Have you ever heard the word Melungeon? Pronounced [muh-luhn-juhn] is a term used for a group of people living in the Eastern Tennessee region of the Appalachian Mountains. The Melungeon Heritage Association believes the term comes from the French word mélange which means mixture. Melungeon is thought to describe people who have a mixture of European, Native American and African ancestry. They have sometimes been called the “Lost Tribe of Appalachia.”
Melungeon, pronounced [muh-luhn-juhn], is a term used for a group of people living in the Eastern Tennessee region of the Appalachian Mountains.
The largest community is in Hancock County Tennessee. But other communities have been found in Hawkins County Tennessee as well as Lee, Scott, and Wise counties in Virginia. Over time they have migrated to other parts of Tennessee, southeast Kentucky, West Virginia, southern Ohio and the Carolinas (O’Neal, thefamilyheart.com).
While their origins are yet unknown, in older photos, the physical appearance of Melungeons looks almost “Mediterranean or Middle Eastern.”
There has been much discussion on where exactly the origins came from. The typical physical traits are dark hair, dark skin and light eyes. According to “Kathy Lyday, a professor at Elon University in North Carolina, has said that in older photos the physical appearance of Melungeons looks almost “Mediterranean or Middle Eastern.” (O’Neal, the family heart.com) Yet, it is still unknown exactly where the origins actually come from. It has been said they could be from the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke, deserters of Hernando De Soto’s expedition, and maybe one of the lost tribes of Israel (Melungeon Heritage Association).
There is no certain gene for the Melungeon DNA. Most seem to have mixtures of Mediterranean, South Asia, the Middle East as well as Northern European, Native American and African American. Not every family has all of these genes and each family has a unique combination. However, there are surnames that are associated with where the Melungeon lived. These surnames are common in America and are only associated with Menlungeon from the areas they lived. Some of these surnames are; Collins, Sexton, Gibson, Boleyn, and Goines (Melungeon Heritage Association).
For a time, on census records, Melungeon were listed as Croatian Indians
While I had never heard this term I have found so much information about the people. Tidbits like they were on census records for awhile as Croatian Indians, they were mostly farmers until around World War I. To learn more please go check out the Melungeon Heritage Association. It has articles written by people from past decades. If you like learning new things that you can use in doing genealogy work for yourself or others that is the place to start.
If you need any help finding your ancestors, just let us know.
Sources
http://melungeon.org/frequently-asked-questions-about-melungeons/
https://www.thefamilyheart.com/researching-melungeon-ancestors/
