Their ethnic origin has been a source of debate for nearly as long. Over the years, they’ve been called American gypsies, descendants of the “lost colony” of Roanoke, and members of a wayward Israeli tribe. Many Melungeon’s themselves claim that their ancestors are Portuguese; some identify as Native American; and still others profess to have originated in Africa.
This ambiguity made early Appalachian whites suspicious. They isolated the Melungeon’s to their own small communities in places like Newman’s Ridge and the Blackwater Valley of Tennessee.
Early references to the group speak volumes. Dating to 1813, minutes from an area church describe someone as “harboring them Melungins.” This less than neighborly phrasing suggests that area congregants regarded the group with disdain, and according to the Melungeon Heritage Association, the discrimination did not end there. In nearly a dozen court cases, the ethnicity of Melungeon people was challenged, including one case in which several members of the group were tried for illegal voting. They were accused on the grounds that they were not white and therefore ineligible to cast a ballot. While they were acquitted, this kind of legal discrimination, along with a general social stigma, dogged the Melungeons well into the twentieth century.
It wasn’t until the 1960s, when other racial groups found a new pride in their identity, that the Melungeon’s revisited their own. Rather than reject the name that had been used against them, they reclaimed it.
Ever since, popular interest in the group has grown. Melungeons have inspired news articles across the country; several books; the 2007 documentary Melungeon Voices; and at least one song called “Little Carmel.” Performed by the rock band The Ready Stance, the tune riffs on the questions surrounding these now notable people:
Try to trace the roots along
Melungeon family tree
Each branch divides in triad
Settler, slave, Cherokee
Outcast, exiled miles behind
Some seaside colony
Legend holds in manifold
Dash Turk or Portuguese…
Once an ethnic mystery has been memorialized in song, you know it is the stuff of legend, but that legend is slowly being unraveled. A recent DNA study, published in the Journal of Genetic Genealogy, dove deep into the backgrounds of Melungeon families. The researchers compared the families’ oral histories, documentation such as court records, and DNA patterns. They found that, in spite of a wide range of ethnic claims, the overwhelming majority of their subjects were the offspring of men who originated from sub-Saharan Africa and women from northern or central European. That is, Melungeons are the most common kind of mixed-race in the United States–black and white.
A 2001 novel inspired by the Melungeons
A conflicting study, conducted at University of Virginia College at Wise, claims to have found more complex DNA evidence with a different sampling of Melungeons. While this research has not been peer reviewed, it states that “about 5 percent of the DNA indicated African descent, 5 percent was Native American, and the rest was ‘Euroasian,’ a group defined by clumping together Europe, the Middle East and India,” according to a 2012 article in Wired Magazine.
It seems the Melungeon debate continues. Researchers are jockeying to crack the group’s ethnic code, and their DNA evidence is undoubtedly inching us closer to a final answer.
This, of course, begs a whole new set of questions. What happens to the Melungeons once their mystery is solved? Will they still inspire songs? Will people still clammer to claim Melungeon roots when they know exactly what that means? Will journalists and bloggers like me still bother to write about this unusual clan, or will they fade into history, another mixed-race group assimilated into the mainstream?
It would be great to hear your thoughts. Please post a comment below.
I have Melungeon ancestors. My family is originally from Wise Co, VA and have the surname “Gibson” which is one of the names associated with the Melungeons of Southwestern VA. I have the “knot” on the back of my head, the shovel teeth, and while I am not especially dark-skinned, I tan easliy and have dark brown hair. My grandmother always said we were “black dutch.” Some of my ancestors were darker-skinned than I am. I have always been interested in tracing the roots of the Melungeons, and I enjoyed your article. I don’t know if it will ever be possible to know exactly who the Melungeons are and where they came from, but it is most interesting to study. Thank you. Marty Chaffins
MY FAMILY SETTLED IN SOUTH WEST VIRGINIA, IN 1726 CAME FROM IRELAND(700 YEARS THERE) AND WERE PART OF THE NORMANS 1162 THE DE DILLIONS THAT INVADED IRELAND DURING THE CRUSADES!!! JOHN HENRY THOMAS DILLON 5 GREAT GRAND FATHERS BACK CAME FROM IRELAND WITH 13 BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND SETTLED NEAR HALES FORD BRIDGE, COLONY OF VIRGINIA !!! I NEVER HAVE HEARD OF MELUNGEONS THAT I CAN RECALL BUT I AM VERY INTERESTED I SUCH SUBJECTS, ESPECIALLY THE LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL, I HAVE FEELING, SPIRITUAL IN NATURE THAT LEAD ME TO BELIEVE I AM A DESCENDANT OF NEHAMIAH, SAME AS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE THAT REBUILT THE 7 GATES OF JERUSALEM IN 50 NIGHTS WITH HELP FROM THE ROMAN GOVERNOR AT THE TIME , I BELIEVE, WITHOUT LOOKING IT UP BETWEE 500 AND 400 BC
My sister is a big fan of the ancestry show on PBS so for her birthday last year I got her a DNA testing kit. We were a little surprised when it came back as her main ancestral roots were from Indonesia then Ireland and then Middle Eastern/Northern Africa. This article helps me understand those results better. My family is from Letcher County KY.
I have suspected that my paternal grandmother, Della Mae Stephens, was Melungeon. Her family moved to KY & had a mill somewhere here. They eventually ended up in Berea, KY. Berea was a small college, originally for black & white students, one of the first to serve a desegregated group of people. This didn’t last for very long. The college had to change it’s mission to be inclusive of the entire appalchian area. Please let me know if anyone knows about these folks—I am very much interested in finding out as much as I can. Della married John Mac Wilson when they were both students at Berea; he in college, & she in what they referred to as “normal” school—like high school, as far I can tell. Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Melungeon groups or tribes are established in many more areas than you mention. Brass Ankles in South Carolina and Redbones in Louisiana, for example. Just sayin’
I have been supposed native american ancestry for a while. Thought they may be melungeons. When I heard that melungeons could be africans, I thought that was interesting. So, I had my DNA tested at 23andme. Turns out the south asian/ east indian thing was correct. It would be interesting to see how many more melungeon descendants have this mixture.
My husband’s grandmother, as country as they come, lived in Hamblen County, then Greene County, both in East Tn. her entire life. She had no interest whatsoever in her heritage, but when asked what she was, replied “Irish and Black Dutch”. I had no idea what Black Dutch was at that time or I would have tried to get more out of her. I have since learned that Black Dutch was another word used for Melungeon. We live very close to Sneedville, which is where we always heard that Melungeons lived. I would love to learn more about this subject. Thanks for your article.
Aloha,
My family roots come out of Albemarle Virginia. My ggg grandfather was a Gibson and it was his wife that we always were told was Native American. The oldest living relatives who have dies in the last year said she was from a Virginia Indian tribe that started with an “M.” we always thoughtthat ot could have been monacan or mattiponi indians. then there was my grandmother who said her gg grandmother 100% Cherokee. I’ve just started looking into the possibility that maybe they were melungeon.
I resemble some pictures we’ve seen of the Virginia melungeons.
Well I recently had my DNA here are my results cold we be melungeons?
Genetic Ethnicity Summary
Your genetic ethnicity reveals where your ancestors lived hundreds—perhaps even thousands—of years ago.
Scandinavian 32%
Southern European 31%
British Isles 19%
Persian/Turkish/ Caucasus 7%
Eastern European 6%
Uncertain 5%
Ancestry tells me that the Uncertain part of my DNA is due to not having enough samples to confirm what they’ve found. They said that monacan and mattiponi fall into the uncertain group but Cherokee does not.
Well it hard to say, bu does any pone else have these kind of results.
I love the question. ” What happens to the Melungeons once their mystery is solved? Will they still inspire songs? Will people still clammer to claim Melungeon roots when they know exactly what that means? Will journalists and bloggers like me still bother to write about this unusual clan, or will they fade into history, another mixed-race group assimilated into the mainstream”?
I think You need to spend some time around some of us. Our identity is not so much tied to where we come from but how we live. We keep to ourselves and take care of our selves. The history say’s it all. People were often afraid to go back in them hills because of how Melungeon’s were treated and how those same Melungeons responded to that treatment. Hill people is a great explanation of who we are. Fiercely independent people who developed a reputation for being “Not to be trifled with” as My Grandpa’s neighbor put it.
Richard, I love this response, and the description of your people. We all need to get to know you better.