Melungeon Genealogy
Melungeon Genealogy
In Tim Hashaw's book, Children of Perdition, he states,
"Melungeons have lived in the mountains so long that no one remembers where they came from. Early accounts said the first Melungeons were '"dark-skinned devils with blue eyes."' Shunned by black folks and white folks alike, they were tricksters, '"children of perdition"' ?? ? the unholy offspring of the devil and a Cherokee woman in Tennessee ??? ?? rowdy hellions so mean they drove ole Scratch back to hell and his lawful wife."
The term "Melungeon" was traditionally considered an insult, reserved for Appalachian whites who were, by appearance or reputation, of mixed race ancestry. Thankfully, these malicious rumors and derogatory references to the Melungeon name have been laid to rest, but the Melungeon ancestral roots are still a mystery and highly speculative. Some researchers suggest these mysterious people have been in the United States since before the first Mayflower landing. They are considered an ethnic group mainly because of their distinctive physical characteristics; distinguishing features include olive or darker skin complexion, brown or blue eyes, black or dark-brown straight hair, and European features.
The Melungeons were first recorded about 200 years ago, but they were not widely known until the late 19th century. They were found living, in isolation, in the central Appalachian Mountains, predominantly in Northeastern Tennessee, Southwestern Virginia, and Southeastern Kentucky. They have been historically linked with Newman's Ridge in Hancock County which is located in northeastern Tennessee, close to the Kentucky border. "Anthropologists called them "racial islands" or "tri-racial isolates." It is believed they migrated from the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia, through North Carolina and then into Kentucky and Tennessee.Tracing Melungeon Ancestry
melungeon family history
Beginning in the late 19th century extensive research, by professionals and amateurs, began on this isolated group with little agreement as to their origins. The internet and the recent interest in genealogy has fueled the research and created even more speculation. It was originally thought the Melungeons were "tri-racial"; mixed European, sub-Saharan African, and Native American ancestry. The Melungeon DNA Project provides overwhelming evidence for the tri-racial mix in families considered traditional Melungeon. The original definition of Melungeon referred exclusively to one tri-racial group; the descendants of Collins and Gibson and other related families of Newman's Ridge, and the Vardy Valley in Hancock County, Tennessee. Alternate DNA research supports additional ancestries: Semitic , Turkish and Moorish. Some theories speculate that the Melungeons were descended from Spanish or Portuguese explorers, shipwrecked sailors, or even from the "Lost Colonists" of Roanoke Island in Virginia. In the past, self-described Melungeons have referred to themselves as "Indians" or "Portuguese." Most of the white neighbors considered the Melungeons as a mixture of black and Indian, or white, black and Indian.
