One Negro Girl Named Jane

In the colony of Virginia, several decades before the Civil War, a woman’s will stated the following: “I give and bequeath unto my sister, Elizabeth Smith, one negro girl named Jane.” Who was Jane and what kind of life did she lead? Did she labor outside in the hot sun? Was she kitchen help? With this bequeathment we know that Jane was just a girl, and she was not free. Did she live long enough to one day see freedom?

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

Genealogy… Are You German with a Dash of Native American?

If you’ve always been told that your ancestry was German, and then you take a DNA test and you have Native American ancestry too, well, that requires some sleuthing. What’s the history behind that? It’s not widely known how generous and kind the German Amish folks were to the Native people. Among the Amish, Natives found shelter and often hid within their community. Some Amish even went so far as to claim the Natives as relatives, no doubt saving them from the various inhumane Trails of Tears. And giving them cover in census records that make the Natives appear to be European.

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

Genealogy… The Native Lives of Coureurs de Bois

Your French-Canadian ancestors may have been drawn to the deep forest life, following the Native way of canoeing furs down the waterways. Hunters and trappers met Europe’s thirst for fur coats and hats. Coureurs de Bois is what the men were called, and they lived like the Indians of the North.

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

The Conflicts of Biracial Love

On an August day in the 1700s Veronique Beauvais was baptized. History records her as being the daughter of “Negro slaves,” George and Marguerite Beauvais. Thank the Good Lord (or to whomever you give thanks) that in America we no longer enslave people. The conflicts of love between ethnic groups, during the Civil War Era, is explored in this eight-volume series. You’ll find the first book here:

Black Pansy: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Pansy-Suellen-Ocean/dp/1484900278

Cherokee… They Say That About Everybody

If you’ve been told that you have Native American ancestry, odds are high that you were told “Cherokee.” For that, you should be proud. But there were thousands of Native tribes before they got rounded up, their numbers counted, their names changed, their land confiscated. They were not all Cherokee.

It’s quite a task finding our  Native ancestors. Learning the names of their original tribe, is a very difficult endeavor. One can look at area maps and research and speculate. Maybe someday, DNA will answer our questions.

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

Mississippi’s Freedmen Did Not Go Extinct

At the time of the Civil War, there were horrors perpetrated upon people of color. Because there were so many instances of murder, Mississippi’s former governor proclaimed that there would be a genocide against Mississippi’s Black Freedmen that would leave them extinct. “Beyond all doubt,” he warned. Even taking it up with Congress.

Mississippi’s Freedmen did not go extinct. In fact, over recent decades, many Black families have left northern areas to return to the South.

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

Genealogy… Native Ancestry Within the New France Population

When the French immigrated to Canada back in the early 1600s, they brought with them a sense of pride and the desire to build upon the European model of aristocracy. And there are a lot of signs that they were not only landed gentry but emulated European royalty. But like their American counterparts, after they immigrated from Europe, they got busy and carved lives from the wilderness. In Canada, young Frenchmen joined with the Natives trapping and exporting canoes full of furs. Many a young Frenchman took a Native wife. No doubt she took his French surname.

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

Let the Natives Drink Tea… in Fine China

In my notes, I have it written that during the Revolutionary War, the majority of the Native Americans sided with the Red Coats. (Those who were loyal to and fought for the English crown.) Not all the tribes were, but it is something to keep in mind while studying your genealogy. Perhaps your ancestor wound up being an Anglophile, sipping tea with the Brits. Maybe that’s where your Native American ancestors are hiding, in the English branch of your family tree.

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

Black Redcoats. What happened to Henry?

Henry McGrigger was only twenty-four during the Revolutionary War, when he joined with British troops to fight for the English crown as they marched near Charleston, South Carolina. He’s listed as a former slave of a man named Thomas Haywood. Sounds like maybe Henry found himself a way to escape the bondage of slavery by leaving the Haywood farm (or plantation) and getting in lock step with the Brits. I can’t help but wonder what happened to Henry.

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

Her Husband’s Child

There are a lot of stepmother situations but none quite so fraught with conflict as that of Ann and Mary of North Carolina pre–Civil War. Mary has no freedom. She is listed in court records as a mulatto and is the property of the Daly estate. Although Mary is the daughter of Mr. Daly, Mrs. Daly (Ann) appears to bear no ill will toward her and has nothing but praise for her as she petitions the court to free Mary. Mary must have served the Daly family (as their slave/who were her kin) because Mrs. Daly testifies to Mary’s behavior as “dutiful” and “affectionate.”

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