Episode summary:
Anna Maxwell Martin grew up in East Yorkshire. Her father, Ivan Martin, died aged 59 when Anna was 24.
Anna went to Maghera in Northern Ireland, where Ivan's family came from. Ivan had two brothers, one of whom died of leukaemia when very young. They lived at a farm called Hillview on the outskirts of Maghera. Anna went to Hillview and had a look at the house. Ivan's father Robert Martin was a pharmacist as well as running the farm. His wife's name was Margretta, known as Greta. Ivan's older brother was called Ronald and the youngest brother, Kenneth, was the one who died young. Anna went to see Ronald and his son Alistair, who showed her some old family photos and told her that Margretta had trained as a cook in Edinburgh and worked in Leeds for a while before returning to Northern Ireland, and that Robert ran a chemist's shop and built up the farm himself, being the youngest of a family of 14. He had a loan of £100 from a drug company to start the chemist's shop. There was a photo of Ronald, Ivan and Kenneth. Kenneth was 7 when he died. Ronald remembered him being ill and being recommended an experimental drug which worked for a while before his condition got worse. Ronald remembered visiting him in hospital a week before he died, and also remembered the funeral which was followed by a holiday on the Isle of Man. Anna went to see where the chemist's shop was, now a branch of Boots.
Anna then went back to London to find out about her mother Rosalind Youngson's side of the family. Rosalind and Adam, Anna's brother, came to visit her. Rosalind showed them a photo of her parents, Maxwell and Jessie Youngson. Maxwell's birth certificate showed that his parents were Joseph Horne Youngson and Rachael Whyte Horne. He was born in 1914 at New Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire. There was also a note showing that he was baptised in 1920 at Aberlour. There was a photo of Joseph and Rachael with 9 of their 15 children. Adam said that he had tried to do a family tree but not got very far before getting stuck. He had found out that the eldest daughter, Joeina, had emigrated to New Zealand and that Rachael had died when in her 40's.
Anna went to Aberlour and met an historian at the site where the orphanage used to be. The only bits left now were the clocktower and the church. Admission records showed that five of the Youngson children, Maxwell and four of his sisters, were admitted on the 25th Jun 1920 and that they left on different dates, Maxwell on the 6th Nov 1925 aged 11. Anna was shown newsreel footage of a royal visit to Aberlour orphanage in 1922 and some photos of the orphanage. Rachael's death certificate showed that she died of erysipelas aged 46. There was a letter which a neighbour had written asking for the children to be taken into the orphanage as their father was "callous and drunken" and could not look after them. Anna went to a local pub and met a genealoogist who showed her the birth record of Joseph Horne, born at New Pitsligo in 1861, the son of Mary Horne, a domestic servant. The New Pitsligo Kirk Session minutes said that Alexander Youngson had admitted to being the father.
The genealogist said that Anna's mother had taken a DNA test and had several DNA matches with descendants of Alexander Youngson. A newspaper obituary from 1908 described him as a pioneer in Otago, New Zealand. A ship manifest for the "Duke of Atholl" sailing from Glasgow to Brisbane in 1881/2, included Joseph Youngson, age 22, in the passenger list. He later returned to Scotland. Anna went to Glasgow and met an historian who showed her a tall ship and said that Joseph's fare would have been paid by the Queensland government who needed skilled workers. Joseph arrived in Queensland in 1882 but was living in Sydney in 1885, working on building St Patrick's College in Manly. A report from the Sydney Daily Telegraph dated 1886 named Joseph as the secretary of the stonemasons' strike at St Patrick's College. A funeral notice and death registration for Joseph's first wife, Sarah Youngson, showed that she died as a consequence of childbirth and that the baby also died. Joseph was convicted of stealing clothing and jewellery in 1889 and was given a six month suspended sentence, and it was after that that he returned to Scotland.
Anna went back to Aberdeen and met an historian at the archives there, who showed her Joseph and Rachael's marriage certificate. Joseph Horne Youngson, aged 29, married Rachael Whyte Horne, aged 19. The Aberdeenshire Observer reported in 1892 that Joseph pleaded guilty to the theft of a watch and was sentenced to a fine or 10 days' imprisonment. In 1898 Rachael was registered for poor relief with 4 children, as Joseph was in prison. In 1903 she applied for outdoor relief as Joseph was in prison again, and then again in 1906. Anna went to Aberdeen Sheriffs Court and met a crime historian, who showed her a newspaper report saying that Joseph pled guilty to beating his wife and assaulting her parents, and was sentenced to 60 days in prison with hard labour. In October 1906 he was again charged with beating Rachael and pled not guilty. Rachael and Joeina testified against him and he conducted his own defence. Rachael's mother had died and she had gone to stay at her father's house. Joseph had sent her a threatening letter and when she returned home, he had assaulted her. He was sent to prison for 30 days.
Anna went to meet her mother's cousin, Patricia, and Patricia's daughter Shona. Patricia's mother was Rhoda, one of Maxwell's sisters who was in the orphanage with him. Rhoda left the orphanage at the age of 14 and went into service in Edinburgh, as did her sisters. The archives had letters from various family members asking for Maxwell to be taken out of the orphanage and sent to Joeina in Australia or New Zealand. An inspector had asked for the request to be upheld but the sister who was going to take him, Chrissie, then contracted TB and was unable to go. But Maxwell was released from the orphanage at the age of 11 and went to live with another family member.
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