These are tidbits I found in a book written by Bud Phillips, the book is Bristol / Va. / Tennessee. I do not have the book, just found in the library. The book describes the status funeral of a L. M. Rhea who was buried in a satin lined, metal casket Jan. 15,1889. The reciept for the total bill was $35.00. Another A. S. McNeil reciept showed a complete funeral with coffin, cloths, and use of a hearse only $25.00. A simple funeral could be as low as $2.50 ! By the closing years of the century $40.00 could still buy a fine funeral. 1st cemetery in Bristol was called Oak Grove. The town was laid out in 1852. About 1784 a traveler died at Fort Shelby. His family and General Shelby chose a burial site located to the north east within site of the Fort. The site was shaded by several giant Oak Trees thus the name. Oak Grove become later known as Shelby Cemetery. Many of the early burials were without coffins. Bodies were covered by a thick layer of oak leaves then topped off with dirt.The first time Gen. Shelby was buried he was buried in this manner. The 1st Bristol Cemetery was located directly across what later became 5th Street, south of the intersection with Shelby. A small bit of the grounds extended westward onto the lot that was later the Redeemer Lutheren Church. From the days of Shelby til the founding of Bristol in 1852 the cemetery was unkept and unused. The Rev. James King sold the land to his son-in-law for a town site, and he reserved a cemetery lot. The lot was small with no room for expansion and the people realized they could no longer meet the demands of a growing town. Land was then set aside for a cemetery on Round Hill ( NOW EAST HILL) By 1871 the town was expanding and pushing hard against the Old Oak Grove Cemetery and the town's developers vision was a grand avenue leading from downtown to King College. They proposed moving the bodies, and there was a great court fight and the town was split on the issue. (March 24,1871 articals in Bristol newspapers). By late summer of 1871 after over a year of fueding the city started plans to move the bodies. ( Bristol news, Sept.1,1871) gave morbid accounts of the process. Those mentioned in the articals were Cyrus King and his 2 wives and child who they said was buried there for about 12,15,18,or 20 years. Those bodies were moved to East Hill Cemetery. On Fri. Feb. 22, 1872 Tobias Wade and Nathan Stepp hired by city council shoveled up the bones of General Evan Shelby from his resting place of 77 years. The bones were put in a goods box and locked up in the jail that stood on 5th Street. ( This was kept quiet as possible to keep down a protest possibly). That afternoon Fowler was admitted to jail by John Crowell, Town Sergeant. His purpose was to measure and view Shelby's bones. He later commented that Shelby's skull did not look to be that of a intelligent man, noting the forhead seemed very low and retreated greatly, he also noted Shelby's leg bones to measure a bit over 31 inches.Early on Sat. morning Feb. 23,1872 Tobias Wade, Nathan Stepp,& John Crowell took the box of bones from the jail and started towards East Hill. Mr. Phillips in his book describes with great humor a tale told by an aged daughter of Nathan Stepp. She says Tobias Wade, a little juberous already about his burden had the box of bones on his shoulder walking a little ahead of Crowell and Stepp when a bird lit atop the box and started pecking at the lid. Wade must have thought Shelby was knocking to get out, and with a wild yell he threw the box backward, scattering the bones at the feet of his companions and took out over the ridge toward Beaver Creek. Crowell and Stepp gathered the remains and made the interment. The 1st Shelby burial site in East Hill ( then called City Cemetery) was just inside and to the right of the western most gate. I. C. Fowler lamented that the old hero had not been given a fitting burial and kept the matter before the public for 3 months. Wed. May 20,1872 was set for Decoration Day for City Cemetery. Gen. Shelby was to be given a public ceremonial burial, and on Mon. May 18,1872 his bones again were shoveled up by H. A. Bickley and an assistant. The bones were taken to Bickley's establishment by the First Christian Church. where they were laid in order and put into a fine walnut casket ( cost $ 14.00). On Decoration Day Bickley hauled the coffin to the First Presbyterian Church where within a few feet of the spot the old hero rested for 77 years. R. Vance and George B. Smith delivered orations over Shelby and a grand procession ( nearly the whole town) followed to the cemetery. Rev. G.A. Claldwell gave a final prayer and at 11:45 A.M. May 20,1872 Shelby was lowered to a final resting place. Hope you enjoyed and I will try to do more cemetery history, but this was the best of the chapter.

Just a thought: Up until 1920 when the 19th amendment was radified, women could not even vote. The rights stated in the Constitution DID NOT and WAS NOT MEANT to apply to ALL. That's all I will say on this subject. Sandy -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, August 11, 2000 2:16 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Walter A.Plecker n a message dated 8/11/00 11:02:40 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << citizens of the United States >> Just sent some info to the list. :-) You are right that these amendments did exist, but note the language, CITIZENS, and just who were the citizens? White people who had some rights, no blacks, mulattoes, FPC, etc. You are on the right track, check amendment Article XV. You are just looking at WHITE citizens, not others. NancyS THE MELUNGEON HEALTH EDUCATION AND SUPPORT NETWORK: http://www.melungeonhealth.org SPARKS Genealogy: http://SparksGenealogy.net ==== SW_VA Mailing List ==== #4 Chain letters, gossip, non-genealogical notes, commercial ads, pleas for help, etc. are PROHIBITED on this List. -sysop ============================== Personalized Mailing Lists: never miss a connection again. http://pml.rootsweb.com/ Brought to you by RootsWeb.com.

A couple of other sites: http://members.aol.com/strat43z/melung.html http://www.uky.edu/RGS/AppalCenter/ http://members.aol.com/bbbenge/page15.html http://www.appalshop.org/ This site seems to be down... Special Project 'A Melungeon HomePage' has finally moved to its permanent home at Clinch Valley College, Wise, Virginia. The new URL is: www.clinch.edu/appalachia/melungeon/

To add another dimension to this debate I would suggest this article and Ms. Elders book, "Melungeons: Examining An Appalachian Legend" http://www.public.usit.net/billiam/melungeon.html Dianne a Sexton descendant

On 11 Aug 00, at 16:40, [email protected]: <I do have to make just one comment in response to this post and then I will hush. What right did the 'government' have to come into land that they did not own, declare it was theirs and sell it? I have some Native American ancestry too!!! <grin> Some of my folks were already here when the Englishers arrived including both the NA and the Melungeons.<> The error here is that you are applying today's 'morals' to people 300 years ago. They might not think much of the way we live either. They would not have tolerated your wickedness for one second. The divorce, children in daycare and the shacking us. Let's get the beam out of OUR eyes before we criticize their moot. What right did the King of England have to claim land that the King of France and Spain had already claimed. He did it by force, the same way Uncle Sam claims taxes today. What right did the Cherokee Chief have to sell Shawnee land in KY? He just suckered the white man. Let's do our genealogy and history research and discussions w/o so much moralizing by today's questionable standards. -eddie

------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: [email protected] Date sent: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 16:48:36 EDT Subject: Ward, Bishop, Halsey, Houck, Jones To: [email protected] Howdy! I am collecting data! I wound especially appreciate any line to Bishop/Jones. I have reason to look in the Virginia area, County Washington. So far, I am stymied by lack of leads. Thanks for the surname website. I think genealogy is a great people to people link and respect all those out there in their work! Thomas Ward, MD, Little Rock, AR ------- End of forwarded message -------

>>What right did the 'government' have to come into land that they did not own, declare it was theirs and sell it? I have some Native American ancestry too!!! <grin> Some of my folks were already here when the Englishers arrived including both the NA and the Melungeons. (I am pretty sure that the Melungeons were here by 1567 living in log houses when they were 'found' by both English and Spanish explorers. They were on the land and it was theirs. HOW DARE anyone take it away from them? Well, I know how they<< I believe some members of my ancient Harrald family were here (In Newfoundland, North America) about a thousand years ago! Apparently long before the Melungeons, but I am not claiming that my family owned the land when the English arrived! Down through the Ages, land has belonged to the group who could hold it by force or otherwise.. That is why the English Government and later the United States Government was able to lay claim to land in this country.. Maybe it dosen't seem fair, but that's the way the game has been played through the years.. My Last Word on this Subject!!! G. Lee Hearl Authentic Appalachian Storyteller Abingdon, Va..

In a message dated 8/11/00 2:51:52 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << however, it was absolutely necessary for the govenment to control land grants during the early settlement period, otherwise there would have been great confusion! True, more prominent people received land grants, which they sold at generally reasonable prices to anyone who was qualified to purchase it. >> I do have to make just one comment in response to this post and then I will hush. What right did the 'government' have to come into land that they did not own, declare it was theirs and sell it? I have some Native American ancestry too!!! <grin> Some of my folks were already here when the Englishers arrived including both the NA and the Melungeons. (I am pretty sure that the Melungeons were here by 1567 living in log houses when they were 'found' by both English and Spanish explorers. They were on the land and it was theirs. HOW DARE anyone take it away from them? Well, I know how they dared and because I also have English, Scot, French and other ancestry, I am glad that the 'off-shore others' came or I would not be who I am today. I think we can look at ourselves today and recognize that we have met the enemy and they ARE us!! (smile) NancyS THE MELUNGEON HEALTH EDUCATION AND SUPPORT NETWORK: http://www.melungeonhealth.org SPARKS Genealogy: http://SparksGenealogy.net

As I said previously, I am at a disadvantage right now because the site I used is not available. BUT a law is only as good as its inforcement. I will tell you a story from around the late nineteen-forties, early fifties, told to me by a respected professional person/researcher/author/teacher who lived in the Wise, VA area. And then something about one of my Melungeon families, the Collins. In the small city of Wise, VA was a drugstore. My friend earned extra money by working there part time. Each Saturday morning, all the *GOOD* stuff that was usually for sale at the drugstore was moved off the shelves and put in the back of the store. NONE of the regular customers from the town or nearby came in except in an emergency with a prescription to be filled. Those who did come in were the Melungeons off the top of the mountains coming to Saturday market. The Melungeons were served, but curtly according to my friends description by the owner of the store. My friend was not allowed to take their money. She supposes the owner thought she might have cheated the store and let the Melungeons have something for less than the price the owner wanted, but she does not know this. The Melungeons were shown only the special items, cheap ones bought for this purpose only. They were not allowed to touch the items before they bought them, though what difference this made because the 'white' folks certainly wouldn't have touched them. And they could not return anything that they bought once it was in their hands. Their few small prescriptions were filled as necessary and they were offered sandwiches and drinks from the fountain, again curtly. Their money was good, what little they had of it. Immediately after closing on Saturday night all the fixtures in the drugstore were scrubbed and sanitized. This was a part of my friends job. Everything was bleached and sprayed and fungicided. The shop was then opened on Sunday afternoon and the Melungeons were no longer allowed to come in until the next Saturday. If they needed a prescription before then, they came to the back door and were served while they waited outside. I am sure that many black folks found similar circumstances. My greatgreatgrandmother was born in the area now Wise, VA. It breaks my heart to think that she might have gone through something similar. Her daughter, my great grandmother whom I knew, hid her ancestry and her identity by saying that she was a 'quarter-strain Cherokee.' I know that this is false via documentation of her genealogy. We knew that there was a big, dark secret in this family, but not what. I finally found that my great grandmother was an illegitimate child. I thought ahah! This is the secret. Her mother and father were not married, could not have been because her father was married to her mother's sister. The sisters were Melungeon descendants. The secret was bigger than illegitimacy. Here is an outline of what I know about this family Descendants of Will Collins 1 Will Collins b: in , , Virginia d: Bet. 1848 - 1850 .. +Maca - Macha Cunningham b: Abt. 1826 in , , Virginia d: Bef. 1865 Father: William Cunningham, Jr. Mother: Rachel Ann Elizabeth Countiss .. 2 Mary Collins b: Abt. 1843 in , Wise Co. Virginia d: June 03, 1915 in , Johmson Co. ,Kentucky ...... +[1] Abraham Musick b: Abt. 1836 in , , Virginia d: Bef. May 15, 1914 in , , Kentucky m: Not Married Father: James C. Musick Mother: Mariah Shell ...... 3 Mary Arminta Musick b: October 20, 1865 in Johnson Co. Ky d: October 16, 1948 in Paintsville, Ky. ........... +James Morgan Hager b: July 17, 1859 in Floyd Co., Ky. d: May 06, 1923 in Prestonsburg, Ky m: December 02, 1878 in White House, Johnson, Ky. Father: Daniel Morgan Hager Mother: Amanda E. Birchfield ...... 3 Margaret Musick .. 2 Rachel Collins b: January 01, 1844 in Ky orRusell Co., VA d: May 15, 1914 ...... +[1] Abraham Musick b: Abt. 1836 in , , Virginia d: Bef. May 15, 1914 in , , Kentucky m: July 03, 1857 in Johnson Co.,Ky. Father: James C. Musick Mother: Mariah Shell ...... 3 Rachel F. Musick b: August 03, 1858 ...... 3 Mary E. Musick b: Abt. 1859 ...... 3 MaryAnn Musick b: March 1862 in Johnson Co., KY. d: December 30, 1937 in Johnson Co.,Ky. ........... +Augustus Daniels b: February 1859 in Johnson Co., KY. d: Abt. 1907 ...... 3 John Wesley Music b: 1864 in Johnson Co., KY. d: November 22, 1914 in Nippa, KY ........... +Mary Ellen Castle b: Abt. 1873 d: in Nippa, KY m: January 25, 1887 in Johnson Co.,KY. ...... *2nd Wife of John Wesley Music: ........... +Julia Johnson b: Abt. 1879 m: September 19, 1904 in Johnson Co., KY. ...... 3 James Lincoln Music b: 1868 in Johnson Co., KY. d: Abt. 1892 in Nippa, KY ........... +Trinvilla Vanhoose b: Abt. 1868 in Johnson Co.,KY d: March 10, 1917 in Russell Co., VA m: January 01, 1887 in Johnson Co., KY. ...... 3 Christopher Columbus Music b: February 1868 in Johnson Co., KY. d: October 15, 1957 in Paintsville, Johnson Co., KY ........... +Rissie Unknown b: December 25, 1865 in Johnson Co., KY. d: September 25, 1938 in Nippa, KY m: February 23, 1890 in Johnson Co.,KY ...... 3 Sarah E. Music b: October 08, 1871 d: April 18, 1935 in Johnson Co., KY. ........... +James J. Vanhoose b: February 25, 1873 d: November 29, 1953 in Johnson Co., KY. m: October 23, 1892 in Johnson Co., KY. ...... 3 Archabald Music b: January 16, 1874 in KY d: February 20, 1945 in Johnson Co., KY. ........... +Rosa Castle b: January 11, 1874 in KY d: April 16, 1935 in Johnson Co., KY. m: January 16, 1896 in Johnson Co., KY. ...... 3 Melvina Music b: 1877 ........... +Winfield Scott Daniels b: December 1871 m: September 06, 1893 in Johnson Co., KY. ...... 3 Loutiny Music b: 1880 d: in Nippa, KY ........... +John B Castle b: Abt. 1876 in Johnson Co., KY. d: in Nippa, KY m: June 10, 1897 in Johnson Co., KY. .. 2 Charles Collins b: Abt. 1848 .. 2 Christopher Collins b: Abt. 1850 When I finally made contact with some of the descendants of Rachel Collins and Abraham Musick, they had never heard the story of this grandfather and praised his devotion to his wife, Rachel. Rachel, Mary and Abraham lived in the same house. I wonder what the sisters thought about the arrangement, though that really didn't matter because I am sure they had no choice. A first cousin, once removed wrote to me about Abraham: <<"Abraham was a blacksmith and had a violent temper. He once threw an axe at a man, missed him and the axe hit a tree, buried in so deeply they never did get it out. Abraham would rush out of his shop, yell at Mary, ' Mary, I want, I want - Oh, damn-it-to-hell, you know what I want!' and poor Mary, scared half out of her wits, would gather up everything she could find and take it to him, hoping one would be what he wanted. Once, Abraham left, with a black woman, a year, came back and Mary took him in. The kindest thing to say, I suppose, is that he was a colorful character.">> I wonder had these women not been Melungeon descendants would their lives have been any different. Perhaps not, but my heart aches for them just the same. The Melungeons suffered and because they did, I became very interested in the why and wherefore of their suffering. In later days, Walter A. Plecker was the source of much of their problems. Because he changed b.d.and m. licenses they were refused the opportunity to participate fully in the American dream. They could not vote, could not school their children with 'white' children and in many cases they could not testify in court and had their land taken away from them, forcing them to the mountaintops. NancyS THE MELUNGEON HEALTH EDUCATION AND SUPPORT NETWORK: http://www.melungeonhealth.org SPARKS Genealogy: http://SparksGenealogy.net

I found a book at a library sale called "Last Sleep, The Battle of Droop Mountain, Nov. 6, 1863. The book was written by Terry Lowry and published in 1996. It is indexed if anyone wants to see if an ancestor name is there. Please, if you do, e-mail me direct. Bev.

I really hate to take sides. But I have a few thoughts on the subject at hand. I wonder why so many of my ancestors felt the need to hide the fact that they were Melungeon? I wonder why noone in my family would admit to ever hearing the term? As far as being an expert on who was and who wasn't allowed to own land or vote, heaven knows I am not. Yet why did they hide who they were if they didn't encounter racism? It is my very humble opinion that we absolutely cannot deny that racism existed back then. I seem to be getting this vague undertone of it through some of the posts. I was born and raised in southern West Virginia. I lived there twenty four years folks. The town had no stop lights. That's how small it was. There were no black families living there and quite frankly if they had tried to move there they would have been run out. It shames me to say that but it is true. But I'll tell you this much. About eight out of ten families there have the "surnames associated with Melungeons". Now here is my most humble opinion again. I believe they moved across the river into southern WV and remade themselves. If they could go into a county deed office and pass for white I know they did. My people certainly did. As far back as my great-great grandfather who fought as a Lt. in the Civil War I know we didn't encounter blatant racism. But maybe that was simply because we passed as white. We had a Irish surname so who was to question? (Thornsbury). I have uncles on my Cline side that were so dark with dark curly hair. Some of us were light and some dark. And Eddie I am truly sorry for the length of this. Also because it really doesn't pertain to genealogy. I just couldn't keep from saying my piece. I know that there are people who disagree but I say variety is the spice of life. I won't condemn anyone for their opinions. Perhaps some families faced a little more discrimination than others. Jennifer

>>During the early history of this country, governments declared that only those who possessed certain pieces of paper called "titles" were entitled to the land in question. These titles to land that previously belonged to the government were given to carefully selected individuals. In this way, a relatively few people who were already wealthy gained access to most of the nation's land and used it to multiply their wealth. During this process, most people were excluded from the means to achieve prosperity and had to struggle merely to survive. It was the owning of land that gave power to people and such power was strictly limited in the early days of America. Land and voting rights were part and parcel of government<< The above statement is essentially True, however, it was absolutely necessary for the govenment to control land grants during the early settlement period, otherwise there would have been great confusion! True, more prominent people received land grants, which they sold at generally reasonable prices to anyone who was qualified to purchase it.. This was to insure orderly settlement of the lands to the west... There has never been a time when a person could simply go into the wilderness and select a tract of land and claim it as their own without obtaining title to it.. Some people thought they could and some lost the land they were living on, others obtained surveys and got title to their farms.. Those who served in the Military or furnished supplies during the Rev. War.. were entitled to receive free land based upon their rank and length of service.. Privates usually received 200 acres while officers got more.. This is how many poor men obtained their first land.. I have yet to see any law in the Commonwealth of Virginia which forbade any citizen to own land in Wise County or any other county.. or which prevented anyone from getting an education.. There may have been social factors which interferred, but no laws which I know of.... G. Lee Hearl Authentic Appalachian Storyteller Abingdon, Va..

n a message dated 8/11/00 11:02:40 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << citizens of the United States >> Just sent some info to the list. :-) You are right that these amendments did exist, but note the language, CITIZENS, and just who were the citizens? White people who had some rights, no blacks, mulattoes, FPC, etc. You are on the right track, check amendment Article XV. You are just looking at WHITE citizens, not others. NancyS THE MELUNGEON HEALTH EDUCATION AND SUPPORT NETWORK: http://www.melungeonhealth.org SPARKS Genealogy: http://SparksGenealogy.net

I think I have found my Samuel Wilson on a card on the Confed. Rosters in the LVA digital collections. It has reference to a vol. 5 p.311. The only information I can find on this site is that it is in reference to bound volumes which have been microfilmed. I sent to the NARA for records on him but they say they don't have any and refered me to Va St. Library. What is my next step? Did all or most wives apply for pensions for husbands that were killed in the war? or was it too much trouble for what was received. What years did pensions start for confederate survivors? Did surviving children qualify for anything that there would be a record of? Thanks for any help and suggestions. A. Daniels

I think the biggest problem that "people of color" or "any other ethnic group" just weren't accepted next door and life would have been too miserable for these folks to own property or to live in an area where they were mistreated by the general population. The law was one thing. The real world was something else. We all can remember the years of school segregation, especially if you were raised in SW VA. In some pockets, it still exists in spite of the law. I saw "Colored Schools" while growing up but was blind to what I had seen. When I was a Navy Recruiter in Newport News VA in the early 60's I had an awakening when I visited Newport News High School a "Colored" school and compared the applicant test scores with those from PA. There was a 15 to 20 point difference on the average. When I visited the school, I saw the reason why. It's where the money went. They did not have the classrooms and teacher's that adjoining white schools had. I can remember some kids in my school that were not liked. Their families were not liked. They were dark and came from certain locations on the ridges. They were considered as "trash". They were of dark color and had some of the common Melungeon names. I never gave it any thought at the time. When I saw Brent Kennedy's presentation on the Travel Channel's "Appalachian Stories", it opened my eyes to a lot of things that had been swept under the rug for so long. In other words, the laws had been in effect but in real life, not enforced. Attitudes, made the difference. Robert Crabtree

Volks, As the owner/sysop of the List it is my duty to regulate what is relevent/acceptable subjects. Traffic has been light and during those times I'm more tolerant. Some of the Melungeon, and Nancy's specifically, have been border line. If I allow it some would complain. If I cut it off others, or the same people, would be cross about it. I know that I am loved for the way I regulate the List so I try to be Solomon savey. I find Nancy's argument very interesting which is not to say I agree. Given the little traffic on the List I choose to allow it. But let's make it easy for those whom are not interested to delete it without opening it. THEREFORE, all post on the subject of Melungeon persecution/racism, etc. shall have the exact SUBJECT as follows: "Melungeons & Racism" OK?? Please comply and be tolerant. Thanks. -eddie owner

In a message dated 08/11/2000 10:05:21 AM Central Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << According to this language, the State of Virginia, whether acting through Walter Plecker or otherwise, does not have the right to prevent a person from owning property or voting on account of race. Since these Amendments were adopted after the War Between the States, and since that Conflict was fought, in part, to insure that Blacks were no longer considered "property", I really can't see the Federal government allowing a State to blatantly ignore this provision by passing laws which prevent a person from owning land or voting. >> Sorry, but I feel the need to respond to this particular issue. What was law and what was enforced were two different issues. A good example of this is a clipping from the Hamilton Journal News from 25 June 1956. A person had a home up for sale and the following ad in the paper stated "will sell to blacks" This policy of ignoring the law prevailed in many areas. It was well known by everyone. thanks, "Donny" Donald Lee Perry 1667 Sylvan Ave. Dallas, TX 75208-2544 214.941.5454 [email protected]

Thanks Eddy I really did not intend to get into a discussion about M-------- history. There are separate lists for those discussions. The assertion was made that Adams is a M-------- name. I said was that Adams is more likely a Scots/Scots-Irish name. And I was told if Mr. Adams was a M-------- that he would not appear on any tax or voting lists because M--------s were not allowed to vote or own property. Again, I disagree. Bottom line: If I were a descendant of Mr. Adams I would look on every Census, tax or voting list I could find. That's all I wanted to say on this particular matter. That's all I will say. Phil p.s. To the person who asked the question about Mr. Adams in the first place, things are not always this "contentious". We're all just having a bit of fun. p.p.s. Getting back to that original query, does anyone know if there were there any train wrecks in Wise County after 1850? Is there even a railroad running through the County? [email protected] wrote: > > Volks, > > As the owner/sysop of the List it is my duty to regulate what is > relevent/acceptable subjects. Traffic has been light and during those > times I'm more tolerant. > > Some of the Melungeon, and Nancy's specifically, have been > border line. If I allow it some would complain. If I cut it off others, or > the same people, would be cross about it. I know that I am loved for > the way I regulate the List so I try to be Solomon savey. > > I find Nancy's argument very interesting which is not to say I > agree. Given the little traffic on the List I choose to allow it. But let's > make it easy for those whom are not interested to delete it without > opening it. > > THEREFORE, all post on the subject of Melungeon > persecution/racism, etc. shall have the exact SUBJECT as follows: > > "Melungeons & Racism" > > OK?? Please comply and be tolerant. Thanks. > > -eddie > owner > > ==== SW_VA Mailing List ==== > #4 Chain letters, gossip, non-genealogical notes, commercial ads, pleas for help, etc. are > PROHIBITED on this List. -sysop > > ============================== > Search ALL of RootsWeb's mailing lists in real time. > RootsWeb's Personalized Mailing Lists: > http://pml.rootsweb.com/

At 01:45 PM 8/11/00 -0500, Phil Crowther wrote: >p.p.s. Is there even a >railroad running through the County? The Clinchfield, is now part of CSX http://www.csx.com/ then it was also called Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway. The historical society URL is http://www.clinchfield.com/ You can contact them about wrecks and other history and they have great photos and quicktime videos at their site, very cool! pat

Hi Guys! Some of you may not be interested in this. It is a little long and may be more than you ever wanted to know. If so, just delete and go on. Won't hurt my feelings one bit. :-) But I do think it is interesting and something that until only a few years ago I had no idea had existed in relationship to me. If you had asked me to tell you something of this when I was teaching and had some examples of law at hand, it would have been much easier, Lee. I have only bits and peices available right now. The main research page where I found information on Plecker is down and will be for several more weeks because it is changing servers. I went thru some information that I had saved, that was not lost in my crash and came up w/ a few things, and did a quick search on the net. Too much info there, to wade thru so am just sending some notes copied from a variety of books, internet sites etc. This info covers a large period of time and is of course not complete. It may not answer your questions, in fact it may encourage more questions, but does include something of the law, the amendments, and racism. Racism is not something new to America and the Melungeons were not the only folks to suffer from it. They were however, one of many and because I am interested in the Melunegeons, and because our list covers a specific area and names that are common to Melungeons, I have done a little research on this. I think this is appropriate information for this list. First, Amendments to the Constitution: Article XV. Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Proposal and Ratification The fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Fortieth Congress, on the 26th of February, 1869, and was declared, in a proclamation of the Secretary of State, dated March 30, 1870, to have been ratified by the legislatures of twenty-nine of the thirty-seven States. So the right to vote was not insured until 1870. Before that time, the right to vote was given to persons of wealth who OWNED land. Here is something on just WHO owned land: The 250,000 settlers who lived in the mainland colonies to the south of Canada in 1700 grew to more than two million by 1776. The top 1 percent of the population owned about 15 percent of the wealth. The top 10 percent owned nearly half the wealth. More than 20 percent of the population were African slaves. At any one time, another sizable percentage were indentured servants and even more whites were landless. Most whites owned little or no property. Less than a third of all landowners had large holdings, while another third were small farmers. Access to land and the definition of property rights were thus key elements in the development of the United States. As the Christian theologian Philip Wogaman (President Clinton's minister) has argued, the right to property, which varies from society to society, is not an abstract, pre-existing natural right. Rather, each society molds the definition of private-property rights in its own way. Each individual is entitled to property only because its government so declares. As Wogaman puts it: I may own my toothbrush more or less absolutely, but my ownership of patents or copyrights, of drilling rights, of air rights, of options to buy, of commodity futures, of a co-op apartment, of a second mortgage, or a tenured academic post, of a share in 'community property,' and so on, is all much more complex and socially defined.... It is the community, acting through government, that determines what property is. Property is first, then, a relationship we have with other people and with the community as a whole, determining what claims to 'scarce values' will be respected and, in the event of threat, protected. During the early history of this country, governments declared that only those who possessed certain pieces of paper called "titles" were entitled to the land in question. These titles to land that previously belonged to the government were given to carefully selected individuals. In this way, a relatively few people who were already wealthy gained access to most of the nation's land and used it to multiply their wealth. During this process, most people were excluded from the means to achieve prosperity and had to struggle merely to survive. It was the owning of land that gave power to people and such power was strictly limited in the early days of America. Land and voting rights were part and parcel of government. Government Of The Few, For The Few Most of the leaders of the new United States government were wealthy. They socialized and identified with people of wealth and privilege. Abbot Smith, in his study of the colonial period, concluded that this period was not democratic and certainly not egalitarian; it was dominated by men who had money enough to make others work for them.... Few of these were descended from indentured servants, and practically none had themselves been of that class. To protect each other's wealth after the War of Independence, a small group of wealthy white men secretly convened the Constitutional Convention in violation of the law of the land as defined by the Articles of Confederation and carefully crafted a system of government that they and their peers could control. Thomas Jefferson and many other leaders of the War effort were dismayed that the Convention decided illegally to create a new government rather than merely amend the Articles of Confederation. But Jefferson was serving in France and the others were unable to stop the conspiracy. An essential provision in the Constitution of the new United States of America was an agreement to allow each state to establish voting requirements, rather than establishing uniform standards nationwide. This provision meant that in most places, those who did not own land could not vote. In some states, only the very wealthy could hold state office. Sailors, apprentices, many craftsmen, indentured servants, women, and slaves were thus excluded from having a voice in the selection of those representatives who were to rule the new government. From this comes the main difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party of today. The Dems believe in a strong central government and the Republicans believe in states rights. And never the twain shall meet. The ideology of the day was clearly expressed by Alexander Hamilton (the chief architect of the Constitution and the first Secretary of the Treasury), who argued: All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and well-born, the other the mass of the people. The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God, and however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true in fact. The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right. Most of the leaders of the war against England knew that they were inflaming a broad discontent that could be directed against themselves as well as England. General Thomas Gage, reflecting on the 1767 protest against the Stamp Act, commented: People then began to be terrified at the Spirit they had raised, to perceive that popular Fury was not to be guided, and each individual feared he might be the next Victim to their Rapacity. Racism Throughout history, rulers have been well aware of how to use racism to divide the people and perpetuate the status quo. Government officials have consciously created divisions based on skin color to serve the interests of those in power. The following examples in the history of this country illustrate the point: During the colonial period, the government denied poor whites coastal lands and forced them to the frontier, where they were pitted against Native Americans. The government did not allow freed African slaves to travel in areas reserved for Native Americans and used slaves to fight Native Americans "to make Indians & Negroes a checque upon each other lest by their Vastly Superior Numbers we should be crushed by one or the other," as one Carolinian put it. Colonial governments declared marriages between free blacks and whites illegal. Children of such unions were labeled illegitimate and forced to live with blacks. After Bacon's Rebellion, Virginia gave amnesty to whites but not to blacks. After the Civil War, state governments in both the North and South officially prohibited blacks from working in certain well-paid positions. The 1935 National Labor Relations Act allowed labor unions to exclude blacks and other people of color from membership. The 1964 Civil Rights Act finally outlawed discrimination in employment based upon race; but enforcement of this law has been weak, allowing discrimination to continue as a widespread practice. President Lyndon Johnson told Bill Moyers: If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you. Drawing upon Jennifer Hochschild's The New American Dilemma, Derrick Bell made the same point in less colorful language: Racism is a critically important stabilizing factor that enables whites to bond across a wide socioeconomic chasm. Without the deflecting power of racism, masses of whites would likely wake up and revolt against the severe disadvantage they suffer in income and opportunity when compared with those whites at the top of our system. I don't know if what I am sending will convince you of what I am saying. I can but reiterate that Melungeons (and others) were discriminated against and particularly by Walter A. Plecker, first registrar of Vital Statistics in VA. They were labeled as M (mulatto) and FPC (Free Persons of Color) in the censuses of many states, not just VA, and by this designation, they were deprived of their rights to own land, vote, school their children in 'white' schools and were thereby forced to live in areas where 'white' folks were not interested such as the mountain tops of our beloved SW_VA where they eaked out subsistance or sub-subsistance lives of poverty and hopelessness. Most of this is really only now being understood, and it is still being hidden by both individuals and governments who are rightfully ashamed of past sins. I am sure if you are interested, a search of the internet will provide much more than what I am sending. And as I said, much of the above I did not document as to source. Sorry, these were just notes that I was taking for myself and so did not bother. Hope this helps. NancyS THE MELUNGEON HEALTH EDUCATION AND SUPPORT NETWORK: http://www.melungeonhealth.org SPARKS Genealogy: http://SparksGenealogy.net