What was The Peace of Pocahontas?
Ora Smith | October 13, 2023
When the English first established Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, their relationships with the Indigenous Peoples (sometimes called ‘the Powhatans’ after Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas’s father) was precarious. Powhatan and the English settlers regarded each other with suspicion. Eventually, the two groups…..
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Did My English Ancestor Marry a Native American in the 1600s?
Ora Smith | January 29, 2023
Have you ever had a coincidence happen where you wondered if it were more than mere chance? Was the event a happy accident or did God have a hand in it? I’ve decided to write about a recent “coincidence” even…..
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How Many Ethnicities Do You Think You Have in your DNA?
Ora Smith | September 29, 2022
I’ve been to 48 states and always find that North Carolina has the friendliest people. A recent visit was no exception when I met many members of who I think are my African-American side of the family. White Oak River…..
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For Book Unacknowledged, Guest Speaker on Podcast – A Reel Page Turner
Ora Smith | March 22, 2022
The podcast A Reel Page Turner is a show that compares the movie to the book. On A Reel Page Turner I was a guest speaker for the comparison of the movie The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, and Kate…..
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Interview with Nancy E. Turner of “These Is My Words” novel
Ora Smith | March 22, 2022
Nancy E. Turner wrote about her ancestors in these four books based on the Prine family of the Southern Arizona Territory 1880s-early1900s. The full title of her first novel (a Willa Cather Literary Award finalist) is These is My Words:…..
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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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