I don't know when the word Melungeon came into use, but back in the late 60's I read an article about Black Irish that made sense to me. They said the darker coloring in some Irish came from the Moorish sailors that sometime landed in Ireland, and elsewhere. What I am getting at is that I think too much emphasis is being placed on someone who said they were Black Irish, Black Dutch, and we, in the future, saying, Ah ha, they were not really Black Irish etc, they were actually Melungeon. It could have very well been that they were indeed Black Irish, the blackness coming from the Moor ancestor who was either standed by shipwreck, had fun on shore leave or conquered some part of Ireland. Jack Childers in OKC