Melungeon descendants celebrate their mysterious heritage

Biloxi Sun Herald (Knight Ridder) ^ | 7/30/05 | Steve Ivey

[hispanarepublicana]

So, I guess we'd better learn to pronounced it, (because I'd read the word before but not known what it was or how to pronounce until I saw on TV). Rhymes with "dungeon".

[blam]

"But, Winkler said, last names such as Mullins, Goins, Collins and Gibson were common to Melungeons. Anyone encountering a relative with one of those names from Appalachia probably shares Melungeon heritage."

We have Mullins, Collins, Gobins and Gibsons around here. They call themselves Cajuns. (Lots of French influence around here)

[hispanarepublicana]

Being Cajun probably makes for better meals; notwithstanding the fact that I'm not sure what constitutes Melungeon fare.

[BlackjackPershing]

No, they're in West Virginia. Brothers and sisters marrying each other.

[Puddleglum]

PS: I'd heard of the Blue Grass of Ky; the Blue Moon of Ky; even the Blue Ridge Mountains; but I'd never heard of the Blue People. FR is so educational.

Yep! I knew of one more site about these folks, but now I can't find it.

[SMARTY]

I read that Abe Lincoln was one as well.

[yarddog]

I would think Mullins, Collins, and Gibson were common names everywhere in the U.S.

I guess Goins is the clinker.

[commonasdirt]

Yikes is right......(cue the banjo music)

[hispanarepublicana]

thought you might want to ping the Kentucky list to provide us with some insight, if possible.

[blam]

"My dad was a Welshman and claimed distant relatives painted their faces blue and built Stonehenge. Never knew if he was kidding..."

This may interest you. Mandans?

(Prince) Madoc In America

[bert]

I don't ave time today for a detailed response, but if interested google Melungeon, Brent Kennedy.

Kennedy is the father of the modern movement to research the subject and his findings are extremely interesting.

[Jim Hill]

http://www.tennesseehistory.com/class/melungeon.htm

Here is a link to a brief discussion on the history of the Melungeons.

[JeanLM]

Story I heard was they were descendants of marooned (by the British) Portugese seamen who married indians and cohabited with them from the 1500's. Like to eat ramps which are wild leeks. DNA tests would be interesting.

[reelfoot]

"I read an article on them in the Asheville paper quite a few years ago. I think they claimed they were Portugese."

The Melungeons are concentrated in NE Tennessee, SW Virginia, and perhaps part of SE Kentucky. They are somewhat prevalent in Hancock County, Tennessee, particularly in the Newmans Ridge area. I had heard about them for some time, but had never knowingly run across one until several years back I made a trip to Sneedville (county seat of Hancock County). There I saw two men who fit the descriptions I had heard of perfectly: wiry hair, swarthy complexions, prominent noses. I immediately assumed they were Melungeons. Many people claiming to be of Melungeon heritage, however, look completely Western European. (Indicating, perhaps, that the physical descriptions I had heard of were incorrect or that such claimants had very little Melungeon blood in them.)

My understanding is that some thought that their ancestry traced to Portugal, while others tended to think they were Gypsies (of Egyptian origin?). It is a fascinating issue.

[colorcountry]

Melungeons is very close to the name Merovingians, who according to legend, were keepers of the Holy Grail or possible descendants of Jesus Christ.

Whoa....do I smell a conspiracy! These black-haired, blue-eyed people could really be the descendants of Christ. < /sarcasm>

[hispanarepublicana]

I just skimmed that, but this jumped out at me: (this really is a FASCINATING mystery--why so underrated?)

population of people described as "possessing European beards, hair color, eyes and spoke a broken form of Elizabethan English." Their olive complexion and past experience with Mediterranean traders led the seasoned French explorers to conclude they had found a colony of "Moors" in the New World of North America. Because the geography of their find was unclear, the stories were dismissed by scholars and the reports discounted as unbelievable. Indian guides leading expeditions into the North American interior often told explorers about the "strange village of hairy people who, three times a day, would kneel with their faces eastward and pray at the ringing of a bell," but the stories were continuously dismissed by Europeans as superstitious legends.

[twigs]

I've researched Melungeons off and on for several years. They are a group of people who were already here when John Smith and gang landed in Jamestown. They were able to tell the Englishmen that they were "Porty-gee," so it's assumed that they may have Portuguese blood. They stayed one step ahead of the early frontier, serving as a buffer and as such, intermarried with Native Americans and probably escaping slaves. One theory says that Sir francis Drake dumped off a load of Turks in NC. So, it's generally believed that the ancestors of these folks are Turkish, Portuguese and more recently NA and African-American. Then, they stayed and intermarried among themselves in the hills of NC, TN, VA and KY. There's lots of theories. A very interesting group.

[twigs]

I just read a story about the blue people. It's a condition that was inherited from one man. I forget his name--Martin.... Fascinating.

[hispanarepublicana]

Are you telling me the Holy Grail could be in Eastern Tennessee buried next to Buddy's BBQ & Tack Shop? Wouldn't that be something!

[Recall]

Did you see "Braveheart" it starred Mel Gibson. When they went into battle they painted thier faces blue. There may be some connection as it was about early Scotland/Ireland.