Melungeon The Americas Ethnicity

Melungeons are a group of mixed race people who have lived in Appalachia for at least 200 years and probably longer. They are thought to be a mix of Native American, African, Mediterranean and North European. There are Melungeons and their descendants all over the region, eastern Tennessee, western Virginia, eastern Kentucky and northern North Carolina. There are at least three groups that the name has been applied to, the first use of the name was for the Newman's Ridge group centered on Hancock and Hawkins Counties, TN, and Scott and Wise Counties, VA, then the Graysville Melungeons, between Knoxville and Chattanooga, and then the Kentucky Melungeons, in southeastern Kentucky. The term has also been used for the Redbones or Louisiana Melungeons, along the Texas-Louisiana border, and the Dead Lake People or Florida Melungeons in the Florida Panhandle. There is a lot of research, speculation and discussion on the origin of the Melungeons. Melungeon was a derogatory term not used by the Melungeons themselves until very recently. Other terms used for them include "Black Dutch", "Black Irish", "Ramps", and "Goins". Goins is the most common surname in the group (also spelt Goens, Goings, Goines, Going, Goin, etc.).

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• Melungeon Heritage Research Group - Melungeon group dedicated to correcting erroneous assertions about Melungeon history and origins, in particular the false belief that Melungeons are Turkish or join the Turks in denying the Armenian genocide.
  
• Muslims in the Americas Before Columbus - Some evidence for Moorish and Mandingo presence, which some people believe to be part of the ancestry of Melungeons.
  
• Black Dutch and Irish, Melungeons, Moravians, Pennsylvania Dutch - Shirley Hornbeck's genealogy tips on the Black Dutch, how the term has been used, for Melungeons and other groups.
  
• Vardy Community Historical Society - This society is trying to preserve the Vardy Melungeon site on Blackwater Creek in Hancock County, TN. Museum in the old Melungeon school. Mahala Mullins' cabin brought to the site from Newman's ridge.
  
• Melungeons.com - Gives links to many sites, including the articles on the new DNA study.
  
• Black Dutch Yahoo Group - A discussion group for anyone interested in people described as Black Dutch or Black German.
  
• Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia - Wayne Winkler's book with much of the text given in the preview.
  
• The National Melungeon Registry - Searchable list of surnames, with family registration facility.
  
• Melungeon Origin Group - Discussion group on Melungeon origins and history.
  
• Gowen Research Foundation - Information on families with the name Gowen, including variations. This includes the most common Melungeon name, Goins, Goin, Goings, Going, and others. Search the newsletters.
  
• What Is A Melungeon? - History and description of several groups known as Melungeon.
  
• Graysville Melungeons - An article on the largest Melungeon community, in Rhea, Roane and Hamilton counties, Tennessee, and the only incorporated town with a Melungeon majority.
  
• Melungeon Resource Page - Includes a FAQ about the mixed Mediterranean-Indian heritage of Melungeons, genealogy links, and information on the Melungeon mailing list. By Martha Short
  
• Shalacy's Melungeon Homepage - Shalacy is a 13 year old country/folk entertainer. She sang her "Melungeon Song" at the Melungeon Third Union. Site has links and her school report on the Melungeons.
  
• Under One Sky - Bill Fields' personal web site including the archives of Under One Sky, newsletter of the Southeastern Kentucky Melungeon Information Exchange. Information on Melungeon Heritage.
  
• American Indian Melungeon - Book on American Indians and the origin of the Melungeons, by Karlton Douglas.
  
• The Melungeons: My Perspective - By Brenda Nichols. Histories of her family and some notable Melungeons such as Mahala Mullins.
  
• People of Color in Old Tennessee - Patrick Minges' articles on Cherokee history, with an emphasis on race and religion. Discusses the racial mixing which contributed much to the Melungeons.
  
• Redbone Heritage Foundation - A group dedicated to investigating the history and origins of the Redbones, also known as the Louisiana Melungeons.
  
• Melungeon Mailing List - Discussion group for genealogy and history. Includes searchable archive of past messages.
  
• The Melungeons: A New Journey Home - An article in Blue Ridge Country on the Melungeons of Vardy, with photos of the church and school.
  
• Melungeon Heritage Association - Established to document and preserve the cultural legacy of mixed-ancestry peoples in the southern Appalachians. Articles, links, and information about periodic Melungeon conventions known as "unions".
  
• Jack Goins Research - Dedicated to research on the northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia Melungeon communities. Includes information on DNA research as well as information about his book.
  
• Documenting the Melungeons One Page at a Time - A Melungeon group especially interested in the Hancock County people. They are also pursuing a new DNA study.
  
• The Melungeon Health Education and Support Network - By Nancy Sparks Morrison. Provides information about the major Mediterranean illnesses that are inherited through the Melungeon connection.
  
• The Melungeons - Short article about Melungeons, particularly in Virginia.
  
• Native American Muslims - An article about early contact between Native Americans and Muslims, which contends many Native Americans adopted Islam. This may tie in with the better known Masonic movement among Native Americans.
  
• Wayfaring Stranger - The Black Dutch, German Gypsies, or Chicanere, and their relation to the Melungeons, by Linda D. Griggs.
  
• North from the Mountains: The Carmel Melungeons of Ohio - By John S. Kessler and Donald B. Ball. Paper on the Melungeons of Carmel, Ohio, presented at Third Union.
  
• Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Delaware - Family history of most families who were free in this region during the colonial period. Includes extracts from government records.
  
• The Black Irish Myth - A theory as to why people of Irish descent like to lay claim to Spanish blood from the Armada. Links the Black Irish to the Melungeons. By Tom Kunesh.
  
• The Melungeon Historical Society - Society dedicated to research on Melungeon history.
  
• The Melungeons Revisited: First Union - Article from Blue Ridge Country magazine on the First Union of the Melungeons and Brent Kennedy's work.
  
• Redbones and Melungeons - The Redbones or Louisiana Melungeons are a mixed origin group living near the Sabine River on the Texas-Louisiana border. They are connected to both the Melungeons and the mixed race groups of South Carolina.
  
• The Melungeons: An Untold Story of Ethnic cleansing in America (by Brent Kennedy) - This is an excerpt or introduction to the most famous and controversial book on the Melungeons.
  
• Melungeon Family Genealogy Forum - Discussion of genealogical topics about Melungeon families.
  
• Melungeon Voices - Announcement for a new film about Melungeons.
  
  

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