150 to then Louise, who's my great-grandmother. 632 00:35:40,190 --> 00:35:41,790 Absolutely. 633 00:35:41,830 --> 00:35:45,110 Can we trace this line any further back, though? 634 00:35:45,150 --> 00:35:46,990 I'm going to show you this record. 635 00:35:48,550 --> 00:35:52,470 So this is the marriage between George McLeod White 636 00:35:52,510 --> 00:35:54,390 and Mary Ann Smith. 637 00:35:54,430 --> 00:35:57,910 And so they got married April 21st 1880. 638 00:35:57,950 --> 00:35:59,430 Right. 639 00:35:59,470 --> 00:36:01,950 So I just want you to look at that column. 640 00:36:01,990 --> 00:36:06,070 Yeah, so the father of George McLeod White was George Thomas White. 641 00:36:06,110 --> 00:36:07,470 Right. 642 00:36:07,510 --> 00:36:11,990 So we now know that he was my four times great-grandfather. 643 00:36:12,030 --> 00:36:13,350 Yeah. 644 00:36:13,390 --> 00:36:15,950 But do we know anything more about him? 645 00:36:15,990 --> 00:36:18,190 Well, now that you've asked! 646 00:36:18,230 --> 00:36:21,630 What do we know? Yeah, we have another record. 647 00:36:24,110 --> 00:36:26,910 OK. So registered deaths. 648 00:36:28,190 --> 00:36:30,350 And it's for George Thomas White. 649 00:36:30,390 --> 00:36:33,070 So my fourth time great-grandfather. Right. 650 00:36:33,110 --> 00:36:37,550 And he died on 3rd June 1879. 651 00:36:37,590 --> 00:36:39,150 Mm-hm. 652 00:36:39,190 --> 00:36:41,270 And he lived to 90 years. 653 00:36:41,310 --> 00:36:43,070 Yes. A good age. 654 00:36:43,110 --> 00:36:46,350 And then his occupation was a cooper. 655 00:36:47,390 --> 00:36:49,230 And what does that mean? 656 00:36:49,270 --> 00:36:54,630 OK, so a cooper is a person who makes the barrel to hold rum... 657 00:36:54,670 --> 00:36:57,430 Mm-hm. ..for the ageing process. 658 00:36:57,470 --> 00:37:01,870 So it's actually a very important profession to have at that time. 659 00:37:01,910 --> 00:37:05,430 Do we know anything else about George Thomas White's life? 660 00:37:05,470 --> 00:37:09,750 Yes. We have one more record for you to look at. 661 00:37:09,790 --> 00:37:11,350 OK. 662 00:37:11,390 --> 00:37:13,670 This is a baptismal record. 663 00:37:13,710 --> 00:37:16,950 So this is 1823. 664 00:37:16,990 --> 00:37:20,030 OK, George Thomas White. 665 00:37:20,070 --> 00:37:23,310 This record originates from this church. 666 00:37:23,350 --> 00:37:25,270 So he was here? 667 00:37:25,310 --> 00:37:26,790 Yeah. 668 00:37:26,830 --> 00:37:30,270 That's incredible. There's some additional information. 669 00:37:31,990 --> 00:37:33,710 So he was aged 28. 670 00:37:34,990 --> 00:37:38,350 "And where belonging - Water Mount Estate." 671 00:37:39,910 --> 00:37:42,390 So where is Water Mount Estate? 672 00:37:42,430 --> 00:37:45,390 Water Mount Estate no longer exists 673 00:37:45,430 --> 00:37:49,310 because originally it would be a sugar plantation. 674 00:37:49,350 --> 00:37:51,350 So a sugar estate. 675 00:37:51,390 --> 00:37:55,270 So what this record tells us is that, more than likely, 676 00:37:55,310 --> 00:38:00,230 based on the time period that we're talking about, which is 1823, 677 00:38:00,270 --> 00:38:04,430 that George Thomas White was born into slavery 678 00:38:04,470 --> 00:38:10,150 and he was enslaved at the Water Mount sugar estate. 679 00:38:10,190 --> 00:38:14,630 So he, you know... Essentially, he was a slave. 680 00:38:14,670 --> 00:38:16,310 Right. 681 00:38:16,350 --> 00:38:20,350 So the term that we use in the Caribbean is "enslaved". 682 00:38:20,390 --> 00:38:22,030 He was enslaved. 683 00:38:22,070 --> 00:38:25,470 Right, because slavery is a state that's imposed. Yeah. 684 00:38:25,510 --> 00:38:28,270 You know, it's not a natural state of being. 685 00:38:28,310 --> 00:38:29,910 Mm-hm. Right? 686 00:38:29,950 --> 00:38:31,190 So... 687 00:38:31,230 --> 00:38:35,430 And it's one way to recognise the humanity of the person 688 00:38:35,470 --> 00:38:40,150 who is living and navigating through the system of slavery. 689 00:38:40,190 --> 00:38:45,390 And so because he's 28 here and that's 1823, 690 00:38:45,430 --> 00:38:50,030 so that means he was born in 1795? 691 00:38:50,070 --> 00:38:52,150 About that time. 692 00:38:52,190 --> 00:38:55,030 One of the things is that, for this period, 693 00:38:55,070 --> 00:38:58,270 it's very difficult to get an exact date. OK. 694 00:38:58,310 --> 00:39:01,190 Because you don't have birth certificates 695 00:39:01,230 --> 00:39:03,470 for persons born during slavery. 696 00:39:03,510 --> 00:39:07,590 You're considered an asset, not a person. 697 00:39:07,630 --> 00:39:10,230 So this is a really important document. 698 00:39:10,270 --> 00:39:12,150 It's a very important document. 699 00:39:12,190 --> 00:39:15,270 And I will tell you that this is phenomenal. Really? 700 00:39:15,310 --> 00:39:20,110 Because most people cannot trace their family this far back. Wow. 701 00:39:23,390 --> 00:39:26,190 Yeah. Did not expect to find all this. 702 00:39:27,870 --> 00:39:31,750 I just want to know more. I want to know more about George Thomas White. 703 00:39:31,790 --> 00:39:33,790 I want to know about his life. 704 00:39:33,830 --> 00:39:37,630 Just to understand what he's been through because he... 705 00:39:39,230 --> 00:39:42,070 I feel like it really starts here with him. 706 00:39:48,910 --> 00:39:53,630 I suppose, in a way, when half of your heritage is Jamaican, 707 00:39:53,670 --> 00:39:57,910 there's that thought of, you know, were my relatives enslaved 708 00:39:57,950 --> 00:40:00,110 at some stage in their life? 709 00:40:00,150 --> 00:40:04,270 But to actually be here and trace right back 710 00:40:04,310 --> 00:40:07,830 and understand that my family members have been through 711 00:40:07,870 --> 00:40:12,630 the most awful period of time and been subjected to, 712 00:40:12,670 --> 00:40:18,270 you know, unimaginable lives, really, erm, yeah, it's hard. 713 00:40:18,310 --> 00:40:21,590 It's hard to see it, you know, right out in front of you. 714 00:40:21,630 --> 00:40:22,910 So I just want to know 715 00:40:22,950 --> 00:40:26,310 what my four times great-grandfather went through 716 00:40:26,350 --> 00:40:30,390 because there's a big switch from when he was enslaved, 717 00:40:30,430 --> 00:40:32,630 and then a generation down the line, 718 00:40:32,670 --> 00:40:35,470 it kind of changed a lot for our family. 719 00:40:35,510 --> 00:40:39,310 We owned land and we were able to pass that down 720 00:40:39,350 --> 00:40:41,230 to further generations. 721 00:40:41,270 --> 00:40:44,790 So I'd like to understand, you know, the real root of it. 722 00:40:44,830 --> 00:40:48,830 What did they have to overcome and how did they do it? 723 00:40:48,870 --> 00:40:53,350 Jess has now pushed her paternal family tree back six generations 724 00:40:53,390 --> 00:40:55,390 to the 18th century. 725 00:40:55,430 --> 00:40:57,950 She's discovered land ownership in the family 726 00:40:57,990 --> 00:41:00,910 as far back as her three times great-grandfather, 727 00:41:00,950 --> 00:41:03,350 George McLeod white, but his father, 728 00:41:03,390 --> 00:41:07,430 her four times great-grandfather George Thomas White 729 00:41:07,470 --> 00:41:11,390 was enslaved on a sugar estate, where he worked as a cooper. 730 00:41:11,430 --> 00:41:15,710 To find out more about what George's life might have been like, 731 00:41:15,750 --> 00:41:19,270 Jess is heading to Hampden Estate, which has grown sugar cane 732 00:41:19,310 --> 00:41:22,750 and distilled it into rum since the 1760s. 733 00:41:22,790 --> 00:41:26,710 She's joined by historian Dr Suzanne Francis-Brown. 734 00:41:28,470 --> 00:41:30,870 So this is the old rum store. OK. 735 00:41:30,910 --> 00:41:36,110 So this is where the rum is being kept 736 00:41:36,150 --> 00:41:38,550 in large casks for ageing. 737 00:41:38,590 --> 00:41:42,830 Your four times great-grandfather would have used metal bands 738 00:41:42,870 --> 00:41:47,430 to hold them together so tightly that the liquid would not escape. 739 00:41:47,470 --> 00:41:50,230 Wow. So he was... He was a skilled man. 740 00:41:50,270 --> 00:41:53,430 Absolutely. He would have been an artisan. 741 00:41:53,470 --> 00:41:57,270 It was one of the major skills required on the estate. 742 00:41:58,750 --> 00:42:02,430 Jamaica was colonised by Britain in 1655. 743 00:42:02,470 --> 00:42:06,510 Over one million people were enslaved and transported from Africa 744 00:42:06,550 --> 00:42:09,590 to labour on the island's sugar plantations. 745 00:42:09,630 --> 00:42:14,070 It soon became one of the world's biggest producers of sugar and rum, 746 00:42:14,110 --> 00:42:18,150 generating enormous wealth for British estate owners. 747 00:42:18,190 --> 00:42:23,590 Hundreds of thousands more, like Jess's ancestor George Thomas White, 748 00:42:23,630 --> 00:42:25,950 were born into slavery. 749 00:42:25,990 --> 00:42:29,430 I found records of my four times great-grandfather. 750 00:42:29,470 --> 00:42:34,550 He was enslaved, but I don't know how long he was enslaved 751 00:42:34,590 --> 00:42:38,550 and I don't know what his life would have been like. 752 00:42:38,590 --> 00:42:43,550 One of the ways in which we try and find out a lot of information, 753 00:42:43,590 --> 00:42:48,150 we go back to something called the slave returns or slave registers. 754 00:42:48,190 --> 00:42:53,430 Erm, and they give certain sorts of information 755 00:42:53,470 --> 00:42:58,230 about all of the persons who were enslaved in Jamaica. OK. 756 00:42:58,270 --> 00:43:05,590 So what I have here is the 1817 return for the Water Mount Estate, 757 00:43:05,630 --> 00:43:10,470 the property where your four times great-grandfather was enslaved. 758 00:43:10,510 --> 00:43:13,030 So do you want to take a look? 759 00:43:13,070 --> 00:43:17,550 It starts here with the owner's information. 760 00:43:17,590 --> 00:43:21,950 So I can see the owners were James Williams 761 00:43:21,990 --> 00:43:24,110 and Ann Williams? Mm-hm. 762 00:43:25,270 --> 00:43:26,550 And... 763 00:43:27,750 --> 00:43:31,470 ..this is a list of males who were here. 764 00:43:33,230 --> 00:43:35,030 Erm... So many. 765 00:43:36,790 --> 00:43:40,270 I can see a Thomas there, but he would be... 766 00:43:40,310 --> 00:43:42,630 He would be on here as George. 767 00:43:42,670 --> 00:43:46,750 Unfortunately, you're not going to find George. Not like that. 768 00:43:46,790 --> 00:43:49,350 You're four times great-grandfather 769 00:43:49,390 --> 00:43:54,110 was baptised as George Thomas White in 1823. 770 00:43:54,150 --> 00:43:55,990 This is 1817. 771 00:43:56,030 --> 00:44:00,550 We don't know what his name was at that point. 772 00:44:00,590 --> 00:44:03,350 He could have had a completely different name. 773 00:44:03,390 --> 00:44:05,790 He could have had a completely different name. 774 00:44:05,830 --> 00:44:08,030 This would have been everybody 775 00:44:08,070 --> 00:44:11,990 that was living on that estate in 1817. 776 00:44:12,030 --> 00:44:14,030 It's like a snapshot. 777 00:44:14,070 --> 00:44:18,230 So do you know how, you know, the owners of a property like this 778 00:44:18,270 --> 00:44:21,390 would actually treat, you know, enslaved people 779 00:44:21,430 --> 00:44:24,350 and what it would have been like for them? 780 00:44:24,390 --> 00:44:26,790 Slavery was a brutal system, 781 00:44:26,830 --> 00:44:32,470 in the sense that it was about people being used 782 00:44:32,510 --> 00:44:36,390 in the way machines are presently used 783 00:44:36,430 --> 00:44:40,950 in order to create benefit for their owners. 784 00:44:40,990 --> 00:44:46,190 On some estates, erm, overseers would have been encouraged 785 00:44:46,230 --> 00:44:50,310 to use the whip to drive people as hard as it was possible. 786 00:44:50,350 --> 00:44:54,830 They often worked from daylight to sunset. Yeah. 787 00:44:54,870 --> 00:44:59,550 These people were part of what made it economical 788 00:44:59,590 --> 00:45:02,070 to produce these products. 789 00:45:02,110 --> 00:45:04,790 Yeah. And with my four times great-grandfather, 790 00:45:04,830 --> 00:45:08,670 George Thomas White, I know that he was a cooper. 791 00:45:08,710 --> 00:45:13,790 Did he see an opportunity in life beyond his existence here? 792 00:45:13,830 --> 00:45:20,710 So in 1833, an act was passed for the abolition of slavery, 793 00:45:20,750 --> 00:45:24,790 but it included a number of caveats, 794 00:45:24,830 --> 00:45:29,190 one of the main ones being that enslaved people 795 00:45:29,230 --> 00:45:35,510 should serve a period of another four to six years as apprentices. 796 00:45:35,550 --> 00:45:39,070 Within the same estate? Within the same estate. 797 00:45:39,110 --> 00:45:46,190 And you were bound to work 40.5 hours each week, free, 798 00:45:46,230 --> 00:45:50,430 for your former enslaver. 799 00:45:50,470 --> 00:45:54,110 My four times great-grandfather must have been here feeling, 800 00:45:54,150 --> 00:45:57,510 "I'm going to be free," but then actually no. 801 00:45:57,550 --> 00:46:00,430 Mm-hm. Me sat here listening to that 802 00:46:00,470 --> 00:46:03,830 brings such a level of frustration and disbelief. 803 00:46:03,870 --> 00:46:06,310 I can't imagine how it must have felt. 804 00:46:06,350 --> 00:46:08,430 It's almost like that carrot's been dangled, 805 00:46:08,470 --> 00:46:10,950 like, here's the potential, this is what you could have, 806 00:46:10,990 --> 00:46:13,550 but it's not going to happen for four to six years. 807 00:46:13,590 --> 00:46:16,190 Like, that is a long period. Yeah. 808 00:46:17,550 --> 00:46:20,590 Rather than abolish slavery in Jamaica immediately, 809 00:46:20,630 --> 00:46:23,790 the British government introduced a transitional period 810 00:46:23,830 --> 00:46:25,990 called the Apprenticeship System. 811 00:46:26,030 --> 00:46:30,830 Now known as an apprentice, Jess's ancestor George Thomas White 812 00:46:30,870 --> 00:46:34,710 remained in forced labour for 40.5 hours per week. 813 00:46:34,750 --> 00:46:39,710 Whilst enslaved, people had been forced to work much longer hours, 814 00:46:39,750 --> 00:46:41,910 so to maintain their operations, 815 00:46:41,950 --> 00:46:45,790 estate owners offered additional hours in return for a small wage, 816 00:46:45,830 --> 00:46:47,870 known as "work for hire". 817 00:46:49,670 --> 00:46:52,350 So here is another document, 818 00:46:52,390 --> 00:46:56,270 which is a copy of a dispatch from the governor 819 00:46:56,310 --> 00:46:59,310 to the lord in England. 820 00:46:59,350 --> 00:47:04,590 OK, so the estates where apprentices work for hire. 821 00:47:04,630 --> 00:47:05,950 Right. 822 00:47:05,990 --> 00:47:09,070 So I'm looking for Water Mount. 823 00:47:11,590 --> 00:47:16,990 So Water Mount here and it says, "Refuse to work for hire." 824 00:47:17,030 --> 00:47:20,470 Right. So everybody said they don't want the... 825 00:47:20,510 --> 00:47:22,350 A large number of... 826 00:47:22,390 --> 00:47:25,190 The majority, they don't want the extra hours. 827 00:47:25,230 --> 00:47:27,790 They don't want to do any more work. 828 00:47:27,830 --> 00:47:30,950 The hope was that whatever extra hours the planters offered, 829 00:47:30,990 --> 00:47:33,310 the apprentices would take up, 830 00:47:33,350 --> 00:47:36,430 and they would therefore earn some additional money for that, 831 00:47:36,470 --> 00:47:40,030 and the planters would get the labour that they needed. OK. 832 00:47:40,070 --> 00:47:43,830 So in in this instance... It's been refused. 833 00:47:43,870 --> 00:47:47,870 Right. So... So they were offered... But they absolutely have refused. 834 00:47:47,910 --> 00:47:49,990 At this point, the planters know 835 00:47:50,030 --> 00:47:52,710 that they're losing their labour force. 836 00:47:52,750 --> 00:47:56,190 Yeah, I suppose that they were losing control. 837 00:47:56,230 --> 00:47:58,310 You know, the plantation owners. 838 00:47:58,350 --> 00:48:02,510 It just speaks so loudly that George Thomas White, 839 00:48:02,550 --> 00:48:06,070 he was potentially one of those people that said, 840 00:48:06,110 --> 00:48:11,110 "No, I'm not giving any more to this estate. 841 00:48:11,150 --> 00:48:12,910 "Enough's enough." 842 00:48:12,950 --> 00:48:14,430 And that... 843 00:48:14,470 --> 00:48:17,670 You know, that makes me incredibly proud 844 00:48:17,710 --> 00:48:20,550 that he was one of those people. 845 00:48:20,590 --> 00:48:25,750 So do we know what he went to do, you know, when he was set free? 846 00:48:25,790 --> 00:48:30,310 We have some good ideas which we're going to share with you. 847 00:48:32,030 --> 00:48:34,190 Jess and Suzanne are travelling 848 00:48:34,230 --> 00:48:36,710 to what was once the Water Mount Estate, 849 00:48:36,750 --> 00:48:39,790 the place where George Thomas White was enslaved. 850 00:48:41,390 --> 00:48:43,470 It's quite a strange feeling to... 851 00:48:44,510 --> 00:48:46,310 ..be stood here. 852 00:48:46,350 --> 00:48:51,270 This view probably hasn't changed that much. 853 00:48:51,310 --> 00:48:53,550 It's what he would have seen. 854 00:48:55,030 --> 00:48:56,990 It feels quite sombre. 855 00:48:57,030 --> 00:48:58,990 It just feels like it's got... 856 00:49:00,030 --> 00:49:03,510 ..I don't know, quite a negative energy I feel walking down here. 857 00:49:06,790 --> 00:49:09,910 So do you think this building was here? 858 00:49:09,950 --> 00:49:14,310 Well, not in its current state because this is a modern structure. 859 00:49:14,350 --> 00:49:17,750 Yeah. But it's on old... It's on old foundations. 860 00:49:17,790 --> 00:49:20,630 You can see... Yeah, yeah. All the way around. 861 00:49:20,670 --> 00:49:22,390 Oh, look down here. 862 00:49:23,670 --> 00:49:25,430 Is that 1764? 863 00:49:25,470 --> 00:49:27,150 That sure is. 864 00:49:27,190 --> 00:49:29,990 Those are initials at the top. Can you see? 865 00:49:30,030 --> 00:49:31,870 It's something "W". Mm-hm. 866 00:49:31,910 --> 00:49:34,390 Is this James Williams that was the owner 867 00:49:34,430 --> 00:49:37,230 on the slave registration forms? 868 00:49:37,270 --> 00:49:42,350 So this would actually have been James Williams's father, 869 00:49:42,390 --> 00:49:44,790 who was also James Williams. OK. 870 00:49:44,830 --> 00:49:47,590 And he was the earlier owner of the estate. 871 00:49:47,630 --> 00:49:50,510 And then passed down. And then it was passed down. 872 00:49:50,550 --> 00:49:52,710 That's crazy to see that. 873 00:49:54,710 --> 00:49:57,550 You feel how deep those incisions are. Yeah. 874 00:49:59,110 --> 00:50:03,070 But, yeah, it's very strange to think that it's still here 875 00:50:03,110 --> 00:50:04,990 after all those years. 876 00:50:05,030 --> 00:50:07,070 1764. Mm-hm. 877 00:50:07,110 --> 00:50:11,590 And it obviously carries so much history and emotion 878 00:50:11,630 --> 00:50:13,750 and a lot of pain. 879 00:50:13,790 --> 00:50:15,670 It feels quite eerie. 880 00:50:15,710 --> 00:50:18,590 You know, that connection with me standing here, 881 00:50:18,630 --> 00:50:20,830 looking at that, reading that. 882 00:50:20,870 --> 00:50:23,870 It just collapses time. Yeah. Yeah. 883 00:50:26,590 --> 00:50:29,070 I feel like I've found out so much more 884 00:50:29,110 --> 00:50:31,870 about my fourth time great-grandfather already, 885 00:50:31,910 --> 00:50:36,070 but I still don't understand where the land came from in our family 886 00:50:36,110 --> 00:50:38,870 and how did we acquire this land? 887 00:50:38,910 --> 00:50:41,310 I think the first thing to think 888 00:50:41,350 --> 00:50:45,350 is that your four times great-grandfather had abilities 889 00:50:45,390 --> 00:50:47,590 that allowed him to earn. 890 00:50:49,270 --> 00:50:53,310 He was a cooper, so after the emancipation, 891 00:50:53,350 --> 00:50:56,910 his skills would have continued to be important. 892 00:50:56,950 --> 00:51:01,230 Sugar and rum continued to be important parts of the economy. 893 00:51:01,270 --> 00:51:03,510 So from that period on, 894 00:51:03,550 --> 00:51:07,190 he'd have been more or less in control of his circumstances. 895 00:51:07,230 --> 00:51:10,030 Yeah. But I think you'll be interested in this. 896 00:51:10,070 --> 00:51:15,590 So this is actually, erm, a land conveyance document. 897 00:51:15,630 --> 00:51:19,190 "This indenture made between James Williams 898 00:51:19,230 --> 00:51:21,350 "of that part of the United Kingdom 899 00:51:21,390 --> 00:51:24,790 "and George Thomas White of the parish of St John... 900 00:51:26,070 --> 00:51:30,990 "..that in consideration of the sum of £160." 901 00:51:32,430 --> 00:51:38,070 And it says, "Assigns all those two several pieces or parcels of land 902 00:51:38,110 --> 00:51:40,190 "being in the parish of St John, 903 00:51:40,230 --> 00:51:42,870 "being part of the Water Mount Estate, 904 00:51:42,910 --> 00:51:46,270 "the one parcel containing 25 acres." 905 00:51:47,630 --> 00:51:51,110 So there's obviously been some kind of... 906 00:51:52,150 --> 00:51:54,470 ..transferring of land. Mm-hm. 907 00:51:54,510 --> 00:51:59,710 So it's a legal exchange... OK. ..that is made in 1840. 908 00:51:59,750 --> 00:52:01,950 So in November 1840. 909 00:52:01,990 --> 00:52:04,950 So two years after the end of slavery 910 00:52:04,990 --> 00:52:08,510 and the land at Water Mount which is being transferred 911 00:52:08,550 --> 00:52:10,470 had belonged to James Williams. 912 00:52:10,510 --> 00:52:12,830 Yeah. Who's... Who's the owner. 913 00:52:12,870 --> 00:52:14,950 And it's being purchased... 914 00:52:16,270 --> 00:52:18,470 By George Thomas White. Right. 915 00:52:18,510 --> 00:52:21,270 Obviously my four time great-grandfather. Right. 916 00:52:21,310 --> 00:52:23,350 But how does that happen? 917 00:52:23,390 --> 00:52:25,470 I have so many questions. 918 00:52:25,510 --> 00:52:27,150 Like, how... OK. 919 00:52:27,190 --> 00:52:30,150 Firstly, what happened to the estate? 920 00:52:30,190 --> 00:52:34,030 You know, did it just completely shut down? 921 00:52:34,070 --> 00:52:39,470 So in post-emancipation Jamaica, a lot of estates got into trouble, 922 00:52:39,510 --> 00:52:42,270 and obviously that was the case with Water Mount. 923 00:52:42,310 --> 00:52:46,590 They subdivided at least a part of the estate into parcels 924 00:52:46,630 --> 00:52:51,150 and they sold it to whomever would purchase. 925 00:52:51,190 --> 00:52:55,950 And one of the persons who had the interest 926 00:52:55,990 --> 00:53:00,630 and the capacity to purchase was your four times great-grandfather... 927 00:53:00,670 --> 00:53:03,710 George. ..George Thomas White. 928 00:53:03,750 --> 00:53:06,870 But how did he afford to buy this land? 929 00:53:06,910 --> 00:53:11,750 He had skills and a set of circumstances 930 00:53:11,790 --> 00:53:15,310 that put him at an advantage compared to, for instance, 931 00:53:15,350 --> 00:53:17,830 many of the field labourers. 932 00:53:17,870 --> 00:53:22,270 So he would have had potential to perhaps earn slightly more money... 933 00:53:22,310 --> 00:53:25,710 Right. ..through what he could do on the estate. 934 00:53:25,750 --> 00:53:29,270 I mean, what an absolute change. 935 00:53:29,310 --> 00:53:33,070 Like massive, drastic change of circumstances. 936 00:53:33,110 --> 00:53:36,230 I mean, he didn't even have basic rights, really. 937 00:53:36,270 --> 00:53:39,590 He didn't have, you know, control over his life 938 00:53:39,630 --> 00:53:42,550 and, you know, how he worked and what he did, 939 00:53:42,590 --> 00:53:45,550 to then, you know, come to owning land 940 00:53:45,590 --> 00:53:49,070 and been really in control of his future 941 00:53:49,110 --> 00:53:51,590 and his destiny is huge. 942 00:53:51,630 --> 00:53:54,710 And if you asked him at the end of it what was important, 943 00:53:54,750 --> 00:53:56,910 I bet that he wouldn't have said slavery 944 00:53:56,950 --> 00:53:58,950 was the most important thing. Yeah. 945 00:53:58,990 --> 00:54:02,790 You know, my family are so proud of the land that they have. 946 00:54:02,830 --> 00:54:04,750 You know, they're always... 947 00:54:04,790 --> 00:54:07,270 "We've got this land and it's been passed down." 948 00:54:07,310 --> 00:54:09,550 And, you know, such a sense of pride. 949 00:54:09,590 --> 00:54:12,270 And that all comes from George Thomas White. 950 00:54:13,830 --> 00:54:17,310 To finish her journey, Jess is taking her dad Vinnie 951 00:54:17,350 --> 00:54:20,590 to visit the plot that her ancestor George Thomas White 952 00:54:20,630 --> 00:54:23,470 bought after being freed from slavery. 953 00:54:25,590 --> 00:54:27,910 Hi. Hi, I'm Jess. I'm Julius White. 954 00:54:27,950 --> 00:54:30,190 Nice to meet you, Julius. Nice to meet you. 955 00:54:30,230 --> 00:54:33,030 Are you from the White family? I'm from the white family. 956 00:54:33,070 --> 00:54:35,550 Oh, nice to meet you. This is my dad. Yes. Hello, Julius. 957 00:54:35,590 --> 00:54:38,550 Nice to meet you, man. Nice to meet you. All right. 958 00:54:38,590 --> 00:54:41,630 Is this all your land? This is the land. 959 00:54:41,670 --> 00:54:45,230 So if you'd like to take a look and whatever, just come along. 960 00:54:45,270 --> 00:54:48,030 Yeah, we'd love to. Just show us the way. 961 00:54:48,070 --> 00:54:49,870 OK. No problem. 962 00:54:49,910 --> 00:54:54,510 Julius White is also a direct descendant of George Thomas White, 963 00:54:54,550 --> 00:54:57,070 so the land is still in the family. 964 00:54:57,110 --> 00:55:00,110 It was passed down through the generations 965 00:55:00,150 --> 00:55:03,070 from what would be my great-grandfather. 966 00:55:03,110 --> 00:55:04,590 OK. Yeah. 967 00:55:04,630 --> 00:55:07,750 Coming down to my grandfather. Coming down to my father. 968 00:55:07,790 --> 00:55:10,550 And then it came down to us. To you. Yeah. 969 00:55:10,590 --> 00:55:13,350 So, George Thomas White would be what to you, guys? 970 00:55:13,390 --> 00:55:15,550 My fourth time great-grandfather. So 971 00:55:15,590 --> 00:55:19,070 great-great-great-great-grandfather. Great-grandfather. Yeah. 972 00:55:19,110 --> 00:55:22,230 You see where we're coming from with this? Yeah, yeah. 973 00:55:22,270 --> 00:55:25,790 So we are just one family. One family. Yeah. 974 00:55:25,830 --> 00:55:28,510 It's so amazing to be here, 975 00:55:28,550 --> 00:55:32,950 standing in land that goes so far back in our family... 976 00:55:32,990 --> 00:55:35,430 Yeah. ..and meet a long-lost relative. 977 00:55:35,470 --> 00:55:38,270 Yeah. You know... It's just... It's just incredible. 978 00:55:38,310 --> 00:55:39,990 Yeah. Me too, guys. 979 00:55:43,310 --> 00:55:46,070 I didn't imagine that I would be stood here 980 00:55:46,110 --> 00:55:48,830 at the beginning of this whole journey. 981 00:55:48,870 --> 00:55:50,710 It's incredible to think... 982 00:55:51,750 --> 00:55:54,070 ..what, you know, my fourth time great-grandfather 983 00:55:54,110 --> 00:55:55,510 George Thomas White 984 00:55:55,550 --> 00:55:58,950 went through in his life, but he never gave up. 985 00:55:58,990 --> 00:56:02,550 I definitely wanted to find out more about, you know, 986 00:56:02,590 --> 00:56:05,830 did that kind of grit and determination that I had 987 00:56:05,870 --> 00:56:08,550 throughout my kind of career within sport, 988 00:56:08,590 --> 00:56:10,590 did that come from anywhere? 989 00:56:10,630 --> 00:56:13,270 And I've seen that massively demonstrated 990 00:56:13,310 --> 00:56:15,150 and what he went through. 991 00:56:15,190 --> 00:56:18,230 I think that displays the most resilience 992 00:56:18,270 --> 00:56:20,790 and determination I've ever seen. 993 00:56:20,830 --> 00:56:24,470 And if I got an ounce of that from him, then, I mean, 994 00:56:24,510 --> 00:56:27,910 that's, you know, an amazing thing to have. 995 00:56:29,670 --> 00:56:32,990 I think both my great-great-grandmother Maud 996 00:56:33,030 --> 00:56:35,630 and also George Thomas White, you know, 997 00:56:35,670 --> 00:56:38,750 they both hadn't got an identity, essentially. 998 00:56:38,790 --> 00:56:40,710 You know, Maud was a number. 999 00:56:40,750 --> 00:56:44,310 She was a patient on a ward and she didn't have a voice to speak. 1000 00:56:44,350 --> 00:56:46,430 And also George Thomas White, 1001 00:56:46,470 --> 00:56:49,550 he belonged to an establishment, to a place. 1002 00:56:49,590 --> 00:56:52,070 You know, they are tough circumstances 1003 00:56:52,110 --> 00:56:54,070 to navigate yourself through. 1004 00:56:54,110 --> 00:56:56,950 And, yeah, it's been an incredible journey 1005 00:56:56,990 --> 00:57:00,270 to uncover more about those two individuals. 1006 00:57:01,750 --> 00:57:06,830 I think the overriding feeling that I've come away with is pride. 1007 00:57:06,870 --> 00:57:11,870 It's made me view our family and where we come from 1008 00:57:11,910 --> 00:57:13,590 in a completely different light. 1009 00:57:13,630 --> 00:57:16,830 And I get to share all these findings and memories 1010 00:57:16,870 --> 00:57:20,190 and experiences with the rest of my family back home. 1011 00:57:20,230 --> 00:57:23,830 And that's really, really special.