Last time this subject was broached it was as if someone tossed a hand grenade in the campfire. I still say supposed Portuguese stonemasons shipwrecked off N. C. coast showing up in the mountains couple hundred miles N. W. and inland is not the origin of "Poythress" for those of you unaware of the previous fist fight on the subject. And as for being a lost tribe of Israel, I'm going to be a hard sell. Although, I will take some of their extra hair applied to my headbone...even if molecular biologist Wayne Jones does wimp out at the crucial moment of judgment for his "study.". Don't shoot, I'm only the piano player. <g> Maynard DNA Analysis Fails to Prove Melungeon Origins Who or what are the Melungeons? If you could prove the answer to that question, a lot of people would be interested. The Melungeons were first discovered in 1654, living in the Appalachian Mountain areas that are part of present-day eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and western North Carolina. There is some evidence that the Melungeons were established in those areas even before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Various researchers have speculated that the Melungeons originated in Portugal or Spain or Turkey or England, or perhaps that they were one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. So far, nobody has been able to prove where these people came from. A just-completed genetic study of some of their 15,000 to 50,000 modern-day descendants failed to find the ethnic origins of these people. These olive- and copper-skinned people have lived in isolated pockets across Appalachia over the past several centuries. The Melungeons were "discovered" in 1654 by English explorers and were described as being "dark-skinned with fine European features." In April of 1673, James Needham, an Englishman, and Gabriel Arthur, possibly an indentured servant, came to the Tennessee Valley as explorers with approximately eight Indians. There, Needham described finding "hairy people .... (who) have a bell which is six foot over which they ring morning and evening and at that time a great number of people congregrate togather and talkes" in a language not English nor any Indian dialect that the accompanying Indians knew. Needham also described these people as "hairy, white people which have long beards and whiskers and weares clothing...." who lived in log cabins with peculiar arched windows. Some of these peoples were also described as having red hair, and others with very distinctive blue or blue/green eyes. They practiced the Christian religion and told the explorers in broken Elizabethan English that they were "Portyghee." The biggest question is where did these "hairy, white people" with olive- or copper-colored skin learn Elizabethan English? They also practiced Christianity long before any other Christians were in the area. Also, where did these people learn to build log cabins with arched windows when the natives lived in tents and small huts? The Melungeons must have possessed metal smithing skills in order to make a bell at a time when American Indians possessed no such skills. Many Melungeons described themselves as "Portyghee," which gave credence to their supposed Portuguese ties. However, to the confusion of ethnologists, many spoke Elizabethan English, and the term Melungeon may refer to a French word for melange, or mixture. "Melungeon" also sounds exactly like an Arabic word meaning "cursed soul," a self-deprecating term for one who feels abandoned by God. The term was also used by 16th century Ottoman Turks and by "Conversos," Jews and Moors who converted to Christianity around the time of the Spanish Inquisition. One interesting theory is that early Melungeons were Turks, possibly Ottoman prisoners of war, who were probably taken to the New World by Sir Francis Drake in the late 1500s. One could assume that these prisoners learned English from their captors. That might explain the two languages that Needham and Arthur noted. A term paper written by Mehmet Cakir, a Turkish student at the University of Colorado, points out the many linguistic similarities between Turkish and Melungeon languages; you can read this paper at <A HREF="http://www.colorado.edu/iec/FALL299RW/can.html"> http://www.colorado.edu/iec/FALL299RW/can.html</A> . In an attempt to trace the Melungeons' genetic origins, molecular biologist Kevin Jones took DNA samples from 130 descendants and compared their mitochondrial DNA, which passes intact through maternal lines, to a gene databank. Jones' results, presented at an annual meeting of Melungeon descendants and researchers last month, found a complex ancestry that included European, Asian, Indian, African, and Native American blood. "There is nothing truly definitive about this study," Jones admitted. "Current Melungeons are so racially mixed that it will be difficult to identify their origins. As far as I can tell, Melungeons are a self-defining population, and not a genetically distinct population," said Jones. "Melungeon identity is cultural. That is very real and important, not reflected by any genetic basis, but it is still something to be quite proud of." Reacting to this study, Wayne Winkler, president of the Melungeon Heritage Association, pointed out, "One of the nice things about the DNA study is that parts of many of these various theories are still possible." Winkler then offered his own version of their origins and added, "The Portuguese traded all over the world, and they had a trading outpost in India, where gypsies originated. I've always kind of liked the fact that we have this mystery about us." You can read more about the Melungeons and their quest for information about their origins at: Melungeon Heritage Page – <A HREF="http://homepages.rootsweb.com/%7Emtnties/melungeon.html"> http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~mtnties/melungeon.html</A> Melungeon Links of Interest – <A HREF="http://homepages.rootsweb.com/%7Emtnties/mlgnlinks.html"> http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~mtnties/mlgnlinks.html</A> Melungeon Heritage Association – <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Inn/1024"> http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Inn/1024</A> What Is a Melungeon? – <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/mikenassau/what.htm">http://www.geocities.com/mikenassau/what.htm</A> The Melungeon Health Education and Support Network – <A HREF="http://www.melungeonhealth.org/"> http://www.melungeonhealth.org</A> The Melungeon information page for the American Local History Network – <A HREF="http://dmoz.org/Society/Ethnicity/Melungeon/"> http://dmoz.org/Society/Ethnicity/Melungeon/</A> SKMIE - Southeastern Kentucky Melungeon Information Exchange – <A HREF="http://www.bright.net/%7Ekat/skmie.htm"> http://www.bright.net/~kat/skmie.htm</A>