Imagining Romance. It’s Not Always Black or White

For crying out loud. Why do people make such a fuss over what color we are? We are all Americans. One thing for sure is that we all descend from immigrants. Even Native Americans, whose roots dig deep into American soil for thousands of years, have ancestry that walked or sailed here from other lands. America is a nation of people, of all ethnicities, who live and love with a freedom not enjoyed everywhere. Those romances, amidst the conflicts, make for great stories. It’s not always Black or White but it’s always love.

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

Yellowstone’s Depiction of Native Americans, Is it Accurate?

If you’ve seen the Yellowstone series and it’s spring-offs 1883 and 1923, you know they contain violence. But how true is that violence? According to reports out of Canada and the United States, the boarding schools run by Catholic organizations, were cruel and abusive. The death rates among Native children in these schools is alarming. It is a sad truth that aspects of North American governments and religions were barbaric. There is no shame in having Native blood running through your veins. Native ancestry is a gift for which one should be proud (and usually is). Finding that ancestry is not easy but there are places you can look.

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

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-IV-Native-Americans/dp/1500756105

Survival… An Acorn’s Graceful Fame

For probably millions of years, people have consumed acorns as food. Their high carbohydrate content was a welcome addition during the colder months. Acorns were beautiful, whether shelled or not, for the hunter-gatherer. If you’ve ever wondered how to prepare acorns, this twenty-minute video will guide the way.

Acorns and Eat’em www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG-5EDrHDhM

Civil War Ladies Dressed as Gents

We’ve seen the stories. Women who dressed like male soldiers to help their side of the Civil War effort. I had no idea that their numbers were so high. I just read that over four-hundred women are reported to have fought under the pretense that they were men. No doubt, each of these ladies had a story to tell.

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

Genealogy: Were Our Native American Ancestors Slaves?

If you’re like me, you continue the difficult task of trying to find information on your Native American ancestors. If they decided to blend in with white Colonialists in order to save their land, they covered their tracks. Records are hard to decipher. But don’t avoid slavery records if they present themselves. From the time Columbus “discovered” America, until well after the Civil War, millions of Native Americans were sold into slavery.

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

Civil War: Female Slaves Fend for Themselves

During the Civil War, it’s common knowledge that women, free or not, from the north or south, were in desperate situations when their men left for war, they had to do all the work themselves. 1861 living was a labor-intensive lifestyle. Even city women had hard chores. When northern slaveowners fled south, they took their strong male slaves, often leaving female slaves behind. They left the slave’s children too. Hardship stories abound. The war was won, and slaves were freed.

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

Take Another Look at the Indentured Servant in Your Family Tree

Indentured servants from Scotland and Ireland were common in Colonial America. It’s a story that many of us have heard. “Your great-great-great grandmother, Mary Morris was an indentured servant from Scotland.” OK. Maybe she was but maybe she wasn’t. What if she was Native American? In Connecticut in the early 1700s, the English colonists who had Native American slaves, turned their slaves’ children into indentured servants. These children of the enslaved Natives were not allowed their freedom. They continued to be slaves, but their official title was indentured servant. If your family records show indentured servant, don’t assume they weren’t Native American.

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