Posts by Ora Smith

Was Howard Hughes Jr.’s eccentricity born of one woman’s checkered youth?

Ora Smith | November 30, 2021

I didn’t expect to consider that possibility when I set out to write Unacknowledged: The Possible Biological Mother of Howard Hughes. But as I researched, I had to wonder. Hughes was a household name for decades, but was his oddball…..

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The Pulse of His Soul novel reviewed by the Historical Novel Society

Ora Smith | May 28, 2021

The Historical Novel Society (HNS) is well known amongst historical fiction writers, but perhaps you’ve never heard of them. They are a great resource if you love historical fiction and want to read reviews for what’s out there before buying……

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Did Anyone Help You See Your Ancestors for Who They Were?

Ora Smith | March 5, 2021

My grandmother, Marie Hardison Whitehurst, was not a typical grandma who baked cookies and pattered about. She didn’t even want to be called grandma. To us, she was Mimi. She kept a slim figure, wore fashionable clothes, and was a…..

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What happened on November 11th 400 years ago?

Ora Smith | November 11, 2020

After traveling on the Mayflower for 66 days, the Pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620—400 years ago today. A replica of the Mayflower (Mayflower II, a “living history” museum) was gifted to America by England in 1957,…..

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Who is John Lothropp?

Ora Smith | September 8, 2020

In the New England Memorial by Nathaniel Morton (1669), John Lothropp was considered to be one of the five most important ministers to arrive in New England during the Great Migration. Five United States presidents, as well as Princess Diana,…..

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It’s Been Exactly 400 Years Since the First American Pilgrims left England

Ora Smith | September 7, 2020

Today, September 6th, is the anniversary of the Pilgrims leaving England in the Mayflower. Since July 1620 they had been trying to sail to America, but their second ship, the Speedwell, kept taking on water, sending them back to shore……

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