Dee said, Avoiding Bonnie Bell's Melungeon book states that people with the name of > GOINS were > in the counties of southwest Virginia; Giles, Lee,Russell, Scott, > Washington and Wine Goins apparently IS a melungeon name. However, having a name like Goins Collins etc. IS NOT proof of Melungeon ancestry. Bill Waller, a member of this list (Hi Bill!!!) has a link to a really interesting talk given on this topic. I was reading it the other day. I try to check Bill's page every now and then :) > http://www.public.usit.net/billiam/melungeon.html Avoiding pitfalls in melungeon research Although AFAIK I do not have any melungeon ancestry, however, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal on Melungeons when I first took up genealogy. I found the entire topic fascinating. I just checked my bookmarks and found some of my URLs have disappeared. However, here is one website that is still up: http://www.bright.net./~kat/melung.htm The Melungeon Outpost This page apparently has not been very active lately. However, you can find something about the theories of Dr. Brent Kennedy. Dr. Kennedy's site is apparently not active (I had it bookmarked). Be aware that there is a lot of controversy among Melungeon researchers...!! As I said I find this topic quite fascinating...!!!! Some members of surname lists I have been on have claimed that their branch of the family have Melungeon or Lumbee ancestry which is certainly possible... Names like Locklear and Oxendine are apparently indicative of Lumbee ancestry, but perhaps are not absolute proof just as having a melungeon surname is not proof of melungeon ancestry! However, I am not an expert on this subject and have learned to avoid arguing. I have found that although it is possible for even an expert researcher to be wrong, one can learn a great deal by listening and keeping an open mind. I am fairly new to genealogical research myself. Sorry to natter on so.... However, even before I took up genealogy I had run across references to Melungeons or Lumbees in literature. Not necessarily by those names... Definitely an interesting branch of historical and genelogical research!! Gail Avoiding Bonnie Bell's Melungeon book states that people with the name of > GOINS were > in the counties of southwest Virginia; Giles, Lee,Russell, Scott, > Washington and Wine. >