The Salford Sioux Book Review
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| Book Jacket from Amazon |
November, 1896 Salford, England
On a very cold day in industrial Salford, England, Harold became the newest resident of the local workhouse. His wife and children had gone home to her family until Harold could find work to support his family.
'So, what's your story, mate? Why are you in here?'
'It's a long story.'
'I'm sure it is, but we've got a long time.' . . . 'We likes a good story, mate. So what's yours?'
For a second, a memory of his grandfather sitting round a fire telling his stories of the past came back to him. Maybe it was time to tell what had happened and why he was here.
The scent of the tobacco helped him decide.
'I was born in the Moon when Trees Crack with the Cold, or what you would call February in Salford. . .' 1
March, 2024 Manchester England
Martin and Isobel Walker are brother and sister descendants of a family that, as far as they know, always lived in the industrial area of Salford. Recently they each took DNA tests with Ancestry and received results with Indigenous American ancestry.
They have engaged professional genealogist Jayne Sinclair to try to figure things out.
Genealogical Crime Mysteries don't always involve crime.
Are you reading this genre? If you have discovered the marvelous books of Nathan Dylan Goodwin, Beth Farrar, Heather Dawn Gray, M K Jones and M J Lee among many others, you have learned the emotional anticipation for a favorite author's new work, immersion in the story, and a hunger for more when the book ends.
M J Lee's latest work, The Salford Sioux is another example of using ancestral mystery and present day genealogical interest and resources to weave a captivating plot with step-by-step research techniques. Jayne Sinclair, the professional genealogist in this story, explains the process of her research with successes and failures. When she doesn't find what she expects or needs, she presents another resource.
This book also employs another writing technique—the ancestor's story in his place and time. Harold was born a Hunkpapa Sioux on the plains of Dakota Territory. He tells the story of having been named Chasing Horses, and being a twelve year old young warrior.
'We were camped at the head of the Tongue River, all of the Hunkpapa under the leadership of Sitting Bull. It was towards the end of the Moon when the Ducks Return. . .'
'When's that?' asked Lord Jim.
'Around the middle of March, at the beginning of spring.'
. . .'After the fight on the Rosebud, the chiefs decided to move west to the Valley of the Greasy Grass, what the white men called the Little Bighorn River. . .' 2
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| Valley of the Little Bighorn River, Montana National Park Service photo |
I spent my college years in this area—two years at Sheridan, Wyoming, 70 miles south of here and two years at Billings, Montana, 56 miles west. I drove past and stopped in to the battlefield monument many times.
In The Salford Sioux, description of the terrain and battle events are so well researched and written, I could picture them very clearly. In his Historical Note at the end of the book, Lee gives much more about the premise of the topic and the background of the events described in the story. I hope that others enjoy this story as much as I have.
1/2 The Salford Sioux, M J Lee, Durrow Publishing, February 2025
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Background Vectors by Vecteezy March 2, 2025
March is Women's History Month!
Whom would you like to celebrate? Do you have an ancestor you would like to have met? Do you have a teacher or other woman in your life who inspired you?
Please accept this opportunity to introduce our readers to your special woman. Write a paragraph (or more) about this person and submit it to m.strickland@skcgs.org by March 19. We'll feature your paragraphs in our March 24 and 31 posts.
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