| Transcript |
| 0:00 | · | with a career spanning more than 30 years actor Rob Lowe is revered as one of Hollywood's Leading Men |
| 0:07 | · | his breakout performance in The Outsiders launched a flourishing career in both film and television |
| 0:14 | · | he received critical Acclaim for his portrayal of Sam Seaborn on the emmy-winning series The West Wing |
| 0:20 | · | and currently plays the enthusiastic Chris Traeger on the sitcom Parks and Recreation |
| 0:26 | · | he lives in Santa Barbara California with his wife Cheryl and their two sons John Owen and Matthew |
| 0:33 | · | I grew up in the midwest I grew up in Dayton Ohio I always wanted to be an actor and when my parents divorced my |
| 0:42 | · | mom remarried we found ourselves in Southern California in Malibu I was |
| 0:47 | · | 12. so my teenage years were sort of formed in Malibu and trying to start my |
| 0:52 | · | career in a very very cultural shift from from coming from the Midwest |
| 0:58 | · | but family history was never really discussed growing up I'm not really sure why that was and as |
| 1:04 | · | a kid I I didn't really care now as I get older I wonder and you start to think about |
| 1:12 | · | who you are and and where you've come from I started thinking about what resonates |
| 1:17 | · | for me why have I always been so in love with Americana patriotism and politics |
| 1:24 | · | and then I end up on a show called The West Wing which plays to those themes |
| 1:29 | · | every day and when I first read I felt I was literally born to play why am I interested in what I'm |
| 1:35 | · | interested in when I was first thinking about going on this journey I was wondering well would |
| 1:41 | · | I follow my father's side or would I follow the maternal side with my mother |
| 1:47 | · | and I'm so blessed to still have my dad in my life but my mom passed away a number |
| 1:53 | · | of years ago and it left me wishing I'd asked her more |
| 1:58 | · | and she was really the last member of that wing |
| 2:04 | · | of our family and it's all gone and and so I would really like to to know where |
| 2:09 | · | we've come from so it's going to mean a lot to me to share this with the last connection to |
| 2:16 | · | that side of my family and that's my brother I'm gonna meet my brother Chad to pick |
| 2:22 | · | his brain about my mom's side of the family so I'm off on the uh |
| 2:27 | · | this road trip is there anything that you know that I may have forgotten the only |
| 2:34 | · | thing I have is this mom's scrapbook so let's see what we have in here |
| 2:41 | · | that's Mom it's got to be high school graduation or something yeah |
| 2:48 | · | wow look at this here's some MIM and Grandpa our mom's parents |
| 2:55 | · | all right who is this I have no idea who these people are [Music] |
| 3:01 | · | see if they're it's Oren Hepler and Bessie May East |
| 3:09 | · | Oren Hepler says it's our great grandfather Yeah and his wife they're our great grandmother Bessie May East |
| 3:16 | · | my mom's scrapbook has helped my brother Chad and me remember my great-grandparents Oren Hepler and |
| 3:22 | · | Bessie May East I remember hearing the name East as a kid but what else can my mom's album tell me |
| 3:29 | · | all right let's see here huh okay here's a this is a clipping from |
| 3:34 | · | Ohio from the times Democrat of Lima Ohio 1906 |
| 3:41 | · | the East reunion it was the third annual for descendants of men and women who |
| 3:48 | · | made up prosperous country what is that the descendants of |
| 3:54 | · | Christopher East stand high in the culinary art |
| 3:59 | · | Christopher East why is the East family reunion newsworthy and I think we better figure |
| 4:06 | · | out who Christopher East was you want to hear it look it up yeah let's go to ancestry.com |
| 4:12 | · | Christopher right yeah |
| 4:19 | · | John Christopher East wait a minute what do you say |
| 4:24 | · | abstract of graves of revolutionary Patriots |
| 4:31 | · | wow this collection of abstract gravesites contains information originally |
| 4:36 | · | published in the Senate documents of the National Society Daughters of the |
| 4:42 | · | American Revolution veterans and Patriots of the Revolutionary War whose Graves were found between 1900 and |
| 4:49 | · | 1987 are included in this first volume that sounds promising evolutionary |
| 4:54 | · | Patriots so we know that Bessie May East our great-grandmother |
| 5:01 | · | somewhere and her in a lineage has John Christopher East |
| 5:07 | · | who turns up in conjunction with the Daughters of the American Revolution |
| 5:13 | · | which means they've found a gravesite of his that they believed to be indicative of him serving in a revolutionary war |
| 5:18 | · | but we don't know where he fits in so it looks like I need to go to Washington and I need to go to |
| 5:25 | · | the DAR all right I have full report love you love you good luck thanks |
| 5:32 | · | so I'm off to Washington D.C |
| 5:38 | · | [Music] John Christopher East I learned today |
| 5:43 | · | was a patriot I mean that's that's the stuff that I love I mean that's the word Patriot |
| 5:51 | · | revolutionary that's my dream is is to have some connection to real |
| 5:58 | · | American Heroes I don't know who John Christopher East |
| 6:04 | · | is I don't even know his relationship to Bessie May East or how far back he goes |
| 6:09 | · | in my family tree so I'm meeting with genealogist Josh Taylor the Daughters of the American |
| 6:15 | · | Revolution headquarters I learned recently of a family member named John Christopher East okay and we |
| 6:23 | · | have him in a revolutionary war Patriots grave a virtue of documents I found online okay so my question is how am I |
| 6:31 | · | related to John Christopher East and what if anything did he do in the |
| 6:38 | · | revolution well you're in the right place you are in the research library of the daughter's American Revolution and |
| 6:44 | · | to be a member of the DIA you have to be a documented ascendant of a patriot right so they have an |
| 6:50 | · | online database they're actually going to take a look at to see what records might be here great |
| 6:57 | · | so if I type in John Christopher East here and it comes up what exactly is that going to tell us it means that |
| 7:03 | · | someone has submitted an application on behalf of John Christopher East to be confirmed as a revolutionary Patriot the |
| 7:10 | · | dir recognizes those who serve military and non-military service you had to support the Revolutionary college right |
| 7:16 | · | right thank you John Christopher |
| 7:23 | · | are all my just taking in |
| 7:30 | · | service Pennsylvania rank private I am actually going to go have the DAR genealogists here pull the application |
| 7:37 | · | that have to do with John Christopher East and they're incredible because they contain family Bibles letters diary |
| 7:43 | · | entries that you might not see anywhere else but here good excellent all right |
| 7:51 | · | John Christopher East born in |
| 7:56 | · | 1754. jumping if we're starting here where are we |
| 8:02 | · | going to end up Rob Lowe is at the Daughters of the American Revolution headquarters in |
| 8:08 | · | Washington DC and has just located his ancestor John Christopher East in the |
| 8:14 | · | dar's genealogical database Rob is hoping to find more information about his relationship to John |
| 8:20 | · | Christopher East and east's involvement in the Revolutionary War what do you |
| 8:25 | · | have there I have Treasures oh my goodness here are the original files |
| 8:31 | · | wow here's a family tree for John Christopher East |
| 8:41 | · | Bessie May Bessie May there she is absolutely Toledo and it's |
| 8:47 | · | already the family tree yep [Music] gosh look at this |
| 8:54 | · | so John Cooper's Reese is going to be your great great |
| 8:59 | · | how many grades are we dealing with Rebecca how great is this |
| 9:04 | · | so is your five times great grandfather wow |
| 9:13 | · | that is unbelievable [Music] did you go to the next document yeah |
| 9:19 | · | let's see we have here 1793 it's a tax bill it's a tax list |
| 9:26 | · | so it's everyone in the town who is paying taxes what town so the town of Newton up here |
| 9:31 | · | so this is actually in Pennsylvania because remember from the service record he served from Pennsylvania |
| 9:38 | · | well here's East okay Stephen what is it what is that word |
| 9:45 | · | stoffel s-t-o-p-h-e-l |
| 9:51 | · | that is actually John Christopher East but how do you know that theoretically the tax list says that there's a man |
| 9:57 | · | with the name that sounds like John Christopher East particularly in a town that's this small absolutely it's a process of elimination and so oftentimes |
| 10:04 | · | you'll find nicknames that enter in you'll find just however they thought they could spell it phonetically okay so |
| 10:09 | · | with all of this documentation is there anything that signifies that he is an |
| 10:16 | · | accepted Patriot well I actually I have some bad news for you when I was back talking to the |
| 10:21 | · | aerogeneologist they informed me this line has actually been closed there is no documentation in here that actually |
| 10:27 | · | says that John Christopher East was a patriot so the first one we have of |
| 10:33 | · | private we don't know where that there was a man in the same area who was named |
| 10:38 | · | Christian ish right and so originally when all the applications were submitted they'd confused the two |
| 10:46 | · | so whether my ancestor served in the Revolutionary War at this moment we have no proof nope |
| 10:53 | · | that's the big question basically so that's it well where one door closes another one always opens in genealogy |
| 10:59 | · | I'm going to look at some of the non-military Avenues to see if we can figure out a way that he might have served and I'm going to send you off to |
| 11:06 | · | look for the military Avenues where would I go next I'm actually going to recommend that you go to the Library of Congress they have over 151 million |
| 11:13 | · | items so the largest library in the world part of their collections include some significant materials on the Revolutionary War great thank you good |
| 11:19 | · | luck I know today that John Christopher East is my five times great grandfather |
| 11:25 | · | but I have no evidence that he was involved in the Revolutionary War |
| 11:30 | · | I'm going to keep digging at the Library of Congress I'm meeting with Revolutionary War |
| 11:36 | · | historian Scott Stevenson he's asked Julie Miller from the Library of Congress to pull documents pertaining to |
| 11:42 | · | my five times great grandfather John Christopher East so this is an original document from the Revolutionary War how |
| 11:50 | · | did this come to the Library of Congress do we know Peter force was a collector |
| 11:56 | · | of all kinds of documents and so those materials were gathered together and |
| 12:02 | · | acquired by the Library of Congress along with the Jefferson papers the Washington papers the other founding |
| 12:08 | · | collections is a real pillar of their Holdings about the revolution okay well |
| 12:13 | · | it's a list of people in the military see Corporal Corporal Corporal Sergeant I know that looks like something German |
| 12:20 | · | to me heinhauer sergeant all over |
| 12:27 | · | oh Christopher OST Christoph OST is pretty close to Kristoff East |
| 12:33 | · | am I right about that that's right and what is what is what is this |
| 12:39 | · | grouping of of men well it's take a shot at the um at the heading here so |
| 12:45 | · | it's radish and Grenadier regiment this is a Grenadier regiment they were sort |
| 12:51 | · | of assault troops commanded by a man named Raul Raul |
| 12:57 | · | so what we have is an original document that proves my |
| 13:02 | · | five times great grandfather served in an assault regiment |
| 13:08 | · | in the Revolutionary War yes fantastic so this is a list of |
| 13:14 | · | anganin this is the word that's most significant it's a list of prisoners can |
| 13:20 | · | we find out where this was or or what it what it's in relationship to well I think a Next Step would be to try the |
| 13:27 | · | papers of George Washington literally his personal papers yes indeed |
| 13:34 | · | that'd be amazing those are here they've been digitized at the Library of Congress so anyone with internet access |
| 13:41 | · | essentially can do searches but I think as a special treat maybe we'll pull the |
| 13:46 | · | original for us to look at in June of 1775 George Washington took command of |
| 13:52 | · | the Continental Army in an effort to organize rebelling colonists outraged at the British crown for unfairly |
| 13:59 | · | implementing taxation without representation Washington knew he was at the Forefront |
| 14:04 | · | of one of the greatest acts of treason against Great Britain and was careful to document his every move |
| 14:11 | · | today his letters are an invaluable resource for understanding the Revolutionary War including what they |
| 14:18 | · | reveal about rawl's regiment to Congress 27th of December 1776. |
| 14:27 | · | I have the pleasure of congratulating you upon the success of an Enterprise which I had formed against an attachment |
| 14:35 | · | of enemy lying in Trenton I find that the Detachment of enemy |
| 14:42 | · | consisted of three Hessian regiments okay so Hessian soldiers would I know |
| 14:48 | · | them to be and you tell me if I'm right is they were they're mercenaries technically not mercenaries trained |
| 14:56 | · | soldiers yes Hesse Castle is a region in Germany the central part of Germany that supplied the largest group of troops |
| 15:03 | · | that were literally rented out by their princes During the Revolution to fight with the British |
| 15:09 | · | so three Hessian regiments of lanspatch |
| 15:16 | · | nip housing and roll there he is so those were the German Hessian commanders with the |
| 15:22 | · | battle Trenton yes so let me ask you if Kristoff OST is on a list of |
| 15:30 | · | prisoners in a regiment commanded by Colonel Raul |
| 15:36 | · | I guess he's he's playing the Hessian side |
| 15:41 | · | so you mean to tell me my five times |
| 15:48 | · | great grandfather was trying to stick it to George Washington yes |
| 15:56 | · | oh my God Rob Lowe is at the Library of Congress |
| 16:02 | · | in Washington D.C he just found out his five times great-grandfather was a |
| 16:07 | · | Hessian Soldier part of a German Force hired by Britain to help fight the Americans during the Revolutionary War |
| 16:13 | · | it just never would occur to me that my guys out there trying to kill George |
| 16:19 | · | Washington yes that would explain why he's not in the Daughters of the American Revolution |
| 16:25 | · | grave site so we know my fifth great-grandfather is a Hessian |
| 16:34 | · | Soldier he's an he's a a veteran of the Battle of Trenton absolutely |
| 16:39 | · | well it's a big Time battle too and I don't know enough about it sure |
| 16:45 | · | most people might know the famous painting Washington Crossing the Delaware but that's the extent of their |
| 16:51 | · | Association so Washington Crossing the Delaware is affiliated with the Battle of Trenton clearly I need to go |
| 16:59 | · | to Trenton who should I talk to so I think you should start with the old Barracks |
| 17:06 | · | Museum in Trenton and all range for you to meet a colleague up there thank you for everything I'm on my way so I'm off |
| 17:13 | · | to Trenton to find out about my five times great grandfather's imprisonment during the Revolutionary War |
| 17:21 | · | [Music] I've always so identified with this country now I'm learning that I need to |
| 17:28 | · | spend some time thinking about the people that fought against this country and why they did it and what are their stories and where's the meaning in that |
| 17:36 | · | so I'm meeting with Hessian prisoner expert Daniel Krebs in hopes of uncovering the story behind my ancestors |
| 17:43 | · | capture at the Battle of Trenton where we're seated are the old Barracks the actual these are the actual Barracks the |
| 17:51 | · | actual bearings in Trenton taken over by Hessians during the campaign of 1776. |
| 17:58 | · | I'd love to know how did he get here what went on well we are actually very |
| 18:04 | · | lucky that we have a very rare document here this is a replica of a diary |
| 18:10 | · | written by a young common soldier in the same regiment as your five times great |
| 18:16 | · | grandfather Christopher his name was Johannes royber who came home with Christopher they probably knew each |
| 18:22 | · | other so ruber Roy wrote this diary about his |
| 18:28 | · | experiences it's also amazing to think that he and his fellow soldiers are not fighting for for |
| 18:34 | · | their country they're doing their duty to their prince who has an agreement |
| 18:43 | · | with the crown of Britain that's unbelievable 18 August |
| 18:50 | · | the remaining Hessian regiments were landed and also entered our camp on Staten Island near the Hessian Jaegers |
| 18:58 | · | and English troops in the summer of 1776 approximately 18 |
| 19:04 | · | 000 Hessian troops landed at Staten Island and began fighting the American Continental Army in a matter of days |
| 19:11 | · | The Fearsome disciplined German soldiers provided the British with the needed manpower to drive George Washington's |
| 19:18 | · | Army out of New York through New Jersey and across the Delaware into Pennsylvania |
| 19:23 | · | Christoph ost's regiment set up camp in Trenton preparing to attack Philadelphia and overtake the capital in hopes of |
| 19:30 | · | ending the Revolutionary War my family ancestor is here in Trenton |
| 19:37 | · | he's been kicking ass all through America |
| 19:42 | · | George Washington is on the other side of the Delaware with his demoralized troops and he's |
| 19:50 | · | hoping for some kind of a Hail Mary exactly |
| 19:55 | · | Washington knew the redcoat's plan to march across the Delaware as soon as it was frozen and take over the American |
| 20:02 | · | capital of Philadelphia Congress had fled the city in panic and |
| 20:07 | · | many thought the war was already lost for America to survive there was just |
| 20:12 | · | one Thin hope a stealth attack on Christmas night 1776 in what was to |
| 20:20 | · | become one of the most defining moments in American history Washington steered his continental army across the |
| 20:27 | · | ice-choked Delaware River the next morning at dawn the tide of the Revolutionary War turned after |
| 20:33 | · | Washington attacked the Hessian stronghold at Trenton taking Kristoff and the raw regiment by surprise |
| 20:40 | · | so Christopher and his men were surprised in the fog in the weather it |
| 20:48 | · | must have seemed as if this wave of soldiers Came Upon them |
| 20:54 | · | now the Americans charge rawl's quarters overran it and took the cannon from the |
| 21:00 | · | regiment then Colonel Raul charged with his grenadiers |
| 21:07 | · | we retook our Canon and retired from the city into the fields |
| 21:12 | · | The Bravery of it is amazing Christopher in his |
| 21:19 | · | fellow soldiers mounted you know desperate desperate counter-attack they're outnumbered with |
| 21:25 | · | cannon fire they took a cannon but it were eventually beaten back |
| 21:31 | · | this was not the Hessian battle where they could deploy their bad lines in many ways this was a street brawl a |
| 21:38 | · | battle in the middle of a city and that is something that makes it even more difficult and more brutal and |
| 21:45 | · | vicious now Colonel Rawl commanded |
| 21:50 | · | all those who are migrant years charge however |
| 21:57 | · | after we had entered the city the rebels in three lines marched around us |
| 22:03 | · | and as we again tried to retreat they again brought even Canon into the Main |
| 22:09 | · | Street we had to go past them |
| 22:16 | · | but things went badly for us if the colonel had not been so seriously |
| 22:22 | · | wounded they would not have taken us alive we were too weak |
| 22:28 | · | and in the end all was lost |
| 22:33 | · | Rob Lowe is in Trenton New Jersey having just uncovered the events leading to his Hessian ancestors capture by the |
| 22:40 | · | Americans during the Revolutionary War now that I know more about my five times |
| 22:45 | · | great-grandfather Christoph ost's role in the Battle of Trenton I want to know what happened after he was taken |
| 22:51 | · | prisoner I'm traveling west following the same path my ancestor was marched on his way |
| 22:57 | · | to prison I was very conflicted knowing that my Revolutionary War story ends up with |
| 23:05 | · | my ancestor fighting the revolutionaries but as I learn about the Hessians it's a |
| 23:13 | · | very compelling human story I feel like I know under what circumstances he got here |
| 23:18 | · | but one of the things going forward I'm interested in is how do you come to a Strange Land to |
| 23:23 | · | fight and end up wanting to stay Daniel is taking me to the old |
| 23:29 | · | Presbyterian Church in Newtown Pennsylvania where records show that Hessian soldiers spent their first night |
| 23:35 | · | in captivity on their forced march to prison near Philadelphia |
| 23:40 | · | christopherster and his group on the 4th March this is the |
| 23:45 | · | destination that is their first stop was is this actual church this actual Church |
| 23:52 | · | and I have a diary entry generalized entry that I would like you to read from royber |
| 23:58 | · | about their entrance in Philadelphia after the night here January 1777 the American Guard which |
| 24:06 | · | escorted us had orders from General Washington to lead us through the entire city so that we could be seen by |
| 24:13 | · | everyone in the city the old women who were present screamed and scolded us in a terrible |
| 24:20 | · | manner and wanted to strangle us because we had come to America to steal |
| 24:26 | · | a freedom you know parading the Vanquish through the city is as old as time itself |
| 24:34 | · | and it's always a March of domination and humiliation |
| 24:40 | · | then General Washington had a broadside posted in the City and surrounding Countryside |
| 24:46 | · | that we were innocent people in this war and were not volunteers |
| 24:52 | · | but forced into this war and a broadside is a paper is a paper |
| 24:57 | · | that was posted around the city I brought you one of those broad signs |
| 25:02 | · | that were posted and we're addressing those Hashem prisoners |
| 25:08 | · | it's in German obviously so they can read it to make it a little bit easier we have here an English translation of |
| 25:15 | · | that broadside the resolution has passed that the states will accept all |
| 25:21 | · | foreigners that choose to become part of these states and who are willing to leave the army of |
| 25:27 | · | his British Majesty in America one can imagine that these foreigners prefer land tenure Freedom security |
| 25:35 | · | and the benefit of good laws and Mild government in a country where already many of their |
| 25:42 | · | friends and relatives have happily settled down rather than being exposed to the strains and dangers of a long and |
| 25:48 | · | bloody war taken against a people that has not committed any crime |
| 25:54 | · | other than the refusal to exchange its freedom for slavery |
| 26:00 | · | decree by Congress John Hancock president that's amazing |
| 26:07 | · | I mean it's so extraordinary I mean |
| 26:13 | · | we take it for granted because of it it's it's so much a part of our national |
| 26:18 | · | idealized version of ourselves as Americans |
| 26:23 | · | but at the time it was so revolutionary and to be |
| 26:30 | · | vanquished and in a prison and reading something like this |
| 26:40 | · | it must have it must have blown their minds |
| 26:45 | · | well how many of them returned home when they could what we know about the Hessians is 15 percent |
| 26:52 | · | roughly staying 85 percent went home somebody like |
| 26:57 | · | Kristoff took a huge huge risk they knew what |
| 27:02 | · | they had at home but they knew only here a piece of paper |
| 27:08 | · | with some promises they had to jump into the unknown |
| 27:14 | · | take that risk and that is christoph's story |
| 27:20 | · | so does it mean that if they wanted to take this offer |
| 27:25 | · | that he could go free unfortunately we don't have a military record that he he went to one of the guards and said I saw |
| 27:32 | · | this pamphlet what we do know is the Americans didn't have the resources to |
| 27:38 | · | keep them confined in long-term prisons most of these prisoners are loaned out |
| 27:43 | · | by the Americans and worked there on farms on shops what we do know is he |
| 27:49 | · | disappears from prison if he's disappeared now has gone cold and he's disappeared |
| 27:55 | · | how in 1909 are they celebrating him in Lima Ohio something must have told him |
| 28:04 | · | it's better here than there than there I would love to know what he left behind |
| 28:12 | · | to find out more to answer these questions I think you'll have to go to |
| 28:17 | · | Germany to the state archives in Marburg with a Hessian military records are kept |
| 28:23 | · | I'll do it Barbara here I come thank you now I want to find out more about |
| 28:30 | · | Christoph ost's life before he came to America so I'm headed to Marburg Germany |
| 28:36 | · | [Music] such an inspiring thought to think of everything that |
| 28:44 | · | Christoph left behind for the promise of something great |
| 28:50 | · | he had a life he would have had friends he would have had family but he had to take a leap of |
| 28:56 | · | faith to give up all he knew in Germany and he never went back |
| 29:02 | · | why that's what we're going to find out so I'm meeting with Professor Holger |
| 29:08 | · | Groff at the Marburg State archives with his help I want to find out where are my five times great-grandfather was born |
| 29:15 | · | and gain an insight into Kristoff's life in Germany I was wondering if you had any records |
| 29:21 | · | here that could help me as I try to learn more about him best is if we look up in this list do you know the regiment |
| 29:29 | · | where he's uh yes in Rawls regiment this is helpful now this is a compiled list called hetrina which is a short form for |
| 29:37 | · | the Hessian troops in the American war of independence it's alphabetical it's an alphabetical |
| 29:44 | · | order oh b o c we're looking for o e OST Adam |
| 29:51 | · | UST George Christoph unbelievable there he is |
| 29:56 | · | but it doesn't say as far as I can see anything else about him I'm afraid |
| 30:04 | · | when I see that a lot of the men have the town that they're from but there's nothing for Kristoff no I'm afraid not |
| 30:11 | · | at this point from this records I think it looks a bit like a dead end well I |
| 30:16 | · | didn't come all the way to Germany for a dead end I can tell you that Rob Lowe is in Germany at the Marburg |
| 30:22 | · | State archives but his search for Christoph ost's Roots has gone cold now |
| 30:28 | · | Rob is hoping to find out where his five times great-grandfather was born and why he left Germany what would you recommend |
| 30:36 | · | would be my next step what we have seen inside Estes because Christopher's is not a |
| 30:43 | · | very common name it's not very spread like Miller or brown also and we probably find other Earths |
| 30:51 | · | in the herena list and look up where they came from so this is a list of towns what village |
| 30:59 | · | should I should I maybe go to I would start I think in firstenhag it's the |
| 31:05 | · | closest from here okay see if I can find something yes so we're off in the countryside all right |
| 31:14 | · | I still want to know about christoph's life anything that I could find helped frame who he was |
| 31:22 | · | Holger is taking me to the Village of fierstenhagen where the parish preacher has pulled any Parish records that might |
| 31:28 | · | help me in my search thank you thank you so these are our Parish records yeah baptisms marriages |
| 31:37 | · | and burials so we can start here the first entry |
| 31:43 | · | 1754 in the month of August in English is |
| 31:51 | · | that's his dad this is Dad his dad was John as well nurse as well yeah in the |
| 31:57 | · | evening at 10 o'clock born and the 18s he was baptized and he named |
| 32:03 | · | it John Christoff so now we have John Christopher East |
| 32:09 | · | yeah so he was born here in this Village in this Village so this is where it all |
| 32:15 | · | began for me he would have adapted us here in this church Yes somewhere here must have been the baptism of on |
| 32:24 | · | wow but there are some more books what I don't know what we're going to |
| 32:30 | · | get that's going to top that well to be born you need parents don't you |
| 32:36 | · | yes so let's see the copulations from the year 1689 onwards marriages |
| 32:42 | · | marriages 1728 yeah |
| 32:48 | · | so there's a marriage of Johannes OST and Laura Laura short name for Eleanor |
| 32:53 | · | Laura no that's the first I've heard of that yes I've actually gotten another generation |
| 33:00 | · | I've located Christoph OST parents my six times great-grandparents Laura Noll |
| 33:06 | · | and Johannes OST digging further into the parish records I've discovered that Christoph OST is |
| 33:13 | · | the youngest of eight brothers and sisters wow that is a big that's a big family is |
| 33:20 | · | it would that have been a normal sized family in this time it's quite normal quite normal five seven |
| 33:27 | · | eight ten children wow so there's other entries then they start here |
| 33:33 | · | some informations on the parents of Christoph Johannes Ester was buried in his age of |
| 33:41 | · | 62 years seven months so christoph's father dies in April |
| 33:48 | · | of 1766. yeah and when Christoph was 12 |
| 33:54 | · | years old 1770. |
| 33:59 | · | February the 18th so is Johannes urson his widow |
| 34:06 | · | eleonor was buried old 61 years |
| 34:11 | · | basically five years before he goes to America |
| 34:17 | · | of course he will not inherit any property from his parents really because only the eldest son will inherit |
| 34:26 | · | the land and the family property so I was also wondering at 22 years old when he left he could |
| 34:33 | · | have easily have been married and we have no record of that younger Sons with no |
| 34:39 | · | occupation or Fortune they had to stay more or less single and work as a groom |
| 34:44 | · | on a farm or as a day laborer or go to the Army I'm starting to put a picture |
| 34:49 | · | together that he really has nothing here yeah a different time very |
| 34:57 | · | different an amazingly different time [Music] so no Dead End |
| 35:05 | · | no dead ass thank you so much thank you thank you it all makes sense to me now that |
| 35:13 | · | Christopher Foster would choose America based on what his life would have been |
| 35:18 | · | here it isn't just that he served as a Hessian |
| 35:24 | · | he was of Germany and that's a perspective I would never have |
| 35:30 | · | gotten from the name John Christopher East |
| 35:36 | · | puzzle solved [Music] |
| 35:41 | · | but there may be more to the story back at the hotel I received a letter from Josh Taylor |
| 35:54 | · | Rob I found something that I think will make you very happy I have submitted it to the DAR and have |
| 36:01 | · | included their response Josh Rob Lowe is in Germany where he just |
| 36:06 | · | learned that genealogist Josh Taylor submitted new research about his ancestor John Christopher East to the |
| 36:13 | · | Daughters of the American Revolution Lowe |
| 36:19 | · | congratulations your ancestor John Christopher East |
| 36:25 | · | has officially been accepted as a patriot |
| 36:31 | · | for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution the documents submitted on behalf of |
| 36:38 | · | your ancestor a 1782 Supply tax list shows estofl |
| 36:45 | · | Hessian paying taxes that were specifically raised to pay for material supplied to |
| 36:52 | · | the Revolutionary War effort this document was checked and cross-checked by our staff genealogist |
| 37:00 | · | to make sure that it was your ancestor and we were able to confirm this |
| 37:05 | · | combined with the knowledge that John Christopher East stayed in America |
| 37:10 | · | became an American citizen and did not return to Germany shows that he contributed to the |
| 37:16 | · | Revolutionary War and is considered a patriot in addition |
| 37:23 | · | we are providing you with the necessary documentation to verify John Christopher |
| 37:28 | · | east's Revolutionary War service should you be interested in applying to |
| 37:33 | · | the sons of the American Revolution you should provide them with copies |
| 37:41 | · | thank you |
| 38:05 | · | [Music] Mr Lowe |
| 38:11 | · | congratulations on having a good fortune of being able to prove with historical |
| 38:17 | · | documentation that you are descended from a patriot of the American |
| 38:22 | · | Revolution John Christopher East I extend to you my personal invitation |
| 38:28 | · | to join the National Society of the sons of the American Revolution wow John Christopher East served on both |
| 38:37 | · | sides of the American Revolution |
| 38:44 | · | I really did want my five times great grandfather to be an American Patriot |
| 38:50 | · | but I think the way he came to be authenticated is much more powerful I |
| 38:56 | · | think than I was expecting in spite of having thought against the |
| 39:02 | · | revolutionaries he chose America to choose that ideal |
| 39:08 | · | is heroic I'm glad I came on this journey because |
| 39:14 | · | John Christopher East became more than a name on a newspaper clipping |
| 39:20 | · | in the Lima Ohio newspaper so much of what I am about |
| 39:27 | · | my love of politics my patriotism I can't help but think that |
| 39:33 | · | some of his dreams and aspirations |
| 39:38 | · | were passed down and I feel them there's a story of people leaving behind |
| 39:44 | · | what was safe to embrace what is promised |
| 39:52 | · | that's a happy ending [Music] |
| 40:00 | · | [Applause] |
