Dear List Members, I have written before about my ancestor, Hiram Dwight Pierce, who was born in Copake, NY, on May 25, 1810. (At the age of 18 he skated up the Hudson River to Troy, NY, and found work there as a blacksmith which was his trade. He married in 1833. By 1848, he had 7 children. His oldest child, Elvira Amelia Pierce, married my great grandfather, Ira Rose Travell, also of Troy. On March 6, 1849, Hiram set out for California to search for gold. His journal is called A Forty-Niner Speaks). Last year my sister and I were contacted by a man who was putting together a film about the gold rush to be shown on PBS. We sent him some photographs and information about Hiram Pierce and his family. I have just heard from the man and learned that the film will be aired on Monday night, Nov. 6th, probably in most places at 9:00 EST, under the title, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. The web site for the production states that the two-hour documentary follows several people and one of them is Hiram Pierce, "a New York blacksmith who wrenched himself away from his wife and children to risk all that he had in the hope of securing a more prosperous future." <_http://www.yellowjerseyfilms.com/index.html_ (http://www.yellowjerseyfilms.com/index.html) > I thought I would alert the Mailing List in case some members might find the documentary of interest. Virginia P. Street Montague, MA