Hi guys! I have enjoyed the ROAD stories very much as many of my Scots/Irish and English ancestors took all or part of the roads into KY. BUT, I am sending the following post with some theories on who was where and when. This is what I believe happened and there are quite a few who agree with me :-). This will come in four posts. I hope you will enjoy this and I hope it will be helpful to some of you searching for 'brick walls.' My family connection below was in the counties of Russell, Smythe, Bland, Scott, Lee and what is now Wise Co., VA. Nancy S Nancy Sparks Morrison Roanoke, VA 24015 USA Email nmorri3924@aol.com January 09, 1999 The opinions in this post are strictly my own, but have been based upon my reading and research of various materials noted herein. You may SHARE my work with anyone, but it is not to be sold or used for profit in any way, without my permission. Because there is so much information here, you may want to print out this material for future reference. 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 we can call the Melungeons a ‘race.’. 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 of any value. Certain surnames are associated with this highly interesting group of people. I am sending a copy of those names in the next post. Be aware, however, that many people bearing these surnames, even if they come from the Appalachian area, are NOT connected to the Melungeons. The surnames are to be used as an INDICATOR of POSSIBLE Melungeon ancestry. Also, note that many Melungeon women ‘out-married,’ carrying the heritage with them, but not the names. Not having one of these names DOES NOT mean that the family was not of Melungeon descent. Finding out about the Melungeons and my possible connection to them is the MOST fascinating thing I have EVER run into in my 20 years of genealogical research. The ‘so-called,’ Melungeons were ‘discovered’ in the Appalachian Mountains in 1654 by English explorers and were described as being ‘dark-skinned, reddish-brown complexioned people supposed to be of Moorish descent, who were neither Indian nor Negro, but had fine European features, and claimed to be Portuguese.” (Louise Davis, “The Mystery of the Melungeons.” Nashville Tennessean, 22 September, 1963, 16.) In April of 1673, James Needham, an Englishman and Gabriel Arthur, possibly an indentured servant came with approximately eight Indians, as explorers to the Tennessee Valley. 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. And yet these people seemingly looked European. Needham described them as “hairy, white people which have long beards and whiskers and weares clothing.” This bell seems to me to speak of a Latin influence among these people. Other, later explorers, found people who lived in log cabins with peculiar arched windows. Dr. Kennedy says that by the late 1700’s they were practicing the Christian religion. These people claimed that they were descended from a group of Portugese who had been shipwrecked or abandoned on the Atlantic coast. (Byron Stinson, “The Melungeons,” American History Illustrated, November, 1973:41) The term they used was ‘Portyghee.’ In other documents, some of these peoples were also described as having red hair and others with VERY distinctive blue or blue/green eyes. This description leads me to believe that these people were not Native American Indians. Altogether they must have been a striking looking people. Most Americans have been taught in school about the Lost Colony and Jamestown in 1607, Plymouth in 1620, with a few Spaniards and a smattering of Viking thrown in for good measure. Where did these people come from? First of all, as the mixed- ancestry descendents of native Americans as well as other ethnic identities, many Melungeons will find this question to be offensive-- many of their true ancestors were ALREADY here, prior to contact with European and African in-migrants, the Official Voice of the Second Union Planning Committee says. But recent research is giving an interesting answer to that question. Again, from the Official Voice of the Second Union Planning Committee comes the answer to this question. They “are a sizable mixed-ethnic population spread throughout the southeastern United States and into southern Ohio and Indiana. While the term ‘Melungeon’ is most commonly applied to those group members living in eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and southern West Virginia, related mixed-ancestry populations also include the Carmel Indians of southern Ohio, the Brown People of Kentucky, the Guineas of West Virginia, the We-Sorts of Maryland, the Nanticoke-Moors of Delaware, the Cubans and Portuguese of North Carolina, the Turks and Brass Ankles of South Carolina, and the Creoles and Redbones of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.” >From the same source we find that “new evidence or rather old evidences re- examined without prejudice, show a significant Spanish and Portuguese presence in sixteenth-century America, including the large South Carolina coastal colony of Santa Elena, as well as five outlying forts in what is now present day South Carolina, North Carolina, north Georgia, and east Tennessee. Additionally many of the Spanish and Portuguese newcomers were so-called ‘Conversos,’ - that is, ethnic Jewish and Moorish people who had converted to Catholicism prior to or during the Spanish Inquisition. Evidence is also strong (see the work of English historian David Beers Quinn) that in 1586 Sir Francis Drake deposited several hundred Turkish and Moorish sailors, liberated from the Spanish, in present-day Central America, on the coast of North Carolina at Roanoke Island. No trace was found of these people when later English vessels dropped anchor for re-supplying.” If you believe the Bering Strait migration of the Native American Indians and you consider that most sixteenth century Turkish sailors were of central Asian heritage, thus making them literal cousins to the Native Americans they would have encountered, you will see that they would have had little trouble fitting in. There is more evidence of Karachi, and Kavkaz Turkish, and Armenian, textile workers, artisans and servants who were brought in by both the English and Spanish into sixteenth century Virginia and other areas.This seems to lend support to previous claims of Melungeons to be of Turkish origin. These people survived by blending into the surrounding groups of peoples. Over time, they were put in to one of four permissable, inflexible and artificial racial categories: White (northern European), black (African), Indian, or mulatto, a mix of any of the first three. By the time that the first U.S. census was conducted, there had been 200 years of admixture and cultural fusing. This ensured that the story would remain hidden and buried, and that no amount of the census research could ever tell the story accurately. Traditional genealogy can not be used to find these people. There are are no written records, no censuses, no marriage or death notices. Dr. Kennedy’s interest in the Melungeons began with an illness that took him to the emergency room in Atlanta, Georgia where he was diagnosed with erythema nodosum sarcoidosis. In researching his own illness, Dr. Kennedy found that it is a disease of primarily Middle Eastern and Mediterrean peoples, although it is not unknown among the Irish and Scandanavians. He later discovered it was equally common among the Portuguese immigrants of New England, and both southeastern Blacks and Caucasians of seemingly unrelated backgrounds. He was told that he would just have to wait to see if he lived or died. How could a southerner, of Appalachian roots, have a Mediterrean disease? It was this question that Dr. Kennedy set out to answer, by tracing his family background, and in the process he ‘rediscovered his heritage.’ His book, mentioned earlier, is not about historical research, but his family’s genealogy and theoretical problem solving. There are some physiological characteristics which are called ethnic markers, that seem to be passed on through the lines of some Melungeon descendants. There is a bump on the back of the HEAD (not the neck) of SOME descendants, that is located at mid- line, just ABOVE the juncture with the neck. It is about the size and shape of half a golf ball or smaller. If you cannot find the bump, check to see if you, like some descendants, including myself, have a ridge, located at the base of the head where it joins the neck, rather than the Anatolian bump. This ridge is an enlargement of the base of the skull, which is called a Central Asian Cranial Ridge. My ridge is quite noticeable. It is larger than anyone else’s that I have felt, except my father’s. I can lay one finger under it and the ridge is as deep as my finger is thick. Other ridges are smaller. To find a ridge, place your hand at the base of your neck where it joins your shoulders, and on the center line of your spine. Run your fingers straight up your neck toward your head. If you have a ridge, it will stop your fingers from going on up and across your head. ONLY people who live/d in the Anatolian region of Turkey or Central Asia also have this “bump/ridge.” See the following diagram for the site of both the ridge and bump. Back of Head \\\\\\\\|//////// hair ears ( ___x___ ) ears x marks the bump’s location \valley / the ridge is the line __ shown \ / neck / \____shoulders There is also a ridge on the back of the first four teeth - two front teeth and the ones on either side (upper and lower) of some descendants. If you place your fingernail at the gum line and gently draw (up or down) you can feel it and it makes a slight clicking sound. The back of the teeth also curve outward rather than straight as the descendants of anglo-saxon parentage do. Teeth like these are called Asian Shovel Teeth. Many Indian descendants also have this type of teeth. The back of the first four teeth of Northern European descendants are straight and flat. An example of northern European teeth would be similar to this diagram: \l Shovel teeth look like this diagram. Back of teeth )/ front of teeth, straight. SOME Melungeon descendants have what is called an Asian eyefold. This is rather difficult to describe. At the inner corner of the eye, the upper lid attaches slightly lower than the lower lid. That is to say that, it overlaps the bottom lid. If you place your finger just under the inner corner of the eye and gently pull down, a wrinkle will form which makes the fold more visible. Some people call these eyes, “sleepy eyes, dreamy eyes, bedroom eyes.” Many Indian descendants also have these kinds of eyes. Some families may have members with fairly dark skin who suffer with vitiligo, a loss of pigmentation, leaving the skin blotched with white patches. Some descendants have had six fingers or toes. There is a family of people in Turkey whose surname translated into English is “Six Fingered Ones.” If your family has an Indian Grandmother(father) ‘myth’ which you have been unable to prove, an adoption story that is unprovable, or an orphan myth, and they have been hard to trace and they lived in NC, TN, KY, VA, WV areas in the early migration years or if they seem to have moved back and forth in these areas and if they share any of the mentioned surnames and characteristics, you MAY find a connection here. Some descendants do not show the physical characteristics and of course, there are many people with the surnames who are not connected to this group. Now, if I have 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 your queries and read those of others: http://pluto.clinch.edu/appalachia/melungeon/ Be sure and read all the pages and connected links! This is NOT a genealogy page, but carries Melungeon information and research. Darlene is NOT a genealogist and she has not set up this site to handle queries to her. She is a researcher and a doctural candidate with a very busy schedule. There is excellent documentation on this interesting group and it will give you the necessary information so that you can more easily understand the Melungeons, and their reasons for doing what they did. What I am giving you summarizes some but NOT ALL the information. 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 Union Planning Committee, you can see the necessity for these people to hide. These proud, strong, courageous, people were discriminated against by their Scots-Irish and English neighbors as they moved into the areas where the Melungeons lived. They wanted the rich valley lands occupied by the Melungeons they found residing there. They practiced RACIAL discrimination against the Melungeons because they were darker skinned than their own anglo-saxon ancestors and because this helped them obtain the lands they coveted. In a society where slavery was an accepted way of life, where genocide against the American Indian was government policy, hiding was sometimes the only way to survive. This discrimination carried into the 1940’s-50’s and perhaps even longer, because of the work of a man named Walter A. Plecker, who was the state of Virginia’s first Director of Vital Statistics and an avowed racist. Some Germans say that it was he, who first gave them the idea of eugenics, that was used during WWII to help exterminate 6 million Jews. Plecker labeled the Melungeons, calling them ‘mongrels’ and other worse terms - some were labeled FPC - Free Person of Color in Virginia. This in turn led to their children being labeled as Mulatto (M) and both of those terms came to mean “BLACK.” (There is information on Plecker and the letters he wrote to all the counties in VA and the surrounding states to marginalize and discriminate against the Melungeons on the Melungeon Homepage. Check under the Archives section.) Some Melungeon families married white, some black, some Indian, some a combination. But for all of them, the terms led to rulings in which they couldn’t own property, they couldn’t vote, and they couldn’t school their children. Is it any wonder that they became ANYTHING else in order to do these things? They hid their backgrounds with the Indian myth, with the orphan myth (my family are all dead) , and the adopted myth, and they changed either the spelling of their surnames or they picked an entirely new name, moving many times, anything to distance themselves from their Melungeon heritage. They became ‘Black Dutch,’ ‘Black Irish,’ ‘Black Scot or Swede,’ or some other combination to hide their “otherness.” Is it any wonder they are so hard to find? They deliberately made it so, in order for their descendants to have a better life than they had had. I have a Ramey family that I have traced to France where they were the Remy family. This Ramey family is also considered to be Melungeon. I will be glad to share the information I have on them. I also have some one name lines that married into some of my other lines. The names considered to be Melungeon are Thompson, Wood, and possibly Smith, and Belcher. I would love to talk with anyone who shares these surnames and locations. The closest Melungeon family, for whom I have searched the longest, were Collinses that were connected with the Cunningham family. It took me twenty years of searching to find only this little bit of information on them. I have this: 1. William Cunningham m. Susan Wood (prob Melungeon, too) abt 1770 2. John Cunningham m Nancy Crump in 1794 in Washington Co., VA 2. Mary Ann Cunningham m. John Hutton in 1791 in Washington Co., VA 2. Elizabeth Cunningham m. John Dickenson in 1796 in Washington Co., Va. 2.William Cunningham, Jr. b. abt 1777, d. aft 1850, prob. in Johnson Co.,KY m. 1810, Washington Co., VA, Rachel Ann Elizabeth Countiss, b. May 05, 1791 in MD, dtr of Peter G. Countiss and Mary Burrt. 3. Maca/Macha Cunningham b. abt 1826 m WILL COLLINS, d. 1848-1850 4. MARY COLLINS b. abt 1843 in the Scott, Russell, Lee Co.,VA area that is now Wise Co., VA, was a partner of Abraham Musick b. abt 1836 in VA, d. bef May 15, 1914, son of James Musick and Mariah Shell. 5. Mary Arminta Musick 4. RACHEL COLLINS b. Jan. 01, 1844 inKY, d. May 15, 1914 m. Abraham Musick of above. 4. CHARLES COLLINS b. abt 1848 4. CHRISTOPHER COLLINS b. abt 1850 I have information on other Cunningham siblings, the Countiss family, as well as the Musick line back to the immigrant founding father. I don’t have all that information up on my family’s webpage, which was set up by my cousin Harold Sparks, yet, but I do have some information on my greatgrandmother Mary Arminta Musick Hager whose mother was Mary Collins. The address is: http://www.awod.com/gallery/rwav/sparky On the first page, click ‘continue’ and on the second page, scroll down until you come to the words Nancy’s Corner , Click and my picture will come up. Further down that page is a listing of all the surnames that I am researching. Please be sure to contact me if you see any common surnames. If you feel that any of this information applies to you, then please join a group of us, searching our Melungeon roots on a mailing list that began when MaryK Goodyear learned that she might have Melungeon heritage and wanted to find out more. We will be forever grateful to MaryK for starting this list. We share genealogy, folklore, cultural likenesses, even a recipe now and then. We are a friendly group who has come to feel like family. We have a lot to offer. To join, send an e-mail to: Melungeon-L-request@rootsweb.com or Melungeon-D-request@rootsweb.com In both the subject and body boxes put: subscribe You will receive a letter saying you have been subbed and giving directions for posting the list. Send in your family info and let us see if we can help you. I know that you will be able to help someone as well! I will look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on the list. There is also a Melungeon chat list for more cultural, social gathering and getting to know one and other, that you might enjoy. Pam Cresswell can give you directions for subbing this list. Visit her URL at: http://cresswells.com/alhn/melung/index.html Here are several other sites with Melungeon queries and information: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3778/ http://www.clinch.edu/appalachia/melungeon/mel_nmr.htm http://www2.privatei.com/~bartjean/mainpage.htm Nancy S