my grandfather, in fact, henry eliot, william henry l. it was born in 1864, so he was born a slave. and i wanted to know how this child was born a slave could ultimately, upon owning a large farm in arkansas, given the times that he grew up in. but what i found, when i researched the historical records was, in fact there were 80 acres that william henry eliot and my grandmother, homesteaded in 1895, and through the bureau of land management i was able to find the documentation of this homesteading. so indeed, the legend had truth to it. although, in looking at this documentation i will tell you, i was thrilled to discover this documentation. i never knew my grandparents, and to find this documentation of their lives and their existence, to me, in a government record, was so compelling and i felt as though i was probably looking at a document that had been tucked away since 1895, and no one had ever paid attention to. and for me, it was like discovering, a discovery of a part of my past. i will say this, but i also discovered about that documentation, the deed itself had a number of