My paternal grandmother was melungeon. Several of us have done our dna and it is English, Scottish, and Ivory Coast African. I’m proud of my diverse lineage.
@@geraldinebranham4522 my paternal grandmother was from that area as well. My dad was actually born in Henry county, where his father was born. Not sure how my grandmother and grandmother met. I assume that her family must have moved from eastern Tennessee to a more north central area. The melungeon history is interesting, however I imagine there’s a lot of it that will never be known because of its secrecy.
What weird irony. I was dating a lady who did a DNA test and found out she was Melungeon. Me and her were talking about our ancestry. I said my mother's side of the family claimed to have came from the Cherokee and had Irish blood. She said "let me guess, from eastern Kentucky, Tenn and VA area. I said yeah, we came from there. The more I looked into it and compared my family history. The more convinced I was. I have shovel teeth and the pump on the back of my head. My family are mostly dark haired, olive skinned and light colored eyes. Me and my uncle are lighter skinned. It was mind blowing to me. I never guessed I would have East Asian, African ancestry and be so mixed.
I just recently found out that my dad was Melungeon and that I have 3 older brothers and 2 older sisters I was never told about. My mom did not want me to know that my dad was Melungeon and that I had brothers and sisters. (same dad different moms) I always had issues with my mom growing up, and now I am finding out so many things that my mom hid from me. I am a Gibson and I come from a line of Melungeon Moonshiners. I have taken a DNA test (My Heritage) and put my results into Gedmatch to get my pie chart. My test so far show that I am White, Black, Native American. I've also been told that in some of the research it has been determined that the Melungeon people lied about the ethnics because some of that time period was during slavery. They lied to keep themselves from being sold as a slaves. I haven't gotten to really dive into all of it as much as I want to, but I am making the time coming this January, 2022. I am also making a Memoir/Biography of my life and all the evidences that I am finding that my mom hid from me. I do know that the line of Gibson's I come from were very well known and there are articles/etc. at the Knoxville Smithsonian and at the Vardy Historical Society Museum. I also found out that Mahala Mullins (Big Haley) was possibly my great, great Aunt. Mahala was a very famous Moonshiner in Sneedville, Tennessee. Sneedville, Tennessee is one of the areas that my family settle, most of the Gibson's are berried in the local cemetery except for my dad, who is berried in San Bernardino. (there is so much to all of this and a reason why he ended up in San Bernardino) I will check out the Family Tree Magazine, I would love to find out so much more about Melungeon's and more about my family history. Thank you for this video, it helped me with some of my questions.
I'm glad you mentioned the Turkish people of Sumter County, SC. These people are thought to be a mix of Turkish, African American, and native American ancestry. They were banned from attending white public schools, until the 1950's, when a court order allowed them to attend. They were terribly mistreated by white classmates and teachers. They have now mixed with caucasions and are losing their distinctive dark features.Oxendine, Buckner, Hood, Lowery, Benenhaley and Locklear are common last names
Hello, this video made me very curious about my ethnicity. I am African American but my family is very diverse whenever it comes to looks some are lighter skinned to medium dark complexion with medium brown to hazel eyes. My grandmother on my mom's side had blue eyes but nobody ever knew why because supposely both parents are African American. My great grandmother on my father's side was mixed race. I'm thinking about having an ancestry DNA test done so I can trace my families DNA history. Well thanks for the video, it was very interesting
My Father went to first grade, in a Melungeon School. His Parents, my Grandparents, were Free Thinkers.this was 1920, The year before Government schools took place...
I have been curious about this my entire life! I did a Melungeon surname search and both of my parents are Melungeon! So many dots are finally connecting. Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️
All of my father's side of my family came from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. I've always had naturally tan skin and very dark hair. My parents always deny any other lineage that isn't Scottish or English. It's pretty funny.
My moms family are originally from Eastern Kentucky and a lot of my relatives are very swarthy and some look like they’re straight off the reservation. Growing up, I was always told my great-grandmother was either whole or part Cherokee and she definitely looked it. I’ve done genealogical research and discovered that my matrilineal 6th great-grandmother who was born in Tennessee in the 1790’s most likely might’ve been a Melungeon. Through another line, I’m also descended from Free People of Color who lived in Virginia and North Carolina during the Colonial Era. I’ve taken AncestryDNA and 23andMe and both test say I have small amounts of African and Native American admixture. However, only 23andMe said I have trace amounts of Middle Eastern.
I have an ancestor named Thomas Collins who moved from Wilkes Co. NC to Letcher Co KY probably early 1800’s was listed as colored on some censuses. My greatx2 grandparents were named Collins & Gibson respectively. I have the bump & blond hair & blue eyes.
We also call ourselves Hillbillies, Hill means mountain, and Billy means to strike or fight from the Scottish language. In our translation this is Mountain Fighter, to the oldest, most traditional people among us call our people the Mulong. It is pronounced “Mulon”, the ancient Cherokee called us the Dog People in early history this was their translation of Mongrel, as the English called us during Colonial times. Mongrel in the English dictionary means mixed dog.
My father hated talking about a possible Melungeon connection, it was a forbidden subject.. Believed himself to be part Cherokee, not in my DNA, My grandparents are from Hancock and Grainger Co. Tennessee. Collins, Mullins and Willis, Wise VA. Also. My Ancestry DNA is English, Scott Irish , African American and trace of Portugese/Spanish. I don’t know if that makes me Melungeon but find the whole subject interesting, Ron Willis - Black WA. state
Ron dimo you have the Anatolian ridge on the lower part of your back skull where you can lay a finger below that ridge? Do you also have shovel type front teeth? If you answered yes,then you are most definitely a melungeon. I have both festires. My anvestry com dba results back in June of 2018 revealed tgat I had (1%)south African dna...(3%) Iberian peninsula spaniah/ portugese and (5%) middle easeastern dna to go along with my majority irish/ scotch,English,scandinavian and German dna.
I have Mullins ancestors from Wise, VA…. But unsure if she is a Mullins, Mary Jane Mullins who married Isham Hall. A lot of people seem to believe she was Melungeon other than Gary Mullins. I have other people in my family that Brent Kennedy speculates are Melungeon. However what I find interesting is Mary Jane Mullins descendants, Aisley Hall Hubbard are written as having a “Cherokee” origins which makes me believe they are talking about Jane Mullins. It was written in a letter from a descendent of William Robinson, who is also my ancestor speculated as being Melungeon.
MY wife was blonde with blue eyes her biological mother was half Lakota and half Creole.Her father was Irish and Jewish with Jewish on both sides.She has 1 sister with auburn hair.The rest looked Arabic but weren't.Creole has black,Indian and or French and Spanish.
Hi. I descend from Portuguese(Sephardic Jews) who intermarried with Croatans. They were FPOC who relocated to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountain from SC. There were pockets of these families there. They are mentioned as Lumbee remnants in Robert K. Thomas's work and by Hamilton McMillian to the Secretary of Internal Affairs, as Croatan.
Rainbow Unicorn Princess thank you for sharing my sister. You are descended from Royalty ( All Iberian Jews who settled in Spain & Portugual & fled to all parts of the new world. They came from the nobility priestly class who left Jerusalem after the 2nd temple was destroyed. Your unique & multi racial, ethnic & religions that flow through you as many like you are a GIFT. Would love to hear more about your family's stories. Had a close friend years back who's father came from the Carolinas. A great great great Grsndmother was Cherokee who's name I believe was pronounced Cu'Mah. Combined with Welsch, Scotts-Irish. You really need an intermediary to kink you up with Sephardic Educatonal Center in NYC. Got to make a deeper connection to you knowledge. DM me on FB Amy Souzan BarMazal
Mulungeon is one of several ethnicities in my family (Lumbee, Nanticoke, Waccamaw, Saponi, Nansemond, Gullah, Alabama Creoles); I have that small knot on the top of my head, too. Chavis, Gibson, Mullins, Locklear, and Goins are among my familial surnames.
My dad’s side was supposedly Melungeon. Based on what I’ve gotten back from DNA results, my Melungeon is a mix of Portuguese and African (black). I’m neon white but apparently I do have some typical African-American features to my body.
I have a tin type photo of a female ancestor with dark hair, skin and large dark eyes. My grandmother, mother, and I have eyes that appear the same, and I've tried to figure out where she came from because nobody ever claimed to know much about her. After much research I found out her maiden name was Gibson (which I saw on this video is a common Melungeon name). I think now I found my ancestry answers.
I was on a sub-reddit and posted my results. My dad's family is straight Appalachian. I can only find one direct white ancestor who was a plantation and slave owner. Everyone else is multi-generational mixed race, even my white passing grandfather and their family and back are listed as Black and mulatto but have been FPC since before 1800s or early 1800s, except a couple. Someone mentioned that is sounds like my family was Melungeon since there is African, European and Native ancestry in my background. But my family never seemed to hide they had African Ancestors, not even the white passing ones. There is a story of my 2nd grat grandfather or something who had twin boys one was blonde and blue eyed and the other a darker red earth clay and brown eyes but they looked in other facial features the same. Also, on my mom's side from Virginia and North Carolina I can only find one direct White Ancestor with 4 or 5 generations. It is really interesting mixture in my family. I have no clue what they called themselves but know they lived their lives identifying as "Negro" or "Mulatto" (no offense meant, I'm quoting what census record indicated)
I may be a Melugeon my Dad was from the Appalachian platue in southern Ohio and he had an olive color. I don't know if his family moved north from tennesee but I have a small amount of Nigerian, north African, Portugese the rest from Britain and Europe. I thought it was pretty cool when I got my results but I didn't expect the outcome.
I have Melungeon ancestry, my maternal 3rd great grandfather, surname Field was born in Carter's Valley, Hawkins County Tennessee, I did a DNA test through DNA Consultants, my results showed very strong Melungeon, Scottish, Sephardic Jewish, Portuguese, and distant American Indian, among several other ethnicities, was all very interesting to say the least, would love to be able to hire a genealogist to help me with that particular family line.
I have never heard of Melungeon people. Very interesting. Makes me wonder if I have ancestors who were also this mixed breed. My dad would freak out if he knew he had black blood in him. His grandparents lived in Kentucky, Tennessee as dirty farmers and coal miners. That's how they look in the black and white photos, even the women and kids. Last names Burris/Hurley.
My Grandpa's Grandma is Mahala Mullins, the moonshine queen of the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee. His wife, my Grandma, is also Melungeon. I actually have Melungeon on both sides of my family. We are British-Irish, Scottish, German, Sweden, and Portuguese.
I am pretty sure there is melungeon on my dad's side. Almost everyone has a melungeon surname. Until it reaches my grandpa. I think I have melungeon on my moms side as well. Both sides of my family settled in the same area of the Appalachians. We also have a small amount of African and a native ancestor. And I have Irish, scottish background. So it's very likely that we have melungeon background. I think it's very cool.
My dad’s family are Melungeon from Eastern Kentucky. We have almost every Melungeon surname found. We also have the black hair, green or gold eyes, olive skin, and a dna profile that’s very diversely spread across the planet. The first time the word Melungeon was used at Stony Creek Baptist church when someone accused my grandmother Susan Stallard of harboring them. Her granddaughter married into my Melungeon lines. On a side note: the Appalachian Melungeons are genetically about 5-6 generations apart from Redbones, Metís of Canada, and the mixed lines in the Caribbean islands. Some of us have the records but all of us have the dna.
I just recently stumbled upon this possibly being part of my heritage on my Mother’s side. Her father was a Goins and my 5th great grandfather was Laborn Goins and what I found he was Native American or a “freed colored” as what I have been able to find on Google. It’s very interesting to me.
There's also a similar group throughout Northern New Jersey and Southern Tier New York..they called them Jackson Whites. They are also Lenape, White, Black, and other heritages. They are very mixed but have a distinct kind of look.
My great-great grandparents (my maternal grandmother's grandparents) were Goins. My maternal great grandfather was an Osbourne. I'm fascinated by this history.
@@leyenda133 From what I know, the Goins ancestry of my family is around Campbell county TN :) I don't know much besides that at this time. Good luck in your research!
they are a mix of primarily NW European ancestry with trace amounts of American Indian and more often than not sub-Sahara Africa. Freed slaves mixed with American Indians, then mixed with European American pioneers. their mixed race look made them ostracized by the regular town society so they married amongst themselves for some time in their own communities until they became more socially acceptable as time went on.
My great Grandfather was born in Sneedville, He made his way to Kansas. Clint Williams, 69, died at 4:25 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, July 16, 1938, at his home on Horton Heights, following an apparent stroke. He was born May 21, 1869, in Sneedville, Tenn., and came to Horton in 1908, His wife Mrs. Clint Williams, 70, died Sunday morning, June 21, 1936, at her home on Fourth Avenue West. Elizabeth Catherine Ayres was born in Wythe Co., Virginia, on May 8, 1866. She was married to Clint Williams on Aug. 18, 1888, in Hancock Co., Tenn. They came to Horton on Nov. 8, 1903, from Jonesville, Va., { My Great Grandfather came to Horton to work at the railroad as a blacksmith. }
I randomly came across a tiktok on this and it sparked my interest. I was raised being told we had cherokee in my maternal side, that's why we have so many with the dark skin/hair. (I live in North carolina). Also, my father is darker skinned/hair but both his parents were lighter skinned. All considered "white". I Dont know much about my fathers side or my mothers as far as hertiage and being told we have cherokee so I did both an 23andme and ancestry test. Turns out there is no Cherokee in my family at all. I do have a huge mix though of. British, scottish, irish, french, german, wales, scandanavian, finnish, and a small percentage from congo. (there are other areas i cant recall at the moment). It's so weird to me though because in our family I am white skinned.. but my brother has an darker completion.. Do does my maternal grandmother, and uncle.. but yet my mother is light like me, my grandfather is, etc. It's like we dont match at all and I never understood it until I saw these photos.. Could we be melungeon?!? I dont have any of those last names in my family line that I know of though.. Are there more names that isnt listed? Any connecting Younger, Edwards, Brannock?
Had my University of Kentucky scholarship for minority advancement revoked when I showed up too light skinned to pass for anything other than “white”. We come out of Harlan County and the family-tree’s roots are lost deep in the Appalachian hollows but I am proud to be more American than apple pie.
Very interesting information. My mom's family has the Reaves surname (I don't believe they are Melungeon though), and on her maternal side, there were Goins and Chavis and Walden. They (The Walden's) were listed as Mulattos. They also all had a certain look to them. We've taken ancestry tests and we're pretty mixed up...a little of everything. I am mostly of African descent, but my mom's about 45/55.
I've been looking for my mothers family who were Goins. All I found were siblings from the early 1900s named Mary, Willie (female), Archie, and Jessie. If anyone recognizes these names I would appreciate any help. I believe they were all "passing" and the men may have gone on to live their lives as white.
Maternal Grandmother we are pretty sure was Melungeon because the DNA test "fits" with surname 3-5th cousins found through the testing company. She was called Half by Swedes, Black Irish by some, and Dutch by others. Told to "marry white" when she was old enough by her Mother in the 1930s after they had moved to California from the Ohio River Valley.
My grandmother is a Fields who I suspect are Melungeon from Hawkins County Tennessee. The name Fields was changed from Sizemore. Sizemore paternal dna haplogroup is Q which is Native American. My Sizemore ancestors are listed as Cherokee chiefs from NC and going back to Jamestown. I suspect they married mallato women in North Carolina way back.
@@russiejane6257I know from my family tree. One of my ancestors changed his paternal surname Sizemore to his mother's maiden name Fields. Why he change it I haven't been able to determine yet. The only thing I can think of is Sizemore's had bad reputation in Hawkins County Tennessee or maybe didn't like his father? I will probably never know.
Someone said on a video that the term Melungeon derives from the word mélange, which means a mixture. Its French. The Melungeon have an indigenous connection and some of the indigenous peoples had adopted much from the French, which led to the creation of the Métis people who were indigenous and French blended. In my opinion that is possibly where the term originated from, and the origin of the Métis people were one way European DNA could have joined with indigenous DNA long ago, which is one theory on how the Melungeon people can have European and Native DNA going quite aways back.
My Granny always told me that there was indian and "black"dutch in her background. She just defined "black" dutch as people who had dark hair and olive skin. I've always wondered about this.
I have a Melungeon ancestor (Malachi Rives). I didn’t know he was Melungeon until recently. My mom had told me my great grandmother on my dad’s side had Native American blood. When I spent time in the sun, I tan so dark a distant cousin asked if I was “colored” (her words). I always assumed it was because of my mom being Italian, especially as my dad and his siblings were all fair-skinned, blond-haired & blue-eyed
This is very interesting. I don't know if I have that heritage or not, but 6 or 7 of the surnames listed are also in my family tree. YAYAY a new project to pursue! :)
Oops! Almost forgot. Mom saw in their hometown paper about Mulengeons, it was the first time I saw my Daddy’s family name that might belong. She was so upset, “I never would have married you, we have children together”, and more rants.She didn’t talk to Daddy until someone from down home told her that the article was wrong. My DNA shows me as Scottish, English, Welsh, with a bit of Irish and of course, Viking
I also have Cherokee mixed with siberian, my moms dad, my mom is mostly Cherokee partly her dad, but more from her mom. My dad is Germanic/ Irish, his father is german and his mother is irish. My mom has clal black hair in her family and squint eyes and her mother had coal black hair but there were 11 children and some of the kids had light Brown hair and darker brown but some bad the coal black hair with almor black eyes!! I plan to find out because my moms dad is ancestry seems to mixed up to know for sure.
My surname is Ramsey and we have melungeon decent my great grandpa came from Tennessee fought in ww2 and moved to Michigan after and now our family has winded up in Oklahoma it’s funny the distinction of features I have dark curly hair and hazel/green eyes with grey in them and people always swear I’m mixed but my skin tone is very light and I tan well so cool learning about my heritage and how we are all unique
My great Grandfather was born in Sneedville, He made his way to Kansas. Clint Williams, 69, died at 4:25 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, July 16, 1938, at his home on Horton Heights, following an apparent stroke. He was born May 21, 1869, in Sneedville, Tenn., and came to Horton in 1908, His wife Mrs. Clint Williams, 70, died Sunday morning, June 21, 1936, at her home on Fourth Avenue West. Elizabeth Catherine Ayres was born in Wythe Co., Virginia, on May 8, 1866. She was married to Clint Williams on Aug. 18, 1888, in Hancock Co., Tenn. They came to Horton on Nov. 8, 1903, from Jonesville, Va., { My Great Grandfather came to Horton to work at the railroad as a blacksmith. }
Hi all, I commented on this on another channel so I won't take too much of your time now but basically in 1571 a Turkish merchant vessel was captured by the Portuguese, on board this vessel were Turkish civilians of Christian descent mainly, Italians etc., these were wealthy merchant man with their families on a trade mission on a private ship with a Turkish ensign, the Portuguese and the British, after robbing them, used them as rowing slaves and then dumped them in the American wilderness, being whites, they could not be enslaved but they could not get a passage back to Türkey either as Turkey was locked in a deadly naval battle with the European powers over the Atlantic and the Mediterranean so these people made their way further inland and were subsequently captured by the Cherokee, whom instead of killing them actually looked after them and that's because the Cherokee are part Turkish themselves and still speak a language very similar to turkish, infact some words are identical, like IOWA, which is taken from the Cherokee language, meaning MOON - plains/Valley, means exactly the same thing in turkish, infact %90 native Indians, that is the Huron, the navajo, the Aztec, the Mayan, etc., etc., carry the Q strain DNA which is basically the prerequisite Turkish DNA from eurasia, the confusing part is that, the Celts, who make up the peoples of Britain, Scotland Ireland, whom then make up %60 the American gene pool also carry the Q strain DNA, Q-L938-39-40 to be precise and that's because the Celts themselves are part of the Turkish family including the Swedish /viking, whom still use the runic Göktürk alphabet to this day and this is why you get such a confusing DNA results with the Meloungeons ranging from the vikings to the Mayans but it was also this connection with the natives that saved the Meloungeons, if you Google professor Brent Kennedy (R. I. P.) you can get more information and yes meloungeon(meluncan) is a Turkish term ;meaning cursed souls, usually a term applied when a ship is lost at sea, greetings to you all from Türkiye
As the Turkish Empire included North African coast , a series of coastal cities home to the Barbary corsairs who used galley slaves - they could have taken from any coastal town in Europe, what was the name of this boat sailing under the Caliphate flag? If Christian they could also be Pontic Greek, and the Portuguese could have offloaded them that far North in the Americas as indentured servants, if they had been landed on the North African Coast before crossing the Atlantic, the males would have been castrated, so no descendants, so your full data aggregated would be very useful. The Portuguese Sailing Ships could have intercepted a ship full of the newly captured on the Atlantic coast already. Origins are fascinating. I myself, very fair skinned freckled, blue eyed, have a son who came up 40% Anatolian maternal DNA, in England, l will have to follow that up one day.
My melungeon ancestors were directly included in Brent Kennedy's book. My preferred theory of the origins of Melungeons were that they are the descendents of Spanish slave sailors who were dumped off on the coast before the gold laden galeons sailed on over across the ocean to go back to Spain. Basically, the Spanish didn't want to risk a mutiny from the slave sailors on thier ships all laden with gold.
All of my family identifies as black, but here's the situation with my mom's relatives. My granddaddy (my mom's father) was from Tennesse. He had light skin, medium brown coily hair, and green eyes. He was pale af and could pass for white. His sister had dark brown skin, dark brown curly hair, and dark brown eyes. They had a common Irish surname. Sadly, other than his sister, I don't know about his other family members. Now that he's dead, I can't ask him. His sister didn't talk about their side of the family, and my mom doesn't talk about Granddaddy at all. Ever. My grandma (my mom's mother) was from Mississippi. She had light skin too, but brown eyes, dark brown coily hair, and Native features. Her history is a little vague too. She was an orphan who lived with her grandmother. Great-grandma had caramel colored skin, dark brown curly hair like Danielle's hair texture before relaxers, and Native features. My mom has caramel colored skin, dark brown eyes, Native features, and had dark brown coily hair before she went gray. One of her brothers is pale af like Granddaddy, the rest of her siblings are caramel, with dark eyes and dark brown coily hair. What throws me off is my grandfather's green eyes. Where did they come from? My mom has no idea why his eyes were that color. What secrets have he taken to the grave? Why won't my mom talk about him? Hey, maybe we're Melungeon! I mean, I can do the squat lol
My family have direct routes to the melungeons it was always funny people always thought I was black cause my curly hair and green hazel eyes but it’s cool when I found out about my heritage I was still lost but had a little more research and turns out I’m direct male descendants and I will always be proud
My maternal grandmother is a GOWENS from Texas. Her family came from Kentucky, who originally came from Henry County, Virginia (on the NC border). My earliest proved ancestor on that line is Charles GOINS (GOINGS, GOENS) 1763-1865. My male 2nd. cousins tested their Y-DNA and the Haplogroup is E-M4254, which is a sub-Saharan group found near present day Angola.
I'm definitely descendants of Melungeons. Gibson, Chavis, Goins, Oxendines ...I have so many DNA cousins who have the typical Melungeon look. Not to mention my Lumbee connection.
Goins was originally Gowen. Margaret Cornish Gowen was from Angola, Africa back in the early 1600. She had children by a man by the surname as Sweat. She ended up marrying another man from Angola, Africa. Portuguese ships kidnapped them and an English pirate ship took them and sold them for corn in Virginia. Anyway, this is just one line. Margaret was my X9 Great grandmother. I also have Redbone Native American in my line too. I am a Melungeon. I took a test from DNA Consultants and got the number 1 was Melungeon but I thought , What? I started putting together my family tree on MyHeritage. Sure enough, no doubt I am indeed Melungeon. I also have Jewish but I am working on where that fits in. I have dates and names that are in the records so I am satisfied DNA Consultants is the best because non on the other sites picked it up.
DNA shows that many Irish in West Ireland also have some Spanish ancestry, because the earliest settlers came from the Iberian and Basque regions and traveled there before the ice and glaziers melted and ‘The book of Invasions’ from the 8th Century speaks of an invasion by a Spanish King and so no wonder some have olive skins. My grandfather, has some Irish ancestry from his mother’s side and had more olive coloured skin with dark hair and brown eyes, as did one of his sons, except his eyes were more hazel than brown.
I think my Mom is. I have blonde hair blue eyes. Whitest of the white. I’m like a Viking I’m so white, but my mom always thought she was Cherokee Native. Turns out she’s not. She’s got olive skin. Green eyes and dark hair. From Virginia/NC
I think I just might have it because my maternal grandmother told me she had some “Black Dutch”. And she had roots out of Northern Alabama and eastern Tennessee. I’ve checked out my ancestry DNA. Pretty unremarkable and very southern (British Isles and Scandinavia), but a small amount is Iberian Peninsula and European Jewish.
Melungeons are not any kind of a lost tribe. They are simply descendants of immigrants that were olive skin or darker that came from perhaps Portugal, italy, Romania etc etc. Not Anglo-Saxons from England or Germany or Scotland etc. Some mixed with indigenous Indians or Africans and obviously their skin got a little darker. That's what melungeons are. Period. They are not a lost tribe or any kind of mysterious people they are a skin color.
Story goes that Carthagians made voyages over to North America supposedly 2000 years ago, the stories es Melungeons could be remnants of them, definitely making them a distinct tribe especially by blood for at least 2000 years. Though the even bigger connection es the evidence of Egyptian artifacts around North America & cocaine Mummies.The stories are the Egyptians came to the Americas 5000 years ago by way of Imhotep the Fourth
My momma is from Sneedville tn. Her last name was Bowlin b4 she married. I have 11 brothers and sisters who all have dark hair with green/hazel eyes except 1 and she has red/strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. I would love to do a DNA test
My Father told me when I was a child that we had Melungeon blood in our ancestry. Many years later a distant cousin of mine that had never met my Father told me we had Melungeon blood in us. How can I know if I have Melungeon ancestry ?
I had never even heard of Melungeon peoples until I did a DNA test...I always knew we had some native american and some sub-subharian African but I had no idea about this ethnicity until my results came back as #1 Mulengeon...which makes a lot of sense to me now. I am brown haired blue eyed but have a large set of siblings, some of which look Native American and Mexican (another type of Native from the America's) my sibs and I range from black hair (truely black not dark brown) with dark brown eyes to light brown hair and grey/hazel eyes..so we are all over...we do have relatives from OK and TN however none of the traditional "Melungeon names fit". That all said I'm just wondering if we should start adding in "mulengeon" under Ethnicity on forms rather than "Caucation" or is that even appropriate?
So my dad is from Isom, KY in eastern KY. My mom is from Rogersville, Tn in Hawkins County. My family have dark hair and eyes kinda barely tan. I have blonde hair fair with green eyes! 🤷♀️
Melungeon, basically from a pronunciation perspective has to have entered English through French with the French nasalized 'o' before 'n' being transliterated into the English nasal 'un'. The '-on' ending in French is cognate to the Spanish 'ón' and the italian 'one' often meaning 'great big', 'very' or 'a lot' In this case the very mixed on, or the (great)big mix. The French word for mix is Melange. If it indeed came through spanish, it would have had to be before the mergers of G J and X into a gutteral sound (Mexico/Mejico) I believe this happened after colonization. The sound differences are still present in Catalan, French and Portugues. Considering the '-eon' ending though, it is most likely French Corniche - Cornichon Mange eat - Mangeon (eater, as in you are a big eater bordering on a glutton or just in an endearing way) the 'on' and 'an' have the same pronunciation and seem to have been somewhat unstatic until well after colonization.
So the Italian could actually be explained by theory the melungeons were from Mediterranean, given DNA mostly goes by what area of the world your DNA matched up with this makes sense.
My brother married a Goins girl. Such a STRANGE person. She was very pretty, but OH SO STRANGE! They hardly spoke English. We are from South, speak with TN accent, but these people don't really speak English and they are in bred. They were Creepy & SCARY!
I'm of melungeon descent as well as Cherokee, Shawnee, Cheraw, Saponi and Catawba. I also have African ancestry, i descend from John Gowen and Mihill Gowen and Katherine Prosser.
I think you're right, it's more of a Welsh antonium, between France & Germany, not far from Denmark. I'm 100% not Melungeon. I have a better chance of being related to King Xerxes. Interesting video
I am not Melungeon, but I am always curious to learn more about Prince Madoc of Cymru. I think his legend is true. They say he met with Native Americans in the Mobile Bay, and with their blessing, sailed up the Mississippi, settling around the town they say he founded: Cairo, Illinois. The cursory research I have done seems to support the history that First Nation and Native American Peoples have been saying all along: That people have lived in North America for at least a hundred thousand years.
Because they claimed they came from Portuguese sailors and a common surname was/is Goins/Goans/etc, i believe they came from the Portuguese settlement of Goa, in India.
I'm curious about this line as I do have that bump on the back of my head, never actually thought about and I had never heard of these people till I did and found out Mulungeon is listed in my dna and had to look it up, my mother's maiden name or my father's surname is listed as being Mulingeon
Melungeon if you remove the g it will be Meluneon which sound arabic and means the damned one. The story that the Muslims Spanish in 1500 converted to Christians and called by other Muslims the " damned one" or Melungeon since they converted . This term Melungeon was been used by ottomans during the ottoman empire . They could be Mediterraneans who moved to the new world when it was discovered after the reconquesta war against Muslims spain by the Spanish and discovery of American happen just after that war in andalusia " Spain today: Physically kinda make sense since they do look like from south spain or Italy and if they were part moorish make sense since some moorish have Sub-Saharan African mix . And the word it Self sound arabic Melungeon. It could be old Spanish race that is part Spanish part arabic part African moved to American and settled in this region then also got mixed with natives. You would seem similar looks in canary island Portugal or even anywhere in the Mediterranean.
That "bump" could it possibly be the external occipital protuberance? This is the anatomical term for a certain bone in the skull that is prominent in some people. It would be at the level of the back label of a person's baseball cap, I think. The bones of the human skull are separate in infants but fuse together as the infant develops.❤
I have a bump on the back of my head. I have olive coloring mixed in my skin. I'm 1/4 Mexican though (Piedras Negras) from my grandma. My mother's ancestry is Oliver (been here since the 1600's). Her mother told me that we have Native American ancestry and she and her mother have dark eyes with dark hair. I have hazel probably from both my grandfathers.
This is the 1st I’ve heard of the bump! Just this year I thought I thought it was a growth so I asked my sister about it and to feel mine and she says yea I have one too! Apparently my mom had already told her that we all have the bump and now it makes sense where it comes from 🤯
My DNA test showed 97% northern European but the rest equal parts native American, West African, and Portuguese. My great great grandfather was from southern Virginia near the North Carolina border and my great great grandmother was from Kentucky. We have no records before them. They moved to a city that was a hub for the underground railroad and the 1850 census records indicated he lived in a part of town that was primarily free blacks and his brother worked for a mulatto furniture maker from the same place in Virginia. I've puzzled about the Portuguese DNA. Now I'm wondering if I have some Melungeon history. I think that'd be pretty cool.
Some southern people think their ethnic mix comes from slavery when in fact it comes from old marriages and offsprings between Europeans, Africans, and some Natives. I had to learn the truth by studying my own family tree.
I'm a product of early jamestown, VA. Most melungeons have ancestors from VA and NC in 1600's. I did dna test to prove to the rest of my family we are melungeons. When I scroll through my dna matches, I see a lot of people with 100% European, but if you look at their haplogroup number it says they are African or in some cases Native American. It obvious that our history is not exactly like we've been told.
It's unfortunate how we've been programmed to believe certain things in American history simply because the truth will destroy preconceived notions of racial supremacy regardless of color.
Mom and daddy born in the 20s, any name , or look, like a Melungeon, they were not allowed to go to the schools because their skin was dark. If you called someone a Melungeon, it was like using the N word
![CHILE vs. BRASIL [1-2] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 9](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ObJt_71AYc/mqdefault.jpg)
My paternal grandmother was melungeon. Several of us have done our dna and it is English, Scottish, and Ivory Coast African. I’m proud of my diverse lineage.
Portage, was a common reply back in Newman's Ridge east Tenn..
@@geraldinebranham4522 my paternal grandmother was from that area as well. My dad was actually born in Henry county, where his father was born. Not sure how my grandmother and grandmother met. I assume that her family must have moved from eastern Tennessee to a more north central area. The melungeon history is interesting, however I imagine there’s a lot of it that will never be known because of its secrecy.
Same … and My paternal gramma is a goins…
@@ashleyharper1155 isn’t it a super interesting story?
They show we can get along with the different races
What weird irony. I was dating a lady who did a DNA test and found out she was Melungeon. Me and her were talking about our ancestry. I said my mother's side of the family claimed to have came from the Cherokee and had Irish blood. She said "let me guess, from eastern Kentucky, Tenn and VA area. I said yeah, we came from there. The more I looked into it and compared my family history. The more convinced I was. I have shovel teeth and the pump on the back of my head. My family are mostly dark haired, olive skinned and light colored eyes. Me and my uncle are lighter skinned. It was mind blowing to me. I never guessed I would have East Asian, African ancestry and be so mixed.
Just means many mixes of races....
I just recently found out that my dad was Melungeon and that I have 3 older brothers and 2 older sisters I was never told about. My mom did not want me to know that my dad was Melungeon and that I had brothers and sisters. (same dad different moms) I always had issues with my mom growing up, and now I am finding out so many things that my mom hid from me. I am a Gibson and I come from a line of Melungeon Moonshiners. I have taken a DNA test (My Heritage) and put my results into Gedmatch to get my pie chart. My test so far show that I am White, Black, Native American. I've also been told that in some of the research it has been determined that the Melungeon people lied about the ethnics because some of that time period was during slavery. They lied to keep themselves from being sold as a slaves. I haven't gotten to really dive into all of it as much as I want to, but I am making the time coming this January, 2022. I am also making a Memoir/Biography of my life and all the evidences that I am finding that my mom hid from me. I do know that the line of Gibson's I come from were very well known and there are articles/etc. at the Knoxville Smithsonian and at the Vardy Historical Society Museum. I also found out that Mahala Mullins (Big Haley) was possibly my great, great Aunt. Mahala was a very famous Moonshiner in Sneedville, Tennessee. Sneedville, Tennessee is one of the areas that my family settle, most of the Gibson's are berried in the local cemetery except for my dad, who is berried in San Bernardino. (there is so much to all of this and a reason why he ended up in San Bernardino) I will check out the Family Tree Magazine, I would love to find out so much more about Melungeon's and more about my family history. Thank you for this video, it helped me with some of my questions.
@CarolAnn Darden is that Pioneer Cemetery? Or Mt. View?
@@Shyblues it's Pioneer
I would love to know your story
I'm from Blount County, TN Gibson's.
My grandparents were Gibson. I grew up in Hancock county Tennessee.
I'm glad you mentioned the Turkish people of Sumter County, SC. These people are thought to be a mix of Turkish, African American, and native American ancestry. They were banned from attending white public schools, until the 1950's, when a court order allowed them to attend. They were terribly mistreated by white classmates and teachers. They have now mixed with caucasions and are losing their distinctive dark features.Oxendine, Buckner, Hood, Lowery, Benenhaley and Locklear are common last names
My family is from Sumter, SC. Privateer Township. Goins/Gibbs/Epps/Chavis.
In the 1800’s, there a newspaper articles calling my family in Sumter Redbones.
Im michael oxendine of sumter im one of those folks
Hello, this video made me very curious about my ethnicity. I am African American but my family is very diverse whenever it comes to looks some are lighter skinned to medium dark complexion with medium brown to hazel eyes. My grandmother on my mom's side had blue eyes but nobody ever knew why because supposely both parents are African American. My great grandmother on my father's side was mixed race. I'm thinking about having an ancestry DNA test done so I can trace my families DNA history. Well thanks for the video, it was very interesting
My Father went to first grade, in a Melungeon School.
His Parents, my Grandparents, were
Free Thinkers.this was 1920,
The year before Government schools took place...
My Melungeon ancestors seem to have connection to Barbados they came up and settled in West Virginia KY areas.
My first husband is Melungeon, and our 2 children. Very dark eyes, olive skin tone, wavy dark hair. But mixed with German and Irish too.
I have been curious about this my entire life! I did a Melungeon surname search and both of my parents are Melungeon! So many dots are finally connecting. Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️
That's so awesome 👌.... I'm Creole from Louisiana
Im Melungeon
I have Melungeon, Gullah and Creole ancestors as well.
WOW! Thanks for the comment and may GOD BLESS YOU and your family.🥰🥰🥰 👌✝
All of my father's side of my family came from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. I've always had naturally tan skin and very dark hair. My parents always deny any other lineage that isn't Scottish or English. It's pretty funny.
My moms family are originally from Eastern Kentucky and a lot of my relatives are very swarthy and some look like they’re straight off the reservation. Growing up, I was always told my great-grandmother was either whole or part Cherokee and she definitely looked it. I’ve done genealogical research and discovered that my matrilineal 6th great-grandmother who was born in Tennessee in the 1790’s most likely might’ve been a Melungeon. Through another line, I’m also descended from Free People of Color who lived in Virginia and North Carolina during the Colonial Era. I’ve taken AncestryDNA and 23andMe and both test say I have small amounts of African and Native American admixture. However, only 23andMe said I have trace amounts of Middle Eastern.
I have an ancestor named Thomas Collins who moved from Wilkes Co. NC to Letcher Co KY probably early 1800’s was listed as colored on some censuses.
My greatx2 grandparents were named Collins & Gibson respectively.
I have the bump & blond hair & blue eyes.
Valentine Collins is my 4th great grandfather. I think he is Thomas' brother? He moved into the Floyd County area.
We also call ourselves Hillbillies, Hill means mountain, and Billy means to strike or fight from the Scottish language. In our translation this is Mountain Fighter, to the oldest, most traditional people among us call our people the Mulong. It is pronounced “Mulon”, the ancient Cherokee called us the Dog People in early history this was their translation of Mongrel, as the English called us during Colonial times. Mongrel in the English dictionary means mixed dog.
I’ve also heard hillbillies were from the mountain folk that supported or their ancestors supported William of Orange
My father hated talking about a possible Melungeon connection, it was a forbidden subject.. Believed himself to be part Cherokee, not in my DNA, My grandparents are from Hancock and Grainger Co. Tennessee. Collins, Mullins and Willis, Wise VA. Also. My Ancestry DNA is English, Scott Irish , African American and trace of Portugese/Spanish. I don’t know if that makes me Melungeon but find the whole subject interesting, Ron Willis - Black WA. state
Hi Ron! I would definitely look into it more given your DNA results. Thanks so much for sharing your story!
Ron dimo you have the Anatolian ridge on the lower part of your back skull where you can lay a finger below that ridge? Do you also have shovel type front teeth? If you answered yes,then you are most definitely a melungeon. I have both festires. My anvestry com dba results back in June of 2018 revealed tgat I had (1%)south African dna...(3%) Iberian peninsula spaniah/ portugese and (5%) middle easeastern dna to go along with my majority irish/ scotch,English,scandinavian and German dna.
I have Mullins ancestors from Wise, VA…. But unsure if she is a Mullins, Mary Jane Mullins who married Isham Hall. A lot of people seem to believe she was Melungeon other than Gary Mullins. I have other people in my family that Brent Kennedy speculates are Melungeon. However what I find interesting is Mary Jane Mullins descendants, Aisley Hall Hubbard are written as having a “Cherokee” origins which makes me believe they are talking about Jane Mullins. It was written in a letter from a descendent of William Robinson, who is also my ancestor speculated as being Melungeon.
Hi Ron,
My family is from Wise, VA as well.
I’m pretty much Scandinavian but with a small percentage of Iberian (Portuguese/Spanish).
MY wife was blonde with blue eyes her biological mother was half Lakota and half Creole.Her father was Irish and Jewish with Jewish on both sides.She has 1 sister with auburn hair.The rest looked Arabic but weren't.Creole has black,Indian and or French and Spanish.
Hi. I descend from Portuguese(Sephardic Jews) who intermarried with Croatans. They were FPOC who relocated to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountain from SC. There were pockets of these families there. They are mentioned as Lumbee remnants in Robert K. Thomas's work and by Hamilton McMillian to the Secretary of Internal Affairs, as Croatan.
I am Lumbee
Rainbow Unicorn Princess thank you for sharing my sister. You are descended from Royalty ( All Iberian Jews who settled in Spain & Portugual & fled to all parts of the new world. They came from the nobility priestly class who left Jerusalem after the 2nd temple was destroyed. Your unique & multi racial, ethnic & religions that flow through you as many like you are a GIFT. Would love to hear more about your family's stories. Had a close friend years back who's father came from the Carolinas. A great great great Grsndmother was Cherokee who's name I believe was pronounced Cu'Mah. Combined with Welsch, Scotts-Irish. You really need an intermediary to kink you up with Sephardic Educatonal Center in NYC. Got to make a deeper connection to you knowledge. DM me on FB Amy Souzan BarMazal
Mulungeon is one of several ethnicities in my family (Lumbee, Nanticoke, Waccamaw, Saponi, Nansemond, Gullah, Alabama Creoles); I have that small knot on the top of my head, too. Chavis, Gibson, Mullins, Locklear, and Goins are among my familial surnames.
My dad’s side was supposedly Melungeon. Based on what I’ve gotten back from DNA results, my Melungeon is a mix of Portuguese and African (black). I’m neon white but apparently I do have some typical African-American features to my body.
I have a tin type photo of a female ancestor with dark hair, skin and large dark eyes. My grandmother, mother, and I have eyes that appear the same, and I've tried to figure out where she came from because nobody ever claimed to know much about her. After much research I found out her maiden name was Gibson (which I saw on this video is a common Melungeon name). I think now I found my ancestry answers.
I was on a sub-reddit and posted my results. My dad's family is straight Appalachian. I can only find one direct white ancestor who was a plantation and slave owner. Everyone else is multi-generational mixed race, even my white passing grandfather and their family and back are listed as Black and mulatto but have been FPC since before 1800s or early 1800s, except a couple. Someone mentioned that is sounds like my family was Melungeon since there is African, European and Native ancestry in my background. But my family never seemed to hide they had African Ancestors, not even the white passing ones. There is a story of my 2nd grat grandfather or something who had twin boys one was blonde and blue eyed and the other a darker red earth clay and brown eyes but they looked in other facial features the same.
Also, on my mom's side from Virginia and North Carolina I can only find one direct White Ancestor with 4 or 5 generations. It is really interesting mixture in my family. I have no clue what they called themselves but know they lived their lives identifying as "Negro" or "Mulatto" (no offense meant, I'm quoting what census record indicated)
I may be a Melugeon my Dad was from the Appalachian platue in southern Ohio and he had an olive color. I don't know if his family moved north from tennesee but I have a small amount of Nigerian, north African, Portugese the rest from Britain and Europe. I thought it was pretty cool when I got my results but I didn't expect the outcome.
Im half melungeon so im glad there are videos talking about our history, its so interesting
I have Melungeon ancestry, my maternal 3rd great grandfather, surname Field was born in Carter's Valley, Hawkins County Tennessee, I did a DNA test through DNA Consultants, my results showed very strong Melungeon, Scottish, Sephardic Jewish, Portuguese, and distant American Indian, among several other ethnicities, was all very interesting to say the least, would love to be able to hire a genealogist to help me with that particular family line.
Which other ethnicities did you get?
I have never heard of Melungeon people. Very interesting. Makes me wonder if I have ancestors who were also this mixed breed. My dad would freak out if he knew he had black blood in him. His grandparents lived in Kentucky, Tennessee as dirty farmers and coal miners. That's how they look in the black and white photos, even the women and kids. Last names Burris/Hurley.
My Grandpa's Grandma is Mahala Mullins, the moonshine queen of the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee. His wife, my Grandma, is also Melungeon. I actually have Melungeon on both sides of my family. We are British-Irish, Scottish, German, Sweden, and Portuguese.
I am pretty sure there is melungeon on my dad's side. Almost everyone has a melungeon surname. Until it reaches my grandpa. I think I have melungeon on my moms side as well. Both sides of my family settled in the same area of the Appalachians. We also have a small amount of African and a native ancestor. And I have Irish, scottish background. So it's very likely that we have melungeon background. I think it's very cool.
My dad’s family are Melungeon from Eastern Kentucky. We have almost every Melungeon surname found. We also have the black hair, green or gold eyes, olive skin, and a dna profile that’s very diversely spread across the planet.
The first time the word Melungeon was used at Stony Creek Baptist church when someone accused my grandmother Susan Stallard of harboring them. Her granddaughter married into my Melungeon lines.
On a side note: the Appalachian Melungeons are genetically about 5-6 generations apart from Redbones, Metís of Canada, and the mixed lines in the Caribbean islands. Some of us have the records but all of us have the dna.
I just recently stumbled upon this possibly being part of my heritage on my Mother’s side. Her father was a Goins and my 5th great grandfather was Laborn Goins and what I found he was Native American or a “freed colored” as what I have been able to find on Google. It’s very interesting to me.
There's also a similar group throughout Northern New Jersey and Southern Tier New York..they called them Jackson Whites. They are also Lenape, White, Black, and other heritages. They are very mixed but have a distinct kind of look.
My great-great grandparents (my maternal grandmother's grandparents) were Goins. My maternal great grandfather was an Osbourne.
I'm fascinated by this history.
I'm looking for Goins as well ❤
@@leyenda133 From what I know, the Goins ancestry of my family is around Campbell county TN :) I don't know much besides that at this time. Good luck in your research!
I recently started my lineage search. I discovered my Nanticoke heritage, but excited to explore this group of possible relatives
Take a look at the schaghticoke tribe...
they are a mix of primarily NW European ancestry with trace amounts of American Indian and more often than not sub-Sahara Africa. Freed slaves mixed with American Indians, then mixed with European American pioneers. their mixed race look made them ostracized by the regular town society so they married amongst themselves for some time in their own communities until they became more socially acceptable as time went on.
Both of my mothers grandmothers were Hancock County Melungeons. From opposite sides of the clinch river.
My great Grandfather was born in Sneedville, He made his way to Kansas. Clint Williams, 69, died at 4:25 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, July 16, 1938, at his home on Horton Heights, following an apparent stroke. He was born May 21, 1869, in Sneedville, Tenn., and came to Horton in 1908, His wife Mrs. Clint Williams, 70, died Sunday morning, June 21, 1936, at her home on Fourth Avenue West. Elizabeth Catherine Ayres was born in Wythe Co., Virginia, on May 8, 1866. She was married to Clint Williams on Aug. 18, 1888, in Hancock Co., Tenn. They came to Horton on Nov. 8, 1903, from Jonesville, Va., { My Great Grandfather came to Horton to work at the railroad as a blacksmith. }
I randomly came across a tiktok on this and it sparked my interest. I was raised being told we had cherokee in my maternal side, that's why we have so many with the dark skin/hair. (I live in North carolina). Also, my father is darker skinned/hair but both his parents were lighter skinned. All considered "white". I Dont know much about my fathers side or my mothers as far as hertiage and being told we have cherokee so I did both an 23andme and ancestry test. Turns out there is no Cherokee in my family at all. I do have a huge mix though of. British, scottish, irish, french, german, wales, scandanavian, finnish, and a small percentage from congo. (there are other areas i cant recall at the moment). It's so weird to me though because in our family I am white skinned.. but my brother has an darker completion.. Do does my maternal grandmother, and uncle.. but yet my mother is light like me, my grandfather is, etc. It's like we dont match at all and I never understood it until I saw these photos.. Could we be melungeon?!? I dont have any of those last names in my family line that I know of though.. Are there more names that isnt listed? Any connecting Younger, Edwards, Brannock?
Had my University of Kentucky scholarship for minority advancement revoked when I showed up too light skinned to pass for anything other than “white”. We come out of Harlan County and the family-tree’s roots are lost deep in the Appalachian hollows but I am proud to be more American than apple pie.
Very interesting information. My mom's family has the Reaves surname (I don't believe they are Melungeon though), and on her maternal side, there were Goins and Chavis and Walden. They (The Walden's) were listed as Mulattos. They also all had a certain look to them. We've taken ancestry tests and we're pretty mixed up...a little of everything. I am mostly of African descent, but my mom's about 45/55.
I've been looking for my mothers family who were Goins. All I found were siblings from the early 1900s named Mary, Willie (female), Archie, and Jessie. If anyone recognizes these names I would appreciate any help. I believe they were all "passing" and the men may have gone on to live their lives as white.
My grandmother was a Melungan!
Sharing video to my blog. Thank you for this!!
Maternal Grandmother we are pretty sure was Melungeon because the DNA test "fits" with surname 3-5th cousins found through the testing company. She was called Half by Swedes, Black Irish by some, and Dutch by others. Told to "marry white" when she was old enough by her Mother in the 1930s after they had moved to California from the Ohio River Valley.
My grandmother is a Fields who I suspect are Melungeon from Hawkins County Tennessee. The name Fields was changed from Sizemore. Sizemore paternal dna haplogroup is Q which is Native American. My Sizemore ancestors are listed as Cherokee chiefs from NC and going back to Jamestown. I suspect they married mallato women in North Carolina way back.
Hey I’m a Fields too. I’m curious to know where you found out the name derived from Sizemore.
@@russiejane6257I know from my family tree. One of my ancestors changed his paternal surname Sizemore to his mother's maiden name Fields. Why he change it I haven't been able to determine yet. The only thing I can think of is Sizemore's had bad reputation in Hawkins County Tennessee or maybe didn't like his father? I will probably never know.
Someone said on a video that the term Melungeon derives from the word mélange, which means a mixture. Its French. The Melungeon have an indigenous connection and some of the indigenous peoples had adopted much from the French, which led to the creation of the Métis people who were indigenous and French blended. In my opinion that is possibly where the term originated from, and the origin of the Métis people were one way European DNA could have joined with indigenous DNA long ago, which is one theory on how the Melungeon people can have European and Native DNA going quite aways back.
My Granny always told me that there was indian and "black"dutch in her background. She just defined "black" dutch as people who had dark hair and olive skin. I've always wondered about this.
My grandma said that is our heritage but calls Black Dutch a hodgepodge of different ethnicities-english, irish, scotish, native American, etc
My grandmother who was Cherokee said she was black dutch to avoid walking the trail of tears
@@reneejames3325 😭 made me sad but I'm glad you made it.
I have a Melungeon ancestor (Malachi Rives). I didn’t know he was Melungeon until recently.
My mom had told me my great grandmother on my dad’s side had Native American blood. When I spent time in the sun, I tan so dark a distant cousin asked if I was “colored” (her words). I always assumed it was because of my mom being Italian, especially as my dad and his siblings were all fair-skinned, blond-haired & blue-eyed
This is very interesting. I don't know if I have that heritage or not, but 6 or 7 of the surnames listed are also in my family tree. YAYAY a new project to pursue! :)
Oops! Almost forgot. Mom saw in their hometown paper about Mulengeons, it was the first time I saw my Daddy’s family name that might belong. She was so upset, “I never would have married you, we have children together”, and more rants.She didn’t talk to Daddy until someone from down home told her that the article was wrong. My DNA shows me as Scottish, English, Welsh, with a bit of Irish and of course, Viking
Your mom sounds like a true gem. Smh
Deep
Yes (along with Lumbee); mother's side also have Gullah.
Lived in WNC my whole life and have never heard of Melungeons. Thank you for sharing your knowledge 🥰
I also have Cherokee mixed with siberian, my moms dad, my mom is mostly Cherokee partly her dad, but more from her mom. My dad is Germanic/ Irish, his father is german and his mother is irish. My mom has clal black hair in her family and squint eyes and her mother had coal black hair but there were 11 children and some of the kids had light Brown hair and darker brown but some bad the coal black hair with almor black eyes!! I plan to find out because my moms dad is ancestry seems to mixed up to know for sure.
I am Melungeon. With Scottish, French, Cherokee mix. Eye folds, loose skin about the joints, Anitolian lump in back of skull.
My surname is Ramsey and we have melungeon decent my great grandpa came from Tennessee fought in ww2 and moved to Michigan after and now our family has winded up in Oklahoma it’s funny the distinction of features I have dark curly hair and hazel/green eyes with grey in them and people always swear I’m mixed but my skin tone is very light and I tan well so cool learning about my heritage and how we are all unique
My great Grandfather was born in Sneedville, He made his way to Kansas. Clint Williams, 69, died at 4:25 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, July 16, 1938, at his home on Horton Heights, following an apparent stroke. He was born May 21, 1869, in Sneedville, Tenn., and came to Horton in 1908, His wife Mrs. Clint Williams, 70, died Sunday morning, June 21, 1936, at her home on Fourth Avenue West. Elizabeth Catherine Ayres was born in Wythe Co., Virginia, on May 8, 1866. She was married to Clint Williams on Aug. 18, 1888, in Hancock Co., Tenn. They came to Horton on Nov. 8, 1903, from Jonesville, Va., { My Great Grandfather came to Horton to work at the railroad as a blacksmith. }
Hi all, I commented on this on another channel so I won't take too much of your time now but basically in 1571 a Turkish merchant vessel was captured by the Portuguese, on board this vessel were Turkish civilians of Christian descent mainly, Italians etc., these were wealthy merchant man with their families on a trade mission on a private ship with a Turkish ensign, the Portuguese and the British, after robbing them, used them as rowing slaves and then dumped them in the American wilderness, being whites, they could not be enslaved but they could not get a passage back to Türkey either as Turkey was locked in a deadly naval battle with the European powers over the Atlantic and the Mediterranean so these people made their way further inland and were subsequently captured by the Cherokee, whom instead of killing them actually looked after them and that's because the Cherokee are part Turkish themselves and still speak a language very similar to turkish, infact some words are identical, like IOWA, which is taken from the Cherokee language, meaning MOON - plains/Valley, means exactly the same thing in turkish, infact %90 native Indians, that is the Huron, the navajo, the Aztec, the Mayan, etc., etc., carry the Q strain DNA which is basically the prerequisite Turkish DNA from eurasia, the confusing part is that, the Celts, who make up the peoples of Britain, Scotland Ireland, whom then make up %60 the American gene pool also carry the Q strain DNA, Q-L938-39-40 to be precise and that's because the Celts themselves are part of the Turkish family including the Swedish /viking, whom still use the runic Göktürk alphabet to this day and this is why you get such a confusing DNA results with the Meloungeons ranging from the vikings to the Mayans but it was also this connection with the natives that saved the Meloungeons, if you Google professor Brent Kennedy (R. I. P.) you can get more information and yes meloungeon(meluncan) is a Turkish term ;meaning cursed souls, usually a term applied when a ship is lost at sea, greetings to you all from Türkiye
Thank you!
As the Turkish Empire included North African coast , a series of coastal cities home to the Barbary corsairs who used galley slaves - they could have taken from any coastal town in Europe, what was the name of this boat sailing under the Caliphate flag?
If Christian they could also be Pontic Greek, and the Portuguese could have offloaded them that far North in the Americas as indentured servants, if they had been landed on the North African Coast before crossing the Atlantic, the males would have been castrated, so no descendants, so your full data aggregated would be very useful. The Portuguese Sailing Ships could have intercepted a ship full of the newly captured on the Atlantic coast already.
Origins are fascinating.
I myself, very fair skinned freckled, blue eyed, have a son who came up 40% Anatolian maternal DNA, in England, l will have to follow that up one day.
My melungeon ancestors were directly included in Brent Kennedy's book. My preferred theory of the origins of Melungeons were that they are the descendents of Spanish slave sailors who were dumped off on the coast before the gold laden galeons sailed on over across the ocean to go back to Spain. Basically, the Spanish didn't want to risk a mutiny from the slave sailors on thier ships all laden with gold.
All of my family identifies as black, but here's the situation with my mom's relatives. My granddaddy (my mom's father) was from Tennesse. He had light skin, medium brown coily hair, and green eyes. He was pale af and could pass for white. His sister had dark brown skin, dark brown curly hair, and dark brown eyes. They had a common Irish surname. Sadly, other than his sister, I don't know about his other family members. Now that he's dead, I can't ask him. His sister didn't talk about their side of the family, and my mom doesn't talk about Granddaddy at all. Ever.
My grandma (my mom's mother) was from Mississippi. She had light skin too, but brown eyes, dark brown coily hair, and Native features. Her history is a little vague too. She was an orphan who lived with her grandmother. Great-grandma had caramel colored skin, dark brown curly hair like Danielle's hair texture before relaxers, and Native features. My mom has caramel colored skin, dark brown eyes, Native features, and had dark brown coily hair before she went gray. One of her brothers is pale af like Granddaddy, the rest of her siblings are caramel, with dark eyes and dark brown coily hair.
What throws me off is my grandfather's green eyes. Where did they come from? My mom has no idea why his eyes were that color. What secrets have he taken to the grave? Why won't my mom talk about him? Hey, maybe we're Melungeon! I mean, I can do the squat lol
My grandmother's father was said to be melugeon. Their last name was Bunch.
I am melungeon and proud of it.
My family have direct routes to the melungeons it was always funny people always thought I was black cause my curly hair and green hazel eyes but it’s cool when I found out about my heritage I was still lost but had a little more research and turns out I’m direct male descendants and I will always be proud
Collins, Mullins, Goins, Fields..born in Hawkins county, Tn. My ancestors.
There are Goin in my family.
My maternal grandmother is a GOWENS from Texas. Her family came from Kentucky, who originally came from Henry County, Virginia (on the NC border). My earliest proved ancestor on that line is Charles GOINS (GOINGS, GOENS) 1763-1865. My male 2nd. cousins tested their Y-DNA and the Haplogroup is E-M4254, which is a sub-Saharan group found near present day Angola.
Girl, I think your talking about my family.
I'm definitely descendants of Melungeons. Gibson, Chavis, Goins, Oxendines ...I have so many DNA cousins who have the typical Melungeon look. Not to mention my Lumbee connection.
Goins was originally Gowen. Margaret Cornish Gowen was from Angola, Africa back in the early 1600. She had children by a man by the surname as Sweat. She ended up marrying another man from Angola, Africa. Portuguese ships kidnapped them and an English pirate ship took them and sold them for corn in Virginia. Anyway, this is just one line. Margaret was my X9 Great grandmother. I also have Redbone Native American in my line too. I am a Melungeon. I took a test from DNA Consultants and got the number 1 was Melungeon but I thought , What? I started putting together my family tree on MyHeritage. Sure enough, no doubt I am indeed Melungeon. I also have Jewish but I am working on where that fits in. I have dates and names that are in the records so I am satisfied DNA Consultants is the best because non on the other sites picked it up.
Oh, wow! That's incredible! Thanks so much for sharing your story.
@@familytreemagazine You're welcome.
Hello. I am a cousin of yours. I descend from Margaret.
@@jd-hj5ed through which one of her son's? Mine is through the Sweat side.
@@VickyGoss Mihil or Michael. I descend down to the Minor family of Melongeons.
DNA shows that many Irish in West Ireland also have some Spanish ancestry, because the earliest settlers came from the Iberian and Basque regions and traveled there before the ice and glaziers melted and ‘The book of Invasions’ from the 8th Century speaks of an invasion by a Spanish King and so no wonder some have olive skins. My grandfather, has some Irish ancestry from his mother’s side and had more olive coloured skin with dark hair and brown eyes, as did one of his sons, except his eyes were more hazel than brown.
I think my Mom is. I have blonde hair blue eyes. Whitest of the white. I’m like a Viking I’m so white, but my mom always thought she was Cherokee Native. Turns out she’s not. She’s got olive skin. Green eyes and dark hair. From Virginia/NC
I think I just might have it because my maternal grandmother told me she had some “Black Dutch”. And she had roots out of Northern Alabama and eastern Tennessee. I’ve checked out my ancestry DNA. Pretty unremarkable and very southern (British Isles and Scandinavia), but a small amount is Iberian Peninsula and European Jewish.
I am a Goins, I have Epps and Chavis in my family history.
Same here.
Melungeons are not any kind of a lost tribe. They are simply descendants of immigrants that were olive skin or darker that came from perhaps Portugal, italy, Romania etc etc. Not Anglo-Saxons from England or Germany or Scotland etc. Some mixed with indigenous Indians or Africans and obviously their skin got a little darker. That's what melungeons are. Period. They are not a lost tribe or any kind of mysterious people they are a skin color.
Story goes that Carthagians made voyages over to North America supposedly 2000 years ago, the stories es Melungeons could be remnants of them, definitely making them a distinct tribe especially by blood for at least 2000 years. Though the even bigger connection es the evidence of Egyptian artifacts around North America & cocaine Mummies.The stories are the Egyptians came to the Americas 5000 years ago by way of Imhotep the Fourth
Agreed
@@ALYoungFuture13 interesting
@@ALYoungFuture13 cartagena = carthage
Their Olive tone most
My mother family is from Eastern Kentucky she had black hair and white skin her eyes were shaped Asian, her sister had red hair
My momma is from Sneedville tn. Her last name was Bowlin b4 she married. I have 11 brothers and sisters who all have dark hair with green/hazel eyes except 1 and she has red/strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. I would love to do a DNA test
My Father told me when I was a child that we had Melungeon blood in our ancestry. Many years later a distant cousin of mine that had never met my Father told me we had Melungeon blood in us. How can I know if I have Melungeon ancestry ?
I had never even heard of Melungeon peoples until I did a DNA test...I always knew we had some native american and some sub-subharian African but I had no idea about this ethnicity until my results came back as #1 Mulengeon...which makes a lot of sense to me now. I am brown haired blue eyed but have a large set of siblings, some of which look Native American and Mexican (another type of Native from the America's) my sibs and I range from black hair (truely black not dark brown) with dark brown eyes to light brown hair and grey/hazel eyes..so we are all over...we do have relatives from OK and TN however none of the traditional "Melungeon names fit". That all said I'm just wondering if we should start adding in "mulengeon" under Ethnicity on forms rather than "Caucation" or is that even appropriate?
So my dad is from Isom, KY in eastern KY. My mom is from Rogersville, Tn in Hawkins County. My family have dark hair and eyes kinda barely tan. I have blonde hair fair with green eyes! 🤷♀️
Melungeon, basically from a pronunciation perspective has to have entered English through French with the French nasalized 'o' before 'n' being transliterated into the English nasal 'un'. The '-on' ending in French is cognate to the Spanish 'ón' and the italian 'one' often meaning 'great big', 'very' or 'a lot' In this case the very mixed on, or the (great)big mix. The French word for mix is Melange. If it indeed came through spanish, it would have had to be before the mergers of G J and X into a gutteral sound (Mexico/Mejico) I believe this happened after colonization. The sound differences are still present in Catalan, French and Portugues.
Considering the '-eon' ending though, it is most likely French
Corniche - Cornichon
Mange eat - Mangeon (eater, as in you are a big eater bordering on a glutton or just in an endearing way)
the 'on' and 'an' have the same pronunciation and seem to have been somewhat unstatic until well after colonization.
It was like we as Melungeon men had our own Lagrange that no one else was to have.
All my family on my mother's side came from pressman's home in east TN. My maiden name is bowlin
I have Fields in my tree, going back to Chief Richard Fields, im wondering if he was also melungeon
I suspect my Great Grandmother was melungeon. She looked like an American Indian but family history doesn’t prove it. She was in North Georgia.
Same and her name was Mahalie, which was a common cherokee name. She was from etowah county georgia
Turkey has done a huge study on this and has a video on here.
My Mother who is now deceased spoke of us being possibly being of the Melungeons Tribe
You should definitely look into it! I think those family stories usually have a bit of truth to them. -Courtney, Family Tree Magazine Digital Editor
So the Italian could actually be explained by theory the melungeons were from Mediterranean, given DNA mostly goes by what area of the world your DNA matched up with this makes sense.
My brother married a Goins girl. Such a STRANGE person. She was very pretty, but OH SO STRANGE! They hardly spoke English. We are from South, speak with TN accent, but these people don't really speak English and they are in bred. They were Creepy & SCARY!
I'm of melungeon descent as well as Cherokee, Shawnee, Cheraw, Saponi and Catawba. I also have African ancestry, i descend from John Gowen and Mihill Gowen and Katherine Prosser.
I think you're right, it's more of a Welsh antonium, between France & Germany, not far from Denmark. I'm 100% not Melungeon. I have a better chance of being related to King Xerxes. Interesting video
I am not Melungeon, but I am always curious to learn more about Prince Madoc of Cymru.
I think his legend is true.
They say he met with Native Americans in the Mobile Bay, and with their blessing, sailed up the Mississippi, settling around the town they say he founded: Cairo, Illinois.
The cursory research I have done seems to support the history that First Nation and Native American Peoples have been saying all along: That people have lived in North America for at least a hundred thousand years.
My dad is from far eastern KY. He had olive skin, dark hair, and green eyes. He said they came from Mullins. Last name Slone
Because they claimed they came from Portuguese sailors and a common surname was/is Goins/Goans/etc, i believe they came from the Portuguese settlement of Goa, in India.
😮 good thinking?
A lot of Celtic Irish. German.. And some Cherokee Indian. And Appalachian
Melungeon just means mixed....the word itself comes from "melange" French for mix.
You left out the sixth fingers/thumbs. True fact.
The nephillian have 6 fingers/ toes!
I'm curious about this line as I do have that bump on the back of my head, never actually thought about and I had never heard of these people till I did and found out Mulungeon is listed in my dna and had to look it up, my mother's maiden name or my father's surname is listed as being Mulingeon
Melungeon if you remove the g it will be Meluneon which sound arabic and means the damned one.
The story that the Muslims Spanish in 1500 converted to Christians and called by other Muslims the " damned one" or Melungeon since they converted .
This term Melungeon was been used by ottomans during the ottoman empire .
They could be Mediterraneans who moved to the new world when it was discovered after the reconquesta war against Muslims spain by the Spanish and discovery of American happen just after that war in andalusia " Spain today:
Physically kinda make sense since they do look like from south spain or Italy and if they were part moorish make sense since some moorish have Sub-Saharan African mix .
And the word it Self sound arabic Melungeon.
It could be old Spanish race that is part Spanish part arabic part African moved to American and settled in this region then also got mixed with natives.
You would seem similar looks in canary island Portugal or even anywhere in the Mediterranean.
That "bump" could it possibly be the external occipital protuberance? This is the anatomical term for a certain bone in the skull that is prominent in some people. It would be at the level of the back label of a person's baseball cap, I think. The bones of the human skull are separate in infants but fuse together as the infant develops.❤
I'm Black Dutch Ozark Melungeon
I have a bump on the back of my head. I have olive coloring mixed in my skin. I'm 1/4 Mexican though (Piedras Negras) from my grandma. My mother's ancestry is Oliver (been here since the 1600's). Her mother told me that we have Native American ancestry and she and her mother have dark eyes with dark hair. I have hazel probably from both my grandfathers.
Bolin is a family name about 5 generations ago from Tennessee
This is the 1st I’ve heard of the bump! Just this year I thought I thought it was a growth so I asked my sister about it and to feel mine and she says yea I have one too! Apparently my mom had already told her that we all have the bump and now it makes sense where it comes from 🤯
Cool!
My DNA test showed 97% northern European but the rest equal parts native American, West African, and Portuguese. My great great grandfather was from southern Virginia near the North Carolina border and my great great grandmother was from Kentucky. We have no records before them. They moved to a city that was a hub for the underground railroad and the 1850 census records indicated he lived in a part of town that was primarily free blacks and his brother worked for a mulatto furniture maker from the same place in Virginia. I've puzzled about the Portuguese DNA. Now I'm wondering if I have some Melungeon history. I think that'd be pretty cool.
Some southern people think their ethnic mix comes from slavery when in fact it comes from old marriages and offsprings between Europeans, Africans, and some Natives. I had to learn the truth by studying my own family tree.
I'm a product of early jamestown, VA. Most melungeons have ancestors from VA and NC in 1600's. I did dna test to prove to the rest of my family we are melungeons. When I scroll through my dna matches, I see a lot of people with 100% European, but if you look at their haplogroup number it says they are African or in some cases Native American. It obvious that our history is not exactly like we've been told.
It's unfortunate how we've been programmed to believe certain things in American history simply because the truth will destroy preconceived notions of racial supremacy regardless of color.
Mom and daddy born in the 20s, any name , or look, like a Melungeon, they were not allowed to go to the schools because their skin was dark. If you called someone a Melungeon, it was like using the N word