Who Are the Daughters of the Holland Dames?

The Daughters of the Holland Dames is an organization made up of the descendants of the early Dutch settlers to New York. They collected historical and genealogical documents that pertained to the Dutch Colonial period. They were also responsible for establishing memorials to their Dutch ancestors. The organization was founded in May 1895, to promote the legacy of the seventeenth-century Dutch. It is worth remembering that long before it was New York, it was New Amsterdam. And before that it was home to the Lenape Indians. If you look for it, you’ll find a Facebook page dedicated to the Daughters of the Holland Dames.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy – A How-to for Tracing Ancient Jewish Ancestry, Secret Genealogy II – Uncovering the Jewish Roots of Our Christian Ancestors, Secret Genealogy III – From Jewish Anglo-Saxon Tribes to New France Acadians, Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees, Secret Genealogy V– Black, White and Hamite; Ancestors of Color in Our Family Trees and Secret Genealogy VI – Freemasons, Jewish Conquistadors and the Holy Family. Available here:

Secret Genealogy:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/0965114082

Secret Genealogy II:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/1484053222

Secret Genealogy III:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/148407579X

Secret Genealogy IV:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500756105

Secret Genealogy V: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HJ622DU

Secret Genealogy VI: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MY35VCP

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Beyond the Pale… Racist or Ignorant?

Shouts of xenophobia, white supremacy, double dealing, crony capitalism, sexual predators, rigged elections, fake news and all other unconscionable and un-American dirty misdeeds have been getting labeled as “beyond the pale.” I have heard countless political pundits use it. I keep hearing it repeatedly. I saw it today in the Los Angeles Times, in a commentary by David Horsey.

“Conservatives absolutely love to mock political correctness and namby-pamby, safe-space liberalism. But there is one line of offensive humor they may now consider beyond the pale: blonde jokes.”

For months, I have been thinking that this expression was not “politically correct.” Here’s why:

Over two hundred years ago, the Czars of Russia expelled Jews from Moscow and St Petersburg. From 1791 to 1915 they were ordered to remain within certain boundaries known as “The Pale of Settlement.” This Pale included Belorussia, Lithuania, Crimea and part of Poland. In the late 1800s, thousands of Jews left Russia and immigrated to America because they were heavily persecuted and confined to that tough geographical region. The “Pale of Settlement” suffered from overcrowding, leading to disease and poverty.

So… I have been thinking that when someone said, “beyond the pale,” that they were saying, “it’s worse than how Russian Jews lived.” But today, I stand corrected. I looked in the dictionary and “pale” also refers to a boundary line, or a barrier. So, it’s like saying, “Hey, that’s really out-of-bounds.” There were other territories that were named the “Pale.” The “English Pale” in Calais, France and “the Pale” around Dublin, Ireland. Both areas were controlled by the English.

The next time I hear someone say, “It is beyond the pale,” I will still probably think of the suffering that persecuted groups suffered at the hands of others. That history should never be forgotten and certainly, not repeated.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy – A How-to for Tracing Ancient Jewish Ancestry, Secret Genealogy II – Uncovering the Jewish Roots of Our Christian Ancestors, Secret Genealogy III – From Jewish Anglo-Saxon Tribes to New France Acadians, Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees and Secret Genealogy V– Black, White and Hamite; Ancestors of Color in Our Family Trees.  Available here:

Secret Genealogy:  http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-Volume-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114082

Secret Genealogy II:  http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-II-Christian-Ancestors/dp/1484053222

Secret Genealogy III:  http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-III-Jewish-Anglo-Saxon-Acadians/dp/148407579X

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

Secret Genealogy V: https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-Hamite-Ancestors-Family-ebook/dp/B01HJ622DU

 

 

What is the Difference Between Black Lives and White Lives?

There is no difference between blacks and those whose skin color is otherwise. This was never brought home more clearly than through researching for a book I wanted to write about African American genealogy. There is no “race.” There are only people from the same human family whose ancestors stayed near or below the equator or went north to colder climates. The differences between ethnic groups are mostly cultural. Yes, there are some biologic variations, much like an oak tree growing in the Arizona desert is different than one growing along the California coastline.  There is no “us” and “them.” There is only “us,” and “we” are “all” in big trouble if “we” don’t understand that. Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy V– Black, White and Hamite; Ancestors of Color in Our Family Trees, available here:

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-Hamite-Ancestors-Family/dp/153518972X

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-Hamite-Ancestors-Family-ebook/dp/B01HJ622DU

 

 

Using the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War to Help Find Secret Jewish Genealogy

With the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War and all the media attention it is receiving, listen to surnames that make it to television, print and Internet media. You may hear a familiar surname in a story about the Civil War and find a link you can follow that will help you fill in your family tree or trigger thoughts that help you to uncover facts about unknown ancestry. Approximately seven thousand recorded Jews fought with the North in the Civil War and approximately three thousand recorded Jews fought for the South but there must have been many more American Civil War soldiers of Jewish ancestry than history records. Several historians record Jews in America as being very quiet about the issue of slavery and not speaking out against it, as was the case in Bergen County, New Jersey when right before the Civil War the county had a pro-slavery attitude. Jewish voters expressed it when they did not vote for Abraham Lincoln as President. And in South Carolina where large populations of Jews had settled before the Civil War, the Jewish community did not speak out against slavery, possibly due to ties to Conversos from Brazil, etc. who may have directly or indirectly provided for their livelihoods through the slaving industry. If you have several clues that lead you to suspect your ancestors were Jewish and they hail from South Carolina, you may be correct.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy – A How-to for Tracing Ancient Jewish Ancestry, Secret Genealogy II – Uncovering the Jewish Roots of Our Christian Ancestors and Secret Genealogy III – From Jewish Anglo-Saxon Tribes to New France Acadians. Available here:

Secret Genealogy: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-Volume-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114082

Secret Genealogy II: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-II-Christian-Ancestors/dp/1484053222

Secret Genealogy III: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-III-Jewish-Anglo-Saxon-Acadians/dp/148407579X

eBooks and computer downloads available through Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ocean

eBooks at Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Secret-Genealogy-by-Suellen-Ocean