The Book Serenity Podcast

Who Was Dr. George A. Tann? | Discovering an Indigenous Physician Through Genealogy

Who was Dr. George A. Tann, and why does his story matter today?

In this episode of the Book Serenity Podcast, genealogist, author, and educator Dr. Guadalupe Vanderhorst Rodriguez shares the remarkable story of Dr. George A. Tann, a nineteenth-century Indigenous physician, healer, and descendant of the Kikotan Nation. Through more than 40 years of genealogy research, Dr. Rodriguez has dedicated her career to preserving family histories and uncovering the lives of ancestors whose contributions have been largely overlooked. Her research has also been featured on the television program Who Do You Think You Are?

While researching her own Tann family, Dr. Rodriguez discovered Dr. George A. Tann and began searching primary and secondary historical sources to reconstruct his life and legacy. Born in 1832 in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, to Bennett Tann and Mary Lowe, Dr. Tann later lived and practiced medicine in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, where he served as a physician and healer.

This episode explores how genealogy transforms forgotten names into meaningful stories, why preserving Indigenous family history matters, and how historical research can reconnect us with the people who shaped our families and communities.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Who was Dr. George A. Tann?
• How genealogy uncovered his remarkable story.
• Dr. George A. Tann's connection to the Kikotan Nation.
• Why preserving Indigenous history is important.
• How primary and secondary sources help reconstruct family histories.
• How you can begin discovering your own family legacy.

Whether you're passionate about genealogy, Indigenous history, Native American ancestry, Oklahoma history, Pennsylvania history, or family storytelling, this episode offers practical insight and inspiration for preserving your own family's heritage.

Free Genealogy Guide

Ready to begin tracing your own family history?

Download your FREE Guide: How to Trace Your Family History

https://www.bookserenity.com/how-to-trace-your-family-history

Visit Book Serenity

Discover genealogy guides, family history resources, podcasts, books, and educational tools designed to help you preserve your family's legacy.

www.bookserenity.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the Book Serenity Podcast, leave a review, and share it with family historians, genealogists, and anyone interested in Indigenous history. Together, we can ensure that the stories of remarkable ancestors like Dr. George A. Tann continue to inspire future generations.

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Tracing the Maternal Line of Martha Rose Ray | New York Genealogy

Have you ever wondered who the women were that came before you?

Many of our mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers seem to disappear from history as their surnames changed through marriage. Yet every historical record they left behind tells a story waiting to be rediscovered.

In this episode of the Book Serenity Podcast, professional genealogist Dr. Guadalupe Vanderhorst Rodriguez, with more than 40 years of genealogy research experience, shares the remarkable journey of tracing the maternal line of Martha Rose Ray through generations of women in New York State.

Using documented historical evidence—including marriage records, death certificates, census records, and historical photographs—you'll discover how one simple question led to uncovering the lives of Florence Beulah Davis, Harriette Greenman, and Rosetta Ann Maine.

More importantly, you'll learn that genealogy isn't just about collecting names and dates. It's about restoring the lives of ordinary women whose love, perseverance, and resilience shaped the generations that followed.

In This Episode You'll Learn

• How to begin tracing your maternal line

• Why women can be difficult to find in historical records

• How marriage records help identify maiden names

• Why census and death records are essential for genealogy research

• How one document can lead to another generation

• How to preserve your family's stories before they're lost

Whether you're just beginning your family history journey or have been researching for years, this episode will encourage you to start with what you know and let the historical records guide your path.

One Simple Action You Can Take Today

Find one photograph of your mother, grandmother, or great-grandmother. Write her name, the date, and one memory on the back. That small act may preserve a family story for generations to come.

 Free Genealogy Resource

Ready to begin discovering your own family history?

Visit the Free Resources page at Book Serenity and download your FREE How to Trace Your Family History Guide.

This step-by-step guide will help you:

• Start your family tree with confidence
• Find birth, marriage, and death records
• Organize your genealogy research
• Avoid common genealogy mistakes
• Preserve your family's legacy for future generations

Visit: www.bookserenity.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the Book Serenity Podcast, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves family history.

Remember...

Begin with what you know.

Follow the evidence.

Preserve the story.

Because every family has a story waiting to be found... and every story deserves to be remembered.

Long before Steven Tyler's family history appeared on television, genealogist Dr. Guadalupe Vanderhorst Rodriguez was researching the Elliott family of Clinton County, New York. In this episode, she shares the evidence connecting Ann, an enslaved woman owned by Thomas Miller of Plattsburgh, to Robert Elliott and explains why preserving overlooked ancestral stories is one of the most important responsibilities of genealogy. Discover the research, the records, and the forgotten history behind one family's remarkable journey.

Episode 1: The Quiet Exhaustion Many Women Carry | Returning to Yourself

Many women carry a quiet emotional exhaustion that no one else fully sees. In this first episode of Returning to Yourself, Dr. Guadalupe Vanderhorst Rodriguez gently explores the invisible emotional weight of constantly being strong, overwhelmed, and disconnected from yourself.

Through compassionate storytelling and reflection, this episode offers emotional reassurance, understanding, and a reminder that healing begins gently.

If this episode spoke to your heart, the Emotional Reset Guide was created to help you reconnect with calm, clarity, and emotional peace one step at a time.

Visit Book Serenity to explore the Emotional Reset Guide and additional healing resources.

 

 

 

Returning to Yourself | Book Serenity Podcast Series Introduction

Feeling emotionally exhausted, overwhelmed, or disconnected from yourself?

Returning to Yourself is a compassionate podcast series created for women seeking calm, emotional healing, reflection, and reconnection in a world that often feels overwhelming.

Hosted by Dr. Guadalupe Vanderhorst Rodriguez, each episode gently guides listeners through storytelling, emotional insight, holistic wisdom, and reflective conversations designed to help you reconnect with the version of yourself you’ve been missing.

This series is a safe space for emotional understanding, inner quiet, healing, and personal growth — one gentle step at a time.

Visit Book Serenity for emotional healing resources, journals, wellness guides, and supportive tools created to help you return to yourself again.

“What stories continue to heal us long after they are spoken?”

In this powerful final episode of the Book Serenity Podcast series, Stories that Heal: Wisdom that Remains — Voices of the Haudenosaunee, Dr. Guadalupe Vanderhorst Rodriguez reflects on the wisdom, resilience, healing, storytelling, and life experiences shared by Haudenosaunee authors Thomas Taronhata Stacey, Emily Kasennisaks Stacey, and Evita Teiohonwake Stacey.

Explore Indigenous storytelling, urban Haudenosaunee identity, emotional healing, poetry, reflection, and the importance of preserving Indigenous voices for future generations.

Learn more at Book Serenity.

Rediscovering the Wisdom within Yourself 

Featuring Haudenosaunee Author Evita Teiohonwake Stacey

“What if the wisdom you have been searching for has been quietly waiting within you all along?”

In this heartfelt episode of the Book Serenity Podcast, Dr. Guadalupe Vanderhorst Rodriguez explores healing, reflection, and self-awareness through the Indigenous wisdom and teachings of Haudenosaunee author Evita Teiohonwake Stacey.

Discover how reflection, journaling, and inner awareness can help you reconnect with yourself, find emotional clarity, and begin your personal healing journey.

Begin your journey today at Ongwehonwe Wisdom.

The Current of My Soul: Poems That Awaken Inner Wisdom

In this inspiring episode of the Book Serenity Podcast, Dr. Guadalupe Vanderhorst Rodriguez explores The Current of My Soul, a heartfelt book of poems by Haudenosaunee author Emily Kasennisaks Stacey.

Discover how Indigenous poetry, reflection, and inner wisdom can inspire emotional healing, self-awareness, transformation, and spiritual growth.

This episode invites listeners to reconnect with themselves through compassionate storytelling and the powerful wisdom carried through Indigenous voices and poetry.

To purchase The Current of My Soul, visit Amazon.com.