Melungeons were not ALLOWED to own land in Wise Co., VA because of the mechinations of Walter A. Plecker, Virginia's first director of Vital Statistics. Of course Adams may be a Scots/Irish name, but it is also a COMMON Melungeon surname and Wise Co., VA is the headquarters in VA for Melungeon settlements. However, I took a look at the land list that you mentioned and 3/4 of the names on the list of common to Melungeons :-) Somehow or other, they must have gotten themselves marked as 'white' on the census list of the time. <grin> None of my Melungeon COLLINS family were on the list however. NancyS THE MELUNGEON HEALTH EDUCATION AND SUPPORT NETWORK: http://www.melungeonhealth.org SPARKS Genealogy: http://SparksGenealogy.net

NancyS Just how long was this Walter Plecker around? You mentioned that he advised Hitler on racial matters, but I am talking about an 1857 Tax List. How did he define a Melungeon for the purpose of telling them that they could not own land? Phil [email protected] wrote: > > Melungeons were not ALLOWED to own land in Wise Co., VA because of the > mechinations of Walter A. Plecker, Virginia's first director of Vital > Statistics. Of course Adams may be a Scots/Irish name, but it is also a > COMMON Melungeon surname and Wise Co., VA is the headquarters in VA for > Melungeon settlements. >