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00:00I am a true East End girl.
00:03Former England footballer, mental health ambassador and presenter Alex Scott
00:08was raised by her mum in East London.
00:11To me that council estate was everything, it was a real sense of community.
00:15Alex started playing football at a young age.
00:18That was when I went through a stage of trying to do my own hair.
00:23The fringe, like what even is that?
00:25When she was just eight years old, she won a place at Arsenal's prestigious training academy.
00:32I never looked back from there.
00:34I suppose it was an extension of a family.
00:37My dad left when I was like seven or eight.
00:40My mum always knew the importance of me keeping a connection with my dad's side of my family.
00:48I've always had this special bond with my nan.
00:52I spent hours and hours with her.
00:53But my mum couldn't do my hair, so I had to travel down to my nan's all the time for
00:57her to wash and plait my hair.
01:00When I got an MBE, I knew the importance of having the women around me that have been my inspiration.
01:08My mum and my nan.
01:10I arranged a surprise afternoon tea, and here we are at the Ritz.
01:17This is my last strong memory of just being with my nan and being happy.
01:26Not long after, she passed away, and for me, this is a way of connecting with her again.
01:33I was brought up in a family where I felt like you didn't ask many questions, so there wasn't that
01:38free-flowing conversation about where you came from.
01:41We just got on with it.
01:44All I know is my nan's from Jamaica.
01:46People ask me, well, where in Jamaica?
01:48I'm like, I don't know.
01:50My mum's side, all I know is there's maybe a bit of Irish.
01:55I know what my mum had to go through, being a white single mum, raising two black kids, and how
02:02hard that was.
02:03And actually, when I question, how did I feel during those times, I would say maybe a little bit lost.
02:11I wasn't black enough to be black.
02:13I wasn't white enough to be white.
02:15Who am I?
02:17Where do I fit?
02:50The main woman in my life is my mum.
02:55So I think it's only right that I start this journey with her.
02:59Hello.
03:00Babe, you all right, darling?
03:01Have you got no fancy on me?
03:02Oh, of course.
03:05So you brought me along some photos?
03:07I have.
03:08Do you know who that is?
03:12That's my mum.
03:13Nanny Lil?
03:14Nanny Lil, my dad, and that's Mickey, my brother.
03:18I've never seen a picture of your dad.
03:19Never seen a picture of your granddad?
03:21You wouldn't have sat down or ever showed me any of those photos.
03:24I think my mum tore most of them up.
03:26Nanny Lil brought me, Mickey and Eddie up.
03:29It was me, one parent family, because my dad left.
03:31She left when we were at school.
03:34So, I mean, she was a tough cookie.
03:36She was strict, but, you know, she had it hard.
03:40She was a good woman.
03:42So then when did your dad?
03:44He left when I was 10, 11.
03:47Uh-huh.
03:48He came over in the 50s.
03:50You say come over?
03:52Your granddad was from Northern Ireland, from Belfast.
03:55This is the first time I feel like I'm even having a conversation with you about, I don't know, your
04:03side of the family.
04:04Nanny Lil passed away when I was super young.
04:07Yeah.
04:08So then he came over and met Nanny Lil.
04:10Her name was actually Leah.
04:13Your great-grandfather was Jewish.
04:15Oh, wow.
04:16We still celebrated the Jewish holidays, even though we wasn't actually raised as strict Jewish.
04:23They was all from Russia.
04:24Wow.
04:25Did you know about your grandparents?
04:28My mum's mum, he died the year after I was born.
04:32But your great-grandfather, Phil Gee, as he's known.
04:36Phil Gee.
04:37Phil Gee.
04:40Philip.
04:40Philip Giddleston.
04:42But everybody knew him as Phil Gee.
04:43He was just a character.
04:46He was what they called a runner.
04:48Someone that took illegal bets.
04:50The police used to get annoyed because they could never catch him.
04:52When he lived with us in his 70s and 80s, every Saturday night, smartly self-opped, the old suit went
05:01on, tie.
05:02Shoes was polished so that you could see your face in them.
05:06And he'd go and meet his friend, young lady by the name of Tina.
05:12And they'd go dancing every Saturday night.
05:14I feel like me and Phil Gee would have got right along.
05:18I have one more photo to show you.
05:21Because that man at the end is Phil Gee.
05:24No.
05:25Yeah.
05:27He would have taught you a step or two.
05:30That's where you get your dancing from.
05:32And you're running.
05:33Sporting.
05:34He was sporting?
05:35You had to be a good runner to run.
05:40Who would give us some more information on Phil Gee?
05:44The best person is Gabby.
05:46My cousin.
05:47So maybe if we give her a quick call.
05:52Hello, Carmen.
05:53Hello, darling.
05:54I've got Alex here that wants to ask you some questions.
05:57Yeah, that's fine.
05:58Hello, Alex.
05:59How are you?
06:00I'm good.
06:01I'm good.
06:01Long time no speak.
06:03Yeah.
06:04Mum showed me a photo of Phil Gee.
06:08I mean, it was quite old by the time I was born.
06:11Yeah.
06:11I remember a little bit about him.
06:13In 1936, Oswald Mosley, they were fascists, were coming down to the East End to protest
06:21about all the Jews that lived in Cable Street.
06:24Phil Gee ended up getting attacked.
06:27So that was quite traumatic for him.
06:29Mm-hmm.
06:30Fascinating about the whole battle.
06:32I don't know the history of that.
06:34But, I mean, that's as much as I know of that.
06:37So do we know Phil Gee's parents' names?
06:40Oh, yes.
06:40Yes, it was Morris and Dara.
06:43Morris and Dara.
06:44When they came over from Russia to get away, basically, that was that.
06:50Okay.
06:50Well, thanks, Gabby.
06:51I'll tell you a couple of stories when I know some.
06:54That'd be great.
06:55All right, send in love and I'll speak to you soon.
06:59Okay, then.
06:59Bye, bye.
07:01It's like for me, trying to process it all and take it in.
07:04There's a lot.
07:05There's a lot.
07:08Alex wants to investigate the story about her great-grandfather, Philip Gittleson,
07:13known as Phil Gee, being attacked by fascists at the Battle of Cable Street,
07:18a major event in East End history.
07:21But first she wants to find out more about her great-great-grandparents, Morris and Dara,
07:26who the family believe fled from Russia.
07:33Kind of in a little bit of shock, to be honest,
07:36that one simple conversation can open up a whole new world that I knew nothing about.
07:44Alex has come to one of the oldest synagogues in London.
07:47She's hoping that historian Alan Dean can tell her more about her Jewish heritage.
07:54Alan, I have never been in a synagogue.
07:56Really? Is that so?
07:58Yeah.
07:59She's over 150 years old.
08:01It's a sort of window into the Jewish East End experience.
08:05Here, what you've got is a really valuable document issued by the best dean.
08:10Yeah, that's it.
08:11Just like the court of law of the United Synagogues.
08:14It enabled your great-great-grandparents, Morris and Dara,
08:18to confirm their Jewish status.
08:21So they could have joined a synagogue, they can claim money from Jewish charities.
08:26Around the time that the document was created, there was a transcript made.
08:30Mr. Morris Gildersen of 16 Architope Hill is the wife of Dara Gildersen,
08:37which I think they've got the wrong way around, to whom she was married at...
08:42It says Zagan, but it's Zagare.
08:45It's in Lithuania.
08:46So yesterday I learned about Russia, and now I'm learning about Lithuania.
08:53Lithuania was within Russia,
08:56and Zagare was a town that was predominantly populated by Jewish people.
09:01When your great-great-grandparents were there,
09:03they would have spoken Yiddish.
09:05They would have lived a traditional Jewish life.
09:09So I see, like, we have the map in front of us.
09:11Where did they live?
09:12Right, so if we look at the left side of the map...
09:15Yeah.
09:16...keep going, and you'll see Zagare.
09:19Zagare.
09:20Oh, yeah, I can see.
09:21At the point your great-great-grandparents were there,
09:25things were changing dramatically.
09:28When Alex's great-great-grandparents lived in Zagare in the late 1800s,
09:33it was part of the vast Russian Empire.
09:37Anti-Semitic policies forced Jews like Morris and Dora to live in certain areas
09:42and made it difficult for them to earn a living.
09:45Violent attacks and massacres of Jews in pogroms
09:48were sweeping through the Empire.
09:50The Gittelsons were among the almost 2 million Jews who fled Russia
09:55between 1881 and 1914.
10:00I can't imagine that journey would have been very easy.
10:04But you're just fleeing in the hope for better.
10:08Exactly.
10:08And hopefully a better start for your children.
10:11This is the birth certificate of your great-grandfather.
10:14So here I can see where Philip was born.
10:1817 St George Street.
10:20You wouldn't know St George Street today
10:22because the name has disappeared completely.
10:26It's actually part of the highway.
10:29I've drove down there many times.
10:30Well, this map captures a moment in time
10:34for the Jewish East London experience.
10:36The areas in blue are where the most Jews lived at the time,
10:42around Spitalfields and Whitechapel.
10:45And in the area that is red,
10:48there was very little presence of Jewish people.
10:50Where the Gittelson family was living was St George Street.
10:56Oh, here, yeah.
10:57It's on the edge of the Jewish community.
11:01As a kid, I've spent so much time around this area
11:04and I've just learnt history that I've been embedded in
11:07but didn't have any idea about.
11:10Yeah, absolutely.
11:11The document we've got in front of us is the census.
11:161911.
11:18I can see some of the names here.
11:20Morris and Dora.
11:22We've got Abraham, Philip.
11:25Is that Etty?
11:26Etty.
11:27There were nine members of the family.
11:31And if we look further down,
11:33all those nine people were living,
11:36if you see right at the bottom...
11:37Yeah, two rooms.
11:38Two rooms.
11:40So that gives you a sense of the state
11:44of that generation of immigrant families at that time.
11:48Wow, this is fascinating.
11:50I've got another document that was produced
11:53many years after the census.
11:55This is 1939.
11:57And this is a register that was produced
11:59at the beginning of the Second World War.
12:02Jittleson.
12:03Abraham.
12:04And Abraham's the older brother of Philip.
12:07So what we have here is an institution
12:09that was based on Fry and Barnet Road,
12:12the Coney Hatch Asylum.
12:15At that point, one of the biggest asylums in the world.
12:19Asylum?
12:22Alex has discovered that her great-grandfather Philip's
12:26older brother, Abraham,
12:27her two-times great-uncle,
12:29was, by the 1930s,
12:32living in Coney Hatch Asylum.
12:37To find out about Abraham
12:39and how he ended up here.
12:42How hard that must have been.
12:47Why did he end up in an asylum?
12:52Alex has come to what was Coney Hatch Asylum
12:55in North London,
12:56now converted into flats.
12:58She's meeting historian Vicky Long.
13:02It's good to meet you.
13:03Lovely to meet you.
13:04Vicky, I found out that Abraham was here.
13:09And then straight away, I think, asylum.
13:12And then you think the worst.
13:14I thought we could maybe take a look
13:16at the photo we have here.
13:17This is Abraham with his wife, Annie.
13:22How smart he looks.
13:23It's a gorgeous photo.
13:25What we have behind that
13:27is another photo of Abraham
13:29when he is admitted here as a patient.
13:32Here you have someone who seems very strong,
13:35very together,
13:36and here I'm looking
13:37at the next photo,
13:39someone sad in the eyes.
13:41I feel lost.
13:43What's the journey
13:44from seeing him like this to this?
13:47Fortunately, we've got quite a good set
13:49of patient case notes.
13:50When he's admitted, he's 41.
13:53And this is in 1934.
13:56He talks to imaginary people
13:59and he says his voice is telling him
14:02that his wife is not faithful to him.
14:05And he has threatened her.
14:06She is frightened of the way he looks at her.
14:10He has been depressed for some time.
14:13Wow.
14:15He has suggested causes.
14:18Unemployment, poverty and stress.
14:22Wow.
14:23When he's admitted in 1934,
14:26it's right at the peak
14:28of the interwar depression.
14:30You know, he's looking around
14:31in a world where there probably
14:33aren't many employment opportunities.
14:36He was really watched by neighbours
14:38who, wow, everyone around him
14:40is seeing these behaviours.
14:41Yes.
14:43And when the case notes talk
14:45about delusions of persecution,
14:47that might reflect
14:48some of his lived experience.
14:51It seems quite likely
14:53that he would have encountered
14:54a fair amount of anti-Semitic prejudice
14:56because Oswald Moseley's
14:58British Union of Fascists
15:00are pretty active
15:01at that point in time.
15:04Politician Oswald Moseley
15:06set up the British Union of Fascists
15:08in 1932 at the height
15:10of the Depression.
15:13Inspired by Adolf Hitler,
15:15Moseley exploited
15:16widespread discontent
15:18and poverty in Britain.
15:22Moseley and his followers,
15:23called the Blackshirts,
15:25were known for their
15:26anti-Semitic marches
15:27and violence
15:28against Jewish communities.
15:31There's quite an interesting entry
15:34towards the bottom.
15:35Oh, the application made this day
15:38to a subcommittee by wife
15:40for his discharge
15:42and it was refused.
15:43Yeah.
15:44If you look at his case notes
15:46as a whole,
15:47there are five occasions
15:49where his wife, Annie,
15:52petitions the hospital
15:53to discharge her husband.
15:56And they don't let him out?
15:57And they refuse her every time.
16:00Why if you've got someone
16:01that's willing to care for you?
16:04Yes.
16:04It's not uncommon
16:05for patients
16:06who spend a long time
16:08in a hospital
16:09for their family
16:10to lose contact with them.
16:13That's not what happens here.
16:14Annie clearly
16:15doesn't give up on him.
16:17Just got an overwhelming
16:18sense of sadness
16:19that the love was still there
16:21and she was trying.
16:22It's hard to tell,
16:24looking at these,
16:25how unwell is he?
16:26They're keeping an eye
16:27on his physical health.
16:29They don't seem
16:30to be doing that much
16:32to try and...
16:33Make him better
16:34to get him out.
16:36No.
16:36In fact,
16:37it's hard to actually find
16:38much by way of treatment.
16:40Having read lots
16:41of psychiatrist's memoirs,
16:42hospitals in the 1930s
16:45weren't very effective.
16:47The amount of money
16:49used to support
16:50an institution like this
16:51is quite low.
16:52One of them kind of describes
16:54it as a situation
16:55of look after patients
16:56kindly until they die
16:57or perhaps by chance recover.
17:00And I think
17:02that seems to reflect
17:04the story of Abraham.
17:05Being in a hospital
17:07like this,
17:08after a while,
17:08it makes you lose
17:09your capacity
17:10to live as an independent
17:12person because...
17:13What's your mind doing?
17:14You're just like stuck.
17:15We can go through
17:19to another document.
17:21So this is his death certificate?
17:23That's his death certificate.
17:25Barnet?
17:26So this here?
17:27Yeah.
17:29And he was 69 years old?
17:30So he's admitted in 1934
17:33and then dies,
17:34still a resident
17:35of the hospital
17:36in 1963.
17:40Just the sad part about it
17:42is his wife
17:44tried to get him out.
17:45He didn't have to
17:46spend all those years here.
17:57Reading everything
17:59that he was suffering
17:59from in there
18:00saddens me.
18:02There was an instant
18:03connection resonating
18:05with me about
18:05my mental health issues
18:06and depression.
18:09It's really a mixture
18:10of the sadness
18:11but actually
18:12that I'm so happy now
18:13that I know the story
18:14and I feel a connection
18:15to a side of my family
18:16that I never knew.
18:22While Abraham
18:23was in the asylum
18:24in the 1930s,
18:26his younger brother
18:27Phil Gee,
18:28Alex's great-grandfather,
18:29was living in the heart
18:30of the East End.
18:33I've grown up
18:34in the East End of London
18:35and didn't even know
18:36about a battle
18:36of Cable Street.
18:37That's part of my history
18:39and my family.
18:40Alex has come
18:41to one of the oldest
18:42Jewish bakeries
18:43in London
18:44to investigate
18:45her family's story
18:46that Phil Gee
18:47was attacked
18:48at the battle
18:49of Cable Street.
18:50She's meeting
18:51historian Tony Kushner.
18:53So Tony,
18:54my mum's cousin Gabby,
18:56told me a story
18:57about my great-granddad
18:58Philip Gee
18:59being a part
19:00of the battle
19:01of Cable Street.
19:02OK,
19:03well,
19:03if we look
19:04at this document,
19:06which is the polling
19:07for St. George's Street
19:09from 1936.
19:12He's living at,
19:14what's that,
19:1516?
19:16St. George's Street.
19:17This is largely
19:18a non-Jewish area,
19:20but it's also an area
19:21with a strong hostility
19:23to the newcomers.
19:25There are riots
19:26against the Jews
19:27settling in the area
19:28at the turn
19:29of the century.
19:30I can't even begin
19:31to imagine
19:32what that feels like,
19:33living with that fear
19:34every single day.
19:35For an older generation,
19:37so for Phil Gee's parents,
19:39they may have the memories
19:40of the pogroms
19:42in Eastern Europe.
19:43My family had fled Lithuania
19:45because of that fear
19:47to come to a place
19:48where they felt
19:49they were safe again
19:50and could have
19:50that kind of freedom,
19:52but now they're experiencing
19:53it all over again.
19:55Absolutely.
19:55So there's an atmosphere
19:57of fear,
19:58but alongside that,
19:59there's also
20:00communal solidarity.
20:02So on the 4th of October,
20:051936,
20:06Sir Oswald Mosley,
20:08a British aristocrat
20:09who is the leader
20:10of the British Union
20:11of Fascists,
20:12is taking his own
20:14private army
20:15and threatening
20:16to march through
20:17the Jewish sections
20:18of the East End.
20:20This is a report
20:21from the Jewish Chronicle.
20:24The people said no.
20:27On Sunday,
20:28fascism received
20:29the greatest blow
20:30that it has yet had
20:31in this country
20:32from what the British Union
20:33of fascists
20:34have been
20:35so in the seas
20:36of anti-Semitic hate
20:38in East London.
20:39Oh, wow.
20:40Because there were
20:41road works going on
20:43in the main way
20:43through to the East End,
20:45there were certain routes
20:46that couldn't happen.
20:47The procession
20:48would have to go
20:49along Cable Street.
20:51The only alternative
20:53would be
20:54St. George's Street,
20:56so right in the heart
20:58where my family are.
20:59Yeah.
21:00So this is a newsreel
21:02of that day.
21:055,000 fascists
21:07rally to their mobilisation
21:08for the march
21:08through the East End.
21:10And Sir Oswald Mosley,
21:11black shirt leader,
21:12arrive to inspect
21:13his followers.
21:15Communists,
21:16Labourites
21:16and Jews
21:17jam the fascist route,
21:18resisting the peaceful efforts
21:19of the outnumbered police
21:20to clear the way.
21:21Patons are drawn
21:22and heads broken
21:23as the anti-fascist demonstrators
21:25resist efforts
21:26to disperse them.
21:27To avert serious bloodshed,
21:29the march was in ban.
21:30Altogether,
21:3184 rioters
21:32are taken into country
21:33while the police
21:34firmly prevent the battle
21:35from taking an uglier turn.
21:3780 injured
21:37are taken to hospital.
21:39100 score
21:39receive first aid
21:40on the spot.
21:42That makes it all, like,
21:44real, really,
21:45when you see those images
21:47and the amount of bloodshed
21:48and the fighting.
21:49And it could have been literally...
21:51On their doorstep.
21:52On their doorstep, yeah.
21:53So with Gabby telling me
21:54about Phil G.,
21:56my great-grandad,
21:57being in this battle,
21:58that story is likely
21:59very true.
22:01Almost everyone in the East End
22:02would have been there.
22:03And I think his role
22:05in the community,
22:06he's working
22:07as a sort of bookie's runner.
22:08He will know everybody.
22:10So he's going to be
22:11probably an important person
22:13in communicating this,
22:15to be there,
22:16to stop it happening.
22:17So I'd be almost certain
22:18that he was there.
22:20And there's a report
22:21in the Daily Herald
22:22on the 5th of October.
22:24Cable Street Stepney,
22:26a crowd of men
22:26dragged a lorry
22:27from a builder's yard
22:30and started to build
22:31a barricade.
22:32When the police
22:33tried to stop the men,
22:34they were greeted
22:35by a hail of stones.
22:37The police made a baton charge
22:39and cleared the road.
22:40This is why it is called
22:42the Battle of Cable Street.
22:44And the battle is
22:44not with the fascists,
22:46but with the police
22:47who are trying
22:48to pave the way through.
22:49I feel that sense of victory.
22:51They didn't get through.
22:53So we shouldn't generalise,
22:54but there's quite a bit
22:56of anti-Semitism reported
22:57of police attacking Jews
23:00and arresting them
23:01for very little reason.
23:03Your great-grandfather,
23:04whilst it's possible
23:05that he may have been
23:06attacked by fascists,
23:07it's more likely
23:08that he would have been
23:09hit by the police.
23:10Police-minority relations
23:12have tensions
23:13way before today.
23:16It does give me this sense
23:18of actually pride
23:20to know that
23:21my family went through that.
23:23This was a very, very proud moment
23:26in British history
23:28as well as East End history.
23:30And so the struggle continues
23:32against fascism,
23:33against racism,
23:34but this is an indication
23:35of what people together
23:36could achieve.
23:38I think that's why
23:39I've always been so proud
23:40to be from the East End
23:42and I never hide that
23:43because I've loved growing up
23:44in such a diverse community.
23:48Britain is a migrant nation.
23:50It often doesn't accept it,
23:52but when you go to the East End
23:53you can't but acknowledge that.
24:02I had this whole family
24:03that were part of this bigger thing
24:05fighting for better
24:07so that someone like me
24:09can walk around the East End
24:10of London with freedom,
24:12not looking over my shoulder
24:13and having the stress
24:14that they went through.
24:17It made me think back
24:19to going down to the protest
24:21for Black Lives Matter.
24:23I didn't want to look back
24:25in history and be like,
24:26you know what,
24:26I could have used my voice
24:27to help fight
24:28for the next generation
24:29coming through.
24:32Just down the road
24:33from the bakery
24:34in Shadwell
24:35is a commemoration
24:37of the Battle of Cable Street.
24:41The amount of times
24:42that I've walked past this,
24:44even as a young girl
24:45going to school,
24:46didn't understand
24:47anything about it,
24:49didn't care to even look,
24:50to be honest.
24:55So to be here
24:56and understand
24:57my mum's family
24:58were a part of that
24:59is something special.
25:08now it's like
25:09that I just walk
25:09the stone's throw away
25:11and find out more
25:12about one of my favourite people,
25:14my nan.
25:21She knew I loved
25:23Jamaican food.
25:24She'd always ring me up
25:26and say,
25:26I've just cooked for you,
25:27come down and get it,
25:27Aliopsy.
25:31This is the first time
25:32I've actually been down here
25:33since she passed away.
25:36She'd be happy
25:37that I get to go
25:38and find out more
25:39about her life
25:41and her family.
25:47I think I have
25:48all the places
25:49to start.
25:50It has to be
25:50with my cousin Marie.
25:52I know in the past
25:54that she's actually
25:55tried to find out
25:56as much information
25:56as she could.
26:02Maria,
26:03of all the people,
26:04Nan
26:05was that one
26:06person
26:07that brought us
26:07all together.
26:08That's right.
26:09In that little house.
26:10Exactly.
26:10So many
26:12called Nan
26:13Mrs M.
26:13Yeah.
26:14Like where did
26:14that name come from?
26:15I don't even know that.
26:16I think Mrs Mum
26:17because she looked
26:18after so many children
26:19that she was
26:21known as Mummy.
26:24and this was
26:25Nan and Grandad
26:27just pictured together.
26:28It's so nice
26:30to see them both
26:30because I don't think
26:31I remembered them
26:32like this.
26:33Oh, okay.
26:35This was another one
26:36when they entered
26:37the UK
26:38around about the 50s.
26:40This was taken
26:41at Shadowall Park.
26:42Do you remember
26:42Shadowall Park?
26:43Yeah.
26:43On the steps.
26:45Wow.
26:47Like what
26:47were they thinking?
26:49What's the journey
26:50like ahead?
26:51Yeah.
26:51Yeah.
26:52This like warms
26:53my heart seeing this.
26:55It is so nice
26:56to see these
26:57to bring back
26:58because obviously
26:58I was then super young
27:00and I just remember
27:01always going to speak
27:02to Popsy
27:02but he was mainly
27:03in his bed
27:04because there was
27:05like that stage
27:06of his life
27:06and he was really ill.
27:08Yeah.
27:08Nan took such good
27:09care of him
27:10for years.
27:12The other one
27:13was Grandad
27:14when he first
27:15came over here.
27:16It's completely
27:17different.
27:18Wow.
27:20The other thing
27:21I found
27:21was their
27:22marriage certificate.
27:25And they married
27:26the 27th day
27:28of January
27:29in 1946.
27:32And in the place
27:33of where they were
27:34married,
27:35where was that?
27:35They were married
27:36at Port Antonio
27:37in the parish
27:38of Portland.
27:40Is that in Jamaica?
27:41It is, yeah.
27:43And their father's name
27:44is on here as well?
27:46Edward Scott
27:47in Cleveland.
27:49Guest was Nan's
27:50dad, yeah.
27:52She was a domestic
27:53which is a maid
27:54and Grandad
27:56was a labourer.
27:58This is Grandad's
28:00birth certificate.
28:02John Scott
28:02was born in
28:03Boundbrook,
28:04another area
28:04in Portland.
28:05You'll find
28:06his father's name
28:07again.
28:08Oh yeah,
28:09Edward Scott.
28:10He was a sailor.
28:13That's interesting.
28:17Alex has pushed
28:18back a further
28:18generation.
28:19She's discovered
28:20that her Nan
28:21Felicita's father
28:22was called
28:22Cleveland Guest
28:24and that her
28:25Grandad John's
28:26father was called
28:26Edward Scott,
28:27a sailor
28:28who was born
28:29in Port Antonio.
28:31So maybe
28:32going to
28:33Boundbrook,
28:34Port Antonio,
28:35you'll find out
28:36his history.
28:37Yeah.
28:38Off to Jamaica!
28:40Yeah!
28:45Alex is
28:46visiting Jamaica
28:47for the first
28:48time.
28:48She's headed
28:49to Port Antonio
28:50on the northeast
28:51of the island.
28:56I've been to
28:57a lot of the
28:57other Caribbean
28:58islands but
28:59there was
28:59something always
29:00in me that
29:01stopped me
29:01coming to
29:02Jamaica.
29:04I always knew
29:05that I had
29:06a strong family
29:06connection here
29:09and already
29:10it's how
29:11I envisioned
29:12it, just
29:13the green,
29:14the life,
29:15the vibe
29:15of the island.
29:17I'm so glad
29:19that I waited
29:19for this moment.
29:22Alex has come
29:23to Boundbrook Wharf
29:24in Port Antonio.
29:27To learn more
29:28about her
29:28great-grandfather
29:29Edward, she's
29:30meeting historian
29:31Dayla Bean.
29:33Hello.
29:33Hello.
29:34I'm so excited
29:35to finally be here.
29:36It's great to have
29:37you here.
29:37We're here at
29:38Boundbrook Wharf.
29:40Now, this wharf
29:40was built in the
29:421970s to help
29:44with the shipping
29:44of bananas
29:45and other produce
29:47to the United States
29:48and the rest
29:48of the world.
29:49But even before
29:50the wharf was built,
29:52there was a port
29:53here.
29:54So if you will
29:54look at the
29:56first document,
29:57which is the
29:58manifest.
29:59So this is a list
30:00of passengers
30:01to the United States.
30:04So, 1905.
30:06Right.
30:07Arriving at
30:07Port of Boston.
30:09Yes.
30:09So this is the
30:10SS Admiral Dewey.
30:14I'm seeing my
30:15great-granddad,
30:16Edward Scott.
30:17Right.
30:18And then
30:18married or single.
30:20And it says
30:21single there, no?
30:22Yes.
30:23He was 22
30:24at the time.
30:24Okay.
30:25Just a young man
30:26on an adventure.
30:28Setting off
30:29to see the world.
30:29Yes.
30:31Calling or occupation.
30:33What does that say?
30:34Do?
30:35Do.
30:36So that means
30:36ditto.
30:37Oh, okay.
30:38Servant.
30:38Right.
30:39So you know
30:40him as a sailor?
30:41Yeah.
30:42Yes.
30:42So this manifest,
30:44which is 1905,
30:46has him as a servant.
30:48Servants
30:49to
30:50of the...
30:51I can't read that.
30:52Right.
30:53That's J.H. Baker.
30:56Okay.
30:56So that's
30:57Joshua Hamlin Baker.
30:59Ah, so he's
31:00a servant of him.
31:01Yes.
31:01Okay.
31:02Yes.
31:02And the Bakers
31:04were very important
31:05to Portland.
31:06They were from
31:07the United States.
31:08It was actually
31:09quite a big deal
31:10for your great-grandfather
31:11to be a servant
31:12to Joshua.
31:13Joshua was the son
31:14of Lorenzo Baker,
31:15who,
31:16he didn't start
31:17the banana production
31:19in Jamaica,
31:20but he definitely
31:21was important
31:22to it becoming
31:22a cash crop
31:24and transporting
31:25bananas from Jamaica
31:27to the United States.
31:29Wow.
31:30And Lorenzo
31:30is the king
31:31of bananas.
31:33The kingpin.
31:33The kingpin of bananas
31:35at this time.
31:41Dayla is taking Alex
31:42to visit one
31:43of the largest
31:43remaining banana farms
31:45on the island.
31:49At the start
31:50of the 20th century,
31:51when Alex's
31:52great-grandfather
31:53Edward Scott
31:54worked for the Baker family,
31:56bananas were
31:57the most valuable
31:57crop on the island.
32:03As Joshua Baker's
32:04servant,
32:05Edward would have
32:06found himself
32:07at the centre
32:07of this profitable industry.
32:17My great-granddad
32:19was a servant, Edward.
32:20So then what sort of things
32:22would he be doing?
32:23He's never really
32:24noted as a labourer,
32:26so it's unlikely
32:27that he would have been
32:28packing or cutting
32:30the banana himself.
32:32He travelled
32:33from Jamaica
32:34to Boston
32:35on the ship.
32:36And not many
32:37working-class
32:38black Jamaicans
32:39at that time
32:40got a chance
32:41to sail
32:42somewhere else.
32:44When I read
32:44the document
32:45and you see
32:46servant,
32:46straight away
32:47my mindset
32:48goes to,
32:50oh, that's negative.
32:51Obviously for black
32:51Jamaicans,
32:52there were not
32:52a lot of opportunities
32:53then for social
32:55upward mobility,
32:56but being a servant
32:57to someone
32:59as wealthy
33:00and as powerful
33:01as the Baker family
33:02actually was quite
33:03positive for your
33:05great-grandfather.
33:06So then how does
33:07he go from being
33:08a servant
33:08then to a sailor?
33:09Well, that's what
33:10we're going to find out.
33:18If you take a look
33:19at the photograph
33:20that you have,
33:22you will see
33:23what a typical
33:25banana wharf
33:26would look like.
33:26the clothing
33:28being worn
33:28by the men
33:30in this photograph
33:31sort of signal
33:32perhaps how
33:33your great-grandfather
33:34would have looked.
33:35Yes, because
33:36he was a servant
33:37for Joshua
33:38and therefore
33:38he wouldn't have
33:39necessarily had on
33:40the typical
33:41working-class
33:43type of outfits.
33:45Looking all very smart.
33:46Yes.
33:47So we have for you
33:49a list of
33:50times that
33:52your great-grandfather
33:53Edward
33:53shows up in records
33:55and you can see
33:56he's turning up
33:57in lots of documents.
33:59Yes.
34:00With a lot of
34:01different occupations.
34:02With a lot of
34:02different occupations, yes.
34:041905, servant,
34:05but then certificate
34:06of marriage,
34:071909,
34:08he then says
34:09he's an engineer.
34:10And then I can see
34:11in 1911
34:12the birth certificate
34:13of John Scott,
34:15my granddad,
34:15he lists his occupation
34:17as a sailor.
34:18So he was a
34:18jack-of-all-trades?
34:19He was a jack-of-all-trades.
34:21But I think
34:21more than that,
34:23it's that he was
34:23really ambitious.
34:25Even as a servant,
34:26you'd have been exposed
34:27to a very wealthy lifestyle
34:29through the bakers.
34:31When he has some control
34:32over what he can put
34:33on a document,
34:34he will choose
34:35what aspect of his skill
34:36to highlight at that point.
34:38I like it.
34:40It does make me smile
34:41because there's so many times
34:43people have been like,
34:44well, what are you,
34:44a pundit,
34:45a presenter,
34:46a footballer?
34:47And actually I'm like,
34:48well, yeah,
34:49I'm all of those.
34:50I'm also ambitious.
34:52So when I see this
34:53and I'm just like,
34:54yeah, there's nothing
34:55wrong with that.
34:56There's nothing wrong
34:57and it's in your blood.
34:58It's in my blood.
35:01So on here,
35:02we've got to 1915
35:04and he's listed
35:05as an engineer.
35:07But then it's stopped.
35:08So then what happens next?
35:10Edward travels
35:11to the United States
35:12and stays there
35:13for a little while.
35:14And then he returns
35:16to Jamaica eventually
35:17with his wife.
35:19And so it seems like
35:22after 1915,
35:23the ties are broken
35:24with the Baker family.
35:27So this is the death
35:29certificate of Edward.
35:30It says Parish of Portland,
35:32so he died here.
35:33Yes.
35:33And he passed away
35:34at 68 years old.
35:37He would have passed
35:38in the heart
35:39of where he grew up.
35:41These are your roots
35:42here in Portland.
35:43My roots.
35:49I do have
35:50the sense of pride
35:51when I hear about
35:52Edward's character.
35:54He was so ambitious.
35:56He wanted to travel.
35:58He wanted to better himself.
36:01There's an instant connection
36:02with Edward's story,
36:05which I love.
36:11Because of my relationship
36:12with my nan,
36:14I'm ready to find out
36:15more about her family line
36:17and I think it will make
36:18our connection stronger
36:20once again.
36:21My cousin Marie
36:23gave me the birth certificate
36:25of my nan,
36:26Felicita.
36:27It tells me
36:28who my great-grandma was,
36:31Isadora Wright.
36:33My great-granddad
36:34was named Cleveland Guest.
36:35I've been told
36:37that I do have
36:37distant relatives over here.
36:40Alex wants to find out
36:42more about her nan's parents,
36:44her great-grandparents,
36:45Cleveland Guest
36:46and Isadora Wright.
36:53She's going to meet
36:54Lynette Reynolds,
36:55a distant cousin,
36:56to see what she knows.
37:09Hi, Lynette.
37:10Hi, Alex.
37:11How are you?
37:12Oh my gosh,
37:12it's so lovely to meet you.
37:14I am so delighted.
37:15I mean, any other time
37:16we'd be like hugging.
37:18I know.
37:19But I'm looking forward
37:19to our conversation.
37:21It's family.
37:22Yes, friends.
37:22We're connected.
37:24I have been collecting documents
37:26along the way.
37:27And I think the first one
37:28that I do want to talk about
37:29is my nan,
37:31Phyllis Easton's
37:31birth certificate.
37:33It was signed by
37:34Isadora Wright,
37:35which I now know
37:36was my nan's mom.
37:38So my great-grandma
37:39and my great-granddad
37:41as well,
37:42Cleveland Guest.
37:43And on here,
37:45it says that she was born
37:46in Swift River, Portland.
37:47Right.
37:48So that's around this area.
37:49That's not far from here.
37:51Okay.
37:51They left Swift River
37:53at an early age
37:56and went to Port Antonio.
37:58There was a terrible flood.
38:00So my nan,
38:02Phyllis Easton,
38:03she would have been
38:04a part of this flood
38:05and having to then move.
38:07Yes.
38:07The flood washed out
38:08everybody and everything
38:09and a lot of people
38:10lost their lives.
38:11They removed them
38:12from Swift River
38:13and took them to La Ciam,
38:15a new life in Port Antonio.
38:17A new life in Port Antonio.
38:20What do you remember
38:21of Isadora in Cleveland?
38:24For me,
38:26they were mother
38:27and father,
38:28but Cleveland
38:29was really my mom's uncle.
38:32Okay.
38:33This is a picture of her.
38:37So this is Isadora?
38:38This is Isadora.
38:40My great-grandma.
38:41Yes.
38:42They were very nice people.
38:45Quiet, humble.
38:47When I got to about six, seven,
38:51Cleveland came to live with us
38:53and he was one of the most
38:56peaceful and quiet soul
38:58we can remember.
39:00Cleveland was a very hard worker.
39:02All our chores,
39:03we could ask him to help us with.
39:06He worked the farm.
39:07He did agricultural produce.
39:12Cleveland always remembers his mother.
39:15He used to say,
39:16my mother,
39:17Hernietta.
39:18We're talking about
39:19my great-granddad's mom.
39:22Okay.
39:22Right.
39:23She was Hernietta Coombs
39:26and this is a record
39:29of her baptismal.
39:30The first one on there.
39:32I would say
39:32Henrietta Coombs,
39:34but you're saying...
39:35Hernietta.
39:35Hernietta Coombs.
39:37And what did she do?
39:39I am not too sure.
39:41I've never met her,
39:41but I know she was from St. Anne.
39:44Now I'm going great,
39:45great grandmother,
39:48which leads me to wanting
39:49to find out more.
39:51And I wish you all the best.
39:54On your journey
39:54and I hope I will hear
39:56the final end.
39:58You will,
39:58because I'll be coming back.
39:59Now Jamaica's like a home to me.
40:01I'm coming back.
40:02All right.
40:07So Lynette gave me
40:09my great-great-grandmother's
40:13baptism certificate.
40:16Hernietta Coombs,
40:18born July 25th, 1875.
40:24Name of father,
40:26Samuel Coombs,
40:27labourer.
40:29Name of mother,
40:31Mary Bailey.
40:33And then the next one says,
40:34born something
40:36that I can't read.
40:37Sambo?
40:40I don't know what Sambo is.
40:45Happy Retreat is where they lived.
40:51So I suppose
40:52that's where we need to go
40:54to see Happy Retreat.
41:00Alex is heading to the area
41:02her two-times-great-grandmother,
41:04Hernietta Coombs,
41:05came from.
41:09Hey.
41:10Hi.
41:11She's meeting historian
41:13Shanee Roper
41:14at a house
41:15on Happy Retreat estate.
41:17Thank you for meeting with me.
41:19It was my pleasure.
41:20I learned from Lynette
41:22the name of my great-great-grandma,
41:25Hernietta Coombs.
41:26What I have here
41:27is the family tree
41:28that documents
41:29Hernietta's partners.
41:31Okay.
41:32Two spouses,
41:32one partner.
41:33Her first child is 1892,
41:35so that would put her
41:36about 16, 17.
41:39Okay.
41:39For her first child.
41:40I can go straight
41:41and see where Cleveland is,
41:44my great-granddad.
41:46So Cleveland is her fifth child.
41:48Okay.
41:48Hernietta had 17 children
41:50in total.
41:5117?
41:51Yes.
41:52So I'm just trying
41:52to get a picture
41:53of what her life was like
41:55as well as there
41:56and all these children.
41:57Yeah.
41:57The records for Hernietta
41:59said that she's a domestic
42:00for the first three children.
42:02And then thereafter,
42:04she's noted as a laborer.
42:05Okay.
42:06So if we go to the next one.
42:08Death certificate.
42:09Oh, Philip Green.
42:10Yeah.
42:10Oh, okay.
42:12Her husband died.
42:13In March 1905.
42:16And the certified cause
42:17of death is...
42:18Dropsy?
42:19Yeah.
42:19What's that?
42:20It's an old term
42:21for edema,
42:23which is when you have
42:24swelling, water retention,
42:26usually in your feet
42:26and your hands.
42:27But edema is really
42:30a symptom of an
42:31underlying condition.
42:32The nutrition
42:33of the average laborer
42:35is actually quite poor.
42:37They're also
42:37not eating enough food
42:39for them to be healthy.
42:41Very little vegetables.
42:42You might get
42:43callaloo, right,
42:45which is like
42:45the cousin to spinach
42:46or acaean sawfish.
42:49And so Philip Green.
42:50Hernietta's husband died
42:52at the age of 25.
42:54Really young.
42:55Hernietta is left with
42:57five, six, seven, eight...
42:59Nine kids.
43:00She's left with nine children
43:01to raise
43:02on her own.
43:05Unfortunately,
43:05this is another death record.
43:07What's that name?
43:08Mary?
43:09Mm-hmm.
43:10Is that Mary Bailey?
43:11Yeah.
43:11Mary Bailey is
43:12Hernietta's mother.
43:14Okay.
43:15Oh, that's dropsy again?
43:16Yeah, that's dropsy again.
43:17And this year of death
43:19is 1905.
43:23You've buried your husband
43:25and then your mum
43:27passes away.
43:28Yeah.
43:29As well as trying
43:30to look after kids
43:31as well.
43:32Yeah.
43:33But I can't even
43:34begin to imagine.
43:36No, absolutely.
43:37Absolutely.
43:39So, let's take a look
43:41at the next record.
43:42This is the death certificate
43:44of Alice Green.
43:45Mm-hmm.
43:46One of Hernietta's children.
43:47This is 1912.
43:49She was just two.
43:52Wow.
43:52Two years old.
43:53The next certificate
43:55that we have
43:56is another death record.
43:59Leanne Green.
43:59It's Alicia Smudge.
44:00Mm-hmm.
44:01She died 1912 again?
44:03Yeah, it's March.
44:04Wow.
44:05Just a month apart?
44:06Just a month apart.
44:08Right?
44:08And how old do you see
44:09if she is here?
44:10Four.
44:11Yeah.
44:12Right?
44:13And cars.
44:14Same.
44:14Dropsy.
44:16So, you've buried
44:17Alice, Leanne,
44:19Mm-hmm.
44:20your husband
44:21and your mum.
44:22To go through everything
44:23shows how hard
44:25Yeah, life.
44:26Life, yeah.
44:27I just think that
44:28the underlying stress
44:29Yeah.
44:30and struggle
44:31really would have
44:32just kind of
44:33shaped her life
44:34in ways
44:35that we really
44:35can't imagine.
44:36Yeah.
44:37And it's just unfortunate
44:38that we have to guess.
44:39Yeah, yeah.
44:40You know, because
44:40there's no diary,
44:42there's no written word.
44:44What we do know
44:45is that she died
44:47at the age of 67
44:48from cancer
44:50in 1942.
44:53Oh, okay.
44:55Yesterday, Leanne gave me
44:57Ernie Etty's
44:58baptism certificate.
45:00I think the thing
45:01that really sell
45:02is what is Sambo.
45:04It's a gradations
45:05of blackness.
45:07Oh.
45:08So, it's a derogatory term.
45:09Sambo is referring
45:11to her having
45:12a white grandparent.
45:15Unless they know
45:16for sure
45:16that there is
45:17a white ancestor,
45:18it's really just
45:19going based on
45:20how the person looks.
45:21Right.
45:22It sets the tone
45:23for colorism
45:24and racism.
45:26The less blackness
45:27that you have in you,
45:28the more preferable
45:29your complexion
45:31to the community.
45:32Ah.
45:33And on here,
45:35Samuel Coombs.
45:36Right.
45:36So, that would make him
45:38Ernie Etty's father.
45:40For Ahem.
45:41Right.
45:41And that's my great,
45:43great, great grandfather.
45:45Wow.
45:46Yes.
45:53Alex has pushed back
45:54another generation
45:55on her nan Felicita's line.
45:59Hoping to discover more,
46:01she's meeting historian
46:02Suzanne Francis Brown
46:03in the area
46:04where the Coombs family lived.
46:06I am interested
46:08to find out
46:08about my great,
46:09great, great granddad,
46:10Samuel Coombs.
46:12OK.
46:13So, the document
46:14that we have here
46:16is going to take you
46:18a little bit further
46:18on that journey.
46:20The record of baptism
46:23solemnized
46:24in the parish of St. Anne
46:26in the year 1832.
46:29Right.
46:29Rita Cross.
46:30There's Samuel Coombs.
46:32What does that say?
46:33So, he is of color
46:34as opposed to being white
46:36or black.
46:36The distinction
46:38of color
46:39was quite important
46:40in terms of social status
46:42in Jamaica
46:43of the 18th and 19th centuries.
46:48At this time,
46:50skin color affected wealth
46:52and social position.
46:54After centuries
46:55of enslavement
46:56by white Europeans,
46:57there was a substantial
46:58mixed race population
47:00in Jamaica.
47:02Being of mixed heritage,
47:03Alex's three-times-great-grandfather,
47:06Samuel,
47:07would have experienced
47:08discrimination.
47:09But he could also
47:11have benefited
47:11from a few privileges,
47:13such as an education
47:15or the right to own property
47:17that came with having
47:18white ancestry
47:19in a society
47:20shaped by racism.
47:23You're seeing
47:24the names
47:25of his parents,
47:26your four-times-great-grandparents,
47:29Robert Francis Coombs
47:30and Francis Tracy.
47:32Robert Francis Coombs
47:34was a free man
47:37and likely
47:39also of color.
47:42Francis Tracy
47:43seems to be
47:44most likely
47:45a black woman.
47:47She doesn't seem
47:48to have been enslaved.
47:49There's a likelihood
47:50that at some point
47:52in her ancestral line
47:54there is slavery.
47:58Samuel Coombs
47:59was a child
48:00at the time
48:01slavery was abolished
48:02in 1834.
48:04But his parents,
48:05Alex's four-times-great-grandparents,
48:08Robert Francis Coombs
48:09and Francis Tracy,
48:11lived much of their lives
48:12during the time
48:13of slavery,
48:14although there is
48:15no record
48:16of them
48:16being enslaved.
48:18During the period
48:20of 1817
48:22up until 1832,
48:24all property owners
48:25have to submit
48:26a return
48:29of the persons
48:30who are enslaved
48:32to them.
48:33Okay.
48:34So we're going to take a look
48:35at one of the slave returns.
48:37So if you can read
48:38from where it says
48:41a return of slaves.
48:42A return of slaves
48:43in the parish
48:44of St. Anne
48:46in the possession
48:47of Robert Francis Coombs
48:51as owned up
48:52the 28th day
48:54of, is that June?
48:55June.
48:561826.
48:57Right.
48:58So this Robert Francis Coombs,
49:00your four-times-great-grandfather,
49:04is in ownership
49:04of a number of persons.
49:07Right.
49:08This is sinking in.
49:10Okay.
49:10Yeah?
49:11Mm-hmm.
49:11He was not enslaved.
49:13He was a property-owning person.
49:16We have
49:17Monday,
49:19Providence,
49:21Samson,
49:22and then
49:23the women,
49:25we have
49:26Elizabeth,
49:27Fidelio,
49:29Eleanor,
49:30and then
49:31Diana.
49:32Diana.
49:33Eleanor has this little
49:34girl, Diana.
49:36So they're now
49:37in my family line,
49:38and it doesn't even sound
49:39like coming out of my mouth,
49:41but Robert Francis Coombs
49:43owned people.
49:44Yeah.
49:45Essentially,
49:46that is exactly what it is.
49:49Coming into this whole journey,
49:51I was open-minded.
49:55But I suppose I didn't think
49:58that I'd find that.
50:00Yeah.
50:01It's a challenge.
50:02It is really a challenge.
50:04In terms of, like,
50:05explaining my emotion behind it,
50:08I suppose because that goes
50:08against everything that
50:10I stand for,
50:11who I am,
50:12you know?
50:13Absolutely.
50:14It's a lot.
50:15It's a lot, the process.
50:17Yeah.
50:19It wasn't unusual
50:21for free people of colour,
50:22like Alex's four-times-great-grandfather,
50:25Robert Francis Coombs,
50:26to own enslaved people
50:28in the 1820s.
50:30But by the early 1830s,
50:33the abolition of slavery
50:34was about to become law.
50:36The British government
50:38began preparing to compensate
50:39slave owners.
50:41So,
50:43what you're looking at
50:45is a compensation claim.
50:48The claim of Robert Francis Coombs
50:51in the compensation
50:52of 26 slaves.
50:55So he owned 26 slaves?
50:56Yes.
50:58Essentially,
50:58the government
50:59is forcing
51:01the slaveholders
51:03to give them
51:05their freedom,
51:06and therefore,
51:07the slaveholders
51:08are being compensated
51:09by the British
51:10to the tune of
51:1120 million pounds.
51:12You're freeing people,
51:13but you're actually
51:15giving the owners money.
51:16Like,
51:18so it's not like,
51:19oh, you did wrong.
51:20There's no reparation
51:22for the persons
51:23who have been enslaved
51:25for life
51:26for all this time.
51:28And it's almost like
51:29you've got your freedom,
51:30there you go.
51:31That's right,
51:31but try starting out
51:32with nothing.
51:33Yeah.
51:35Among the 26 enslaved people
51:37that Robert Francis Coombs
51:38was claiming compensation for
51:40were children
51:41recently born
51:43into his possession.
51:45Is that Edward?
51:46It was two and a half years?
51:47Right.
51:48And
51:49it's very difficult
51:50to see his mother's name,
51:52Eleanor Francis Henry.
51:54Right.
51:55You remember,
51:56Eleanor is
51:57Diana's mother
51:58on the slave return
51:59for 1826.
52:01Mm-hmm.
52:02OK, so, Alex,
52:04we have two copies
52:05of the same document.
52:06One is in
52:06the script of the day.
52:08Mm-hmm.
52:08This is the last
52:09will and testament
52:10of me,
52:11Robert Francis Coombs,
52:1212th of November,
52:131851.
52:14Right.
52:15Robert Francis Coombs
52:16died almost 20 years
52:18after slavery
52:19was abolished.
52:20So let's move over
52:21to the transcript.
52:22OK.
52:23Because it will be
52:24a lot easier to read.
52:25I make liable
52:26all of my estate,
52:27both real and personal,
52:29I give
52:29and bequeath...
52:31What's that?
52:31Bequeath?
52:32Unto Francis Tracy,
52:33my present housekeeper.
52:36Now,
52:36you'll remember,
52:37Francis Tracy
52:38is your
52:39four times great-grandmother.
52:41the mother
52:42of Samuel Coombs.
52:45Yeah.
52:45Who's that?
52:46One clear...
52:46One clear annuity,
52:48so a yearly payment.
52:49Of some of
52:5015 pounds sterling money,
52:52Francis Tracy
52:53shall be permitted
52:54to reside
52:54in my dwelling house
52:55on Mount Pleasant.
52:57So,
52:57Francis Tracy
52:59lives with him
52:59in his house
53:00at Mount Pleasant.
53:02Your four times
53:03great-grandmother
53:04and she has
53:05some money
53:06to her name.
53:07So,
53:08now we're going
53:08to go on
53:09to the second
53:12person
53:12for whom
53:13he makes provision.
53:14So,
53:15I also give
53:15and bequeath.
53:16And to
53:17Elena Francis Henry,
53:18the yearly sum
53:19of 15 pounds
53:20sterling money.
53:21We've come across
53:22Elena Francis Henry
53:23before
53:23on the slave return.
53:25Yeah.
53:25OK?
53:26Mm-hmm.
53:27So,
53:27let's go on.
53:29Oh, here?
53:29Yeah.
53:30I give device
53:31and bequeath
53:31the same
53:32in every part
53:33and parcel
53:33thereof
53:34unto my
53:35reputed children.
53:36They said
53:37Samuel Coombs,
53:38Diana Elizabeth Coombs.
53:41So,
53:42Robert
53:43had a baby,
53:44Diana,
53:45with Eleanor
53:46when she was
53:47enslaved.
53:48Yes,
53:49enslaved.
53:49But there are
53:50no inheritors
53:52under his will.
53:54Wow.
53:57Robert Francis
53:58Coombs' will
53:59has revealed
54:00that as well
54:00as leaving
54:01property and money
54:02to Alex's
54:02four-times-great-grandmother
54:04Francis Tracy
54:05and their son,
54:07Alex's three-times-great-grandfather
54:09Samuel,
54:10Robert also made provision
54:12for Eleanor,
54:13a woman who had been
54:14enslaved to him
54:15and the children
54:16that they had together.
54:19Your four-times-great-grandfather
54:22is making sure
54:23that the two women
54:25will be accommodated
54:27in what for him
54:29is a degree
54:30of comfort.
54:31His desires
54:32are very, very clear
54:34and it is legally formed.
54:37They are being looked after
54:38and him leaving provisions.
54:41The system
54:42does not require him
54:44to do what he
54:45is doing.
54:47So he's
54:47a complex
54:48individual.
54:54Alex's three-times-great-grandfather
54:55Samuel Coombs
54:57is said to be
54:58buried nearby.
55:00I'm going to make
55:01a way for you, okay?
55:02Okay.
55:05Local resident
55:05Donald Robinson
55:06is helping her
55:08find the grave.
55:11This is this one here.
55:14I'm a long generation,
55:16maybe about the tenth
55:16or some more
55:17of the generation.
55:18Of Coombs?
55:19Yeah.
55:19Who you are?
55:20Yeah.
55:21Wow.
55:21Are there many Coombs
55:22around in the area?
55:23Everybody here,
55:24this entire community
55:26related to the Coombs.
55:27Really?
55:27As far as I can see,
55:30it was Coombs land.
55:34It's great to find somebody
55:35as young as you
55:36want to know
55:37their roots,
55:37where they're from.
55:38Well, it makes up
55:39who I am today, right?
55:40Exactly.
55:40Because you have a saying,
55:41if you don't know
55:42where you're coming from,
55:43you will never know
55:44where you're going.
55:46You know what I mean?
55:47That's nice.
55:48I like that.
55:49Yeah, man.
55:50I guess we are cousins then.
55:52Yeah.
55:53See?
55:53I'm pleased to meet you then.
55:55You too.
55:55Yeah, man.
55:57No respect.
55:58If it wasn't COVID,
55:59you know,
55:59I would give you a ding.
56:01Yeah.
56:01Yeah, but since it's COVID,
56:03we just have to keep it there.
56:04Yeah, man.
56:04Respect.
56:06Yeah, man.
56:11At the start of this journey,
56:13I thought we'd touch on slavery.
56:15But I didn't think
56:16that my family owned property
56:18in terms of owning people.
56:20It was hard to take.
56:23I don't think the stories
56:25are told a lot
56:26about black people
56:27owning slaves.
56:29That ownership
56:30of a human life
56:32is so wrong.
56:41I can picture
56:42sitting in my nan's room
56:44telling her
56:45of the journey
56:46that I've had here.
56:48My connection
56:49with my nan
56:50was so strong.
56:53Knowing
56:54what her family
56:55went through.
56:57because people
56:58hide
56:59their past
57:00because maybe
57:02they see it
57:03as something
57:04that people
57:05will frown upon
57:06if they tell
57:07true stories.
57:08But actually,
57:09I will never be ashamed
57:10of my history
57:15because it's made me
57:16the person I am
57:17today.
57:18I will never be ashamed
57:48of my life.
57:49You