Who are the Appalachian People?
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
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Several traits are commonly attributed to Appalachians: independence and self-sufficiency, distrust of authority and outsiders, and strong community and family ties. Although it’s a negative stereotype, violence is also commonly mentioned. Their ancestral history helps explain the attributes for which this region is known, which the video seeks to explain.
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Sources
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- Ellison, G. (n.d.). The tsali legend. Smoky Mountain News. smokymountainnews.com/archive...
- Frequently asked questions. Melungeon Heritage Association. (n.d.). melungeon.org/frequently-asked...
- Nostrand, R. L. (2018). The making of America’s culture regions. Rowman & Littlefield.
- Preston Summers, L. (1903). History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870.
- Woodard, C. (2022). American nations: A history of the eleven rival regional cultures of North America. Penguin Books.
If this topic was interesting to you read American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard. It was my largest source of information for this video.
Sign up for a 14-day free trial and enjoy all the amazing features MyHeritage has to offer. bit.ly/GeographyGeek
The Appalachian mountains are literally older than bones. Such a magical place, especially along the Blue Ridge!
Country Roads just plays better when you know where these places are and what they look like.
They are the oldest mountains in the world. The oldest river is there, too, and it's so old there are no fossils. This info comes from a scientist. I used to live there.
They're also older than trees.
@@egrogan6482We have fossils
I live right at the base of the Blue Ridge and I have a wonderful view of the second tallest mountain in Virginia from my front porch. I've lived here my entire life and I wouldn't trade it for a bag of speed (if you know you know, lol) or the world.
I am an Appalachian American, and I approve this message. Now ya’ll git on outa here!
As an Appalachian, I have never felt so accurately represented. Great video and accurate research!
I appreciate it! Thanks for watching!
I leave no room for doubt HILLBILLY is the ultimate compliment that you can say about me.
Unless it’s spoken by someone who isn’t also a “hillbilly” then that’s how you start a fight
@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606 oh no I thank them profusely for being so sweet and kind to point it out to others that might not be aware that I am a HILLBILLY!!!!!
How about colonizer?
@user-6K38d95gfH I ain't colonized shit. I wuz born in these here mountains.
I am foreign born and lived much of my life in southern California. Believe or not though, I can relate to this. When my neighbor across the branch of our spring, who was born across the road and lived all his life in this holler, told me I was a Hillbilly now, I knew I was alright with my adopted people in my adopted Homeland. I just had to laugh and tell him, " You say it like some would think it was a bad thing and I tw'ern't so already."
I am an Appalachian by marriage, but more importantly by intent and choice. The future of my branch of the clan is a strange, new, American and Appalachian one and I'd have it no other way.
Best region in the US
I completely agree
I third this agreement.
I'd love to retire there for sure
The Mountain West is better, there is less people and taller mountains
Isn't it the most impoverished, obese, and has like no jobs and everybody is on meth or pills?
Peter Santenello has a great ground level series on Appalachia and he meets fascinating people. I'm only in the episode about Cherokee country but it is top notch and good for continued watching after this one. 👍
💯💯💯 brother Titus is doing good things
Yes, I saw that and remember you. It’s so beautiful there. Wish I could visit.
I considered moving out west, but I would miss my misty mountains too much. She is my home and the reason our country exists at all. God bless Appalachia and her people.
I’ve been all over the country and parts of West Virginia are as beautiful as anywhere in the US. Just a magical place
The mountains in wva are breathtaking !!!!
The story of my ancestors! If anyone cares to hear some folk music from the area, I encourage you to look into Bluegrass music. I personally dont like country music, but Bluegrass has a very authentic feeling and is genuinely beautiful.
I'm from a long line of bluegrass players although I lean more towards southern blues, I'm from Campbell County but got family out up I the hills.
The best music!!
Like many UK fans of bluegrass and Appalachian music, I've always been intrigued by this area and the people who gave the world this very special sound, and this video has been great to see. I've only visited twice, in 1983 and 1984, to visit my friend bluegrass star Bill Clifton, who taught us so much when he lived in England in the 1960s and 1970s: he showed me the land and rivers, the place in Bristol (Tennessee/Virginia) where the Carter Family recorded some their first songs, and the Carter Fold in Hiltons where their descendents set up a music venue - brilliant!
Bill gave me a copy of Harry M Caudill's 'Night comes to the Cumberlands' which gave me a lot of background, but - as you say - the music expresses a lot of the truth about the mountains and the people.
A genealogy expert told me that 80% of people in The USA in the 1600s were indentured servants. Somebody paid for their passage to the colonies. They were treated bad ,so when their servitude was over they left the area cause they were looked down on. So they settled in the frontier of Southern Appalachian. The land was cheap and they could get land grants from lord Grandville in England.
Caledonia is a great band carrying out the tradition
“Tend to be violent” my family consisting of Hatfields. Me: “yeah, that checks out”
Having grown up and live currently in West Virginia I’ve become accustomed to the independence and freedom of living here, I don’t think I could move anywhere else I already struggle with the culture shock of the city when visiting my brother in Harrisburg PA.
Exactly bro there’s just something about these mountains that everywhere else can’t seem to beat in my opinion.
The way things are going in the big cities why would you want to live there? I feel like Appalachia is about the safest place left
I'm related to the Hatfields about 4 or 5 generations back. My dad's people are from the mountains of West Virginia. According to family lore my great grandfather left Kentucky during the feud.
🤔🤓🍻
@@jimc.goodfellas226 Harrisburg really isn’t a terrible place, I think it’s location being so close to the Amish community and rural central PA keeps it pretty tame, there are some things about it, but it’s the only city I know of that you can legally conceal carry in with a valid permit from PA or a state with shared reciprocity like WV. Went to the native festival they hold every year and was shocked at the amount of vendors carrying firearms.
Harrisburg ain't no city, not big city anyway; maybe Philadelphia, NYC, Boston now those are cities.
If this topic was interesting to you read American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard. It was my largest source of information for this video.
African, Cherokee and European (Scottish) here. I never knew ther was a term for my triracial heritage...Melungeon❤❤
I've just made it past the ad, but I gotta say it was the best ad I've seen in a while. I didn't know it was an actual ad until the end.
Gave your channel a follow a fellow Appalachian here in Washington County Virginia.
Closer to TN my home town was discovered by Daniel Boone and first named Wolfe Hills.
I am also Scots-Irish and got some Pennsylvania Dutch in my bloodline.
My family is similar Bucks and Lancaster counties in PA, then on to upper appalachia i n Washington Co, PA. My imgrant grandparents entered the port of Philadelphia in the 1720's and stayed in the two counties mentioned long enough to have 17 children, then Great-Grandpa 6 or 7x got itchy feet and moved his family to Washington County, PA. Which is where most stayed for a couple generations. We might be cousins :)
Wow. How exciting. Gos bless.
Proud daughter of Scott’s-Irish descent here. It’s fascinating to learn more of our history and recognize how the experiences of our ancestors have shaped our own values, traditions and norms. For those interested I would highly recommend the book “Born Fighting” by James Webb.
Never realized it was such a big Scots Irish population in these parts! That's where my family ancestry has been traced back to, and weve been living around west virginia and southern PA for like 300 years
Yeah, it was mostly Scots-Irish & Germans, along with whatever slaves they brought in West Virginia for quite a while.
Fellow Scots Irish Appalachian of Southern PA. Which county are ye from?
Same. Settled southern WV. Been here at least 3 generations by the Rev war, don't know for sure when we got here.
Scots-Irish from SW Virginia and SE Kentucky. We didn’t know where the majority of our ancestors originated, but we knew we were Scottish.
Hell yeah
I lived in the Appalachian mountain range up in Pennsylvania.Best place to grow up when you're a kid
I lived and worked as a forester in Bakersville, NC. The people were kind to me and I cannot say enough about them. Their history is long but let me summarize my experience as strong and kind people…
So true!
If you worked there then no doubt you are aware of the way the forest service has gradually tightened access to the pisgah national forest in yancey County. First the picnic grounds, then the slab camp ground, and then the forest service roads one by one to the point that there is only one real camping spot on the entire mountain that everyone is competing for. If you say anything about it they will claim that there is a camp ground just off U S19W which is nonsense there is not a single level spot there.
Proud to be Appalachian.
Well, I should specify that I'm not a native American.
@ZINCr_aka_Q you are if you were born here
@@Winters_Folly I meant as in a Native, like Cherokee or Choctaw
@ZINCr_aka_Q Those are Amerindians, theyre not natives by ethnicity since theyre asians from asia.
@@Winters_Folly They're more native than the Indo-Europeans.
My 3rd g-grandfather settled in Patrick Co. Germans from Pennsylvania. My 2nd g-grandfather moved from Patrick Co. to what is now West Virginia. Enjoyed the video.
My 5th great grandfather settled in what is today's Patrick Co., VA in 1746.
It was the extreme frontier back then, and William Bird's survey between
VA & NC ended at Peters Creek near the Dan River in Patrick County, I am
related to the Lawson and Dodson who settled there. They later moved to
what is now Hancock Co., TN.
I can definitely tell you’re from the south! As one of them, I’m very interested as I am Melungeon. Your giveaway for being Southern were 2 words, ten (te en) and defend (de-feend). I get it. Me too. 😂
I won't lie, I heard the accent and subbed because I definitely want a soft southern accent explaining cool maps to me
My families are from McDowell and Watauga counties NC and I went to ASU for undergrad. I had to laugh at how true it was when you called Boone a hippy town.
I live in McDowell. Did you notice the video misspelled "Asheville"?
Hey ya’ll 🙋🏻♀️ from over here in Burke Co. ✌🏻
@@cynsi7604out here on 181 neighbor
i mean thats what its known to be
@@mr.christopher79 Oh, they aren't wrong, it just made me laugh.
I’m Scots/Irish-Cherokee West Virginian and I’m proud of my heritage. Thanks for making this video, real cool to see my peoples history and how we came about to this wonderful and mystical place I call home.
The people who primarily settled in the Appalachia were mainly the Lowland Scots, Irish, Welsh, and Northern England, especially around the borders (these were called "Reivers" or River Reivers). Their origins also is key to how the Southern dialect developed.
As a N.C. girl, who has moved to the Blue Ridge Parkway of Virginia I can say these wonderful people would give you the shirt off their backs, once you’re accepted by them. A little stand offish at first but once they see you’re genuine they are a friend for life. Love this place.
i love this explanation, it goes into detail and simple explanation and easier to understand, thank u
Melungeon Appalachian here ❤, thanks for talking about the region
I’m directly related to Field Jefferson as well!!! I am descended from his son Peter Field.
Dang I’m finding all of my cousins in the comments! lol
@@GeographyGeekmy Jeffersons settled in Pittsylvania county not too far east from you
Grew up in and have family in Harrogate TN! Cumberland gap is such a beautiful place 😊 I live in SC now and miss it so much!!!
Grew up in Harlan County, KY just over the mountain from Rose Hill, VA. Miss the area terribly, but still close enough to make it back every month or two.
What a beautiful heritage!! Thank you for this video!
My roots are in Appalachia. I live in Northern Georgia and it is a beautiful place full of history!
Very interesting video. Thanks for sharing!
No problem! Thanks for watching!
Good video. Thanks it was very informative.
Very well done! Thank you for making and sharing this.
Thank you!
I have discovered part of my ancestry from this region recently and chuckled when he described the value if freedom and independence over wealth as well as being able to liquidate and move quickly. It’s amazing what we somehow receive from our family generations before.
What a beautiful region and peoples! Thank you for your excellent video.
I grew up at the foot hills of the Great Smoky Mountains in east TN. I absolutly love this region and I am proud of it. I love the fact that after a week of work, I can go into the mountains, pick from hundreads of trails and just start walking and get lost. It is such a beautiful area.
Appalachia stretches from Alabama to West Virginia and maybe southern Pennsylvania. North of there it's Appalaychia.
North of the Mason Dixon Line they are the Alleghenies.
@@penguinsfan251the Alleghenies are in western Pa. The ridge and valley region isn’t part of the Allegheny plateau. We also have a tiny part of the blue ridge mountains in south central PA
Hey man. We are cousins. My 7th great grandmother is Mary Jefferson Nichols, President Jefferson's aunt. I also decent from Melugeon Families Sizemore, Fields, and Sheppard. Ned "Cheif of all" Sizemore was a Cherokee adopted by white folks during the trail of tears days i think or just before it. They moved from Cherokee NC to Hawkins County Tennessee at some point. Great video with great editing and graphics.
That’s wild! Thanks for sharing and I appreciate the kind words. I tried some new things with the editing in this one and a lot of the footage is from a trip I took to the smokies last year.
My father's mother's people settled Scott County VA well before 1780. My grandmother once told me her grandmother was full Cherokee. I guess as a result I still have a full head of straight black hair at 63 years old.
Many Natives and Whites intermarriage, had children and lived a productive fruitful life.
Thank you, well done.
My dad is from north/central WV. I wish my grandmother who was born in 1889 and died in 11987 would have shared more about her early life. She had 11 children, all of whom lived to adulthood, no stillbirths or miscarriages. The children all lived past the age of 70. My dad was the 9th child burn in 1930. They were dirt poor, but strong and hearty hardworking people.He moved to New Orleans when he dischraged from the army in the 50s and only went back for visits. He had too many memories of being poor and struggling and actually broke the chain of generational poverty in his family.
What year did she die? Too many numbers.
@@patriciajrs46 Sorry about the typo - I can't figure out how to edit a YT comment. She died in 1987 she was 97 years old.
@@jeannewilson1655 Okay. Thank you. My fingers are too fat for these small letters. I make lots of typos. Ha.
To edit your own comment you can either move the cursor back to where the mistake is, just by tapping on the text, or you can add the comment, then act as if you're going to reply to your own comment. There is a choice there for reply, edit, or delete. The three dots on top right corner.
Wow a geography geek video about my family and where i still live. You know me and my brothers hand dug our diddys grave? Lol. We are wild.
It's interesting to think about some of the regional stereotypes we assign to different parts of the US. For a long time I knew only the negative stereotypes of this unique place. It might be cringe but Fallout 76 got me interested in a few things, especially some great music. The game's surface level look got me doing my own research and it was very insightful.
Great video.
I really liked this one!
Don't get hung up on elevation people. The Cumberland Plateau with elevations that rarely exceed 2,500 feet is an example of "difficult terrain" that exceeds that of areas of the Appalachians at twice the elevation. You must consider this in the whole question of the influence terrain has on culture and human settlement and development. Elevation is relative. Think of the Ozark and Ouachita "mountains" of Arkansas and Missouri.
As a snowboarder from the east coast, I try and tell people this all the time that live out west. Elevation has little to do with terrain.
Ozarks, Boston's and Ouachita Mountains are, culturally/ ethnically speaking;
Part of Greater Appalachia
@Drwexter, Doesn’t take being from back east to understand this. We have plenty of difficult terrain in absence of high elevation here in the west.
@@brawndothethirstmutilator9848 didn't say it took being from the east, but people out west act like they're skiing 13000 feet down to sea level. We have resorts here with comparable vert and a little less acres due to our trails being narrower.
@@brawndothethirstmutilator9848 Does that make the Ecomony suck?
To the site author, you have relatives in Hancock Co., TN through your Jefferson
Family. They moved there from Patrick Co., VA in 1835. At that time, the Cherokees
gave up there Hunting rights on the Clinch River, and the land became available for
land grants and settlement.
Great video on the most beautiful place on earth 🌍
The part you talked through, the Scotch-Irish taking unused land in PA made me think of the series Outlander. Was any of that show truly historical, about the Scottish people?
The show was based on the book series, and those books are absolutely historical fiction. Lots of great history in the books.
This is literally my heritage and where my family came from. Living in southern Wv my family still resides to this day. My grandfather told us exactly that growing up that our family was primarily farmers because we could be on the move with all the assets at a moments notice. I have spent nearly 10 years tracing my ancestry and family history and it follows exactly what you said in the video. Well done!
Well done!
Thank you!
Interesting! My dna results were majority ulster Scot too. But my ancestors mostly went to southern Quebec on the border of New York State and Vermont.
As a resident of Patrick county it’s always cool when we’re mentioned for something.
That’s where my family is from. Love it 💜
On behalf of those in Central Pennsylvania, I'll say that we see ourselves as and associate with Appalachia and its people generally speaking. I'm glad to see that you included us under the "disputable" category; to us though, it's not disputable. Great video!
We share some ancestry, Field Jefferson is my 5th GGF. I have ancestors in the same co. you where talking about.I was born in Botetourt co. an now live in Bedford co. I found this video very good .
You gotta include SW PA especially Greene and Fayette Counties
It's Greene county. 😊 I live here
@@wandamontgomery6030 my bad yo
My family settled in cataloochee nc from ireland not long after our country was born. Unfourtantly for my family the government eventually forced them off the land and made it a part of the smokey mountains national park. One of my familys houses the caldwell house still stands to this day. Even though it happened long before i was born i cant help but feel bitter about it since it was my familys land for generations.
They make great banjo players too!
Most of my ancestors are from Western Europe and they landed all over the east coast. But they all seemed to congregate in the heart of Appalachia. I was born and raised in southeast Kentucky but have moved away. No joke, looking at the names you have on your family tree, we may be distant cousins. lol I have Hall, Turner, and Cox in my family tree as well so you never know. I always love info on this area. Even though I no longer live there, those mountains are near and dear to me.
Wow. Your Great Grandfather bears a striking resemblance to me. I trace family to Northern Alabama/Eastern Tennessee/Western N.C.
My great grandmother, julia mcclain hartman hensley lived in wise co, va.
Me
My great gran died in the same house that she was born in up in there, my gran died a few miles away from that house, my mother a few more miles away from that. Me, probably a thousand or two miles away, the rustbelt is dying.
E: I have tasted the bathtub moonshine. Set yourself to maximum pucker is all I have to say.
Well done fellow Appalachian. Well done!
Thank you!
We haven't changed much.
The best place to live for beauty and good people. My family goes 11 generations from the 1700s to me in the 1950s
We are Scots and Irish, Welsh. My Scots ancestors were Jacobites
I did work in Patrick County. Good people.
Before the first African slaves were sent to America, Scots Irish were exported by the Crown to America and sent to plantations throughout the South and the Caribbean. Some were actual indentation servants who wanted to leave the country, but most were criminals, troublemakers, and Catholics, who the Crown believed were trying to overthrow the Anglican Church. The is a video on UA-cam, which reveals this earlier era in Scots Irish history.
Scotch Irish are NOT by definition, Catholic.
Scots Irish were all Protestants, not Catholics.
@@baneofbanes That was true in the North, but the King was shipping the Southerners to the the colonies as stated above. Search for the video.
@@paulsullivan3501 those people weren’t scots-Irish, they were Irish. There’s a fucking difference between the two.
Irish were indentured servants as well.
I grew up in Patrick county. I love the blue ridge mountains. 🩵
Proudly born and raised in Carter County Tennessee!
Speaking on my own ancestry, many Highland Scots also settled in Appalachia, valuing land and freedom over material wealth as you mentioned. The funny thing is that the Appalachians are the same mountains found in the Scottish Highlands and that make up the Caledonian Mountains in Norway. So my ancestors migrated across the Atlantic Ocean to unknowingly settle in the same mountain range. Great video!
We did one of the DNA tests you can order. All four of my grandparents family's came back as "original settlers of the region". We are 100% hillbillies. I'm still in the region.
I have an ancestor who was born in Virginia in 1730- it does not say where his parents were from. They lived there for a couple generations and moved to minnesota where I am from. The last name is lyons. It kills me that I can’t figure out where they came from!
Johnson City, TN here
My father and his families came from Letcher County, Kentucky. I was told we are Scots Irish. The area is beautiful.
Good ole Mahala Mullins and her enterprise…. Ya gotta love her and her spirit
I have direct lineage to some of the earliest European settlers to central WV. They lived in the heart of the highland region of WV in 1750s
My father, grandfather, and great grandfather were coal miners in WV. My great grandfather led a group of men on Blair Mountain in the mine wars. I am named after them. RIP John McGan buried in Ascoe Hollow in McDowell County, WV 🗿
It’s very interesting that the Appalachians are the same mountain range as the Scottish Highlands
Being from the Scottish Borders myself, Appalachia just speaks to me. It’s a dream to travel to Appalachia, for some reason it feels like home! Maybe I was a Scottish immigrant in America in my past life and that’s why I’m so obsessed with America 😂
I enjoyed the program but I have to say they forgot a big portion of Appalachia. There are 18 counties in Ohio one of which I live in and our culture is the same as those found throughout the region.
For sure. I didn’t forget though. I just left a lot out. I may expand on this video and make one on the Greater Appalachia.
Yup, I was surprised the first time I went there.
Bet I'm from the same county. lol. A lot of the old Appalachian families, especially from KY, came up to Ohio in my grandparents' day. So it's... basically the same culture.
Me being baffled when I see a reference to Henry County on a youtube video I clicked on. I grew up there!
Lil' Abner and Elvis movie " Kissing Cousins " forged a modern stereotype , Burt Reynolds move "Deliverance " sealed the deal.
We are Scot- Irish fighting sons of the Hell.
Born Fighting
4:40 wow...at first i thought lake erie was on the wrong place on an old map or something, but then i realized that these maps in this video are actually showing the size pennsylvania was originally going to be/intended to be b4 New York and Massachusetts muscled in and got the land claims and maps changed somehow also getting Maryland to join in later totally outnumbering Pennsylvania threatening to reduce it to nothing and tie it up in courts for a long time.
Appalachian born Appalachian bred I guess I’ll be a hillbilly till the day I’m dead !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My Patrick County ancestors go back through John Tuggle , (Tuggle’s Gap on Blue Ridge Parkway) who married Elizabeth Harrison which places us in Benjamin Harrison’s family. He was in the Revolutionary War, helped write and signed the Declaration of Independence, held many offices in our new government including President. I’ve also traced my family through my Grandmother’s family (Bolling) back to Catherine Parr’s sister. (Last wife of Henry VII) Also through the Bolling I’ve traced our heritage back to Charlemagne. There is strong possibility you and I could be related. My grandmother was Lilly Jathina Bolling was married to William Elmer Adkins. We are also related to Stephen Hopkins, the only person who arrived at both Jamestown and Plymouth as he returned to England after the starving days in Jamestown and then sailed to Plymouth for the Virginia Company stayed and raised his family. 👍 you have done a great job on this great video!
I love my mountains ❤❤❤
As a Melungeon, I can assure you my ancestors mixing started occurring in the first years of Jamestown Virginia and even before that in the late 1500’s when the Spanish freed slaves into the Carolinas due to a promise of freedom for anyone who fought for them. We have a lot of forgotten history and those who know need to speak up and educate our fellow Americans.
How did you leave out the cumberland gap and the wilderness trail
I had a paragraph talking about it and took it out. I couldn’t find a way to make it flow and wanted to focus more on just the people. I’ve played around with the idea of making a video on early North American road / trail systems. I’d add it in there.
12:16 I’m the only one that seen his eye was slit 🦦shi crzy
My grandfather was a Hillbilly from Croatia. Was recruited by West Virginia coal company in 1912, and was in debt to them forever basically. Company script is what they got paid, not cash.
So he ran a still. Helped to feed 7 kids.
The story went that because of the still, he knew company cops well. They informed him it would be wise to leave town because of his involvement with attempted unionization.
Coal companies were ruthless.
Ended up in Chicago area steel mills/ quarry. Grandpa had a neighborhood smokehouse, and maybe a little still (prohibition) lol.
I like Bluegrass. The mandolin and dobro sound a lot like traditional Croation music.
I can just imagine all the different miners from different countries gathering for jam sessions.
Was also told a Scottish woman tried to steal my father because he was such a "bonnie lad".
My great great great great grandfather is Daniel Boone. I'm 1/16 Cherokee
Swva Blueridge the most beautiful part 😊
I’m just hyped that the Melungeons made it into the vid!!! We hardly are a footnote in most history books.
I'm a native Long Islander but my ideals and values have always aligned me with a more rural/freedom-loving locale such as this (I'm a conservative born unto a blue state). Problem is, most of my closest friends and family are on Long Island. Furthermore, I'm a white collar guy (not that I mind working with my hands, at all. In fact I'm eager to learn a lot). Moving deep into mountain territory alone with no friends or aquaintences nearby seems like an intimidating idea, but I still have the desire to do so. Does anyone have any advice for me to actually make this move?
PS: I currently have a remote job managing logistics and imports. Long story short: if I move to a town near you it would mean bringing in my out-of-state income to ultimately be spent on your local businesses. I'm only one guy, but I figure any economic advantage helps!
Stay in Long Island that’s my advice
I'm not sure I can give you an answer you're going to like, but as someone who came from the outside, is naturalizing, and is accepted by people in my holler I'll do my best.
You're alone, you have no kin, marriage, blood, by adoption or otherwise in Appalatchia. You're from a vastly different culture and set of circumstances.
There is a question of are you just planning to move to Appalachia or are you seeking to become Appalachian? There is a pretty big gulf between moving here for better politics, taxes, or economic opportunities and seeking to become Appalachian. If you wanted mountains and to get out of New York state you could just move to New Hampshire or Pennsylvania after all.
If you're committed to moving to Appalachia , you're probably better off moving to a city such as Asheville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Johnson City, Charleston West Virginia, or Blacksburg. There is enough of a population and enough people from outside that you'll just be one more, and still be able to get used to your local region without having as rough a transition. The culture isn't the same as living in a small town or the holler, but it's a step closer to that. That said there are towns in the region that have a small town feel still. You'll also have access to more similar goods and services and the anonymity you're used to living in a city.
If you do move there are things that you have to set in your heart right away.
It's not Appalachia pronounced like App-uh-lay-shuh, it's pronounced Appa-latch-uh, or Apple-atch-uh. You don't correct anyone's pronunciation. This is not just where they live or moved to, this is their Homeland. They choose what to call their land and their people. Just like calling the city in Ireland Derry or Londonderry you're telling people how you think of the land and of them, if you're a just newcomer or a damned Yankee and an enemy.
Aside from curiosity, for the most part, no one is going to give a damn about what you do for a living as long as it's honest, that you were from New York, or how things were done in New York. Who you are as person, how you act, and more importantly what you do are going to be more important.
You're not going to have access to some of the same things you had in Long Island, things are going to work out differently and you're not always going to understand it. There will be culture clash. For your own sanity you're going to have to accept it. If you have an idea you think will improve things approach people as equals and partners. Work to convince them to implement your idea. You're not automatically better or smarter than anyone here. There's a long history of outsiders coming to Appalatchia to impose their will and exploit her people and land, who then leave it in shambles once they get what they want. Most of us would rather be friends than enemies but there is a long memory and reflexive suspicion here.
If you end up saying you don't want to be around a bunch of damned Hillbillies or "Why won't these backwards people do it like we do in Long Island? "people are going to shrug their shoulders and wonder why you're here. This is Appalachia. You left where you were from for a reason, right?
@@kentomizutani5090 That is excellent advice and observation on the matter!
@@Timotimo101 Thanks? I'm just trying to pass on a few things I've picked up in my adopted Homeland. I've noticed that for whatever reason many people from outside come here with many unfair preconceptions and huge chips on their shoulders. They often have no willingness to listen, to learn, or to get along, and it often goes poorly for them.
Humility, honesty, respect, a good sense of humor, a willingness to learn local ways and hard work will get you far here.
I m not saying that there's not some horrible people in the region . They're here as with anywhere else, but in many I've seen a quiet respect, dignity, friendliness, conscientiousness and obligation to others that is rare is many other parts of the United States. We all take care of our own in the holler.
Interesting
What is the outro song? ❤
I love them short, hairy mountains.
What about the recent DNA study that links the Melungeons to the Basque🤔
I didn't know about this. I'm Appalachian and my great-great grandfather was melungeon. On my DNA results I have a percentage of Basque and couldn't figure out where that was from.
That might answer a question I'd had. The Cajuns originally came from Canada & got exiled all over the British empire to try to thin them out & a lot of the places they were sent also deported them shortly thereafter. A couple hundred were sent to Virginia, resettled in northern West Virginia, then later got deported, but about 30 odd people completely went missing. There happens to be a significant Basque population in East coastal Canada, even today, so that may be where the link comes from. Don't know much of any similar incidents in other colonies, though.