When I was little I referred to my maternal grandmother as Black Gramma and I am as white as they come. My grandmother, though, was dark skinned with dark, curly hair and broad facial features that looked Native American to me. She was from that area of Eastern KY and told a story about her father being a Cherokee man who wasn't allowed to marry her mother so he left. I sensed there was a lot of shame in their poverty and lack of family bonds and the stories don't all add up to paint a clear picture of what happened all of those years ago. i am proud to be from such hard working people. I know they struggled on so many levels.
Cheryl: My Irish family also has photos of dark skinned, high cheek boned people, resembling Spanish or American Indian. Humans have been breeding with people from other tribes since the beginning of time. So perhaps it's time we call those claiming "systematic racism " liars. Look around the American dinner table, for the evidence, we are all of mixed blood.
I liked the way that he kept saying “ that they would do this or that “like anybody else”. That’s the story of all of us, if we would only respect each other because we’re just like anybody else.
Unfortunately, people seem to think they are superior to the rest of us. From the very start of their lives, this is what they were Taught, and just kept believing this idea and passing it on to future generations. Nothing so evil as the man who thinks himself better, and enforcing it, forever.
Well, we're not all the same. We have different backgrounds and histories and cultures. But that's not bad. We're all valuable in the eyes of God. And at some point, we're all related.
Anita Johnson, and Karen Bartlett, I love the fact we are all different! I mean, that we are all the same in the context of what we have to offer. No one should be over the law, and we all are human beings. Our blood runs red, and we all have things to offer each other and learn from. I am not better than you, because I went to nursing school, and helped people, you, are no better In general, than I am. We all come to the table of life with something to offer others. When we get to heaven, we are all judged the same way,by thee same yardstick as the next person. Skin color, etc. makes white, no more important than black, red, pink. Culture and other things should bring us together, not have us all saying , I am better than you, because…..that is a bull crap way to look at humanity. At one point, as this country was being built, everyone was an immigrant. Sadly, the views came with some people, and found a new home for prejudiced views. We can only make our corner of the world better, and influence others for the good.
I live in the Appalachian area of Pennsylvania, very near to West Virginia. I have never heard of the Melungeon people. I’ve gotta do some research. Thanks
As a Melungeon person, I will tell you that in the Appalachian Mountains, people have always married into different ethnic groups, in isolated pockets for centuries.
I grew up in French Canada (Quebec), I thought that this may add to your quest for knowledge. The French verb Melanger, in the fourth tense (nous) is conjugated as follows: Nous Melangeons, which translates into English as We Mix… or a mixture. As the Louisiana Territory was sold to America, this info may not be too far fetched. I hope this puts a smile to your face!
Yeah except Canada accepted British rule and did nothing and if Britain and Canada had it their way we’d all be dead and no one would know who the melangeons were.
In the 1800s the terms race and ethnicity were pretty interchangeable. By that standard,me being of Polish and Irish heritage, I'm biracial! :The Slavic race + the Celtic race..
I am fascinated with pre-1713 for what would become the USA and any and all FRENCH connections. Old BATH in NC was thought to be a tiny town along the Neuse River but after the discovery of Gov. Dobbs map (he held during a portrait) it became clear BATH was a large territory. There are conflicting accounts about some French settlers who called this region home. One claim is they arrived via the Virginia Colony and then migrated to BATH to practice their Catholic faith. ( Many many folks yearned to have their lines find a path to Jamestown. The reality is the Carolina settlements predate Jamestown and many folks don't think about possible French connections because it fell under English rule in the 1700s. The English even renamed the Cape Fear River. It was originally named the Jourdan River and is represented as such on early maps. The other account for BATH is the French were refugees from Brussels planted directly in Bath during the French Religious Revolution (1562-1598). The French were ALREADY in BATH and a growing population that DOBBS and the English wanted to push out of Coastal Plains. I was really surprised to learn that New Orleans was under the gov't of Quebec for some time and the Ohio River was the boundary! There is so much to learn via DNA and re-evaluating what the history books tell us.
This video used to be on yt and now isn't but, they found some Cherokee burial mounds in one of the valleys the TVA was gonna flood. They clled in the archaeologists and dug it up. They found copper smelting operation with X shaped copper cast plates and ceramics and took them to the McClung Museum, about 1930. In 1900, off the coast of Turkey, a Cretan shipwreck was discovered and it contained copper X shaped cast plates and ceramics identical to the ones in Tennessee. Somebody noticed the similarities and asked the McClung for some samples of the clay and the copper and then went to Turkey and asked them for the same. They were an exact match. The copper was from Michigan, the clay was Tennessee. Cretan miners had been smelting Michigan copper in Tennessee clay. They went looking for Cretan DNA among the Cherokee and found fourteen markers, whatever that means. They found 100 Cretan words in the Cherokee language that sound and mean the same as Cretan. Yeah, that video's GONE. The truth is, that the ancient world had regular contact with the Americas. Right along. Columbus wasn't the first or even the hundredth European to come here.
@@cindybryant1584 would these people be Phoenician or Minoan? Seems to me with today's symbology Phoenician culture ultimately prevailed, and the other seems to share similarities with every culture that has had an attempted genocide or successful one after upon them
When ever I get to talking to dog owners that say they're dog is part this and part that and then make up a smashup name for them, I just smile and say "What an amazing American Dog you have!" Lets try to find simple ways of reducing that polarization, decrease world suck and highlight being an American. If you get a weird look and a rush to leave...youve found the problem.
I never knew my dad's parents, but have seen pictures. My grandfather was very dark, with light eyes, as was My Dad. My siblings and I used to wonder where his ancestors were from.. I had my DNA done and have North African, Spanish, Portuguese, Scottish, Irish, Italian and Scandinavian. Once I learned about Melungeon people it all made sense. Thank you!
You're most likely not Melungeon if you don't have some Sub-Saharan. I'm from Appalachian Free Colored Virginia communities, so I see the DNA results of all of my DNA relatives in Tenn. and Kentucky. What are your Melungeon family surnames?
I'm in my 60s, and I had never heard of the Melungeon people until I stumbled across this video. Thank you so very much for sharing, and for enlightening me (and others, I am sure!) Great video!
Your theory makes a lot of sense. They had nowhere to go, so they stayed in the mountains where the natural resources were plentiful and could sustain them.
My guess was Spanish, as Florida, Mississippi areas and Louisiana were part of New Spain. And as Spain had colonization problems in those areas lost control and the Spanish got lost to Indians and Blacks. Some Spanish ended up in Cuba.
I’m a “Triracial” Mexican American guy who has Spanish, native indigenous, and African ancestry all of them being in the 20% and above. Watching this video really fascinated me as we have similar admixtures and can often times look the same, or similar to the Melungeon people. Many people who are Afro-Latino share similar genetic makeups, stemming from Euro, Indigenous, and African DNAs. It’s all so fascinating to me. All in all we’re all human and that’s what really matters at the end of the day.
Puerto Ricans are also triracial, right? I tried explaining this to my father and his head could not wrap around it lol. He gon learn today because his family tree has 2 Melungeons in it lmaooo.
@@MsNooneinparticular Definitely! I would even go to say that Puerto Ricans are the main group of Tri-Racial people due to the history of their island.
@@MsNooneinparticular Not over with yet. Not that easy helps too watch your back. Watch each other's backs. Can't just go through 🧬 Life ignoring things. Like these people are in dangerous hands. Be cause there's some things that are going on. Like trying to figure out what happened to these people. WARE did They go. Why 🤔😨 be cause there was a natives on the island of portorrco. They vanished not to long after the Portuguese and then the rest of them came.
James was my husband. My family name is Kakaruk. Every one in Alaska by that name literally is related both sides, I think there are 35 of us total in U.S. and I'm the only one not living in Alaska because I ran away at 8. Interesting enough, a visit to the Ukrain , to my shock, also revielled a very small family of about 15 or less with same last name and abviously looked like my grandfather and uncles, cousins in Alaska, down to the cheekbones, long toes and ability to darken in summer as well as our beautiful eyes! Imagine my shock. By chance and a wrong turn and I'm looking into the eyes of a man that could be my twin, thousands of miles from Alaska. After we started a while, it was clear he was as surprised. He got other family to come and it was obvious. I wrote our name in English, then Russian. His I'd was spelt exactly the same. I can pass for white but get me around northern tribes and it's obvious I'm not. My height puts me well above the Eskimo men. The grey eyes wide apart and a obvious white streak in some of their hair also evident. Mine white has increased with age. Oddly, the person I was there with was as shocked as I and took pics of us together. Other than my obvious western clothes, it was obvious we are related! I never had biological children due to early abuse but by some maricle, our name, grey eyes and unique genetics is going on oceans away. God has a plan and it humbles me!
Very interesting! Something to think about. Sad that you were abused as a child. How in the world did you escape in Alaska at only 8 years of age? Would love to know more of your story, how you came to be in Ukraine, etc. All the best to you. Glory to God!
Have you ever seen thought of writing or co-writing a book about your life? I (and probably many others) would be interested in learning more about your life based on what you mention here. I am so sorry that you endured such abuse. So glad you survived it. And happy for the joys you experience such as the synchronicity of meeting relatives when and where you least expected.
I'm 51 years old , and this is the first time I've ever heard of these people. Thank you for this! Hopefully an American History teacher will stumble upon this and continue to share to our future, so that we won't lose the past.😎
I found out some time in the early 90's that this is my heritage. I still tell people when they ask my background, and I rarely encounter people that know what I'm talking about. Granted, the further south I go, which is closer to where both sides of my family have history, the less people need explanations.
My childhood friend was a Melungeon, and gave me insight to an unusual trait that's been carried on: she told me to run my tongue over the top of my mouth, and if there was a prominent ridge, you are Melungeon. She had blondish hair growing up, very light skinned, as was all her people. Giving me insight into her heritage 50 years later made me realize even more than ever, that you never know who you're looking at, or assuming you know their heritage just by being in the same proximity. I love and miss my friend, Corlette Bridgewater Murray. Rest in Heaven.
I saw a documentary many years ago, saying that Melungeons were descended from Turkish, and Portuguese sailors that came over on ships with the first Spanish explorers. They didn't know if the sailors chose to stay, or were abandoned; but they have established dna connections to those people in Europe. They intermarried with native Americans, Africans, and Europeans. In Turkey, the have a day of celebration every year in honor of those cousins who are still in the US. My best friend, from high school's Mother was from that region. If you saw her picture as a young woman, you would swear she was Portuguese! It's amazing to me how strong those genealogical traits carry on!
? What does a Portuguese look like that made you believe that she looked Portuguese as a young woman? Portuguese people have mostly Celtic-Iberian DNA with Germanic & some North African/Moors/ Berber/Mediterranean DNA in the south of Portugal. So I’m curious about your definition of what a young Portuguese woman would look like. 😊
I was wondering the same! The Portuguese were great navigators; perhaps -- this is just a guess -- some of them hired on with those early Spanish explorers. I couldn't describe what a Portuguese woman would look like, but I thought some of those women in the photos looked part Portuguese too. And before anyone challenges me they should know that I'm part Portuguese and I grew up around a lot of people who are also part Portuguese. Some of my cousins have a distinctive look that I associate with the Portuguese in us.
@@Lori79Butterfly she had black wavy hair, a somewhat slender face. Dark eyes rimmed with black eyelashes, and a sort of long thin nose. Small mouth, and, rounded chin. It is usually very easy for me to guess people's ethnicity based on their facial structures. Those gene pools are strong, and last throughout the generations.
@@lucymorgan8859 I think Lori simply meant that what you described could be one variant of what a Portuguese person looks like. Same with Spain. We can all thank Hollywood for that kind of confusion. If you go there, you will see a variety of European people that range from blonde hair/blue eyes to dark hair/dark eyes. Not Hollywood’s description of what a Portuguese or Spaniard looks like.
My daddy is from that region of Virginia and he’s told us all our lives that my granddaddy was Black Dutch. He told us that he really couldn’t tell us exactly what kind of blood line we had because it was so many.To this day he will refer to them as “ family from the old country “. I love reading about them.
Holy Crap! My family used to say 'Black Irish' or 'Dutch' when describing themselves - turned out to be somewhat wrong with French included with the other parentages. *Revelation*
Your theory about deserters from De Soto's army being ancestors of the Melungeons makes the most sense. Apparently De Soto's army was a mixed bunch of Europeans, not just Spaniards. There may well have been Turks and northern Africans amongst this mercenary army. Apparently De Soto was a cruel leader of his army and very sick or injured soldiers were often abandoned . Survivors from these may have been adopted by the local AmerIndian tribes.
Humm, he was known to be a cruel leader.. I bet the NOT SPANISH people would have been seen as "lower Humans" and Deemed worthy of harsher punishments and treatment. Including possibly EVEN FOOD . If your NOT FED RIGHT... people tend.. TO LEAVE For Better pickins!
Knowing how Hernando rolled their genes were more likely left after they raped and pillaged the natives. Doubt they had an invite to stick around and blend in.
Hey Happy day to you! I love all history so much so that I decided to start a history channel, hope you can visit soon! This is awesome what Donnie is doing. If you decide to visit my channel make sure you let me know you can from Donnie’s channel. I want him to get the credit! Stay safe
I am tri-racial and both of my parents have one melungeon parent. From what I understand the way you know for sure is by last name, especially for the WV group. My great-grandpa (and grandma until she married) was Croston. So we know his lines' origins. Its trickier for the more southern groups like the one that my grandfather on my fathers' side came from. We had a DNA test done on his side and it came back mostly GB, but also Ghana and unknown native american. Such a cool group to be a part of and very very foundationally American.
How can you tell by the last name? We have some old native history in my family and I think we just found out why we can’t track things back till before grandpa. I think we are Melungeon.
@@Therealtrailer707 Hey :) there are lists of family names that you can check by region. So if you know what state your folks are from (like mine were from West Virginia on my moms side and the Carolinas on my dads side) then you can check the list by state. I google searched melungeon family names WVA/SCA etc. Once I found our names I confirmed family name ancestry with other family members. Happy hunting
My Nenaw’s people were from this area of Tennessee and fit’s this description. Her DNA is exactly what is listed. She was very dark completed, Smokey grey eyes and black, curly hair. When they moved to Louisiana, they were labeled “Mulato” and then when she married and moved to SE Texas, everyone thought she was Mexican. My entire life people asked what I was and I had no answer’s. Depending on the region of the U.S…I was a military wife, people assumed I was one ethnicity or another. IE…creole if Louisiana, Hispanic if in Texas, Native American in Arkansas, African American when in North Carolina, etc… I’m going to contact this organization and send them our Ancestry DNA result’s. Thank you so much for this information!!!!
Jennifer it sure sounds like you are the product of how America is meant to be - a melting pot - not a country made up of many little "nations" within. Your DNA will surely look like a map of the world all come together in YOU . . . and happily so. God Bless you "Miss America" you are what we were founded to become.
Your theroy makes perfect sense. Once in the mountains folks didn't travel far. Siblings of one family, married siblings of others. I can't count how many double cousins I have. My family consists of Branham, Stanley, Ramsey, Ramey, Mullins, Senter, and Counts. I have one family member that is my Aunt because she married my Daddy's brother, but she's also a cousin because one of her Great Grandfather's and one of my Great Grandmother's we're half brother and sister. In my tree, the Stanley's, Ramey's and Senter's are the ones that did this the most. My Branham Grandfather knew my Grandmother since the ages of 8 and 6. They married in 1912 when he was 16 and she was 14. They had 11 children, 9 of those children lived to adulthood. One was stillborn and one passed before the age of 2. She gave birth to her first child the day before her 15th birthday. Two of the 11 are still living. Granny was 89 when she passed in January 1987 and Grandpa was 91 when he passed in August of the same year. He mourned himself to death. Had Granny lived to March 12, 1987 they would have celebrated their 75th anniversary. I am their youngest granddaughter. They were already married 51 years before I came along.
Doesn’t matter where we come from. The people of the Appalachian mountains are just like any body else. Just good people raising their families and trying to survive. Thanks Donny for bringing this to our attention. I descend from Damascus Virginia and love hearing and learning about the Appalachian people.
@@jessica-deannemonday.389 🌬️👥👤 That's ok. But if you can realize anything about what happened. Any body that knows anything that. Is so unknown to the unsuspecting. Population of the earlier earopen. And then the Indians. Who were resettled in Mexico be careful. Even though they Target Half breed's. Polish culture for example generation's where wiped out. Not just in Europe. But even in America. During WW2. I know some old polish culture. The people that were polish. Back in the 70s. I'm 54years Old now. One Old man named Ziggy. Ziggy escaped Poland When he was 17. He told me so many things. Mary Schuller had the numbers tattooed on her arm. She spent 2yeRs. In a camp. They lived on the same block. They told us something s. Back in the day. About to Day . No one paid to much attention. What would say. Is that one 🕐 🕜 Day . America world find out. Things that's were not good. Even though the past is gone. And so are they. Some crazy old people Not really. Then you might not run across people like that anymore. Something going on with us But no one completely pin points it. Out. They could explain it out to anyone. And then the polish comunty s. And then the Jewish community is gone. Neighborhood's And towns. Vanished. Theses time in America the ghettos came. And wiped out the comuntys Too. WETH All theres ghettos over here.
My cousin is our family genealogist. She had DNA testing done on my dad's last 3 surviving siblings. The tests confirmed that we are Melungeon. I'm very proud of my heritage. Thank you for this video. The photos are wonderful. 👵🤗❤
I've studied and thought a lot about the Melungeons through the years. As an eastern Kentucky teacher, I saw students who I thought looked "Melungone," a mixture of dark skin, often blue-eyed, always dark haired kids. Often their last names were right in line with some of the names I've run across in my readings. It's a fascinating mystery. Your theory makes sense.
I'm Melungeon through my Great great great grandmother Margaret Peggy Collins. I myself have light skin and light hair and blue to hazel eyes. My mother is who I get it from her and her dad have olive colored skin and dark hair one of my uncle looks Hispanic. But unfortunately the Irish on all my other sides overpower the Melungeon look in me
This was interesting, there are SO many "micro-heritages" in the US. My family history is "Volga German" or "Germans from Russia" farmers who fled persecutions in Germany to start farms in Russia; then in Russia and wound up 'breaking sod' in ND, SD, NE, KS. My 3rs generation US Dad spoke only German until WW 2, when family moved moved to town; and teachers only spoke English. It's funny how much you can find when you listen to older people, go through photo books with them, and look up geneologies.
I have Volga German as well as Black Sea German, the stories are a treasure trove. My relatives hid out on their farms through WWI and later because of the hatred towards them, my grandpa didnt speak English till school, as well! Their towns in America still published newspapers, birth records and such in German for quite a while after arriving here. Love unique stories like this one shown. Thanks!
My family is German - southern Russia. (Present day southern Ukraine). They left in 1905 because the Turks were harsssing them. They landed in Galveston and soon after 1913 homesteaded in south. Saskatchewan.
“Stuff they don’t want you to know” podcast was the first time I heard of these people. They said in the 1500’s black and white indentured servants intermarried in Virginia. When the laws turned to chattel slavery for black people, they all moved west into the Appalachians and stuck to themselves. The myths about them being the Phoenicians and Portuguese was a survival tactic so they weren’t treated like black people were in those times.
My ex boyfriends family chose to say that his great great grandfather's wife was black instead of melungeon bc of how poorly the melungeons were treated. Sad.. We are ALL just humans. We all bleed red. I think all colors are beautiful! Its sad that they had to hide who they were.
@@donnielaws7020 Mr Donnie Laws, This is a great story of the Melungeon people, I have Melungeon blood in my family line! I read that the name Bunch and Daugherty are Melungeon names my mother was Daugherty and dad was Bunch! I was told that my mom was 3/4 Indian and dad was 3/4 Indian so that made me an Indian and a half!!! lol, BTW you sound like you are full blooded Melungeon and i love the way you sound very clear, So clear even i can comprehend!!! lol
Mr. Laws I really appreciate your videos because they take me back home to a time that has long since passed. Today I am so appreciative of your posting the DNA results from the Melungeon Project. I took the fingerprint plus test with DNA consultants and all of the native american tests they offered and I have all of those results that you posted and this tells me that my native american was a melungeon as I suspected. Two brothers both married Melungeon women in my family and in both cases they are referred to as Native Americans only now we know just how Native they were. My people were living in the State of Franklin area and then went over the mountain to North Carolina. By posting that information you are helping a lot of people. Good on you. I wish you great success with your channel. I feel like you're family. Thank you so much.
That sounds right to me! Btw I think the theory is correct but not the only one. It seems Melungions, who I had not heard of, are a catchall for anyone of mixed ancestry, so ancestrally came from Spanish explorers, Indians who lost connection to their tribes, escaped slaves, Europeans who happened to be dark, like Portuguese, etc. At some point racial discrimination caused Melungeons to self-sort based on appearance, not culture, and as discrimination disappeared it is predictable Melungeons would disappear into the predominately northern European population. I like the theory as it suggests there was an indigenous not exactly Indian population there before it was settled by English speaking people. They might have had more influence on the Appalachian culture than they have been credited with.
My ex husband was Melungeon I had never heard of them before he told me about them. His mother could pass as white with blue eyes and he looked biracial with beautiful long curly hair. When he explained he was truly triracial it was the first I’ve ever heard of such a thing! I have white in my roots and 3 Native tribes but I present as a black woman and he’s a black man but you can clearly see the multiple races within him.
Prymid North of the Mexican border crossing 🚸. Is supposed to be in Georgia. Watch prymids in Georgia documentary. North of the Mexican border is Wisconsin. So they were here too. Of course long before the mulongun. Who were here longer than the other's people. Who beat raped murdered. And brain washed them. Loaded up on wagons. And hauled off to Mexico. Be lieve me it happened before.
🪶⚙️🪶. US 🌐expatiation in to foren territory. 🌬️🔮🌬️💨🫂☠️👥💀👤🫅💂 Has anyone who knows anything about what it's going to Leave behind. Explained 🤏to the other 🙈🙉🙊🔮💤😵💫😵💤🥴💤 Remember that reading is fundamental. And a mind is a terrible thing to waste. The conquest never stops and it doesn't matter if you are brown black Red Ore yellow. It's basically just the way you carry your self. And knowing. Remember one another.
Lost from the nation's 🌐. The tiny house's of the cereans And Lebeoneseons . Hand crafted wooden and sod houses 🏘️. Still standing in Oklahoma and then New Mexico. Some preserved. They were crafted by some very talented people. New Mexico has some on display. The door ways are tiny and then the rest of the 🏠 Were wood and when a tree bark cancer. Caused the trees to go Bald they appeared. In All my friend's Supposed to be of the decent. Only 4 ever mentioned it. Anything else is Bull. From a raceset secretive doctrine and ugenecs programming. They were just little kids in Oklahoma. On a mission for They said white people. Be cause One of those people who were of the decent of the people who Vanished from the tiny house's. Was white. And then the other hespanic. They recalled the old story of the family who were resettled from the comuntys. That vanished leaving everything. In tact. According to what they said that was said to them. Was that they were forced to move in to the other towns. And abandoned the things that they made. By the 1900s. So what happened to the rest. Of the cereans and Lebeoneseons. Who's tiny house's hand crafted wooden and sod still standing. In the middle of the woods. Go. I hate to tell you. So you probably got an idea.
Love your work, your voice is so calming. Your theory is actually really similar to what my grandparents told me. I heard them say we were melungeon, and their parents and grandparents were basically outcasts and eccentrics that were tired of the atrocious ways they were being told to settle. People of different races basically wandered off into the woods and found others around the Cumberland gap that had done the same.
That is what I was thinking, as well. These people from different backgrounds and cultures didn't want any part of what was going on, so they distanced themselves from it, eventually finding each other. Because they were all peaceful and hated what was happening, they embraced each other, eventually becoming one people with many different ancestors. It is a very beautiful thing to see people from different cultures come together and shun those who are so barbaric and war driven. If only everyone else on this planet could figure out that we are all the same when it comes down to it. We're all human beings; all brothers and sisters. We share this planet and there is enough for everyone, if only greed and corruption didn't rule.
Yes, diversity and safely in the mountains. Still, many of them were not quite white and often had a difficult time during and following The Civil War.
I heard alot of runaway people from alot of groups ended up in this part of the country because it was too rough of terrain for the authorities to go looking for just a small handful of fugitives.The locals figured since you made it this far you might as well stay.And so they had families with the locals to the point one's personal history got lost and couldn't be traced.So the narrator's theory makes a whole lot of sense to me.
I was also told this my entire life. So many people who were fleeing ended up running to this area bc of the terrain and scattered across the mountains. ❤
Sounds like s good theory!!! My dad is from around that area and I always had a hard time figuring the origin of his features until I found the Melungeon answers. He had darker skin/coal black hair/dark eyes.
I'm in my late 60's & have never heard of the Melungeon People. Thank you for putting this on You Tube. I try to learn something new everyday & this is it for today. So much lacking in our history/social study classes.
So when it comes to anything that pertains other than and gives credit to other than white people for anything important; absolutely right my friend. It’s a clever trick to make sure of all people not only doesn’t know where they come from, but don’t know their worth as well. Major major power-play to keep a sub class “so-called. .... no point pretending it’s not so. Even more sadly too many of us fell for it. Sad to say but true . Good news is it will all be fixed in the end. Praise God Periodso.
I agree. History tends to be written by the dominant social and ethnic group, and more marginal people -- minorities, the poor and less educated -- have often been overlooked. Their oral histories are rich and important in understanding our full national and global diversity.
I have heard of melungeons from my youth, maybe in phrases like, "oh, they are [or I am] nothing but a melungeon", and always unsterstood it to mean to have an unknown mixture of ancestors.
Beautiful Theory. My roots are here in east Tn. Seeing Meulugeon people is rare nowadays. They are Truly unique. I'm sure we have some in my family tree. I have traveled this world in my lifetime and seen alot of people and places but there is no beauty out there more than here in East Tenn. I am so proud to call this my home. God is good!
@Eremias Ranwolf Both. None of them hardly live on the mountain because of discrimination that happens to this day! (From being mixed and inbred) They are bullied in school and the community. Called guineas. Even those that "pass" for white are still identified by the locals by either certain facial features or certain last names like Mayle. People in the area often try to hide their past within the community or move for a fresh start. Another reason why they seem to be "rare".
Thank you for doing this video. It was tough as a kid trying to explain why my mom's side of the family came in such a variety of color, eye color, etc. As to this day MELUNGEONS still live separate in visual appearance (passing as white) in American society to seek out a better life for their families. My grandfather is pure Melungeon, and a Goins which I noticed was on a certificate you showed. Goins is one of the many surnames of MELUNGEONS, which many have changed the spelling of as to not be excluded or detected by today's society. The things they went thru as a ppl to survive helps explain why they were mountain ppl. The part of Tennessee he is from & era they were shunned, mostly because whites couldn't tell what ethnicity they were so they pushed them up & kept them on the mountain. My grandfather is/was an extremely fair skinned Melungeon who was one of the few from his town who could move about more freely for work then some others but STILL lived on the mountain. It's so sad to go home to where he from to STILL SEE such bigotry where there is still WHITE ONLY CEMETERIES & MELUNGEONS SOMEWHERE ELSE because whites there today don't want to be buried with ppl with such diverse backgrounds. I am so proud of the things he did for his ppl to survive in spite of what he faced looking one way but sticking to his principles knowing what was wrongly being done to our ppl & still is. I celebrate ALL OF MY HERITAGE dispite what our government still wants to label us, as I encourage my children to do the same. Thank you again for this video AGAIN! Maybe now more of my ancestory can be in history books as a proud, strong ppl that should be celebrated.
I am Melungeon! Native/Oglala Sioux, Portuguese & African American! We are the 2nd tri race that exists. Creole is the other & it's more well known. My dad had a genealogist work for him & she traced my dad's side! Im also Shawnee b/c my ancestor John Goode was captured WITH Daniel Boone but he didn't make the history books! I am extremely proud to have ALL these races in my blood line! TY for this video! Some stupid peeps think Melungeon isn't a race but it most DEFINITELY is! TYSM!
Glad to see a video on this. My grandpa talked of being Melungeon. At one time they were highly discriminated against. Did you know they weren’t allowed to buy property at one time? He had a lot of good stories to tell. The families had some strange traits that came through over generations. Blond with kinky hair, dark hair, dark skin, light skin, red heads, brown eyes, green eyes, blue eyes.
G'day Melungeon/Appalachian People, love hearing about who you are and where you come from - Cheers from Australia! Don't know if or when but a visit is on my (before I die) list. 🌞
Some of my ancestors were Melungeon as well. I’m from northeast Tennessee and I love your channel. I’m currently in Connecticut and listening to your voice brings me a sense of peace. Thank you
I had a long, stressful day today. But then I listened to this video with the beautiful ambient music and your clear, gentle voice, and every ounce of my body felt relaxed and at peace. Thank you.
I was told my grandmother was Black foot but in looking at photos of her. She could have been Melungeon. She was from Braxton County W. Va. Thank you for this delightful video. You have a great voice.
The comment you make regarding "blackfoot" ...I am a Tennessee native son, and the use of blackfoot in the southern states always referred to folks of mixed ethnicity. It was usually describing a mix of native american and black, usually escaped slaves. Now the story of Melungeons is unique, as many claimed to be portugese, but dna traces them to africa. There were portugese colonies in africa where the common language was portugese, so many have recently figured these were a mixture of african and portugese ethnicities. They always said they were "portugese". Equally interesting is the enclave of "BLUE PEOPLE" in kentucky, whose skin has a blue tint. And a lot of folks dont realize the spanish banned jews from their country, so many sephardics migrated to america along the gulf coast and louisiana and moved inland and since they had no places of worship assimilated into the local center of social functions..the churches. So the chance of many a southern baptist having a trace of sephardic jew in their dna is pretty good.
What a beautiful and interesting group of people. Thank you for making us acquainted with them. Your theory is likely spot on. And, your lovely voice and beautiful accent are like music.
I respect anyone who lives WITH the land. We all need to be taking notes here. It took me a long time to see that living with the land would bring a contented happiness and satisfaction that nothing else ever came close to. It's a hard life sometimes, but it is so beautiful in it's simplicity.
Scots Irish came from the borders of northern England and southern Scotland they were the border reevers and then transported to Northern Ireland and then America
It's always amusing watching Americans claim they are X-Y whatever - when they're 4th generation or more American and have never been, let alone lived, outside the US.
@@lucylane7397 “Scotch Irish” was a term the Protestant Irish created to differentiate themselves from the Catholic Irish in the US (since they looked the same and had a similar accent). Once the Catholic Irish realized all they had to do was call themselves “Scotch Irish” to be treated better, get jobs, etc, they did. The vast majority of “Scotch Irish” descendants in the US are just plain ol’ Irish Americans who fooled the Protestant ruling class.
I'm of melungeon descent through both of my parents families. Ive had multiple DNA tests done and no native American showed up. But Saharan, north African, Anatolian (Turkey), Greek, west Mediterranean, and a whole lot of Scottish showed up. I've always been curious what other melungeon descendants showed on there tests. I was told Cherokee on both sides but either I didn't inherit it, or it's not there. Great video!
When Dr. Kennedy had his DNA done, he matched with Turkey, he was of Melungeon descent. People from Turkey visited him. When Moses was searching for the promised one group broke away and went to Africa. These people later, some of them, went to Egypt
My last name is Phipps, grandmother's maiden last name was Freeman. Both are Melungeon names. My mother was an Adams. She was Scottish and Blackfoot Cherokee. Dads side is German, Spanish, and Tuscaroran.
I’d heard of the term Meloungeon before from my Aunt who does genealogy. We’re from the southern WV portion of Appalachia. I always took it to be an old Appalachian term basically the same as Mulatto. I never realized that it was a mix of Native American also and the mystery behind it. Very interesting.
There might be individuals who intermarried with a Native American person but Melungeons are not Indigenous to North America. They are descendants of Europeans and probably African runaway slaves. There are a lot of attempts by people to self-Indigenize this group or that group but the only truly Indigenous people are the Appalachee tribe and a few others who originally lived there for thousands of years prior to colonization.
My mother's maternal line is Melungeon from Claiborne county TN. I'm as German, English and Scots-Irish as they come, but my Ancestry DNA results have that Cameroon, Congo & Southern Bantu Peoples box checked! I literally look adopted put between my mother and grandma. They're both olive complexioned with dark brown (almost black) hair, green eyes, strong cheekbones, sharp noses and have very petite frames. We know for fact my grandma's mother's mother was part Cherokee. What the other parts were, we can only guess. But she looked exactly like the woman at 6:30!! Genetics is so fascinating!
Perhaps we could say the Melungeon people exemplify the true idea of the "New World" of America -- All people blending and working together in a common brotherhood to live and help each other thrive. I definitely want to do some reading about them. Thank you, Mr. Donnie Laws, for introducing me and many others to these resilient people.
My Pawpaw always tells me he thinks he came from Melungeon People. I was skeptical for a bit (even though he does have dark skin, black hair, and brown eyes, I could tell he was European; I just suspected maybe he was Spanish/Portuguese/Italian). We do live in the Northwest Georgia mountains though, so it was possible we came from them. But I recently did my own DNA testing and while I was mostly British/Irish, I found from his side of the family I had some Spanish/Portuguese, Central Asian/Northern Indian and Pakistani, Broadly Central and South Asian, Congolese/Southern East African/Bantu, Filipino/Polynesian/Austronesian, & Chinese and Southeast Asian. (No Native American though.) So maybe he was right all along. It's crazy to think that, I--someone who always thought she was 100% European and definitely look it--have some small percentage of Melungeon in me from my Pawpaw. It's crazy, too, how some people just don't align up with our ideas and concepts of "race". It goes to show what a social construct "race" really is. Thanks for such an informative video. I love your accent by the way. It reminds me of my Pawpaw a little and the way he speaks.
This is great information! Thank you sir. My family and I recently purchased a hobby farm in Hancock county. We fell in love with the people and the beauty of Appalachia. We are looking forward to retirement there and the freedom. Not quite the same in our home country of Canada. We will definitely blend in with the folks there . Nothing should ever be changed there. It’s perfect.
I really enjoyed this, learning about historical mysteries, accompanied by authentic photos. The narrator's voice is warm and comforting. Makes you feel like you're curled up at his feet on a shaggy rug in front of the fireplace.
My grandparents, from that area, always said the Melungeon were olive-skinned and they called them Portuguese. That was probably the most 'exotic' term they knew to describe them; I never heard them even consider Spanish or Mexican as a possibility. Also, Indian tribes can vary widely in appearance. It's good people are finally trying to research these interesting people! Thank you for posting this!
@@donnielaws7020 I did some research that might surprise you. Sorry if this a bit long The meluneons who claim descent from portugal seem to appear right as the records of the MOORS of the carolinas seems to vanish right in the same area. For context, the moors were Muslim north Africans that conquered Spain from the goths who sacked Rome centuries before and became very powerful and influential in Medieval Europe and the Sahara. So powerful, some sought out lands on the other side of the Atlantic many times. There is a report the eastern cherokee tell of black peoples coming to the Americas LONG BEFORE THE WHITE MAN. Before Hernando de Soto and the english. A story in the Book of Roger talks about some explorers from Almoravid Portugal went west of the sheep infested Azores islands to a land of group of tall, reddish brown people (Calusa Indians of Florida) who apprehended and kicked out these moors blindfolded and their hands bound together on their boats. Leaving them to flow out on the gulf stream for over 3 whole days, they came upon another people who freed them on the mainland. This would put them around tribes of Carolinas, a days away from the Cherokee nation, and these moors made a port there. Later a European explorer would be saved by black skinned indians whom he assumed were wearing paint until they tried to take it off. A lost colony of moors? While other peoples like Africans, Natives, and Europeans joined the community, was the community's heritage of Almoravid moorish heritage? We do see north african dna. (Almoravid empire was a berber empire whose elites are from the south Sahara or "land of the blacks" which conquered lands from the Gao empire of Africa to the kingdom of Aragon in Spain)
@@donnielaws7020 as someone born in the Carolinas, I appreciate what you do. Speaking of which… Have you thought of doing a video on the Turkish community that has been in Appalachia, some of whom fought in the revolutionary war Or the strange Muslim Cherokee leaders who fought in the civil war with the confederacy like Brigadier general Ramadhan bin Wati, his son Saladin Watie or chief Mahir Abdel-Razzaaq El Just some topics to expand your demographic and content
hey I'm Melungeon :) my dad worked a good bit with Brent Kennedy on different genealogical areas trying to figure out a connection. there's 2 popular theory's that ive heard that i personally like, if you have ever heard the Cherokee tale of the moon eyed people i think that's a possible lead as there has been archeological evidence of a Dutch settlement that predates Spanish and other European exploration but the fact of Melungeon's speaking broken English when encountered kinda busts that theory. the other theory that i like is the lost colony theory maybe when they fled with the Croatan that maybe they worked their way to the mountains via different indigenous trade routes it would explain them speaking broken english but not sure where the African ancestry comes in at be it run away slaves from the southern spanish settlements or what me personally thats my guess. i really want to thank you for putting this out to more people so they at least know we exist.
Dutch were one of the first to settle in America that is an explanation. The theory about people dont like the rules and then moved away i directly thought about the Dutch. Dutch people dont like to be told how to live in some way. They obbey rules but they get fed up by it the same time.
History liver243 (7 Months ago) In Reference to the Melungeon that were of European, African and Native American Indian...have you read that there were Native America Indians that once Owned African Slaves? Frankly, In the Generations Today, MOST People in this World are (DNA Proven) Mixed Breeds. 💓😊💓 Ok with me! 👍💓😊💓👍
When I saw the title of your video, I actually said aloud, "Well, there's something I've never heard of... why not?" Thanks for putting in the time and effort to teach me something today!
Thank you for making this video. Your theory is a good one and corresponds with the historical evidence of De Soto's expedition. I always wondered about my grandfather from Floyd Co., Kentucky, who lived back in the hollers and hills, and his origins. He and his family didn't look like typical Appalachians, as he had an olive complexion and jet-black hair. When I did a 23 and Me DNA test, I discovered that in addition to being majority British and German, I was 3% Spanish, 1% Black, and 1% Asian-Native American. My grandfather was a Melungeon.
My family tree includes Melungeons, who lived mostly in the mountains. When I was small, my family referred to the dark-skinned Melungeon set of the Trent family members, as “Blackbird Trents” and the lighter skinned Trent family members, as the “Snowbird Trents”. (Same with the Gibson families). This wasn’t a derogatory reference, at all. It was simply a way to refer to the correct clan of Trents, in a conversation. I’m guessing there were two sets of Trents/Gibsons due to marriage between cousins, which was quite common for mountain folks, back then. Fascinating!
It's so good to see this!! My Momma always told me that my great-great-grandmother was Melungeon, but she suffered from Dementia and Parkinsons so I wasn't able to get much info from her the last 20 years or so before she passed last year 😥. Both of my parents and I were born in Lee County, Virginia. We lived in VA, KY, and TN, we moved around a lot, until we moved to Florida in 1975 for good. I've hated it ever since! We lived in Cumberland Gap in a huge two-story brick home with a handful of fireplaces in it, just down the road from the Iron Furnace. That water came out of Cujo's Cavern and was cold as ice and we played in it every chance we got! There was a trail that left from the furnace that took you to a point where KY, VA, and TN met! As a kid that was the coolest thing to walk around and be in 3 states almost at once 😁 I had the best childhood, until we moved to Florida. The brick house we lived in was bought by the historical society as soon as we moved out. Oh, I can't put my hands on the picture right now!! I hate it when that happens! It was right next door to a Pentacostal (I think) church that handled snakes and my Momma was scared to death of snakes! Me and Daddy just laughed because we weren't afraid of snakes! Sorry for the long post, but it just caught me by surprise, very pleasantly, and I miss home so so much 😢 💔 Now I just HAVE to do my DNA! Rumor has it that my aunt on Momma's side (her side is very wealthy and uppity 😝☹️😤) was doing genealogy and it was a HUGE project. Apparently she found "people of color", blacks and Indians, all of a sudden and just as suddenly, the whole project stopped. 😠🙄 I haven't really had anything to do with either side since they dragged me to Florida against my will except for my grandparents and they have long ago passed. Thank you so much for all of the info!! It has sparked my interest again in my heritage and I sure do hope Momma was right!! That we are part of this beautiful and diverse group of people ❤️
Thank you my friend for doing such a beautiful and detailed video! God bless you and yours 🙏💕💫🙌🌹 You have a subscriber for life! I love the sound of your voice as well 😌 It makes me homesick for all the voices of my childhood who are no longer here 💔 Mamaw and Papaw, my other Mamaw, Daddy, Momma, just that accent, that beautiful accent, music to my heart. 😊 Thank you, kind sir 🙏 You are a blessing 🙂
May God bless you and l ask the Lord Jesus to have his Angels give you peace and may St Anthony find for you everything that will bring knowledge and understanding for you and yr heritage. May the Lord give peace to yr heart, mind and soul, because of the love you have for yr people. JMJ pray for us.💕
Your post made me cry. What a lovely story. 3 states at once! How exciting as a kid to experience that!! I am card carrying status Coastal Salish Indian here on West coast of Canada, and people here still treat my relatives that LOOK more Indian than me different than me. Its funny how people are that way. Sad. I hope you find your complete heritage, and always stay proud of it!
I first learned about the Melungeon People when I researched Abraham Lincoln in the 1980's. There are many who believe that he was also Melungeon due to his course hair and dark complexion. I also believe there are many other famous Americans who were also Melungeon or had Melungeon ancestry that we may know from history. But I want to give you a big "thumbs up" for your comments about DeSoto's men. I really think you are on to something! I really believe further research about DeSoto's expedition, may reveal a little more information that would give credence to your theory! Lastly, all Americans have unique backgrounds. None of us picked our ancestors or our parents or how we came to this great land, but we are all part of this society. Your film is another part of American History. I hope more people will take off their blinders to look and listen. We all need to hear each other's stories, no matter who we are or where we come from. Thank you for this very interesting presentation.
From WV, your theory is a great one and possibly so true. My husband and I both are from WV and have been everywhere world wide. There is no place as beautiful as the Appalachia Mountains. When you walk the woods it is home for your soul and you need nothing. All the reason WV is called God's country.
This is a fascinating subject. I spent 13 years in ET going to grad school at UT and working at various newspapers. I would run into Melungeons at various place, including the Ramp Festival in Cosby and the Museum of Appalachia in Norris (a gem of a place founded by John Rice Irwin with a very interesting background story), and even they had a variety of stories about their origins. The DeSoto theory was one that I heard, along with origins from Portugal and Turkey. In the 1980s Hancock and Hawkins counties still had a surprising number of the independent farmsteads and properties that you describe, and there were indeed Melungeons around. The people of those counties were quite clannish and suspicious of most strangers, although not ugly to others; just careful. Many still enjoyed their isolation. You have to imagine that the area became home to many people who for various reasons shunned "civilized" behavior and government (escaped slaves for one, also Cherokees who were not sent west), and that tradition was still in vogue at that time.
My great grandmother was a very dark lady from around flag pond TN. She came across the mountains to settle with her husband in madison County nc. She was a Ray and married into the Shelton family. I was called a black Shelton in school. She was a grand ole lady who knew the woods really well. Thanks for the video!
@@FrankMerendaBadShot yeah I'm sure truckers greatly appreciated I-26 the first winter they no longer had to come across Sam's gap, but the old road sure is scenic the rest of the year.
You're a phenomenal storyteller. I believe in your theory. Thank you for sharing this story. The things public schools don't teach you. Sir you're truly a amazing teacher.
I enjoyed listening to you talk, you have voice that I could listen to all day telling stories of times gone by and now. Thank you for sharing your theory and it does sound plausible.
I thought the same thing. His voice is so soothing to the soul. I didnt want the video to end. And his theory just made good old fashioned common sense. Something we lack these days.
There are s group of people in the Ramapo Mountains of NJ/NY that have the same background. Native peoples, slaves & Hessian soldiers who came over to fight during the Revolution.
Elvis's hair was actually blonde, like his father, Preston's. He dyed it black to look more like his mother's hair. If you see early pictures of Elvis, you will see he is a blonde.
i also did hear he had turkish background. turks are generally east european to west asian looking. they can go from really dark looking brunettes to gingers. and it doesn't mean sh*t. just like this video.
Our family has been in that area for over 250 years on my dads side. As the ships captain wrote, Zimmerman/Simmerman I can not understand him. Humm.. Zimmerman Island . My grandfather on mom's side walk out of Berks Garden and married our grandmother. We believe that is where we got the proud Melungeon heritage. Thank you for the video.
@@janettedavis6627 Yes we are direct descendents from Germany. Three brothers came in to the port of Philadelphia following a Lutheran Minister starting churches all through the mountains. Reverend Respress died in what is now Wythe County, Virginia. One brother stayed there, one disappeared in the south and the third went back to Germany.
Narrator has a great voice! Thank you for sharing this, I'm sure there are stories that will never be told that should be part of our American heritage.
I've never heard of the Melungeon people but I like how you describe them as hardworking people just like everyone else in Appalachia. The conviction in your voice makes me feel like not everyone feels the way you do and you have a history of sticking up for people who may be targeted. I really enjoyed stumbling upon this video.
Your theory sounds as good as any I've heard over the years. My favorite was that England was dropping off Gypsies (Rom) in Virginia in the 1600s- 1700s. I wish they'd get the DNA analysis done so we wouldn't have to guess anymore though.
My mom is from Morgantown WV. Our ancestors were German British Lanape Cherokee African Spanish Portuguese Irish Scottish Hungarian Peruvian Punjabi Indian. I got dna done It has maternal ancestors from Syria Iraq Turkey Africa Eastern European Italian/Greece. One of my grandfathers show up in the family tree 4 times. So alot of cousins married each other and didn't know it. My grandparents were 3rd cousins.
I’m from Roma ( Gypsy) heritage from my great grandfather and I had my great aunt dna tested and she was connected to Appalachia community!! There may be truth in this. I plan to contact some if the dna matches to see if they know how they have any stories
@@dollypop3015 Oh wow! Thanks for that info Dolly....I have a few book in my library about Roma beliefs and they are a fascinating people that I find very interesting. And like all countries with Roma.....you make the USA and Virginia way more interesting. :)
Your Theory is spot on. My grandfather comes from a similar people in Delaware that they called the Moors of Delaware. They were a mixed group with Indigenous American, African and European blood lines. My grandfather was very fair skinned with blue eyes and dark hair and could pass for white but he was not.
G’day Mate! Love your Channel, I had heard of these people years ago, but there is not alot of info out there. This video so interesting. Thanks for the time and effort you put into your videos, I for one really appreciate it. My best mate and I had been planning too come over to the US from Australia, too fly fish the Appalachians for the Brook Trout on your little wild streams there. It’s been a dream of ours since we were in our late teens. First 2 major Cancer events got in the way of our trip, then a car accident and now Bloody Covid-19 got in our way ☹️ but we are very determined Aussies haha, so hopefully in the near future we can get over there and explore that beautiful area. The history is so intriguing and interesting, so that’ll be a extra awesome part of our Adventure. Anyway I hope you are all going well over there, stay safe... hopefully we’ll get there soon. Cheers from Australia 🇦🇺
@donnie laws, mate could the people that were there with the native tribes, could they have been some of the Viking settlers that were pushed out, up into the mountains?
@@donnielaws7020 thanks for replying mate. It’s a very interesting mystery that’s for sure. You’ve got a great channel, I’ll be bingeing it tonight while we are in a 7 day lock down. Cheers mate
I was born and raised in north east Tennessee. I remember some folks there that were "different" than most others. Everybody was scufflein' around trying to make a living and did not care what you were, as long as you were "decent folks". I grew up with some of these Melungeons. Tough folks! I really miss being up there NOW!
Well maybe you should come back. Some folks like myself did in Kentucky. I find that folks in the Appalachians are more genuine than other places I've been in the US. But also I enjoyed the people in Thailand immensely because they're very true to themselves, and show great respect for life. Hard working folks and loving families. 👍
People who were thought to be Appalachian but were actually Melungeon were Abe Lincoln, Elvis Presley, Ava Gardner, Johnny Depp, Cher, George Clooney, Loretta Lynn, Tom Hanks and more. Beautiful people with dark eyes and hair. How wonderful to celebrate who we are and where we come from.
Quite a bit of solid research on Lincoln. It’s believed his real father was Abraham Enloe, a Melungeon man who Nancy Hanks worked w prior to marrying Thomas Lincoln. It makes lots of sense as Abe & his “father” Thomas, were known to not get along, likely because Thomas knew Nancy was pregnant by another man when they married. I’ve heard that about Elvis & Ava Gardner. One would think that Elvis’s daughter or one of his grandchildren have had their DNA tests done at some point. Would be interesting to find out! Donnie Laws: love your videos! So happy I stumbled in to them. You have a real talent for making history approachable and interesting. Your love of Appalachia and its people shines bright!
What a very calming voice you have! I could listen to that all day ~ you ever think about being the voice for audio books? You know, somebody records you reading a book? Or maybe just telling history or something. Real pleasure to listen to you. If I had a grampa, I bet he would have sounded like that 😊
Thank you, Donnie. I love your stuff. I have recommended it to others. Your soft, gentle voice and accent are the icing on the cake. I guess the cake is just really good content! I just spent a few weeks in the Shenandoah and West Virginia and I spent a lot of time thinking about the generations who lived there.
My ancestors came from the land of the Melungeon and they settled in the Cumberland Plateau in the early 1800’s. . Some of my ancestors came from Lee Co Va in the late 1700’s to Lee County Ky (Estill Co) in the 1830’s. Many family members still remain there. Some of the mix came from from the western Islands, and my natives ancestors were from the land of the Melungeon. Thank you for sharing this part of American history about the people of the Melungeon land.
I’ve been fascinated by the mystery of these people since I saw a book at a beach house in Cape Hatteras we rented back in the 1990s. I think it was written by a professor, Kennedy, who was melungeon. Kind of neat to have a little mystery in this day and age. When I saw some of the pictures I immediately thought of a man I worked with from southern VA who was dark as could be for a European but had the most startlingly ice blue eyes I’d ever seen and figured he must have been melungeon. As I read the book, I was impressed about how these must have been some tough people to have survived up in those mountains! Same as the Scots/Irish that live up there in those mountains…tough.
I grew up in WV and I always wondered about my great grandpas family being Melungeon. He had olive skin, dark curly hair, and blue eyes. Last name was McKinney from Wyoming county. He had dimples and was very tall and handsome.
Thank you very much for having my grandpa and grandma that we knew. My mother died so she took her and her sister in to raise as her own. Thank you again. I love seeing them and hearing you speak as you did. They were a lost tribe and We really don't know who we are. Hope you have a blessed life I'm almost 70 years old and my mother died young about 46 I think I was 6 years old. I just can't thank you enough. I've only sat here and cried . over and over again, because I would love to know who I am . Well I do know I am a child Of GOD the Father. So that is the best for now.
My Mom is from this area originally. We always assumed that her family was primarily Indian but you should see the family reunions. Very interesting mix of family!
That must be extremely fun! Full of different stories and living history! I would love this, and bee happy to be a member of this ancestral, historical family group!
Well, according to my 23 & me profile, I’m 99.9% European. Yet our family reunions are similar. We have all different colors in our family. I guess we’re just very inclusive and accepting of everyone. 😁
I live in western N.C., as my family has for generations. One of my children was born with a birthmark , on their rear end mind you ! Questioned our doctor about it and he said it was common among people of Mediterranean decent and he brought up the Melungeon people and their story ! I found many stories and theories . I did a dna test 2 years ago and like many people in this area , I had a large portion of Irish, Scotch ,and Welsh , and to my surprise a large portion of Spanish and Portugeese ! Maybe a mystery solved !
@@bengullett2837 From the dna test I did , basically 12 different nationalities , I may very well be melungeon ! My brother jokingly tells people that we're American "MUTTS"!
Interesting! I lived in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, in upstate SC for about 25 years. I spent all of my vacations from Highlands NC to Pigeon Forge TN. I believe those mountains are the most beautiful place on earth.
@@jamesredman1263 , My dad taught at Clemson and I grew up there but when I left the nest I moved up above hwy 11 kind of near Turkey Knob. Spent a lot of time around the country outside of Walhalla. Love the Blue Ridge Parkway. Used to drink a few beers at Scatterbrains:)
James Redman that is an interesting name you have there , my husbands Victorian grandfather was a Redman , he became a Methodist indentured Vicar, and his family said Kaddish for them in those days, when that happened. He retired in Leeds, before Cornwall. As the Redman family owned a Leeds Department store. Ironically my Uni Philosophy lecturer was married into the same Redman family. So the Redmans were in Manchester Areas, Leeds and Sunderland Gateshead during the two World Wars. Strangely enough my lecturer was from Finnish Jews, his grandparents came to the UK 🇬🇧 in the Victorian era . My lecturer 👨🏫 would be knocking on 100 now.
@@xvsupremacy7190 - My first encounter with the name in looking into the UK brought me to ethnic Jewish Redmans from there, possibly the same set as your lecturer. A racing driver named Brian Redman in the late 1960s and 1970s was one of those I believe.. But I recalled my father's family said it was from Ireland and originally spelled Redmond there. So I looked for the origins of Redmonds in Ireland and had my mind blown because of so many amazing connections, tracing back to Raymond le Gros. Redmond was one of the names derived from his by descendants. ("Grace" from "Gros" is another.) And with that, I dug further through Gerald of Windsor to Otho de Gherardini (from Florence originally) who came into England with Edward the Confessor via Normandy, and "Gherardini" came from Gherard son of Aeneas the Dardanian son-in-law of Priam who led those willing out of the city of Troy before the massacre and eventually to Latium. The story gets fuzzy back around Zeus. Searching that stuff was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Have there been any implications of an Irish connection in your Redman line?
I’ve some lineage here in Kentucky and it lends to a lot of ethnic confusion. People often ask “What are you?”, just like that, which I find a bit of a rude approach to satisfying one’s curiosity. I’ve had plenty of friends and acquaintances with similar roots as well but characteristically expressed in a great range of appearance
They just aren't sophisticated like most Americans and don't have good conversational or social skills ... They don't mean to be rude... They just don't know how to use better vocabulary quickly in the moment...such as my I ask what your ancestry is ?
Both sides of my family are from WV and this happened to me growing up ALL THE TIME. It felt insulting, even if without meaning to be, but I was too young to know how to best understand or handle it. Typically I just asked them what they thought... Which led to diverse answers!!! 🤣
To ask someone "what are you" is incredibly rude. Being a Southerner I would never ask a person that. I am, however, interested in genealogy and anthropology so if I ever run across someone I wonder what their ancestry is, this is how I approach it: I tell them to please forgive me for being so bold, as I'm not trying to be rude, but I think they are so beautiful (or handsome) and wondered what their ancestry is. I am very, VERY white and people have made jokes about my fair skin my entire life, so I understand the annoyance of a stranger asking personal questions. However, to educate people I do tell them I am mostly Scandinavian and Scottish; that's why I'm so fair with blonde hair. People have asked if I was albino before, which I had to laugh at. Anyway, if I can tell the person I'm asking about their ancestry is annoyed or offended, I apologize profusely and leave them alone. But even if I don't ask about their ancestry, if there is something beautiful about them I make sure I tell them I think so. You never know; things like that might make someone's day. I know it would mine.
@@betsyroberts9704 Yeah, I can’t help but be curious about genealogy. I used to be a “Doorman”/bouncer for well over a decade and I loved checking ID’s because I was curious where people were from and had an excuse to look them in the eyes as a stranger and consider their dialects as well. I was perfectly comfortable asking what brought them to town, etc.. I kinda miss that aspect of engagement. “What are/is you?” is most certainly rude but if you compliment someone beforehand I reckon most will be open to any query, especially if it makes an individual feel uniquely beautiful or special. Same request, entirely different approach!
In all of my years, this is the first time I've ever heard of the Melungeon people. I will say that your theory makes sense and would support the assertion of Spanish and Mexican slaves being "deserters" from the DeSoto expedition. Perhaps more weight towards the slaves as the 55% DNA results showed. This is an interesting story and a very fascinating bit of history. Thanks for making a video of it.
Thank you for sharing this. I grew up in VA & in all my years of schooling, and college, I’ve never heard of this group of people before. Your theory sounds right on the money. Thank you for this important American history lesson. ❤️
My friend Nancy and I are in our early 70s. We both grew up on the outskirts of the Appalachians. She grew up in Ashland, Kentucky, and when I mentioned the Melungeons to her, she wrote back right away and enclosed an old family photo, and she used the term "Black Dutch." She also mentioned two Kentucky writers that you might know well, Jesse Stuart and Wendell Berry. I've watched six of your videos and something about these stories is striking deep inside me.
ok so my grandmother said our family was Black Dutch becuase we had so many ethnicities. I came across a Tik Tok explaining a Melungeon and I thought that sounded like what my grandmother described and this confirms its true!
Of Melungeon decent from East Tennessee. As far as your theory goes, it is my understanding that Desoto's expedition chronicled the Melungeon's upon their arrival unto the area as did the French explorers. As for DNA studies some Mediterranean descent has been established as well as those you listed. The theory that i personally subscribe too is a Portuguese galleon ship wrecked on the coast of North Carolina. The many race sailors traveled inland where they subsequently settled took wife's and lived? Also many Cherokee used the name "black dutch" or Melunegeon as to claim European ancestry and not lose their lands.
You may be right my friend, But what is the proof on any theory is another matter. De soto's men where the same in DNA also more or less. Thanks so much sharing this. I did not know about this story. Thanks again my friend.
@@donnielaws7020 From Wikipedia (Hernando de Soto) ... Fascinated by the stories of Cabeza de Vaca, who had survived years in North America after becoming a castaway and had just returned to Spain, de Soto selected 620 Spanish and Portuguese volunteers, including some of mixed-race African descent known as Atlantic Creoles, to accompany him to govern Cuba and colonize North America. The first account of the expedition to be published was by the Gentleman of Elvas, an otherwise unidentified Portuguese knight who was a member of the expedition. His chronicle was first published in 1557.
Eremias Ranwolf Yes of course it is called assimilation. During the Industrial Revolution in the whole of the UK 🇬🇧 the settled community became peripatetic in order to find work. So married Romany Gypsies. There are Irish ☘️ Romany Gypsies of course descending from Gypsy King/Earl Martin. There were a number of Potato 🥔Famines and during the Famines they came especially to North East England 🏴 and Border Country, which was close to Scotland 🏴 Ireshopeburn In Weardale is actually pronounced Irish hope Burn . A Burn is a little flowing river and or spring . Also Nenthead Mines neat Alston in Cumbria. They were drawn to Mining ⛏ and Railway, Canal, Roadbuilding like Settle where thriving Communities sprung up out of nothing.
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When I was little I referred to my maternal grandmother as Black Gramma and I am as white as they come. My grandmother, though, was dark skinned with dark, curly hair and broad facial features that looked Native American to me. She was from that area of Eastern KY and told a story about her father being a Cherokee man who wasn't allowed to marry her mother so he left. I sensed there was a lot of shame in their poverty and lack of family bonds and the stories don't all add up to paint a clear picture of what happened all of those years ago. i am proud to be from such hard working people. I know they struggled on so many levels.
Thanks for sharing this my friend with us. God bless you.
I have GOOD NEWS for you,cherokee indians are that of AFRO ORGIN
"FOOD FOR THOUGT"
My great granny was about the same. Her hair was straight and down to her knees. She was about 4'11". We called her our little black granny.
Cherokee and European no doubt!
Cheryl: My Irish family also has photos of dark skinned, high cheek boned people, resembling Spanish or American Indian.
Humans have been breeding with people from other tribes since the beginning of time.
So perhaps it's time we call those claiming "systematic racism " liars.
Look around the American dinner table, for the evidence, we are all of mixed blood.
I liked the way that he kept saying “ that they would do this or that “like anybody else”. That’s the story of all of us, if we would only respect each other because we’re just like anybody else.
We are all one in America my friend. They keep trying to divide us.
Unfortunately, people seem to think they are superior to the rest of us. From the very start of their lives, this is what they were
Taught, and just kept believing this idea and passing it on to future generations. Nothing so evil as the man who thinks himself better, and enforcing it, forever.
Well, we're not all the same. We have different backgrounds and histories and cultures. But that's not bad. We're all valuable in the eyes of God. And at some point, we're all related.
@@kimlorton3002 guess my 2 older sisters are going to Hell. What a relief
Anita Johnson, and Karen Bartlett, I love the fact we are all different! I mean, that we are all the same in the context of what we have to offer. No one should be over the law, and we all are human beings. Our blood runs red, and we all have things to offer each other and learn from. I am not better than you, because I went to nursing school, and helped people, you, are no better
In general, than I am. We all come to the table of life with something to offer others. When we get to heaven, we are all judged the same way,by thee same yardstick as the next person. Skin color, etc. makes white, no more important than black, red, pink.
Culture and other things should bring us together, not have us all saying , I am better than you, because…..that is a bull crap way to look at humanity. At one point, as this country was being built, everyone was an immigrant. Sadly, the views came with some people, and found a new home for prejudiced views. We can only make our corner of the world better, and influence others for the good.
I’m 73 years in my journey and this is the first I’ve heard of the Melungeon people. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks for watching my friend.
Elvis was .
I live in the Appalachian area of Pennsylvania, very near to West Virginia. I have never heard of the Melungeon people. I’ve gotta do some research. Thanks
As a Melungeon person, I will tell you that in the Appalachian Mountains, people have always married into different ethnic groups, in isolated pockets for centuries.
@@mikematerne4579 Your history is fascinating!
I grew up in French Canada (Quebec), I thought that this may add to your quest for knowledge. The French verb Melanger, in the fourth tense (nous) is conjugated as follows: Nous Melangeons, which translates into English as We Mix… or a mixture. As the Louisiana Territory was sold to America, this info may not be too far fetched. I hope this puts a smile to your face!
That's what it means my friend. Thanks for sharing this information.
@HiHubbell nope
Yeah except Canada accepted British rule and did nothing and if Britain and Canada had it their way we’d all be dead and no one would know who the melangeons were.
In the 1800s the terms race and ethnicity were pretty interchangeable. By that standard,me being of Polish and Irish heritage, I'm biracial! :The Slavic race + the Celtic race..
I am fascinated with pre-1713 for what would become the USA and any and all FRENCH connections. Old BATH in NC was thought to be a tiny town along the Neuse River but after the discovery of Gov. Dobbs map (he held during a portrait) it became clear BATH was a large territory. There are conflicting accounts about some French settlers who called this region home. One claim is they arrived via the Virginia Colony and then migrated to BATH to practice their Catholic faith. ( Many many folks yearned to have their lines find a path to Jamestown. The reality is the Carolina settlements predate Jamestown and many folks don't think about possible French connections because it fell under English rule in the 1700s. The English even renamed the Cape Fear River. It was originally named the Jourdan River and is represented as such on early maps. The other account for BATH is the French were refugees from Brussels planted directly in Bath during the French Religious Revolution (1562-1598). The French
were ALREADY in BATH and a growing population that DOBBS and the English wanted to push out of Coastal Plains. I was really surprised to learn that New Orleans was under the gov't of Quebec for some time and the Ohio River was the boundary! There is so much to learn via DNA and re-evaluating what the history books tell us.
This video used to be on yt and now isn't but, they found some Cherokee burial mounds in one of the valleys the TVA was gonna flood. They clled in the archaeologists and dug it up. They found copper smelting operation with X shaped copper cast plates and ceramics and took them to the McClung Museum, about 1930.
In 1900, off the coast of Turkey, a Cretan shipwreck was discovered and it contained copper X shaped cast plates and ceramics identical to the ones in Tennessee. Somebody noticed the similarities and asked the McClung for some samples of the clay and the copper and then went to Turkey and asked them for the same. They were an exact match. The copper was from Michigan, the clay was Tennessee. Cretan miners had been smelting Michigan copper in Tennessee clay. They went looking for Cretan DNA among the Cherokee and found fourteen markers, whatever that means. They found 100 Cretan words in the Cherokee language that sound and mean the same as Cretan. Yeah, that video's GONE. The truth is, that the ancient world had regular contact with the Americas. Right along. Columbus wasn't the first or even the hundredth European to come here.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
Those Phonecians got around!
I agree with you, wholeheartedly
@@cindybryant1584 would these people be Phoenician or Minoan? Seems to me with today's symbology Phoenician culture ultimately prevailed, and the other seems to share similarities with every culture that has had an attempted genocide or successful one after upon them
There is a cave near olney Illinois with Egyptian artifacts
What a fabulous story teller. It's a dying art. His style is perfect. Laid back and soothing. Thank you Sir. God bless you.
Thanks my friend. GOD BLESS
Yes, agree
@@psb12121 this appeared in my recommended feed just minutes ago. I agree with you and subbed immediately after watching this.
@@2manybooks2littletime25 isn't he the best!? I subbed immediately, too.
Yes! Such an alluring voice. Like a beloved uncle, dad, or grandfather who feels some affection for his audience. Trustworthy and kind.
The diversity of America is amazing. It has been forgotten in today's polarization.
That's true.
True. I think that if a profit motive isn't involved, many of these small communities probably tolerated diversity and newcomers well
When ever I get to talking to dog owners that say they're dog is part this and part that and then make up a smashup name for them, I just smile and say "What an amazing American Dog you have!" Lets try to find simple ways of reducing that polarization, decrease world suck and highlight being an American. If you get a weird look and a rush to leave...youve found the problem.
So true! We are from all over the world and it’s high time we started acting like it and appreciating each other.
@@patricksanders858 Another words we're mutts 😬
I never knew my dad's parents, but have seen pictures. My grandfather was very dark, with light eyes, as was My Dad. My siblings and I used to wonder where his ancestors were from.. I had my DNA done and have North African, Spanish, Portuguese, Scottish, Irish, Italian and Scandinavian. Once I learned about Melungeon people it all made sense. Thank you!
Awesome my friend. Your very welcome.
I have a very similiar mix
You're most likely not Melungeon if you don't have some Sub-Saharan. I'm from Appalachian Free Colored Virginia communities, so I see the DNA results of all of my DNA relatives in Tenn. and Kentucky. What are your Melungeon family surnames?
I'm in my 60s, and I had never heard of the Melungeon people until I stumbled across this video. Thank you so very much for sharing, and for enlightening me (and others, I am sure!) Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it my friend.
Yes, same here! Off to learn more......
I feel the same way. Never heard of them either. Very interesting.
Me too.
I've never heard of them either. My ancestors were from the area being Scot/Irish and American Indians.
Your theory makes a lot of sense. They had nowhere to go, so they stayed in the mountains where the natural resources were plentiful and could sustain them.
Thanks my friend.
Plus they probably intermarried with Indians, probably Cherokee, who lived in these mountains and knew them.
Karen Bartlett In India Lamani Gypsies live in the mountains 🏔.
@@xvsupremacy7190 Of course, the flora and fauna are different. Instead of deer, they have tigers!
My guess was Spanish, as Florida, Mississippi areas and Louisiana were part of New Spain. And as Spain had colonization problems in those areas lost control and the Spanish got lost to Indians and Blacks. Some Spanish ended up in Cuba.
I’m a “Triracial” Mexican American guy who has Spanish, native indigenous, and African ancestry all of them being in the 20% and above. Watching this video really fascinated me as we have similar admixtures and can often times look the same, or similar to the Melungeon people. Many people who are Afro-Latino share similar genetic makeups, stemming from Euro, Indigenous, and African DNAs. It’s all so fascinating to me. All in all we’re all human and that’s what really matters at the end of the day.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
Puerto Ricans are also triracial, right? I tried explaining this to my father and his head could not wrap around it lol. He gon learn today because his family tree has 2 Melungeons in it lmaooo.
@@MsNooneinparticular Definitely! I would even go to say that Puerto Ricans are the main group of Tri-Racial people due to the history of their island.
@@MsNooneinparticular Not over with yet. Not that easy helps too watch your back. Watch each other's backs. Can't just go through 🧬 Life ignoring things. Like these people are in dangerous hands. Be cause there's some things that are going on. Like trying to figure out what happened to these people. WARE did They go. Why 🤔😨 be cause there was a natives on the island of portorrco. They vanished not to long after the Portuguese and then the rest of them came.
💯
James was my husband. My family name is Kakaruk. Every one in Alaska by that name literally is related both sides, I think there are 35 of us total in U.S. and I'm the only one not living in Alaska because I ran away at 8. Interesting enough, a visit to the Ukrain , to my shock, also revielled a very small family of about 15 or less with same last name and abviously looked like my grandfather and uncles, cousins in Alaska, down to the cheekbones, long toes and ability to darken in summer as well as our beautiful eyes! Imagine my shock. By chance and a wrong turn and I'm looking into the eyes of a man that could be my twin, thousands of miles from Alaska. After we started a while, it was clear he was as surprised. He got other family to come and it was obvious. I wrote our name in English, then Russian. His I'd was spelt exactly the same. I can pass for white but get me around northern tribes and it's obvious I'm not. My height puts me well above the Eskimo men. The grey eyes wide apart and a obvious white streak in some of their hair also evident. Mine white has increased with age. Oddly, the person I was there with was as shocked as I and took pics of us together. Other than my obvious western clothes, it was obvious we are related! I never had biological children due to early abuse but by some maricle, our name, grey eyes and unique genetics is going on oceans away. God has a plan and it humbles me!
WOW Thanks for sharing this information and your story my friend. God bless you.
Wow! I wish we could see the photo! Thank you for sharing this.
Very interesting! Something to think about. Sad that you were abused as a child. How in the world did you escape in Alaska at only 8 years of age? Would love to know more of your story, how you came to be in Ukraine, etc. All the best to you. Glory to God!
Have you ever seen thought of writing or co-writing a book about your life? I (and probably many others) would be interested in learning more about your life based on what you mention here.
I am so sorry that you endured such abuse. So glad you survived it. And happy for the joys you experience such as the synchronicity of meeting relatives when and where you least expected.
are you lgbtqai ?
I'm 51 years old , and this is the first time I've ever heard of these people. Thank you for this!
Hopefully an American History teacher will stumble upon this and continue to share to our future, so that we won't lose the past.😎
I hope so too! Thanks for sharing my friend.
I found out some time in the early 90's that this is my heritage. I still tell people when they ask my background, and I rarely encounter people that know what I'm talking about. Granted, the further south I go, which is closer to where both sides of my family have history, the less people need explanations.
I'm Australian and have known about these people for years. Perhaps it's because I'm interested in history and genealogy.
I' have, they escaped the slave hunters, by claiming they were Portuguese, but my granny say they were , native American, African American, European.
Yeah Right
My childhood friend was a Melungeon, and gave me insight to an unusual trait that's been carried on: she told me to run my tongue over the top of my mouth, and if there was a prominent ridge, you are Melungeon. She had blondish hair growing up, very light skinned, as was all her people. Giving me insight into her heritage 50 years later made me realize even more than ever, that you never know who you're looking at, or assuming you know their heritage just by being in the same proximity. I love and miss my friend, Corlette Bridgewater Murray. Rest in Heaven.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
What?
What happened to your friend
@@billwilliamson9842 He didn't say he was
What kind of a ridge in your mouth? From front to back or side to side?
I saw a documentary many years ago, saying that Melungeons were descended from Turkish, and Portuguese sailors that came over on ships with the first Spanish explorers. They didn't know if the sailors chose to stay, or were abandoned; but they have established dna connections to those people in Europe. They intermarried with native Americans, Africans, and Europeans. In Turkey, the have a day of celebration every year in honor of those cousins who are still in the US. My best friend, from high school's Mother was from that region. If you saw her picture as a young woman, you would swear she was Portuguese! It's amazing to me how strong those genealogical traits carry on!
WOW, Good story my friend. Thank you for sharing.
? What does a Portuguese look like that made you believe that she looked Portuguese as a young woman? Portuguese people have mostly Celtic-Iberian DNA with Germanic & some North African/Moors/ Berber/Mediterranean DNA in the south of Portugal. So I’m curious about your definition of what a young Portuguese woman would look like. 😊
I was wondering the same! The Portuguese were great navigators; perhaps -- this is just a guess -- some of them hired on with those early Spanish explorers. I couldn't describe what a Portuguese woman would look like, but I thought some of those women in the photos looked part Portuguese too. And before anyone challenges me they should know that I'm part Portuguese and I grew up around a lot of people who are also part Portuguese. Some of my cousins have a distinctive look that I associate with the Portuguese in us.
@@Lori79Butterfly she had black wavy hair, a somewhat slender face. Dark eyes rimmed with black eyelashes, and a sort of long thin nose. Small mouth, and, rounded chin. It is usually very easy for me to guess people's ethnicity based on their facial structures. Those gene pools are strong, and last throughout the generations.
@@lucymorgan8859 I think Lori simply meant that what you described could be one variant of what a Portuguese person looks like. Same with Spain. We can all thank Hollywood for that kind of confusion. If you go there, you will see a variety of European people that range from blonde hair/blue eyes to dark hair/dark eyes. Not Hollywood’s description of what a Portuguese or Spaniard looks like.
My daddy is from that region of Virginia and he’s told us all our lives that my granddaddy was Black Dutch. He told us that he really couldn’t tell us exactly what kind of blood line we had because it was so many.To this day he will refer to them as “ family from the old country “. I love reading about them.
Thanks my friend for sharing this.
My folks also told us we were black Dutch... And we have some olive skinned dark haired people in our family...
@@tamiturner-may5549 Some of us also. My daddy’s hair was black as coal with blue streaks and olive skin, my older sister did also.
Holy Crap! My family used to say 'Black Irish' or 'Dutch' when describing themselves - turned out to be somewhat wrong with French included with the other parentages. *Revelation*
Get a DNA test and share the results
Your theory about deserters from De Soto's army being ancestors of the Melungeons makes the most sense. Apparently De Soto's army was a mixed bunch of Europeans, not just Spaniards. There may well have been Turks and northern Africans amongst this mercenary army. Apparently De Soto was a cruel leader of his army and very sick or injured soldiers were often abandoned . Survivors from these may have been adopted by the local AmerIndian tribes.
Thanks. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Humm, he was known to be a cruel leader.. I bet the NOT SPANISH people would have been seen as "lower Humans" and Deemed worthy of harsher punishments and treatment. Including possibly EVEN FOOD . If your NOT FED RIGHT... people tend.. TO LEAVE For Better pickins!
So if I have any Iberian peninsula DNA I could be Mulungeon? Considering on paper most of my ancestors were From United Kingdom.
Donnie Laws my Ggrandma had the last name of Laws. Missouri?
Knowing how Hernando rolled their genes were more likely left after they raped and pillaged the natives. Doubt they had an invite to stick around and blend in.
I love learning about lesser known history of the USA. Thx for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks my friend.
me too!
Hey
Happy day to you! I love all history so much so that I decided to start a history channel, hope you can visit soon! This is awesome what Donnie is doing. If you decide to visit my channel make sure you let me know you can from Donnie’s channel. I want him to get the credit! Stay safe
Thank you for educating us about these indigenous people. I love history
@@4thandpearl Your welcome. I am guessing like everyone else. Facts is what counts. Thanks for sharing my friend.
As a proud Melungeon, thanks for this kind assessment. I, too, think some of the Spanish expedition stayed here in the mountains. 💚
Thanks my friend for sharing and commenting.
@Only The truth Could be my friend. Thanks for sharing.
@@அவானிஉயர்ந்தது Thanks! I had not seen this one!
The fact that the Melungeon people have a sizeable percentage of Spanish DNA seems to support this position.
@@richardwalker3588 I have had a dna test kit for months. I need to send it off!
I am tri-racial and both of my parents have one melungeon parent. From what I understand the way you know for sure is by last name, especially for the WV group. My great-grandpa (and grandma until she married) was Croston. So we know his lines' origins. Its trickier for the more southern groups like the one that my grandfather on my fathers' side came from. We had a DNA test done on his side and it came back mostly GB, but also Ghana and unknown native american. Such a cool group to be a part of and very very foundationally American.
WOW that's awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing your story. God bless you.
How can you tell by the last name?
We have some old native history in my family and I think we just found out why we can’t track things back till before grandpa. I think we are Melungeon.
@@Therealtrailer707 Hey :) there are lists of family names that you can check by region. So if you know what state your folks are from (like mine were from West Virginia on my moms side and the Carolinas on my dads side) then you can check the list by state. I google searched melungeon family names WVA/SCA etc. Once I found our names I confirmed family name ancestry with other family members. Happy hunting
I'm a Mullins from West Virginia
My Nenaw’s people were from this area of Tennessee and fit’s this description. Her DNA is exactly what is listed.
She was very dark completed, Smokey grey eyes and black, curly hair.
When they moved to Louisiana, they were labeled “Mulato” and then when she married and moved to SE Texas, everyone thought she was Mexican.
My entire life people asked what I was and I had no answer’s. Depending on the region of the U.S…I was a military wife, people assumed I was one ethnicity or another.
IE…creole if Louisiana, Hispanic if in Texas, Native American in Arkansas, African American when in North Carolina, etc…
I’m going to contact this organization and send them our Ancestry DNA result’s.
Thank you so much for this information!!!!
Awesome! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
What a beautiful story! And the story of so many Americans. Thanks for sharing.
@@Joyful_Smiles Your very welcome my friend.
Mexican descent
Jennifer it sure sounds like you are the product of how America is meant to be - a melting pot - not a country made up of many little "nations" within. Your DNA will surely look like a map of the world all come together in YOU . . . and happily so. God Bless you "Miss America" you are what we were founded to become.
Your theroy makes perfect sense. Once in the mountains folks didn't travel far. Siblings of one family, married siblings of others. I can't count how many double cousins I have. My family consists of Branham, Stanley, Ramsey, Ramey, Mullins, Senter, and Counts. I have one family member that is my Aunt because she married my Daddy's brother, but she's also a cousin because one of her Great Grandfather's and one of my Great Grandmother's we're half brother and sister.
In my tree, the Stanley's, Ramey's and Senter's are the ones that did this the most.
My Branham Grandfather knew my Grandmother since the ages of 8 and 6. They married in 1912 when he was 16 and she was 14. They had 11 children, 9 of those children lived to adulthood. One was stillborn and one passed before the age of 2. She gave birth to her first child the day before her 15th birthday. Two of the 11 are still living. Granny was 89 when she passed in January 1987 and Grandpa was 91 when he passed in August of the same year. He mourned himself to death. Had Granny lived to March 12, 1987 they would have celebrated their 75th anniversary. I am their youngest granddaughter. They were already married 51 years before I came along.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
Doesn’t matter where we come from. The people of the Appalachian mountains are just like any body else. Just good people raising their families and trying to survive. Thanks Donny for bringing this to our attention. I descend from Damascus Virginia and love hearing and learning about the Appalachian people.
Amen my friend. We are all one people in these mountains. God bless you.
Amen
They think we r so mysterious cause of not being in the lime light n public we like to stay in the private
@@jessica-deannemonday.389 🌬️👥👤 That's ok. But if you can realize anything about what happened.
Any body that knows anything that.
Is so unknown to the unsuspecting.
Population of the earlier earopen.
And then the Indians.
Who were resettled in Mexico be careful. Even though they Target
Half breed's. Polish culture for example generation's where wiped out. Not just in Europe. But even in America. During WW2. I know some old polish culture. The people that were polish. Back in the 70s. I'm 54years Old now. One Old man named Ziggy. Ziggy escaped Poland
When he was 17. He told me so many things. Mary Schuller had the numbers tattooed on her arm.
She spent 2yeRs. In a camp.
They lived on the same block.
They told us something s.
Back in the day.
About to Day . No one paid to much attention. What would say. Is that one 🕐 🕜 Day . America world find out. Things that's were not good.
Even though the past is gone.
And so are they.
Some crazy old people
Not really.
Then you might not run across people like that anymore.
Something going on with us
But no one completely pin points
it. Out. They could explain it out to anyone. And then the polish comunty s. And then the Jewish community is gone. Neighborhood's
And towns. Vanished. Theses time in America the ghettos came.
And wiped out the comuntys Too.
WETH All theres ghettos over here.
Damascus? Hell you’re FROM the Appalachians. Welcome to the hollow, buddy.
My cousin is our family genealogist. She had DNA testing done on my dad's last 3 surviving siblings. The tests confirmed that we are Melungeon. I'm very proud of my heritage. Thank you for this video. The photos are wonderful. 👵🤗❤
Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this.
Sounds like there was a winger in the noood pile!
lol
Sure
We maybe kinned😊.
There's no dna test for melungeon. Ridiculous
I've studied and thought a lot about the Melungeons through the years. As an eastern Kentucky teacher, I saw students who I thought looked "Melungone," a mixture of dark skin, often blue-eyed, always dark haired kids. Often their last names were right in line with some of the names I've run across in my readings. It's a fascinating mystery. Your theory makes sense.
Teacher, u may want to share more on these experience and how they interact with others in the local community.
By chance, did you run across the surname Sewell? My great grandmother's family came from Appalachia prior to the Civil War.
My family was from Owensboro
Kellems is my clan
I'm Melungeon through my Great great great grandmother Margaret Peggy Collins. I myself have light skin and light hair and blue to hazel eyes. My mother is who I get it from her and her dad have olive colored skin and dark hair one of my uncle looks Hispanic. But unfortunately the Irish on all my other sides overpower the Melungeon look in me
This was interesting, there are SO many "micro-heritages" in the US. My family history is "Volga German" or "Germans from Russia" farmers who fled persecutions in Germany to start farms in Russia; then in Russia and wound up 'breaking sod' in ND, SD, NE, KS. My 3rs generation US Dad spoke only German until WW 2, when family moved moved to town; and teachers only spoke English. It's funny how much you can find when you listen to older people, go through photo books with them, and look up geneologies.
My family is also Volga Germans in Saskatchewan
That's also my family history
I am also of the Volga Germans ❤
I have Volga German as well as Black Sea German, the stories are a treasure trove. My relatives hid out on their farms through WWI and later because of the hatred towards them, my grandpa didnt speak English till school, as well! Their towns in America still published newspapers, birth records and such in German for quite a while after arriving here. Love unique stories like this one shown. Thanks!
My family is German - southern Russia. (Present day southern Ukraine). They left in 1905 because the Turks were harsssing them. They landed in Galveston and soon after 1913 homesteaded in south. Saskatchewan.
“Stuff they don’t want you to know” podcast was the first time I heard of these people. They said in the 1500’s black and white indentured servants intermarried in Virginia. When the laws turned to chattel slavery for black people, they all moved west into the Appalachians and stuck to themselves. The myths about them being the Phoenicians and Portuguese was a survival tactic so they weren’t treated like black people were in those times.
Well said my friend. Thanks for sharing.
How clever of them.
My ex boyfriends family chose to say that his great great grandfather's wife was black instead of melungeon bc of how poorly the melungeons were treated. Sad.. We are ALL just humans. We all bleed red. I think all colors are beautiful! Its sad that they had to hide who they were.
@@tandraallen8398 Amen my friend.
@@donnielaws7020 Mr Donnie Laws, This is a great story of the Melungeon people, I have Melungeon blood in my family line! I read that the name Bunch and Daugherty are Melungeon names my mother was Daugherty and dad was Bunch! I was told that my mom was 3/4 Indian and dad was 3/4 Indian so that made me an Indian and a half!!! lol, BTW you sound like you are full blooded Melungeon and i love the way you sound very clear, So clear even i can comprehend!!! lol
Mr. Laws I really appreciate your videos because they take me back home to a time that has long since passed. Today I am so appreciative of your posting the DNA results from the Melungeon Project. I took the fingerprint plus test with DNA consultants and all of the native american tests they offered and I have all of those results that you posted and this tells me that my native american was a melungeon as I suspected. Two brothers both married Melungeon women in my family and in both cases they are referred to as Native Americans only now we know just how Native they were. My people were living in the State of Franklin area and then went over the mountain to North Carolina. By posting that information you are helping a lot of people. Good on you. I wish you great success with your channel. I feel like you're family. Thank you so much.
WOW Thanks for sharing this information my friend. So much history. Your very welcome. God bless you.
I read Sons of Conguers Maybe these are descendants of Turkic or Turkish people.
This area was part of New France before the Louisiana purchase. Could Melungeon be a corruption of "melange" meaning mixed?
Any thing is possible my friend.
That sounds right to me! Btw I think the theory is correct but not the only one. It seems Melungions, who I had not heard of, are a catchall for anyone of mixed ancestry, so ancestrally came from Spanish explorers, Indians who lost connection to their tribes, escaped slaves, Europeans who happened to be dark, like Portuguese, etc. At some point racial discrimination caused Melungeons to self-sort based on appearance, not culture, and as discrimination disappeared it is predictable Melungeons would disappear into the predominately northern European population. I like the theory as it suggests there was an indigenous not exactly Indian population there before it was settled by English speaking people. They might have had more influence on the Appalachian culture than they have been credited with.
@@Mary-nt5fv Thank you my friend.
Sounds reasonable!!
It is of course, derived from melange.
My ex husband was Melungeon I had never heard of them before he told me about them. His mother could pass as white with blue eyes and he looked biracial with beautiful long curly hair. When he explained he was truly triracial it was the first I’ve ever heard of such a thing! I have white in my roots and 3 Native tribes but I present as a black woman and he’s a black man but you can clearly see the multiple races within him.
Thanks for sharing that my friend
Prymid North of the Mexican border crossing 🚸. Is supposed to be in Georgia. Watch prymids in Georgia documentary. North of the Mexican border is Wisconsin. So they were here too. Of course long before the mulongun. Who were here longer than the other's people. Who beat raped murdered. And brain washed them. Loaded up on wagons.
And hauled off to Mexico.
Be lieve me it happened before.
❤
🪶⚙️🪶. US 🌐expatiation in to foren territory. 🌬️🔮🌬️💨🫂☠️👥💀👤🫅💂 Has anyone who knows anything about what it's going to
Leave behind. Explained 🤏to the other 🙈🙉🙊🔮💤😵💫😵💤🥴💤
Remember that reading is fundamental. And a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
The conquest never stops and it doesn't matter if you are brown black Red Ore yellow. It's basically just the way you carry your self. And knowing. Remember one another.
Lost from the nation's 🌐.
The tiny house's of the cereans
And Lebeoneseons . Hand crafted wooden and sod houses 🏘️.
Still standing in Oklahoma and then New Mexico. Some preserved.
They were crafted by some very talented people. New Mexico has some on display. The door ways are tiny and then the rest of the 🏠
Were wood and when a tree bark cancer. Caused the trees to go Bald they appeared. In All my friend's
Supposed to be of the decent.
Only 4 ever mentioned it.
Anything else is Bull.
From a raceset secretive doctrine and ugenecs programming.
They were just little kids in Oklahoma. On a mission for They said white people.
Be cause One of those people who were of the decent of the people who
Vanished from the tiny house's.
Was white. And then the other hespanic. They recalled the old story of the family who were resettled from the comuntys.
That vanished leaving everything.
In tact. According to what they said that was said to them.
Was that they were forced to move in to the other towns. And abandoned the things that they made. By the 1900s. So what happened to the rest. Of the cereans and Lebeoneseons. Who's tiny house's hand crafted wooden and sod still standing. In the middle of the woods. Go. I hate to tell you.
So you probably got an idea.
Love your work, your voice is so calming. Your theory is actually really similar to what my grandparents told me. I heard them say we were melungeon, and their parents and grandparents were basically outcasts and eccentrics that were tired of the atrocious ways they were being told to settle. People of different races basically wandered off into the woods and found others around the Cumberland gap that had done the same.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
That is what I was thinking, as well. These people from different backgrounds and cultures didn't want any part of what was going on, so they distanced themselves from it, eventually finding each other. Because they were all peaceful and hated what was happening, they embraced each other, eventually becoming one people with many different ancestors. It is a very beautiful thing to see people from different cultures come together and shun those who are so barbaric and war driven. If only everyone else on this planet could figure out that we are all the same when it comes down to it. We're all human beings; all brothers and sisters. We share this planet and there is enough for everyone, if only greed and corruption didn't rule.
I totally AGREE.
Yes, diversity and safely in the mountains. Still, many of them were not quite white and often had a difficult time during and following The Civil War.
Wow, I love it , looks just like my grandma's ;)
I heard alot of runaway people from alot of groups ended up in this part of the country because it was too rough of terrain for the authorities to go looking for just a small handful of fugitives.The locals figured since you made it this far you might as well stay.And so they had families with the locals to the point one's personal history got lost and couldn't be traced.So the narrator's theory makes a whole lot of sense to me.
Thank you friend. Thanks for sharing this.
I was also told this my entire life. So many people who were fleeing ended up running to this area bc of the terrain and scattered across the mountains. ❤
Sounds like s good theory!!! My dad is from around that area and I always had a hard time figuring the origin of his features until I found the Melungeon answers. He had darker skin/coal black hair/dark eyes.
African people,and many Asian people and Vikings have been hear long before slavers.
I'm in my late 60's & have never heard of the Melungeon People. Thank you for putting this on You Tube. I try to learn something new everyday & this is it for today. So much lacking in our history/social study classes.
Glad you enjoyed it my friend.
So when it comes to anything that pertains other than and gives credit to other than white people for anything important; absolutely right my friend. It’s a clever trick to make sure of all people not only doesn’t know where they come from, but don’t know their worth as well. Major major power-play to keep a sub class “so-called. .... no point pretending it’s not so.
Even more sadly too many of us fell for it. Sad to say but true . Good news is it will all be fixed in the end. Praise God Periodso.
I agree. History tends to be written by the dominant social and ethnic group, and more marginal people -- minorities, the poor and less educated -- have often been overlooked. Their oral histories are rich and important in understanding our full national and global diversity.
I have heard of melungeons from my youth, maybe in phrases like, "oh, they are [or I am] nothing but a melungeon", and always unsterstood it to mean to have an unknown mixture of ancestors.
@@whimpypatrol5503 and that's where you show your ignorance. Melungeon know wo they are descendants of.
Beautiful Theory. My roots are here in east Tn. Seeing Meulugeon people is rare nowadays. They are
Truly unique. I'm sure we have some in my family tree. I have traveled this world in my lifetime and seen alot of people and places but there is no beauty out there more than here in East Tenn. I am so proud to call this my home. God is good!
Your so right my friend, Thanks for sharing.
@Eremias Ranwolf Both. None of them hardly live on the mountain because of discrimination that happens to this day! (From being mixed and inbred) They are bullied in school and the community. Called guineas. Even those that "pass" for white are still identified by the locals by either certain facial features or certain last names like Mayle. People in the area often try to hide their past within the community or move for a fresh start. Another reason why they seem to be "rare".
Thank you for doing this video. It was tough as a kid trying to explain why my mom's side of the family came in such a variety of color, eye color, etc. As to this day MELUNGEONS still live separate in visual appearance (passing as white) in American society to seek out a better life for their families. My grandfather is pure Melungeon, and a Goins which I noticed was on a certificate you showed. Goins is one of the many surnames of MELUNGEONS, which many have changed the spelling of as to not be excluded or detected by today's society. The things they went thru as a ppl to survive helps explain why they were mountain ppl. The part of Tennessee he is from & era they were shunned, mostly because whites couldn't tell what ethnicity they were so they pushed them up & kept them on the mountain. My grandfather is/was an extremely fair skinned Melungeon who was one of the few from his town who could move about more freely for work then some others but STILL lived on the mountain. It's so sad to go home to where he from to STILL SEE such bigotry where there is still WHITE ONLY CEMETERIES & MELUNGEONS SOMEWHERE ELSE because whites there today don't want to be buried with ppl with such diverse backgrounds. I am so proud of the things he did for his ppl to survive in spite of what he faced looking one way but sticking to his principles knowing what was wrongly being done to our ppl & still is. I celebrate ALL OF MY HERITAGE dispite what our government still wants to label us, as I encourage my children to do the same. Thank you again for this video AGAIN! Maybe now more of my ancestory can be in history books as a proud, strong ppl that should be celebrated.
Awesome! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
Denise, I think you might find this documentary helpful.
ua-cam.com/video/0ImaLOd9MoE/v-deo.html
I wonder, with this particular spelling if your family has any connection with the Goins' of Mississippi.
@@libranegra No.
I have a strong suspicion that some of my ancestors were Meludgions, because of our heritage. I know they originated in Appalachia and it fits.
I am Melungeon! Native/Oglala Sioux, Portuguese & African American! We are the 2nd tri race that exists. Creole is the other & it's more well known. My dad had a genealogist work for him & she traced my dad's side! Im also Shawnee b/c my ancestor John Goode was captured WITH Daniel Boone but he didn't make the history books! I am extremely proud to have ALL these races in my blood line! TY for this video! Some stupid peeps think Melungeon isn't a race but it most DEFINITELY is! TYSM!
WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. That a amazing story. God bless you.
The people shown here don’t look like A race to me.
You are a People. Not a Race.
10,000 years from now, you MAY be A race.
Oh, wow. I know about Goode.
"Melungeon" looks 100% french, where does the name come from if not French?
Of course melungeon is not a race, as you yourself described so proudly.
Glad to see a video on this. My grandpa talked of being Melungeon. At one time they were highly discriminated against. Did you know they weren’t allowed to buy property at one time? He had a lot of good stories to tell. The families had some strange traits that came through over generations. Blond with kinky hair, dark hair, dark skin, light skin, red heads, brown eyes, green eyes, blue eyes.
Wow, Thanks for sharing my friend.
In another words all kids of Mother Earth 🌍! That’s what makes the human race so beautiful, all different and yet all the “ same” … Love the diversity
Come one come all makes for a healthy diversity of people and strengthens the genes of individuals.
@@chriscoker7794 Thanks for sharing my friend.
@@donnielaws7020 it was my pleasure listening to your video. Thank you sir. I'll be tuning in for more.
G'day Melungeon/Appalachian People, love hearing about who you are and where you come from - Cheers from Australia! Don't know if or when but a visit is on my (before I die) list. 🌞
Take care over there my friend. Thanks for watching.
From what i am seeing reading and hearing you might ought too be own your way now! Start walking Mate,,, [NEVER GIVE UP UR WEAPONS] lol
@@victorbunch7725 - All good Vic.
Some of my ancestors were Melungeon as well. I’m from northeast Tennessee and I love your channel. I’m currently in Connecticut and listening to your voice brings me a sense of peace. Thank you
Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you.
Very pleasant .
I had a long, stressful day today. But then I listened to this video with the beautiful ambient music and your clear, gentle voice, and every ounce of my body felt relaxed and at peace. Thank you.
Awesome. Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
I was told my grandmother was Black foot but in looking at photos of her. She could have been Melungeon. She was from Braxton County W. Va. Thank you for this delightful video. You have a great voice.
Thank you my friend and thanks for sharing.
@Shelia Farmer Thanks for sharing.
@Shelia Farmer Wow. Thank you for sharing.
The comment you make regarding "blackfoot" ...I am a Tennessee native son, and the use of blackfoot in the southern states always referred to folks of mixed ethnicity. It was usually describing a mix of native american and black, usually escaped slaves. Now the story of Melungeons is unique, as many claimed to be portugese, but dna traces them to africa. There were portugese colonies in africa where the common language was portugese, so many have recently figured these were a mixture of african and portugese ethnicities. They always said they were "portugese". Equally interesting is the enclave of "BLUE PEOPLE" in kentucky, whose skin has a blue tint. And a lot of folks dont realize the spanish banned jews from their country, so many sephardics migrated to america along the gulf coast and louisiana and moved inland and since they had no places of worship assimilated into the local center of social functions..the churches. So the chance of many a southern baptist having a trace of sephardic jew in their dna is pretty good.
@@PeteR-ed9nd no
What a beautiful and interesting group of people. Thank you for making us acquainted with them. Your theory is likely spot on. And, your lovely voice and beautiful accent are like music.
Thank you my friend.
I respect anyone who lives WITH the land. We all need to be taking notes here. It took me a long time to see that living with the land would bring a contented happiness and satisfaction that nothing else ever came close to. It's a hard life sometimes, but it is so beautiful in it's simplicity.
Well said my sister. Thanks so much for sharing this. God bless you.
Scott-Irish here. My ancestors go back to the turn of the 19th Century in those mountains.
Me to my friend.
Mine as well, Cindy. On the rare occasion I go back to visit those mountains still seem like home.
Scots Irish came from the borders of northern England and southern Scotland they were the border reevers and then transported to Northern Ireland and then America
It's always amusing watching Americans claim they are X-Y whatever - when they're 4th generation or more American and have never been, let alone lived, outside the US.
@@lucylane7397 “Scotch Irish” was a term the Protestant Irish created to differentiate themselves from the Catholic Irish in the US (since they looked the same and had a similar accent). Once the Catholic Irish realized all they had to do was call themselves “Scotch Irish” to be treated better, get jobs, etc, they did. The vast majority of “Scotch Irish” descendants in the US are just plain ol’ Irish Americans who fooled the Protestant ruling class.
I'm of melungeon descent through both of my parents families. Ive had multiple DNA tests done and no native American showed up. But Saharan, north African, Anatolian (Turkey), Greek, west Mediterranean, and a whole lot of Scottish showed up. I've always been curious what other melungeon descendants showed on there tests. I was told Cherokee on both sides but either I didn't inherit it, or it's not there. Great video!
Thank you. Thanks for sharing my friend.
My family had Sub Saharan (African) Native American, Mediterranean and English (western Europe)
Interesting
When Dr. Kennedy had his DNA done, he matched with Turkey, he was of Melungeon descent. People from Turkey visited him.
When Moses was searching for the promised one group broke away and went to Africa. These people later, some of them, went to Egypt
My last name is Phipps, grandmother's maiden last name was Freeman. Both are Melungeon names. My mother was an Adams. She was Scottish and Blackfoot Cherokee. Dads side is German, Spanish, and Tuscaroran.
I’d heard of the term Meloungeon before from my Aunt who does genealogy. We’re from the southern WV portion of Appalachia. I always took it to be an old Appalachian term basically the same as Mulatto. I never realized that it was a mix of Native American also and the mystery behind it. Very interesting.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
There might be individuals who intermarried with a Native American person but Melungeons are not Indigenous to North America. They are descendants of Europeans and probably African runaway slaves. There are a lot of attempts by people to self-Indigenize this group or that group but the only truly Indigenous people are the Appalachee tribe and a few others who originally lived there for thousands of years prior to colonization.
My mother's maternal line is Melungeon from Claiborne county TN. I'm as German, English and Scots-Irish as they come, but my Ancestry DNA results have that Cameroon, Congo & Southern Bantu Peoples box checked! I literally look adopted put between my mother and grandma. They're both olive complexioned with dark brown (almost black) hair, green eyes, strong cheekbones, sharp noses and have very petite frames. We know for fact my grandma's mother's mother was part Cherokee. What the other parts were, we can only guess. But she looked exactly like the woman at 6:30!! Genetics is so fascinating!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Perhaps we could say the Melungeon people exemplify the true idea of the "New World" of America -- All people blending and working together in a common brotherhood to live and help each other thrive. I definitely want to do some reading about them.
Thank you, Mr. Donnie Laws, for introducing me and many others to these resilient people.
Well said! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
@@donnielaws7020 Lot of them in central North maghreb = Algeria
My Pawpaw always tells me he thinks he came from Melungeon People. I was skeptical for a bit (even though he does have dark skin, black hair, and brown eyes, I could tell he was European; I just suspected maybe he was Spanish/Portuguese/Italian). We do live in the Northwest Georgia mountains though, so it was possible we came from them.
But I recently did my own DNA testing and while I was mostly British/Irish, I found from his side of the family I had some Spanish/Portuguese, Central Asian/Northern Indian and Pakistani, Broadly Central and South Asian, Congolese/Southern East African/Bantu, Filipino/Polynesian/Austronesian, & Chinese and Southeast Asian. (No Native American though.) So maybe he was right all along.
It's crazy to think that, I--someone who always thought she was 100% European and definitely look it--have some small percentage of Melungeon in me from my Pawpaw. It's crazy, too, how some people just don't align up with our ideas and concepts of "race". It goes to show what a social construct "race" really is.
Thanks for such an informative video. I love your accent by the way. It reminds me of my Pawpaw a little and the way he speaks.
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
This is great information! Thank you sir. My family and I recently purchased a hobby farm in Hancock county. We fell in love with the people and the beauty of Appalachia. We are looking forward to retirement there and the freedom. Not quite the same in our home country of Canada. We will definitely blend in with the folks there . Nothing should ever be changed there. It’s perfect.
That is awesome! Thanks for sharing my friend.
A Canadian in America wanting to not change anything - how refreshing
I really enjoyed this, learning about historical mysteries, accompanied by authentic photos. The narrator's voice is warm and comforting. Makes you feel like you're curled up at his feet on a shaggy rug in front of the fireplace.
Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you. Your very welcome.
My grandparents, from that area, always said the Melungeon were olive-skinned and they called them Portuguese. That was probably the most 'exotic' term they knew to describe them; I never heard them even consider Spanish or Mexican as a possibility. Also, Indian tribes can vary widely in appearance. It's good people are finally trying to research these interesting people! Thank you for posting this!
Awesome! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
@@donnielaws7020 I did some research that might surprise you.
Sorry if this a bit long
The meluneons who claim descent from portugal seem to appear right as the records of the MOORS of the carolinas seems to vanish right in the same area.
For context, the moors were Muslim north Africans that conquered Spain from the goths who sacked Rome centuries before and became very powerful and influential in Medieval Europe and the Sahara. So powerful, some sought out lands on the other side of the Atlantic many times.
There is a report the eastern cherokee tell of black peoples coming to the Americas LONG BEFORE THE WHITE MAN. Before Hernando de Soto and the english.
A story in the Book of Roger talks about some explorers from Almoravid Portugal went west of the sheep infested Azores islands to a land of group of tall, reddish brown people (Calusa Indians of Florida) who apprehended and kicked out these moors blindfolded and their hands bound together on their boats.
Leaving them to flow out on the gulf stream for over 3 whole days, they came upon another people who freed them on the mainland. This would put them around tribes of Carolinas, a days away from the Cherokee nation, and these moors made a port there.
Later a European explorer would be saved by black skinned indians whom he assumed were wearing paint until they tried to take it off. A lost colony of moors?
While other peoples like Africans, Natives, and Europeans joined the community, was the community's heritage of Almoravid moorish heritage? We do see north african dna.
(Almoravid empire was a berber empire whose elites are from the south Sahara or "land of the blacks" which conquered lands from the Gao empire of Africa to the kingdom of Aragon in Spain)
@@saratmodugu2721 Awesome finings. Thanks for sharing my friend.
@@donnielaws7020 as someone born in the Carolinas, I appreciate what you do. Speaking of which…
Have you thought of doing a video on the Turkish community that has been in Appalachia, some of whom fought in the revolutionary war
Or the strange Muslim Cherokee leaders who fought in the civil war with the confederacy like Brigadier general Ramadhan bin Wati, his son Saladin Watie or chief Mahir Abdel-Razzaaq El
Just some topics to expand your demographic and content
@@saratmodugu2721 Wow. Thanks for sharing my friend.
hey I'm Melungeon :) my dad worked a good bit with Brent Kennedy on different genealogical areas trying to figure out a connection. there's 2 popular theory's that ive heard that i personally like, if you have ever heard the Cherokee tale of the moon eyed people i think that's a possible lead as there has been archeological evidence of a Dutch settlement that predates Spanish and other European exploration but the fact of Melungeon's speaking broken English when encountered kinda busts that theory. the other theory that i like is the lost colony theory maybe when they fled with the Croatan that maybe they worked their way to the mountains via different indigenous trade routes it would explain them speaking broken english but not sure where the African ancestry comes in at be it run away slaves from the southern spanish settlements or what me personally thats my guess. i really want to thank you for putting this out to more people so they at least know we exist.
Oh Wow, Thanks for sharing my friend. Your so welcome.
Dutch were one of the first to settle in America that is an explanation. The theory about people dont like the rules and then moved away i directly thought about the Dutch. Dutch people dont like to be told how to live in some way. They obbey rules but they get fed up by it the same time.
History liver243 (7 Months ago)
In Reference to the Melungeon that were of European, African and Native American Indian...have you read that there were Native America Indians that once Owned African Slaves?
Frankly, In the Generations Today, MOST People in this World are (DNA Proven) Mixed Breeds. 💓😊💓 Ok with me! 👍💓😊💓👍
When I saw the title of your video, I actually said aloud, "Well, there's something I've never heard of... why not?" Thanks for putting in the time and effort to teach me something today!
You're welcome my friend.
Thank you for making this video. Your theory is a good one and corresponds with the historical evidence of De Soto's expedition. I always wondered about my grandfather from Floyd Co., Kentucky, who lived back in the hollers and hills, and his origins. He and his family didn't look like typical Appalachians, as he had an olive complexion and jet-black hair. When I did a 23 and Me DNA test, I discovered that in addition to being majority British and German, I was 3% Spanish, 1% Black, and 1% Asian-Native American. My grandfather was a Melungeon.
WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. Your very welcome.
My family tree includes Melungeons, who lived mostly in the mountains. When I was small, my family referred to the dark-skinned Melungeon set of the Trent family members, as “Blackbird Trents” and the lighter skinned Trent family members, as the “Snowbird Trents”. (Same with the Gibson families). This wasn’t a derogatory reference, at all. It was simply a way to refer to the correct clan of Trents, in a conversation. I’m guessing there were two sets of Trents/Gibsons due to marriage between cousins, which was quite common for mountain folks, back then. Fascinating!
Thanks for sharing my friend.
It's so good to see this!! My Momma always told me that my great-great-grandmother was Melungeon, but she suffered from Dementia and Parkinsons so I wasn't able to get much info from her the last 20 years or so before she passed last year 😥. Both of my parents and I were born in Lee County, Virginia. We lived in VA, KY, and TN, we moved around a lot, until we moved to Florida in 1975 for good. I've hated it ever since! We lived in Cumberland Gap in a huge two-story brick home with a handful of fireplaces in it, just down the road from the Iron Furnace. That water came out of Cujo's Cavern and was cold as ice and we played in it every chance we got! There was a trail that left from the furnace that took you to a point where KY, VA, and TN met! As a kid that was the coolest thing to walk around and be in 3 states almost at once 😁 I had the best childhood, until we moved to Florida. The brick house we lived in was bought by the historical society as soon as we moved out. Oh, I can't put my hands on the picture right now!! I hate it when that happens! It was right next door to a Pentacostal (I think) church that handled snakes and my Momma was scared to death of snakes! Me and Daddy just laughed because we weren't afraid of snakes!
Sorry for the long post, but it just caught me by surprise, very pleasantly, and I miss home so so much 😢 💔
Now I just HAVE to do my DNA! Rumor has it that my aunt on Momma's side (her side is very wealthy and uppity 😝☹️😤) was doing genealogy and it was a HUGE project. Apparently she found "people of color", blacks and Indians, all of a sudden and just as suddenly, the whole project stopped. 😠🙄 I haven't really had anything to do with either side since they dragged me to Florida against my will except for my grandparents and they have long ago passed.
Thank you so much for all of the info!! It has sparked my interest again in my heritage and I sure do hope Momma was right!! That we are part of this beautiful and diverse group of people ❤️
Thanks my friend for sharing this. God bless you.
Thank you my friend for doing such a beautiful and detailed video! God bless you and yours 🙏💕💫🙌🌹 You have a subscriber for life! I love the sound of your voice as well 😌 It makes me homesick for all the voices of my childhood who are no longer here 💔 Mamaw and Papaw, my other Mamaw, Daddy, Momma, just that accent, that beautiful accent, music to my heart. 😊 Thank you, kind sir 🙏 You are a blessing 🙂
@@iamtammydee Awesome,Thanks my friend. Your so very welcome.
May God bless you and l ask the Lord Jesus to have his Angels give you peace and may St Anthony find for you everything that will bring knowledge and understanding for you and yr heritage.
May the Lord give peace to yr heart, mind and soul, because of the love you have for yr people. JMJ pray for us.💕
Your post made me cry. What a lovely story. 3 states at once! How exciting as a kid to experience that!! I am card carrying status Coastal Salish Indian here on West coast of Canada, and people here still treat my relatives that LOOK more Indian than me different than me. Its funny how people are that way. Sad. I hope you find your complete heritage, and always stay proud of it!
I've been fascinated by the story of these people for most of my life. Thanks for the video!
Glad you enjoyed it my friend.
I first learned about the Melungeon People when I researched Abraham Lincoln in the 1980's. There are many who believe that he was also Melungeon due to his course hair and dark complexion. I also believe there are many other famous Americans who were also Melungeon or had Melungeon ancestry that we may know from history. But I want to give you a big "thumbs up" for your comments about DeSoto's men. I really think you are on to something! I really believe further research about DeSoto's expedition, may reveal a little more information that would give credence to your theory! Lastly, all Americans have unique backgrounds. None of us picked our ancestors or our parents or how we came to this great land, but we are all part of this society. Your film is another part of American History. I hope more people will take off their blinders to look and listen. We all need to hear each other's stories, no matter who we are or where we come from. Thank you for this very interesting presentation.
WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend.
You are welcome my friend! It was my pleasure!
Yes like, J Edgar Hoover and Clark Gable!
They think Elvis was melungeon. My grandfather is dark and looks exactly like him
From WV, your theory is a great one and possibly so true. My husband and I both are from WV and have been everywhere world wide. There is no place as beautiful as the Appalachia Mountains. When you walk the woods it is home for your soul and you need nothing. All the reason WV is called God's country.
Thank you my friend, So true. Thanks for sharing.
@@donnielaws7020 l
You make me tear up. May GOD bless you.
@@annahkurtin5345 ♡
@@kim.4100 We used to drive from Louisville to Norfolk, through WVA. I was breathless the entire 'crossing'. Love it.
This is a fascinating subject. I spent 13 years in ET going to grad school at UT and working at various newspapers. I would run into Melungeons at various place, including the Ramp Festival in Cosby and the Museum of Appalachia in Norris (a gem of a place founded by John Rice Irwin with a very interesting background story), and even they had a variety of stories about their origins. The DeSoto theory was one that I heard, along with origins from Portugal and Turkey.
In the 1980s Hancock and Hawkins counties still had a surprising number of the independent farmsteads and properties that you describe, and there were indeed Melungeons around. The people of those counties were quite clannish and suspicious of most strangers, although not ugly to others; just careful. Many still enjoyed their isolation. You have to imagine that the area became home to many people who for various reasons shunned "civilized" behavior and government (escaped slaves for one, also Cherokees who were not sent west), and that tradition was still in vogue at that time.
Wow my friend, Thanks for sharing that information. My theory don't account for all, But maybe some.
My great grandmother was a very dark lady from around flag pond TN. She came across the mountains to settle with her husband in madison County nc. She was a Ray and married into the Shelton family. I was called a black Shelton in school. She was a grand ole lady who knew the woods really well. Thanks for the video!
Thank you for sharing my friend.
There's no dark people in this planet my friend, maybe different coulored but definitely there's light in each and every one of us.🙂
Flag Pond 😃 on the long curvy US-23 to Ashville. Hadn't thought of that place in decades.
@@maxi-me or I-26... But i like your way better when i come back down here. :)
My ex wife was from flag pond! It's really beautiful up there.
@@FrankMerendaBadShot yeah I'm sure truckers greatly appreciated I-26 the first winter they no longer had to come across Sam's gap, but the old road sure is scenic the rest of the year.
I'm Proud to be of Melungeon ancestry. Way I see it, I think our People's were the first melting pot of America.
Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you.
The love and pride in your voice is amazing.
Thank you my friend.
I agree I could listen to his voice all day
He’s the anti Darlene Snell
You're a phenomenal storyteller. I believe in your theory. Thank you for sharing this story. The things public schools don't teach you. Sir you're truly a amazing teacher.
Thank you my friend.
I enjoyed listening to you talk, you have voice that I could listen to all day telling stories of times gone by and now. Thank you for sharing your theory and it does sound plausible.
Glad you enjoyed it my friend.
I thought the same thing. His voice is so soothing to the soul. I didnt want the video to end. And his theory just made good old fashioned common sense. Something we lack these days.
There are s group of people in the Ramapo Mountains of NJ/NY that have the same background. Native peoples, slaves & Hessian soldiers who came over to fight during the Revolution.
I am so pleased with this! Open knowledge and history is a true gift. Thank you. I am grateful for your stories and respectful recollections.
Your very welcome my friend.
I had read years ago that Elvis' family was Melungeon. Makes sense, he had the dark hair, and bone structure but blue eyes. SO striking.
I have heard that too. Thanks for sharing that my friend.
Elvis's hair was actually blonde, like his father, Preston's. He dyed it black to look more like his mother's hair. If you see early pictures of Elvis, you will see he is a blonde.
i also did hear he had turkish background. turks are generally east european to west asian looking. they can go from really dark looking brunettes to gingers. and it doesn't mean sh*t. just like this video.
My mom was Melungeon and I am blond/blue.
His daddy was a green eyed mountain Jack……. 👿
Our family has been in that area for over 250 years on my dads side. As the ships captain wrote, Zimmerman/Simmerman I can not understand him. Humm.. Zimmerman Island . My grandfather on mom's side walk out of Berks Garden and married our grandmother. We believe that is where we got the proud Melungeon heritage. Thank you for the video.
So much history as passed in these hills. Thanks for sharing my friend.
John Simmerman Lots of
Zimmerman's in South Australia I mean lots They are of German origin.
@@janettedavis6627 Thanks for sharing my friend.
@@janettedavis6627 Yes we are direct descendents from Germany. Three brothers came in to the port of Philadelphia following a Lutheran Minister starting churches all through the mountains. Reverend Respress died in what is now Wythe County, Virginia. One brother stayed there, one disappeared in the south and the third went back to Germany.
A Melungeon cousin of mine lives in Burke's Garden, but his ancestors came from Newman's Ridge in TN
Narrator has a great voice! Thank you for sharing this, I'm sure there are stories that will never be told that should be part of our American heritage.
I totally agree! Thanks for sharing my friend.
I agree I love that we have folks willing to share. He literally could narrate a documentary.
Voucr is too "folksy" for me.. Dosent sound natural..
I've never heard of the Melungeon people but I like how you describe them as hardworking people just like everyone else in Appalachia. The conviction in your voice makes me feel like not everyone feels the way you do and you have a history of sticking up for people who may be targeted. I really enjoyed stumbling upon this video.
Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you.
@@donnielaws7020you are a good man. Enjoyed the video. Learned something new today.
Well i have said this before & i will say it again they are the heart & soul of America
You got that right my friend.
Your theory sounds as good as any I've heard over the years. My favorite was that England was dropping off Gypsies (Rom) in Virginia in the 1600s- 1700s. I wish they'd get the DNA analysis done so we wouldn't have to guess anymore though.
Thanks for sharing this my friend.
My mom is from Morgantown WV. Our ancestors were German British Lanape Cherokee African Spanish Portuguese Irish Scottish Hungarian Peruvian Punjabi Indian. I got dna done It has maternal ancestors from Syria Iraq Turkey Africa Eastern European Italian/Greece. One of my grandfathers show up in the family tree 4 times. So alot of cousins married each other and didn't know it. My grandparents were 3rd cousins.
I’m from Roma ( Gypsy) heritage from my great grandfather and I had my great aunt dna tested and she was connected to Appalachia community!! There may be truth in this. I plan to contact some if the dna matches to see if they know how they have any stories
@@dollypop3015 Oh wow! Thanks for that info Dolly....I have a few book in my library about Roma beliefs and they are a fascinating people that I find very interesting. And like all countries with Roma.....you make the USA and Virginia way more interesting. :)
Your Theory is spot on. My grandfather comes from a similar people in Delaware that they called the Moors of Delaware. They were a mixed group with Indigenous American, African and European blood lines. My grandfather was very fair skinned with blue eyes and dark hair and could pass for white but he was not.
WOW, Thanks for sharing this story my friend.
I wholeheartedly stand by your theory. Makes the most sense to me.
Thank you friend.
Thank you for this. I love history and genealogy. In my nearly 60 years I had never heard of the Melungeon people.
Your welcome my friend.
G’day Mate! Love your Channel, I had heard of these people years ago, but there is not alot of info out there. This video so interesting. Thanks for the time and effort you put into your videos, I for one really appreciate it. My best mate and I had been planning too come over to the US from Australia, too fly fish the Appalachians for the Brook Trout on your little wild streams there. It’s been a dream of ours since we were in our late teens. First 2 major Cancer events got in the way of our trip, then a car accident and now Bloody Covid-19 got in our way ☹️ but we are very determined Aussies haha, so hopefully in the near future we can get over there and explore that beautiful area. The history is so intriguing and interesting, so that’ll be a extra awesome part of our Adventure. Anyway I hope you are all going well over there, stay safe... hopefully we’ll get there soon. Cheers from Australia 🇦🇺
Glad you enjoyed it my friend. Thanks for sharing.
@donnie laws, mate could the people that were there with the native tribes, could they have been some of the Viking settlers that were pushed out, up into the mountains?
No one really knows my friend. Many theories, But no proof. DNA tells the blood line, but not knows how or when they got here.
@@donnielaws7020 thanks for replying mate. It’s a very interesting mystery that’s for sure. You’ve got a great channel, I’ll be bingeing it tonight while we are in a 7 day lock down. Cheers mate
Cheers Mate !!
You stay safe as well.☮️
I was born and raised in north east Tennessee. I remember some folks there that were "different" than most others. Everybody was scufflein' around trying to make a living and did not care what you were, as long as you were "decent folks". I grew up with some of these Melungeons. Tough folks! I really miss being up there NOW!
Thanks for sharing my friend.
Well maybe you should come back. Some folks like myself did in Kentucky. I find that folks in the Appalachians are more genuine than other places I've been in the US. But also I enjoyed the people in Thailand immensely because they're very true to themselves, and show great respect for life. Hard working folks and loving families. 👍
@@daveblevins3322 👍👍👍
Melungeon's are the epitome of "Diversity". They are truly unique in the entire world - ,and only here in America. I think that is so wonderful!
Thanks for sharing my friend.
People who were thought to be Appalachian but were actually Melungeon were Abe Lincoln, Elvis Presley, Ava Gardner, Johnny Depp, Cher, George Clooney, Loretta Lynn, Tom Hanks and more. Beautiful people with dark eyes and hair. How wonderful to celebrate who we are and where we come from.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
Quite a bit of solid research on Lincoln. It’s believed his real father was Abraham Enloe, a Melungeon man who Nancy Hanks worked w prior to marrying Thomas Lincoln. It makes lots of sense as Abe & his “father” Thomas, were known to not get along, likely because Thomas knew Nancy was pregnant by another man when they married.
I’ve heard that about Elvis & Ava Gardner. One would think that Elvis’s daughter or one of his grandchildren have had their DNA tests done at some point. Would be interesting to find out!
Donnie Laws: love your videos! So happy I stumbled in to them. You have a real talent for making history approachable and interesting. Your love of Appalachia and its people shines bright!
Add Steve Martin, I think 🤔
Elvis was part Native and Irish
What a very calming voice you have! I could listen to that all day ~ you ever think about being the voice for audio books? You know, somebody records you reading a book? Or maybe just telling history or something. Real pleasure to listen to you. If I had a grampa, I bet he would have sounded like that 😊
Awesome! Thank you. Thanks for sharing that my friend. God bless.
M
I agree! 🧡 just subbed!
@@LynnAgain83 Awesome! Welcome friend. Thank you!
Agree^^^ he could narrate Zane Grey stories or Louis L’ Amour stories!
Thank you, Donnie. I love your stuff. I have recommended it to others. Your soft, gentle voice and accent are the icing on the cake. I guess the cake is just really good content! I just spent a few weeks in the Shenandoah and West Virginia and I spent a lot of time thinking about the generations who lived there.
Awesome my friend. God bless you. Your very welcome. Thank you.
My ancestors came from the land of the Melungeon and they settled in the Cumberland Plateau in the early 1800’s. . Some of my ancestors came from Lee Co Va in the late 1700’s to Lee County Ky (Estill Co) in the 1830’s. Many family members still remain there. Some of the mix came from from the western Islands, and my natives ancestors were from the land of the Melungeon. Thank you for sharing this part of American history about the people of the Melungeon land.
Awesome! Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing that my friend. God bless you.
I’ve been fascinated by the mystery of these people since I saw a book at a beach house in Cape Hatteras we rented back in the 1990s. I think it was written by a professor, Kennedy, who was melungeon. Kind of neat to have a little mystery in this day and age. When I saw some of the pictures I immediately thought of a man I worked with from southern VA who was dark as could be for a European but had the most startlingly ice blue eyes I’d ever seen and figured he must have been melungeon. As I read the book, I was impressed about how these must have been some tough people to have survived up in those mountains! Same as the Scots/Irish that live up there in those mountains…tough.
Thanks for sharing that my friend.
I grew up in WV and I always wondered about my great grandpas family being Melungeon. He had olive skin, dark curly hair, and blue eyes. Last name was McKinney from Wyoming county. He had dimples and was very tall and handsome.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
Thank you very much for having my grandpa and grandma that we knew. My mother died so she took her and her sister in to raise as her own. Thank you again. I love seeing them and hearing you speak as you did. They were a lost tribe and We really don't know who we are. Hope you have a blessed life I'm almost 70 years old and my mother died young about 46 I think I was 6 years old. I just can't thank you enough. I've only sat here and cried . over and over again, because I would love to know who I am . Well I do know I am a child Of GOD the Father. So that is the best for now.
God bless you my friend. Thanks so much for sharing this. Your very welcome.
My Mom is from this area originally. We always assumed that her family was primarily Indian but you should see the family reunions. Very interesting mix of family!
Thanks for sharing my friend.
My husbands family is from this area also. Our reunions are the same. Love learning his family history.
That must be extremely fun! Full of different stories and living history! I would love this, and bee happy to be a member of this ancestral, historical family group!
Well, according to my 23 & me profile, I’m 99.9% European. Yet our family reunions are similar. We have all different colors in our family. I guess we’re just very inclusive and accepting of everyone. 😁
I could listen to you tell a story all day! This is a very interesting tale and something I'll delve deeper into because of you Donnie!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that my friend. God bless.
I live in western N.C., as my family has for generations. One of my children was born with a birthmark , on their rear end mind you ! Questioned our doctor about it and he said it was common among people of Mediterranean decent and he brought up the Melungeon people and their story ! I found many stories and theories . I did a dna test 2 years ago and like many people in this area , I had a large portion of Irish, Scotch ,and Welsh , and to my surprise a large portion of Spanish and Portugeese ! Maybe a mystery solved !
Thanks my friend for sharing this story. So many theories out there, But which one is the one that fits into your family is the question.
Jack,sounds like you descend from melungeons.
Have you ever heard of the black Irish?
@@kevinmoore.7426 Kevin , do you reccomend any stories of the Black Irish ? Sounds interresting
@@bengullett2837 From the dna test I did , basically 12 different nationalities , I may very well be melungeon ! My brother jokingly tells people that we're American "MUTTS"!
I love hearing about people who lived a bit differently from long ago. Very interesting. I have heard of The Melungeons. Thanks for the info 😊
Your very welcome my friend.
Interesting! I lived in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, in upstate SC for about 25 years. I spent all of my vacations from Highlands NC to Pigeon Forge TN. I believe those mountains are the most beautiful place on earth.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
Hi Russ! Glad to hear you're enjoying it there. I was born and raised in upstate SC foothills.
@@jamesredman1263 , My dad taught at Clemson and I grew up there but when I left the nest I moved up above hwy 11 kind of near Turkey Knob. Spent a lot of time around the country outside of Walhalla. Love the Blue Ridge Parkway. Used to drink a few beers at Scatterbrains:)
James Redman that is an interesting name you have there , my husbands Victorian grandfather was a Redman , he became a Methodist indentured Vicar, and his family said Kaddish for them in those days, when that happened. He retired in Leeds, before Cornwall. As the Redman family owned a Leeds Department store. Ironically my Uni Philosophy lecturer was married into the same Redman family. So the Redmans were in Manchester Areas, Leeds and Sunderland Gateshead during the two World Wars. Strangely enough my lecturer was from Finnish Jews, his grandparents came to the UK 🇬🇧 in the Victorian era . My lecturer 👨🏫 would be knocking on 100 now.
@@xvsupremacy7190 - My first encounter with the name in looking into the UK brought me to ethnic Jewish Redmans from there, possibly the same set as your lecturer. A racing driver named Brian Redman in the late 1960s and 1970s was one of those I believe..
But I recalled my father's family said it was from Ireland and originally spelled Redmond there. So I looked for the origins of Redmonds in Ireland and had my mind blown because of so many amazing connections, tracing back to Raymond le Gros. Redmond was one of the names derived from his by descendants. ("Grace" from "Gros" is another.) And with that, I dug further through Gerald of Windsor to Otho de Gherardini (from Florence originally) who came into England with Edward the Confessor via Normandy, and "Gherardini" came from Gherard son of Aeneas the Dardanian son-in-law of Priam who led those willing out of the city of Troy before the massacre and eventually to Latium.
The story gets fuzzy back around Zeus.
Searching that stuff was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.
Have there been any implications of an Irish connection in your Redman line?
Thank you for sharing and being so respectful of these people. I truly enjoyed this brief history of a group of people I knew nothing about.
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
I’ve some lineage here in Kentucky and it lends to a lot of ethnic confusion. People often ask “What are you?”, just like that, which I find a bit of a rude approach to satisfying one’s curiosity. I’ve had plenty of friends and acquaintances with similar roots as well but characteristically expressed in a great range of appearance
If you have ties to Kentucky you come from a great place. Thanks for sharing my friend.
They just aren't sophisticated like most Americans and don't have good conversational or social skills ... They don't mean to be rude... They just don't know how to use better vocabulary quickly in the moment...such as my I ask what your ancestry is ?
Both sides of my family are from WV and this happened to me growing up ALL THE TIME. It felt insulting, even if without meaning to be, but I was too young to know how to best understand or handle it. Typically I just asked them what they thought... Which led to diverse answers!!! 🤣
To ask someone "what are you" is incredibly rude. Being a Southerner I would never ask a person that. I am, however, interested in genealogy and anthropology so if I ever run across someone I wonder what their ancestry is, this is how I approach it: I tell them to please forgive me for being so bold, as I'm not trying to be rude, but I think they are so beautiful (or handsome) and wondered what their ancestry is. I am very, VERY white and people have made jokes about my fair skin my entire life, so I understand the annoyance of a stranger asking personal questions. However, to educate people I do tell them I am mostly Scandinavian and Scottish; that's why I'm so fair with blonde hair. People have asked if I was albino before, which I had to laugh at. Anyway, if I can tell the person I'm asking about their ancestry is annoyed or offended, I apologize profusely and leave them alone. But even if I don't ask about their ancestry, if there is something beautiful about them I make sure I tell them I think so. You never know; things like that might make someone's day. I know it would mine.
@@betsyroberts9704 Yeah, I can’t help but be curious about genealogy. I used to be a “Doorman”/bouncer for well over a decade and I loved checking ID’s because I was curious where people were from and had an excuse to look them in the eyes as a stranger and consider their dialects as well. I was perfectly comfortable asking what brought them to town, etc.. I kinda miss that aspect of engagement. “What are/is you?” is most certainly rude but if you compliment someone beforehand I reckon most will be open to any query, especially if it makes an individual feel uniquely beautiful or special. Same request, entirely different approach!
I think your theory contains some very good logic . I find your video's well done and with a nice relaxing manner , and I thank you , Sir .
Thank you so much my friend for sharing this. Thank you.
This was so COOL! I love knowing about my kin folk. Hearty survivors wherever along the Appalachian chain.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
In all of my years, this is the first time I've ever heard of the Melungeon people. I will say that your theory makes sense and would support the assertion of Spanish and Mexican slaves being "deserters" from the DeSoto expedition. Perhaps more weight towards the slaves as the 55% DNA results showed. This is an interesting story and a very fascinating bit of history. Thanks for making a video of it.
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
There was one historian that traced a lot of them to freed indentured servants that intermarried prior to slavery .
Thank you for sharing this. I grew up in VA & in all my years of schooling, and college, I’ve never heard of this group of people before. Your theory sounds right on the money. Thank you for this important American history lesson. ❤️
Your very welcome. Thanks for sharing my friend.
I just learned one of my distant ancestors was Mulongeun. He was English, Irish, Tuscarora, and Angolan.
Thank you friend for sharing this. God bless you.
My friend Nancy and I are in our early 70s. We both grew up on the outskirts of the Appalachians. She grew up in Ashland, Kentucky, and when I mentioned the Melungeons to her, she wrote back right away and enclosed an old family photo, and she used the term "Black Dutch." She also mentioned two Kentucky writers that you might know well, Jesse Stuart and Wendell Berry. I've watched six of your videos and something about these stories is striking deep inside me.
Thanks for sharing my friend.
Black Dutch is what I was told my family was, along with Scots Irish.
Part of my family has been referred to as Black Dutch as well and I believe Black German
ok so my grandmother said our family was Black Dutch becuase we had so many ethnicities. I came across a Tik Tok explaining a Melungeon and I thought that sounded like what my grandmother described and this confirms its true!
Of Melungeon decent from East Tennessee. As far as your theory goes, it is my understanding that Desoto's expedition chronicled the Melungeon's upon their arrival unto the area as did the French explorers. As for DNA studies some Mediterranean descent has been established as well as those you listed. The theory that i personally subscribe too is a Portuguese galleon ship wrecked on the coast of North Carolina. The many race sailors traveled inland where they subsequently settled took wife's and lived? Also many Cherokee used the name "black dutch" or Melunegeon as to claim European ancestry and not lose their lands.
You may be right my friend, But what is the proof on any theory is another matter. De soto's men where the same in DNA also more or less. Thanks so much sharing this. I did not know about this story. Thanks again my friend.
@@donnielaws7020 still Americas greatest anthropological mystery? nobody knows for sure. yet here we are!
@@donnielaws7020 From Wikipedia (Hernando de Soto) ...
Fascinated by the stories of Cabeza de Vaca, who had survived years in North America after becoming a castaway and had just returned to Spain, de Soto selected 620 Spanish and Portuguese volunteers, including some of mixed-race African descent known as Atlantic Creoles, to accompany him to govern Cuba and colonize North America.
The first account of the expedition to be published was by the Gentleman of Elvas, an otherwise unidentified Portuguese knight who was a member of the expedition. His chronicle was first published in 1557.
Eremias Ranwolf Yes of course it is called assimilation. During the Industrial Revolution in the whole of the UK 🇬🇧 the settled community became peripatetic in order to find work. So married Romany Gypsies. There are Irish ☘️ Romany Gypsies of course descending from Gypsy King/Earl Martin. There were a number of Potato 🥔Famines and during the Famines they came especially to North East England 🏴 and Border Country, which was close to Scotland 🏴 Ireshopeburn In Weardale is actually pronounced Irish hope Burn . A Burn is a little flowing river and or spring . Also Nenthead Mines neat Alston in Cumbria. They were drawn to Mining ⛏ and Railway, Canal, Roadbuilding like Settle where thriving Communities sprung up out of nothing.
@Eremias Ranwolf probably?