I admit I am still obsessed with my mother's given name, Ilo. It is usually associated/allied with surnames/women of Celtic heritage, i.e. Campbell. However, she was told it was a name from "the Islands". Her European ancestors are recorded in the Appalachians from after the Revolutionary War. But there is always the strong family history of many Native American ancestors there, and the stories do NOT claim it to be Cherokee.... Although there are Melungion settlements near there, there are not any people claiming or knowing of Melungion ancestry in that area. Many people in that area do have a somewhat distinctive appearance. Some say they appear "Indian", some Spanish, some say exotic. There is preported to be a relative new DNA type test which indicates people of Native American descent as Asian. That is if a person knows their Native American ancestor and takes the test, it shows up as Asian. Dorothy in N. FL.