Are you familiar with the term Melungeon? If you answer, “Who or what are Melungeons,” you are like most people. If you have been researching your family in the Cumberland Plateau of Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Tennessee, during the early migration years, you may be able to find them through a connection to this group of people who are only now being researched with unbiased eyes. The Melungeons are a people of apparent Mediterranean descent who may have settled in the Appalachian wilderness as early or possibly earlier than 1567. (The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People; N. Brent Kennedy, Mercer University Press, Macon, GA, USA, 1997; introduction, p. xiii) The Mediterrean includes areas of North Africa,southern Europe and Central Asia. According to Dr. Kennedy, the Melungeons were “a people who almost certainly intermarried with Powhatans, Pamunkeys, Creeks, Catawbas, Yuchis, and Cherokees to form what some have called, perhaps a bit FANCIFULLY, a ‘new race.’ Dr. Kennedy does not believe that the Melungeons can be called a ‘race of people.’ No dictionary definition of race fits with what we know of the Melungeons and recently, the American Anthropological Association, declared that ‘race,’ was an inaccurate, artificial way of defining a people and was no longer ofany value. If this has piqued your interest, here is a URL for the Melungeon Homepage, designed and hosted by Darlene Wilson, that I have found which has a lot of information on the Melungeons. There is also a guestbook/forum on this list where you can place yourqueries and read those of others:http://www.melungeons.org/ Be sure and read all the pages and connected links! This is NOT a genealogy page,but carries Melungeon information and research. Dr. N. Brent Kennedy’s book, ‘The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People,’ both a genealogy and theoretical search for answers, is a must read for anyone who is connected to this group. Most bookstores can order this book in paperback for you. >From some information in Dr. Kennedy’s book and information from the Second UnionPlanning Committee, you can see the necessity for these people to hide. Dr. Kennedy’s page:http://members.aol.com/Strat43z/melung.html OTHER URLs: There is also a Melungeon chat list for more cultural, social gathering and getting to know one and other, that you might enjoy. There is a lot research on this site. Pam will also give you directions for subbing this list. Visit her URL at: 1. The American Local History Network, Melungeon Research page; http://cresswells.com/alhn/melung/index.html Here are several other sites with Melungeon queries and information: 2. The Melungeon Heritage Association, Inc., a new site that is just being set up. http://pluto.Clinch.EDU/appalachia/melungeon 3. The Melungeon List Webpage http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3778/ 4.Short’s Country Store; click on Melungeon Information. Martha has two pages on Melungeons so choose to look at both. http://www.angelfire.com/va/shortfamily or http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3778/ 5.In Plain Site A fascinating site describing archaelogical findings in the middle of the United States of folks who were not supposed to be here but were. http://www2.privatei.com/~bartjean/mainpage.htm 6.The Melungeon Outpost; a place for sharing... http://www.bright.net/~kat/melung.htm 7. GenForum has a Melungeon site where you can read and post queries. http://genforum.genealogy.com/melungeon/ or go to the GenForum site and type in: Melungeon 8. If you are on AOL, go to aol’s Genealogy Forum, click ‘Messages,’ ‘Ethnic and Special Groups,’ ‘Melungeons.’ You can read and post queries here. 9. Under One Sky is a Melungeon news magazine. There are connections here to other Melungeon sites. http://www.geocities.com:80/BourbonStreet/Square/5018/UOS/Page_1x.html Common Melungeon Surname List: North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia ADAMS ADKINS ALLEN ALLMOND ASHWORTH * BARKER BARNES BASS BECKLER BELCHER BEDGOOD BELL BENNETT BERRY BEVERLY BIGGS BOLEN BOLLING BOLTON BOONE BOWLIN BOWLING BOWMAN BRADBY BRANHAM BRAVBOY BRIGER/BRIDGER BROGAN BROOKS BROWN BUNCH BULLION BURTON BUTLER BUTTERS BUXTON BYRD * CAMPBELL CARRICO CARTER CASTEEL CAUDILL CHAPMAN CHAVIS CLARK CLOUD COAL COFFEY COLE COLEMAN COLES COLLEY COLLIER COLLINS COLLINSWORTH COLYER COOPER CORMAN COUNTS COX COXE CRIEL CROSTON CROW CUMBA CUMBO CUMBOW CURRY CUSTALOW * DALTON DARE DAVIS DENHAM DENNIS DIAL DOOLEY DORTON DOYLE DRIGGERS DULA DYE DYESS * ELY EPPS EVANS * FIELDS FREEMAN FRENCH * GALLAGHER GANN GARLAND GIBSON GIPSON GOINS GOINGS GORVENS GOWAN GOWEN GRAHAM GREEN(E) GWINN * HALL HAMMON(D) HARMON HARRIS HARVIE HARVEY HAWKES HENDRICKS HENDRIX HILL HILLMAN HOGGE HOLMES HOPKINS HOWE HYATT * JACKSON JAMES JOHNSON JONES * KEITH(E) KENNEDY KISER * LANGSTON LASIE LAWSON LOCKLEAR LOPES LOWRY LUCAS * MADDOX MAGGARD MAJOR MALE MALONE(Y) MARSH MARTIN MAYLE MINARD MINER MINOR MIZER MOORE MORLEY MOSELY MOZINGO MULLINS * NASH NELSON NEWMAN NICCANS NICHOLS NOEL NORRIS * ORR OSBORN OSBORNE OXENDINE * PAGE PAINE PATTERSON PERKINS PERRY PHELPS PHIPPS PRINDER POLLY POWELL POWERS PRITCHARD PRUITT * RAMEY RASNICK REAVES REVELS REEVES RICE RICHARDSON RIDDLE RIVERS ROBERSON ROBERTSON ROBINSON RUSSELL * SAMMONS SAMPSON SAWYER SCOTT SEXTON SHAVIS SHEPHARD SHEPHERD SHORT SHORTT SIZEMORE SMILING SMITH STALLARD STANLEY STEEL STEVENS STEWART STROTHER SWEATT SWETT SWINDALL * TALLY TACKETT TAYLOR THOMPSON TIPTON TOLLIVER TUPPANCE TURNER * VANOVER VICARS VICCARS VICKERS * WARE WATTS WEAVER WHITE WHITED WILKINS WILLIAMS WILLIAMSON WILLIS WILSON WISBY WISE WOOD WRIGHT WYATT WYNN _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. 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