Dear fellow researchers, Pardon my delay in sharing this news with this list, which served as such a wonderful resource for me when I was doing genealogical research, reported in my book Pell Mellers.  As I was preparing the book for publication, I became involved with the Melungeon Heritage Association, which is primarily focused on the Melungeons of East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and neighboring areas of adjacent states but also interested in all mixed ancestry groups of the Southeast.  Bertie County is of interest to MHA because of its history of "free mulatto" families in the colonial era which can be connected to mixed ancestry groups throughout the region. Professor Arwin Smallwood of the University of Memphis, a Windsor native and author of the book Bertie County: An Eastern Carolina History, was one of the featured speakers at the annual event in West Virginia.  His presentation was excellent and the audience loved it. Also very well received was Marvin T. Jones who gave a presentation on the Winton Triangle area in neighboring Hertford County.  My blog post at the MHA website: www.melungeon.org describes the presentations and other activities at the 13th Union.  We are now planning the 14th to be held next summer in Tennessee.  In 2008 I was a presenter at the 12th Union, as was Todd Beckham whose Collins, Bunch, and Bazemore ancestors in Bertie were the focus of his presentation.  (My "free mulatto" lines are Butler, Prichard, Cobb, Mitchell, and Cale.)  So if anyone with Bertie roots shows up at a Melungeon event, you can be assured people will know where Bertie County is! Marvin T. Jones has put up a photo gallery from the 13th Union at his Chowan Discovery site: http://www.chowandiscovery.org/News/News.html Paul