Is Your Native American Ancestor “On the List?”

I wish I could say that the wrongs done to America’s Native People have been rectified. But today, many people are still blind to the injustices that continue to be wrought on the people who were forced to leave their land and culture. I could write volumes about the poverty that many of our “First People” still endure. Lately, there have been many changes. Because of the sovereignty that many tribes have, they have entered into gambling and have become prosperous. They’ve built new communities and in Northern California where I live, there is a new American Indian medical center. They provide state of the art health care and have a dental clinic, an optometrist, gynecologist and a psychiatrist. All ethnicities are welcome but there is Indian preference for hiring and if one has proof that a Native American ancestor is “on the list,” all the services are offered free of charge.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees:

Biracial Love at First Sight?

Charles walked over to her desk. His black suit coat was wrinkled but of the finest Irish linen. His white cotton shirt had so much fine stitching in it; Mabel could not believe that anyone would spend that much time on one man’s shirt. He must be extremely wealthy. Charles’ age appeared to Mabel to be about five years older than she, which would make him around twenty-four. His beautiful thick, dark-brown hair had several waves in it, which he wore down to his ears. She thought he was in need of a hair cut but he seemed to enjoy running his hand through it to keep it swept away from his face. If Mabel could guess she would say Mr. Charles Churchill, though he had a very English name, was the product of northern Britain, Scottish to be precise but one could never tell these days. Why, look at her. Why did she appear to have Negro ancestry when no others in the family did?

Suellen Ocean is the author of the Civil War Era Historic Romance, Black Pansy:

Native American Ancestry… Adoptions and Missions

In the 1800’s, during times of Indian relocation, Indian children were put up for adoption. Tens of thousands of Indian children went through The Carlisle school. There was a study done on these schools and the study was such an embarrassment, President Hoover put money into improving the schools. Many adoptions occurred between 1825 and about 1850 and continued into the 1900’s where children were taken from their homes, the claims of neglect unfounded.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees:

Who Is Black Pansy? A Woman of Color, in Love with a White Man… During the Civil War

Mabel stood hiding behind the pole, she’d been politely told to refrain from meeting directly with the public and to stay out of sight as much as possible. It was not due to Mabel’s obvious dash of colored blood but more out of fear that Pittsburgh’s citizens would figure out who Black Pansy was. “Good day,” Charles repeated and looked straight at the pole Mabel hid behind. He leaned in to get a better look but she held her position firmly. Eventually, impatience and curiosity got the best of her and she peeked to get a better look at him.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the Civil War Era Historic Romance, Black Pansy:

Native American Genealogy… Using the Dawe’s List

Of course, it’s easy to type your surnames into the Dawe’s search engine and see if anything comes up. Even though an ancestor wasn’t living in Indian Country at the time Dawe’s was taking his enumerations of Indians, I still might run the names. Scrolling through surnames is wise because you may have an ancestor named William who was listed as Willie. Being thorough is advised and it’s easy to copy and paste names from the list. Say for example, there are 80 names under the Brewer surname. You can copy and paste them into a document on your computer and match them up later.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees:

Mabel’s Biracial Romance

Mabel was in the back of the building when Charles Churchill walked in. A large wooden post and coat rack allowed her, as usual, to peer and watch the day’s business unfold. Every day the News Herald received the usual neighbor’s complaint, unruly dogs and occasional murder and mayhem and always a drunken disturbance that citizens felt it was their duty to report. Mabel thought of these citizen informers as “tattle tales” so usually ignored them, going about her work but kept one ear open in the slight chance something important would spew from the mouths of these “good citizens.” But today when the bell tinkled and the door shut and the morning’s sunshine warmed the room, there was something different about the air of the gentleman who stopped and looked down at the wooden floor when his feet brought a squeak to the boards.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the Civil War Era Historic Romance, Black Pansy:

Native American Ancestry? Search the National Archives

Operated by the United States Federal government, the National Archives job is to preserve and make federal records available to scholars and institutions. For instance, the Archives will sell you a copy of the Bill of Rights, they’ll also sell you historic records the government kept on Indians but you’ll have to buy them through their affiliate websites like ancestry.com. Native American gatekeepers use federal records to verify Indian ancestry for inclusion into their tribe.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees:

Fiction… Navigating Through Black Pansy’s Mysteries

Mabel did not know Mary’s mother’s name, was it Sarah? She could not remember. Phinius Crocker has been blamed for the abuse of Sarah that led to the birth of Mary.  But Jenny had made it clear it was her grandfather, St. Francis who abused Sarah, not Phinius. But Sarah was a Crocker, who were her parents?

Suellen Ocean is the author of the Civil War Era Historic Romance, Black Pansy:

Genealogy… Searching the Native American Census Lists

When reading an Indian census, you may run across the expression “non-White” or in 1850 “Copper.” You may also run across “In,” for Indian, written in the column. In 1860 and 1870 the ethnicity will read “Indian.” You may see an old census that says “colored” for the ethnicity of an ancestor but they could have been Native American, not necessarily African American.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees:

Biracial Romance During the Civil War Era

Biracial romance during the Civil War era? Are you kidding me? Biracial relationships are still challenging. Imagine the dilemma. Following one’s heart was not much of an option back then. It was illegal. Love though, always makes for great stories.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the Civil War Era Historic Romance, Black Pansy: