my grandfather, in fact, henry, elliot, william henry elliot, was born in 1864, so he was born a slave, and i wanted to know how this child who's born a slave could ultimately come 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 that, in fact, there were 80 acres that william henry elliot and my grandmother, ida elliot, homesteaded in 1895, and through the bureau of lands management, i was able to find the documentation of this homesteading. indeed, the legend had truth to it, although in looking at the documentation, i will tell you that i was thrilled to discover this documentation. i never knew my grandparents, and to find this documentation of their lives in 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 that no one had ever paid attention to, and for me, it was like a discovery, a discovery of the part of my past. i will say this, that i also discovered about that document nation, th