Melungeon Roots
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Surnames/tags: Melungeon Diversity Appalachia
[send private message], Mindy Silva [send private message], and Eric Weddington [send private message]
This page is currrently being revamped. Stay tuned for more updates!
Contents |
Project Overview
The goal of this project is to provide a place to help people learn more about Melungeon ancestry, especially in the Appalachia region of the United States, and to help identify Melungeon ancestors.
It is currently being managed by the Appalachia Project. Please visit this project for more about this region.
The Melungeons
The origin of the word Melungeon (pronounced, MA-LUN-JEN), which include early spelling variations such as Malungeon, Melungin as well as Mulungeon, is the French term Melange, which means mixture. It has also been attributed to an archaic African word Malungo which means companion or comrade. The word Malungo was commonly found in 18th-century Portuguese dictionaries. [citation needed] This term was used to describe these unique people found in one of several tri-racial isolate communities of the Southeastern United States. Unfortunately, the term was often used as a degrading epithet. or a way to insult these dark-skinned families. It was intended as a racial slur from their white-skinned neighbors. At the time anyone with dark skin faced prejudice and segregation, denied the same rights as their white neighbors. The "lighter-skinned" population of the southern culture looked down on those as being "darker-skinned." Some with Native American heritage concealed it for fear of discrimination.
The Appalachia Melungeons
Amongst the Appalachia Melungeons, there was some mixing with persons of color, white people, and Native American Indians. Census takers had three racial categories - free persons, free whites, and Mulattoes. From 1790 to 1950, census takers determined the race of Americans they counted. Many of the census enumerators had difficulty in deciding whether to list some families as "white" or "free people of color." They took into account how the individuals "looked" or were perceived in their community. Those who were from multiracial ancestry were counted/classified into three categories: white, black or "mulattoes."
Some of the most prominent surnames have been claimed as potentially associated with the Appalachia Melungeons identity: Gibson, Gipson, Bolling, Bowling, Bolin, Bunch, Collins, Goins, Going, Moore, Moor, Mullins, and Riddles.
Migration and First Settlement
The location of this first recorded settlement is confirmed by the oldest known dictionary of Melungeon: "One of a very dark people living in the mountains of Tennessee." The very first members of this group of mysterious people first occupied Blackwater and Newman's Ridge in Hancock County, Tennessee. They obtained their land grants from North Carolina. [1] The people considered Melungeons were often listed in the early census records as "other free person" or "free persons of color." In the 1870 census for Jonesville, Lee, Virginia Gilford Gibson, and family are listed as Mulattos. (see Image)
ARE YOU OF MELUNGEON HERITAGE? from an article written by Shirley Hornbeck
- Census & Other Official Data: Were your ancestors listed as non-white on any records? Review each census taken during your ancestors lifetime. Don't forget to review birth, death, marriage records, etc.
- Family Tradition: Does your family have an oral history of Cherokee or other Native American ancestry that cannot be verified? Do they have a tradition of being Black Dutch, Black Irish, Black Italian, etc.? Has your family change surnames for no apparent reason?
- Geographical Location: Did any your ancestors live in any areas traditionally associated with Melungeons during the time periods that the Melungeons occupied these areas? Historically, Melungeons were associated with the Cumberland Gap area of central Appalachia, which includes portions of East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and eastern Kentucky.
- Surnames: N. Brent Kennedy and others have identified common surnames associated with Melungeons. Having a surname on these lists could indicate that you may be descended from Melungeon Ancestry. Also keep in mind that having a common Melungeon surname is not concrete evidence of Melungeon heritage.
- Physical Traits: Some physical characteristics associated with Melungeon descendants include a ridge or bump on the back of the head, shovel teeth, etc. The presence or lack of of these traits should be used only as indicators of possible Melungeon heritage and does not prove or disprove this heritage.
- Diseases / Illnesses: Many Melungeon descendants are susceptible to specific genetic disorders associated with Mediterranean and other origins. Some examples of these illnesses are Bechet's Syndrome, Joseph's Disease, Mediterranean Familial Fever, Sarcoidosis, and Thallasemia. The presence of a genetically inherited disease in your family which would typically affect persons of other races or nationalities can provide clues to your true genetic makeup.
- Physical Appearance of Ancestors: View photos and descriptions of early ancestors and compare their physical characteristics to known Melungeon traits. Skin tone and eye colors are good examples. Because they are a mixed race group of people, and because the exact racial characteristics vary, it is impossible to pin down a precise Melungeon appearance. In addition, again because of the mixed race nature of Melungeons, even siblings can differ greatly in their physical characteristics.
- How Your Ancestors Were Regarded by Others: Examine your family's personal recollections, court appearances or depositions, and nicknames given to your ancestors by their contemporaries. Were your ancestors regarded as strange or different for no apparent reason? Did later generations refuse to talk about certain ancestors while gushing over others?
Common Melungeon Surnames
- What are the Common Melungeon and Melungeon-Related Surnames?
- This page was submitted by Martha Short and is based upon the surnames listed in the Appendix to the second edition of The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America by N. Brent Kennedy with Robyn Vaughan Kennedy. Hosted by rootsweb, an Ancestry.com community @
- The Melungeon Connection has a pretty good description with common surnames at the end of the article.
Melungeons on WikiTree
This is a list of people on WikiTree who are known Melungeons, or who need verification that they are Melungeon.
The likely progenitors of the Melungeons, the start of the "core group":
- Vardemon "Vardy" Collins & his wife, Margaret "Spanish Peggy" (Gibson) Collins - (Descendant List)
- Margaret's brother, Shepherd "Old Buck" Gibson & his wife, Matilda (Denham) Gibson - (Descendant List)
- Vardy Collins' brother: Valentine Collins & his wife, Ludicia (Gibson) Collins - (Descendant List)
Needs verification:
- Guilford Gibson - Supposedly descended from the "core" Melungeons.
Stickers
- Heritage Sticker tailored coding
Coding Display {{Heritage Sticker
|image= Melungeon_Roots-2.jpg
|roots=Melungeon
}}
... has Melungeon roots.{{Heritage Sticker
|image= Melungeon_Roots-2.jpg
|heritage=Melungeon
|female=yes}}... is proud of her Melungeon heritage.{{Heritage Sticker
|image= Melungeon_Roots-2.jpg
|heritage=Melungeon
}}... is proud of his Melungeon heritage.
- Nonmigrating Ancestor tailored coding
Coding Display {{Nonmigrating Ancestor
|addinfo={{#profile:RealName}} was a [[Space:Melungeon Roots|Melungeon]].
|flag=Melungeon_Roots-2.jpg
|tooltip=Project Logo of Melungeon Roots}}... was a Melungeon.{{Nonmigrating Ancestor
|flag={{US Flag|West Virginia}}
|addinfo={{#profile:RealName}} was a [[Space:Melungeon Roots|Melungeon]].
|tooltip=Flag of West Virginia}}
... was a Melungeon.{{Nonmigrating Ancestor
|flag={{US Flag|Kentucky}}
|addinfo={{#profile:RealName}} was a [[Space:Melungeon Roots|Melungeon]].
|tooltip=Flag of Kentucky}}
... was a Melungeon.
- Notes about Internal Templates in the coding for the Stickers
Coding Display {{US Flag |Alabama}} US_State_Flag_Images.png
See Template: US Flag for list of flags available.{{#profile:RealName}} ...
The profile's "Preferred Name"[1]{{Name}} ... ... ...
The profile's "Preferred Name" "Last Name at Birth" or
Preferred Name (LNAB) Currently Last Name[2]
Melungeon DNA Project
Melungeon Resources
Articles
- Wikipedia: Melungeon
- Wikipedia: Melungeon DNA Project
- Origin Of the Melungeons by Lowell Kirk
- Melungeon Mystery Solved?, The Revivalist
- Examining Melungeon History and Genealogy, by Jack Goins
- Historical Melungeons by Buck Gibson
Books
- The Melungeons: An Untold Story of Ethnic cleansing in America by Brent Kennedy
- Informative ebook, MELUNGEONS AND OTHER MESTEE GROUPS by Mike Nassau available free of charge, online.
Other Resources
Acknowledgments
- Sincere gratitude to Billy Matney, Amy Weatherford and Cheryl Givens-Maxwell for creating this space page.
- Footnotes
- ↑ {{#profile:RealName}} displays the Preferred Name if the Proper Name and Preferred Name are different; otherwise, the Proper Name is displayed (Liz instead of Elizabeth, for example). This only works on people profiles, as they have the fields needed to supply the information. On pages, such as this one, an ellipsis is returned.
- ↑ Most stickers use {{Name}}. On pages without the needed name fields, three sets of ellipses are displayed: ... ... ...
Memories: 1
- Shared Photo: John Wesley Allen of Georgia Piedmont Melungeon background Mar 14, 2021.
- Can you help on the Melungeon free page? Apr 20, 2016.
- Login to request to the join the Trusted List so that you can edit and add images.
- Private Messages: Contact the Profile Managers privately: Sandy Patak, Mindy Silva, and Eric Weddington. (Best when privacy is an issue.)
- Public Comments: Login to post. (Best for messages specifically directed to those editing this profile. Limit 20 per day.)
- Public Q&A: These will appear above and in the Genealogist-to-Genealogist (G2G) Forum. (Best for anything directed to the wider genealogy community.)
Hi! I have a question about the category - [Category: Melungeon].
If it is for people who are Melungeon, then it needs to be plural ("Melungeons").
If it is for project pages of the Melungeon Roots project, then it should be Melungeon Roots, although looking at the pages and profiles under [Category: Melungeon], I think we could go with either "Melungeons" or "Melungeon Roots", covering the pages and the people. Perhaps a subcategory would be appropriate for "Progenitors of the Melungeons" or "Melungeon Core Group Progenitors"? (Or maybe not, as the group is so small.)
Let me know which you'd prefer to have Melungeon changed to (Melungeons or Melungeon Roots).
Thanks!
edited in 2014 to remove coding that created "red" categories (links to non-existent categories)
There really is only one project page for Melungeons and this is it. It is unlikely that there will be multiple project pages; the subject just doesn't warrant, IMO.
However, it does make sense to categorize a number of people profiles on WT as belonging to the group "Melungeon". So we do need a category for that. I have currently been using the "Melungeon" category for that, as well as this single project page. Now as to what the proper singular or plural name is, I'm not sure. Is Melungeon both singular and plural? I don't really know.
But we should only need the one category name and not "Melungeon Roots". People still identify with the name today (see the link to the Melungeon Heritage Association.
Cheers, Liz
List of NC Free People of Color profiles(Some profiles are associated with the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe), so people can find some of their FPOC ancestors living in the 1700's-1800's all in one place.
Kind regards, Melungeon Mike
If I could be pointed in the right direction as to whether or not Moore-23149 would be considered Melungeon possibly? My grandmother who passed in 2002 told my mother years ago that she was Indian, but said nothing else about it. Her profile is Phillips-34105. Scott County, Tennessee is where my father was born and raised, my mother was born and raised in Dekalb County, Georgia. Thank you for your time.
