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"I had heard similar anecdotal tale about a gray haired, blue eyed strain of "Native American" that inhabited the Martha's Vineyard area when the latter day European explorers came through."

Yup. Lewis and Clark reported that the Mandan Indians were speaking Welsh when they passed through that region.

Did Lewis and Clark pass through Martha's Vineyard? I thought the Mandan Indians were in the northern mid-west regions. However, fair-haired Indians were reported in the Martha's Vineyard region... I just didn't think they were the Mandan Indians, but I could be wrong. IIRC, one of the leaders of the Indian tribes in King Phillip's War had the name of Magnuson.

There's stories all over the country of light-skinned and haired Natives. Then there's the Melungeons and the Lumbees... and the, forget their name, the Red Bones, or something like that in Louisiana region. It was reported that several Natives in different areas either spoke or understood Welsh. Thomas Jefferson was very interested in this as his ancestors came from the region of Wales that Prince Maloc (sp?) came from.

In Jeffersonville IN, I met a man named Dana Olson who exhaustively researched and wrote a book about Prince Maloc in the late ‘70s. He couldn’t get it published, mainly because he refused to present it as a legend — rather, he insisted it was all true. He published via vanity press.

The book included a few photos: a sign erected by the DAR stating that On this spot in such-and-such a year Prince Maloc landed on the American continent.

The Rose Island bridge near Louisville constructed from large limestone blocks salvaged from a European-style fort found on the banks of the Ohio River by the “first” European explorers.

Also included was a list of Mandan words and their Welsh counterparts.

Olson was not a scholar. His book contained no footnotes or bibliography, nor did he mention any of his sources w/in the book. Still, there really was a lot there.

I have no idea how to get hold of Olson or his book. I met him in a bar, and he sold me a copy of his book out of the trunk of his car for $10.

According to Olson’s book, Maloc was a Welsh prince who somehow fell into great disfavor with the British crown. Fearing for his life, he gathered a troop of loyal cohorts, and set sail for parts unknown.

I read the book about 20 years ago, so I don’t remember a whole lot about it. A few years after I read it, I was attending a Mormon conference, and a Mormon leader had a copy of the book, and held it forth as proof that Columbus and the Vikings were not necessarily the first visitors to the American continent.

Since the book was very obscure, I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t imagine the Mormon leader purchasing a copy in the bar parking lot, as I had.

Still, there was a lot to the book. It’s a shame that Olson wasn’t more of a scholar, able to present his research in a a more responsible and acceptable fashion. And/or, that he refused to publish it as a legend, but insisted it was all true.

Maybe a history scholar will be interested and give this topic the treatment it warrants.