This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: ROBERSON, RITCHIE Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/ABC.2ACE/3848.1.1.1.1 Message Board Post: There is written documentation of the Melungeon people long before 1950. John Sevier of TN made mention of them. And, there is much more than anecdotal evidence to support their existence. Websites are not a good source for searching for evidence of Melungeon authenticity. There are, indeed, certain physical characteristics and surnames that are associated w/ Melungeon heritage. Check out the research of Dr. N. Brent Kennedy, and visit southwest VA and northeast TN where Melungeons still live, if you can. I descend from William Roberson and Delilah Ritchie of NC and TN who were Melungeon.