Eric A. Smith

A Journey of a Thousand Sorrows is an account of the history, destruction, genocide, and migration of certain tribes out of New England in the eighteenth century. In addition, how author Eric A. Smith discovered his indigenous ancestry among the seashore tribes of New England through historical and genealogical research. From his very first documented ancestor, Wyandanch, a Montaukett, sachem, to the Jeffrey family, played a significant role in the indigenous and African American culture in Southern New England and the Upper Midwest.

Smith realized from the very beginning that his family history was a bit more complex compared to other people, especially when it comes to African American genealogy. What he didn’t know at the time was that many of his answers was embedded in indigenous history and genealogy. He discovered that his research covered several states in New England and the mid and Upper Midwest including the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Ontonagon, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Canada.

One of the fascinating things besides finding lost ancestors is that you discover that your ancestors may have played a key role in social or historical events in the past. Smith hope this book will inspire others to research their past ancestors. We all have a story to tell.

About the Author

Eric A. Smith is a lecturer, teacher, author, historian, and television talk show host. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and master of arts degree in history from Chicago State University. Eric is also a member of Phi Alpha Theta National Honor Society and has served as past president of the Afro-American Genealogical & Historical Society of Chicago.

Smith has published articles in the Afro-American Genealogical & Historical Society of Chicago newsletter and the Iowa Genealogical Journal, Hawkeye Heritage, and other various publications. His book, Oak Hill: A Portrait of Black Life in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1920-1950, appeared in September 2006. 

Smith has been a consultant and contributor to Iowa Public Television’s documentary, Searching for Buxton (2012). In addition, he has been a consultant to Professor Henry Louis Gates’s PBS series Roots, concerning the genealogy of Gayle King. Smith has also appeared on local Chicago affiliate ABC News interviewed by Janet Davies and FOX 32 News by Wanda Wells about genealogy.

He has given educational presentations on history and genealogy in numerous venues including in the Chicago Public Schools, the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, the University of Illinois, Chicago, Chicago State University, and the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc., National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, and other national conferences over the years.

In 2023, Smith was a presenter at Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut, concerning the Jeffrey family history in early Connecticut. Also, in 2023, Eric has given presentations at Nazareth University and the Rochester Genealogical Society concerning the role the Jeffrey family played in the early civil rights and abolitionist movements in Rochester, New York.

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