Interesting Facts
Once we started receiving stories of past life recollections from some of our readers, we did research to see if we could corroborate their past life recall with historically based recorded facts.
With each account we set aside time for research, we decided to isolate the same items with which to identify each lifetime. Namely: Era of time, descriptions of people and places, and defining moments.
This is what we found thus far…
THE YOUNG GIRL DURING THE DAYS OF WITCHCRAFT
“Witches” appeared in early European and American Colony in literary writings and in reality of those who did not opine to basic religious beliefs. The majority of those accused of witchcraft were women (seventy-five to eighty-five percent) from the lower economic class of people.
Crop-failure, war, and disease were the basis for most of the witch trials in the American Colonies. These witches were prosecuted and blamed for the turmoil. Although they were able to help others by being healers, such as midwives, those who practiced medicine, or merely didn’t worship in churches of the community, these healers were persecuted when they failed.
To quote Marvin Harris, a prominent American Anthropologist in 1973, “The practical significance of the witch mania therefore was that it shifted responsibility for the crisis … from both Church and State to imaginary demons in human form.”
We discovered via thorough research that most of the recorded deaths of witches were by hangings, and range between forty to sixty thousand human lives. Said number does not include the “unofficial death records” of those accused of witchcraft. Many unrecorded executions for witchcraft were carried out by means of being burned at the stake.
In the New England Colonies, the witch hunts began as early as 1648 and finally ended in 1693 when laws were passed to protect those accused of witchcraft from being executed. However, witches were still arrested and jailed or run out of the community.
THE INDIAN GIRL
The “Indian Girl” was most likely a member of the Ojibwe Tribe who lived in northwestern Minnesota. They traveled westerly from the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean along the Saint Lawrence River around the Great Lakes. They always seemed to stay close to the rivers and lakes inland, deep in the forests.
The Ojibwe Tribe lived in harmony with nature and their primary source of food focus changed with the seasons – from fishing to hunting to blueberry picking to harvesting wild rice. They also traded pelts of fur with the French.
“The Indian Girl’s Lover” was most likely a member of the rival tribe, the remaining members of the Dakota Tribe.
Although the Dakotas had already begun its migration further west, the tribes were in competition for trade with the French which lead to conflict and warfare between the Ojibwe and Dakota Tribes.
This timeframe is documented from the mid to late 1700’s.
THE GIRL WITH THE BERRIES / THE WOMAN WITH THE FRENCHMAN
Upon our research we discovered the Arcadians settled in 1607 in the northeastern part of the United States. Arcadia was a part of France originally. The Arcadians seemed to have a kinship with the American Indians, as they had a lot in common.
Considering the dialect of the time, most dropped the “AR” in “Arcadian,” thereby leaving “Cadian,” which became known as “Cajun.” At that time the word Cajun was considered to be a racial slur.
Many poor white families moved several times during their lives to seek better opportunities, or to escape their debts. They were mostly tenants in debt to local wealthy planter families. Poor whites were often jailed due to their debts which prevented themselves or their families from working off what they owed. This class did not own slaves and depended upon their family even while they were afflicted with malnutrition and infections such as malaria, hookworm, and pellagra.
The poor families were not protected by laws, and most would do anything to be relieved of their debts. It was not uncommon for parents to trade their children to satisfy their debts with wealthy families.
The French Indian war ended in 1755. The British won said war. Most Arcadians were deported and sent back to France, some relocated in the Caribbean, while still others made their way to Louisiana where they lived in poverty.
Cajun (Arcadian) Rebels marched in formation and in uniform with cavalry support not simply “For Freedom,” but to take control of New Orleans and establish a new state order. The timing of the revolt appears to be when there was little work and the white elites were preparing for carnival celebrations, coupled with the absence of significant order of American expansionism.
We believe that “The girl with the berries who became the woman with the Frenchman” was married to a wealthy landowner. The Frenchman may have been one of the rebels.
The rebellion by the slaves and the poor Cajuns took place in 1811.
THE NURSE IN ENGLAND
We are still researching The Nurse in England. Although we have uncovered many details that may be linked, we are not quite finished. Check back…
