Sparks Genealogy

Sparks Genealogy

The Melungeon Connection 

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Are you familiar with the term Melungeon?
If you answer, "Who or what are Melungeons," you are like most people.
If you have been researching your family in the Cumberland Plateau of Virginia,
Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Tennessee, during the early
migration years, you may be able find them through a connection to this
newly re-discovered group of people. The Melungeons are a people of apparent
Mediterraneaan descent who may have settled in the Appalachian wilderness
as early or possibly earlier than 1567. According to Dr. N. Brent Kennedy,
the author of 'The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People', the
Melungeons were "a people who almost certainly intermarried with Powhatans,
Pamunkeys, Creeks, Catawbas, Yuchis, and Cherokees to form what some have
called, perhaps a bit fancifully, 'a new race'."

Certain surnames are associated with
this unusual and highly interesting group of people. This is absolutely
THE MOST fascinating thing I have EVER run into in my 20 years of researching.

The Melungeons were 'discovered' in
the Appalachian Mountains in 1654 by English explorers and were described
as being 'dark-skinned with fine European features," (meaning they were
not black) and as being 'a hairy people, who lived in log cabins with peculiar
arched windows,' (meaning they were not Indians). They practiced the Christian
religion, and told the explorers in broken Elizabethan English, that they
were 'Portyghee,' but were described as being 'not white,' that is, not
of Northern European stock, even though some of them had red hair and others
had VERY striking blue or blue/green eyes. This is something I had never
heard of. I mean, I learned in school about the Lost Colony and Jamestown
in 1607, Plymouth in 1620, with a few Spaniards and a smattering of Vikings
thrown in for good measure. Where did these people come from? Recent research
is answering that question. And it appears that they may be a combination
of Turks, Spaniards, Portugese, Moor, Berber, Jew and Arab.

The Melungeon descendants have some
rather unique physiological characteristics. There is a bump on the back
of the head of some descendants, that is located at mid-line, just above
the juncture with the neck. It is about the size of half a golf ball or
smaller. If you cannot find the bump, check to see if you like some descendants,
including myself, have a ridge, located at the base of the head where it
joins the neck, rather than the Anatolian bump. My ridge is quite noticeable.
It is larger than anyone else's that I have felt. I can lay one finger
under it and the ridge is as deep as my finger is thick. Other ridges are
smaller. To find a ridge, place your hand at the base of your neck where
it joins your shoulders, and on the center line of your spine. Run your
fingers straight up your neck toward your head. If you have a ridge, it
will stop your fingers from going on up and across your head.

There is also a ridge on the back of
the first four teeth (upper and lower) of some descendants. If you place
your fingernail at the gum line and gently draw (up or down) you can feel
it and it makes a slight clicking sound. The back of the teeth also curve
outward rather than straight as the descendants of anglo-saxon parentage
do. Teeth like these are called Asian Shovel Teeth.

Some descendants have what is called
an Asian eyefold. This is rather difficult to describe. At the inner corner
of the eye, the upper lid attaches slightly lower than the lower lid. That
is to say that it overlaps the bottom lid. If you place your finger just
under the inner corner of the eye and gently pull down, a wrinkle will
form which makes the fold more visible. Some people call these eyes, "sleepy
eyes, dreamy eyes, bedroom eyes."

 Some families may have members
with fairly dark skin who suffer with vitiligo, a loss of pigmentation,
leaving the skin blotched with white patches. Some descendants have had
six fingers or toes. There is a family of people in Turkey whose surname
translated into English is "Six Fingered Ones."

There are some Mediterranean diseases
which show up in some of the descendants of the Melungeons. Some of these
diseases can be quite severe, even life threatening, and if you or a family
member have suffered from a mysterious illness, I can give you the names
of these, but there is ongoing research into some areas that are less severe,
but which pose problems for some descendants who seem to suffer with them.
Sleep problems, including periodic limb movement, shaky (restless/active)
leg syndrome, and sleep apnea are among these. Allergies, including lactose
intolerance, are another.

If your family has an Indian Grandmother
(father) 'myth' which you have been unable to prove, and they have been
hard to trace and they lived in NC, TN, KY, VA, WV areas in the early migration
years or if they seem to have moved back and forth in these areas and if
they share any of the mentioned surnames and characteristics, you may find
a connection here. Some descendants do not show the physical characteristics
and of course, there are many people with the surnames who are not connected
to this group.

Dr. N. Brent Kennedy author of, 'The
Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People,' started the recent research
into this group of people. His book is a must read for anyone who is connected
to this group. Most bookstores can order this book in paperback for you.
Dr. Kennedy documents his own family tree in the book and gives some startling
theories which are being confirmed by current researchers. He mentions
the need to hide the family connection to the Melungeon community as the
main reason our Melungeon ancestors are so hard to find.

Why would anyone want to hide their
family's background? These proud, strong, courageous, people were discriminated
against by their Scots-Irish and English neighbors as they moved into the
areas where the Melungeons lived. They wanted the rich valley lands occupied
by the Melungeons they found residing there. They discriminated against
the Melungeons because they were darker skinned than their own anglo-saxon
ancestors and because this helped them obtain the lands they coveted. This
discrimination carried into the 1940's-50's and perhaps even longer because
of the work of a man called Plecker who was the state of Virginia's Director
of Vital Statistics and an avowed racist. He labeled the Melungeons, calling
them mongrels and other worse terms - some were labeled FPC - Free Person
of Color in Virginia. This in turn led to their children being labeled
as Mulatto (M) and both of those terms came to mean "BLACK." If you find
such a term for any of your ancestors, it does not necessarily mean that
they actually were black. Some Melungeon families married white, some black,
some Indian, some a combination. But for all of them the terms led to rulings
in which they couldn't own property, they couldn't vote, and they couldn't
school their children. Is it any wonder that they became ANYTHING else
in order to do these things? They hid their backgrounds with the Indian
myth, with the orphan myth (my family are all dead) , and the adopted myth,
and they changed either the spelling of their surnames or they picked an
entirely new name, moving many times, anything to distance themselves from
their Melungeon heritage. They became 'Black Dutch,' 'Black Irish,' or
some other combination to hide their "otherness." Is it any wonder they
are so hard to find?

My own Melungeon family were Collinses
that were connected with the Cunningham family. It took me twenty years
of searching to find only this little bit of information on them. I have
this:

William Cunningham b. abt 1777 in VA,
d. aft 1850, prob in Johnson Co.,KY m. Rachel ? (may be Countiss) b. abt
1791 in MD

Issue:


Maca/Macha Cunningham b. abt 1826


Peter Cunningham, b. abt 1828


William Cunningham b. abt 1830


Johnathan Cunningham, b. abt 1833


Timothy Cunningham, b. abt 1838

Will Collins d. 1848-1850, m. Maca/Macha
Cunningham b. abt 1826.

Issue:

Mary Collins b. abt 1843 in Wise, VA,
d. 1915 Johnson Co. KY. was a partner of Abraham Musick


Rachel Collins b. Jan. 01, 1844 d.
1914, m. Abraham Musick


Charles Collins, b. abt 1848


Christopher Collins, b. abt 1850.

I have some additional information
on my greatgrandmother Mary Arminta Musick Hager
whose mother was Mary Collins. This information and a list of other surnames
I am researching can be found at NANCY'S
CORNER.

Below is a listing of common Melungeon
surnames. Please be sure to contact me if you are researching any surnames
in common with these.

I will look forward to hearing from
you.

Nancy

Common Melungeon Surname List ****North
Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky

Adams, Adkins, Allen, Allmond, Ashworth,

Barker, Barnes, Bass, Beckler, Bedgood, Bell, Bennett, Berry, Beverly,
Biggs, Bolen/Bowlen/Bolling/Bowling, Boone, Bowman, Badby, Branham, Braveboy,
Briger/Bridger, Brogan, Brooks, Brown, Bunch, Butler, Butters, Bullion,
Burton, Buxton, Byrd,

Campell, Carrico, Carter, Casteel, Caudill, Chapman, Chavis, Clark,
Cloud, Coal/Cole/Coles, Coffey, Coleman, Colley, Collier/Colyer, Collins,
Collinsworth, Cook(e), Cooper, Cotman, Counts, Cox/Coxe, Criel, Croston,
Crow, Cumba/Cumbo/Cumbow, Curry, Custalow,

Dalton, Dare, Davis, Denham, Dennis, Dial, Dorton, Doyle, Driggers,
Dye, Dyess,

Ely, Epps, Evans, Fields, Freeman, French,

Gann, Garland, Gibbs, Gibson/Gipson, Goins/Goings, Gorvens, Gowan/Gowen,
Graham, Green(e), Gwinn,

Hall, Hammon, Harmon, Harris, Harvie/Harvey, Hawkes, Hendricks/Hendrix,
Hill, Hillman, Hogge, Holmes, Hopkins, Howe, Hyatt,

Jackson, James, Johnson, Jones,

Keith, Kennedy, Kiser,

Langston, Lasie, Lawson, Locklear, Lopes, Lowry, Lucas,

Maddox, Maggard, Major, Male/Mayle, Maloney, Marsh, Martin, Miles,
Minard, Miner/Minor, Mizer, Moore, Morley, Mullins, Mursh,

Nash, Nelson, Newman, Niccans, Nichols, Noel, Norris,

Orr, Osborn/Osborne, Oxendine,

Page, Paine, Patterson, Perkins, Perry, Phelps, Phipps, Pinder, Polly,
Powell, Powers, Pritchard, Pruitt,

Ramey, Rasnick, Reaves/Reeves, Revels, Richardson, Roberson/Robertson/Robinson,
Russell,

Sammons, Sampson, Sawyer, Scott, Sexton, Shavis, Shepherd/Shephard,
Short, Sizemore, Smiling, Smith, Stallard, Stanley, Steel, Stevens, Stewart,
Strother, Sweat/Swett, Swindall,

Tally, Taylor, Thompson, Tolliver, Tuppance, Turner,

Vanover, Vicars/Viccars/ Vickers,

Ware, Watts, Weaver, White, Whited, Wilkins, Williams, Williamson,
Willis, Wisby, Wise, Wood, Wright, Wyatt, Wynn

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There is also a ridge on the back of the first four teeth - two front
teeth and the ones on either side (upper and lower) of some
descendants. If you place your fingernail at the gum line and gently
draw (up or down) you can feel it and it makes a slight clicking sound.
The back of the teeth also curve outward rather than straight as the
descendants of anglo-saxon parentage do. Teeth like these are called
Asian Shovel Teeth.

Many Indian descendants also have this
type of teeth. The back of the first four teeth of Northern European
descendants are straight and flat.

If your family has an Indian
Grandmother(father) `myth' which you have been unable to prove, an
adoption story that is un-provable, or an orphan myth, and they have
been hard to trace and they lived in NC, TN, KY, VA, WV areas in the
early migration years or if they seem to have moved back and forth in
these areas and if they share any of the mentioned surnames and
characteristics, you MAY find a connection here. Some descendants do
not show the physical characteristics and of course, there are many
people with the surnames who are not connected to this group.

SOME Melungeon descendants have what is
called an Asian eyefold. This is rather difficult to describe. At the
inner corner of the eye, the upper lid attaches slightly lower than the
lower lid. That is to say that, it overlaps the bottom lid. If you
place your finger just under the inner corner of the eye and gently
pull down, a wrinkle will form which makes the fold more visible. Some
people call these eyes, "sleepy eyes, dreamy eyes, bedroom eyes." Many
Indian descendants also have these kinds of eyes.

According to Dr. Kennedy, the
Melungeons were "a people who almost certainly intermarried with
Powhatans, Pamunkeys, Creeks, Catawbas, Yuchis, and Cherokees to form
what some have called, perhaps a bit FANCIFULLY, a `new race.' Dr.
Kennedy does not believe that the Melungeons can be called a `race of
people.' No dictionary definition of race fits with what we know of the
Melungeons and recently, the American Anthropological Association,
declared that `race,' was an inaccurate, artificial way of defining a
people and was no longer of any value.
Shovel shaped incisors also occur
in relatively large numbers in Sweden as well as among North and South American
Indians.

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