Melungeon Families of Appalachia
Over the years there has been much debate of the origins of the Melungeon people Some think they are descended from Indians, some from the Middle East, some don't think they existed at all. This file is just a presentation of what research has been done and some basic information about the Melungeon people in general. I will include a list of surnames that were associated with the Melungeons.
**Note: Just because your surname is on the list DOES NOT necessarily mean your family is Melungeon. Only diligent research would be able prove or disprove that.
So Who Were/Are the Melungeon People?
Melissa Slate wrote in 2006 for Genealogy Today:
Perhaps you have an ancestor in the family that was rumored to have been an Indian or has proved hard to trace and they lived in Appalachia. They could possibly have been of Melungeon ancestry. The word Melungeon is used to describe a little known group of people of mixed ethnic orgin that were found in the Appalachias, particularly in Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, southeastern Kentucky and West Virginia.
The Melungeons were often discriminated against because they were labeled as Indian, or black, or a host of other terms. Because of this they frequently lost their political rights. Very often they hid their ancestry to escape the harassment.
The Melungeon origins have many different suggested theories. Some say that they have roots with the Spanish or the Portuguese explorers. Other theories say that they descended form Middle Eastern or Mediterranean ancestry. Still another theory suggests that they are remnants of the lost colony of Roanoke. A wide variety of surnames have been linked to the Melungeons.
Some Melungeons carry disticnct physical characteristics that have been handed down through generations. Frequently the presence of an Anatolian bump is noted, being about the size of half of a golf ball and located on the back of the head in the midline just above where the skull and the neck meet. The two front teeth and the two on either side have a ridge on the back near the gum line and also curve outward creating a shovel tooth while the front remains perfectly straight. Some Melungeons have been known to have six fingers or toes. They are described as being dark skinned, some with red hair and blue or green eyes. Some Mediterranean diseases also show up in persons of Melungeon ancestry. Some problems include sleep problems, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, allergies, and lactose intolerance; other more serious medical problems have been known to occur.
So What Are The Common Surnames?
Dr. N. Brent Kennedy, author of The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America, researched the Melungeon people for years and during his research found common surnames in North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia that were all associated with the Melungeons. Those names are:
A:
Adams, Adkins, Allen, Allmond, Ashworth
B:
Barker, Barnes, Bass, Beckler, Belcher, Bedgood, Bell, Bennett, Berry, Beverly, Biggs, Bolen, Bolling, Bolton, Boone, Bowlin, Bowling, Bowman, Bradby, Branham, Bravboy, Briger/Bridger, Brogan, Brooks, Brown, Bunch, Bullion, Burton, Butler, Butters, Buxton, Byrd.
C:
Campbell, Carrico, Carter, Casteel, Caudill, Chapman, Chavis, Clark, Cloud, Coal, Coffey, Cole, Coleman, Coles, Colley, Collier, Collins, Collinsworth, Colyer, Cooper, Corman, Counts, Cox, Coxe, Criel, Croston, Crow, Cumba, Cumbo, Cumbow, Curry, Custalow
D:
Dalton, Dare, Davis, Denham, Dennis, Dial, Dooley, Dorton, Doyle, Driggers, Dula, Dye, Dyess
E:
Ely, Epps, Evans
F:
Fields, Freeman, French
G:
Gallaher, Gann, Garland, Gibson, Gipson, Goins, Goings, Gorvens, Gowan, Gowen, Graham, Green(e), Gwinn
H:
Hall, Hammon(d), Harmon, Harris, Harvie, Harvey, Hawkes, Hendricks, Hendrix, Hill, Hillman, Hogge, Holmes, Hopkins, Howe, Hyatt
J:
Jackson, James, Johnson, Jones
K:
Keith(e), Kennedy, Kiser
L:
Langston, Lasie, Lawson, Locklear, Lopes, Lowry, Lucas
M:
Maddox, Maggard, Major, Male, Malone(y), Marsh, Martin, Mayle, Minard, Miner, Minor, Mizer, Moore, Morley, Mosely, Mozingo, Mullins
N:
Nash, Nelson, Newman, Niccans, Nichols, Noel, Norris
O:
Orr, Osborn(e), Oxendine
P:
Page, Paine, Patterson, Perkins, Perry, Phelps, Phipps, Prinder, Polly, Powell, Powers, Pritchard, Pruitt
R:
Ramey, Rasnick, Reaves, Revels, Reeves, Rice, Richardson, Riddle, Rivers, Roberson, Robertson, Robinson, Russell
S:
Sammons, Sampson, Sawyer, Scott, Sexton, Shavis, Shephard, Shepherd, Short(t), Sizemore, Smiling, Smith, Stallard, Stanley, Steel, Stevens, Stewart, Strother, Sweatt, Swett, Swindall
T:
Tally, Tackett, Taylor, Thompson, Tipton, Tolliver, Tuppeance, Turner
V:
Vanover, Vicars, Viccars, Vickers
W:
Ware, Watts, Weaver, White, Whited, Wilkins, Williams, Williamson, Willis, Wilson, Wisby, Wise, Wood, Wright, Wyatt, Wynn
This surname list is not all-inclusive. I'm sure there are several dozen more, if not hundreds more, names that could be on this list but were either not included due to the rarity of the name or because they were just not counted. I hope this information is able to help someone disprove or prove a family mystery :)
**Note: Just because your surname is on the list DOES NOT necessarily mean your family is Melungeon. Only diligent research would be able prove or disprove that.
**Note: Just because your surname is on the list DOES NOT necessarily mean your family is Melungeon. Only diligent research would be able prove or disprove that.
So Who Were/Are the Melungeon People?
Melissa Slate wrote in 2006 for Genealogy Today:
Perhaps you have an ancestor in the family that was rumored to have been an Indian or has proved hard to trace and they lived in Appalachia. They could possibly have been of Melungeon ancestry. The word Melungeon is used to describe a little known group of people of mixed ethnic orgin that were found in the Appalachias, particularly in Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, southeastern Kentucky and West Virginia.
The Melungeons were often discriminated against because they were labeled as Indian, or black, or a host of other terms. Because of this they frequently lost their political rights. Very often they hid their ancestry to escape the harassment.
The Melungeon origins have many different suggested theories. Some say that they have roots with the Spanish or the Portuguese explorers. Other theories say that they descended form Middle Eastern or Mediterranean ancestry. Still another theory suggests that they are remnants of the lost colony of Roanoke. A wide variety of surnames have been linked to the Melungeons.
Some Melungeons carry disticnct physical characteristics that have been handed down through generations. Frequently the presence of an Anatolian bump is noted, being about the size of half of a golf ball and located on the back of the head in the midline just above where the skull and the neck meet. The two front teeth and the two on either side have a ridge on the back near the gum line and also curve outward creating a shovel tooth while the front remains perfectly straight. Some Melungeons have been known to have six fingers or toes. They are described as being dark skinned, some with red hair and blue or green eyes. Some Mediterranean diseases also show up in persons of Melungeon ancestry. Some problems include sleep problems, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, allergies, and lactose intolerance; other more serious medical problems have been known to occur.
So What Are The Common Surnames?
Dr. N. Brent Kennedy, author of The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America, researched the Melungeon people for years and during his research found common surnames in North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia that were all associated with the Melungeons. Those names are:
A:
Adams, Adkins, Allen, Allmond, Ashworth
B:
Barker, Barnes, Bass, Beckler, Belcher, Bedgood, Bell, Bennett, Berry, Beverly, Biggs, Bolen, Bolling, Bolton, Boone, Bowlin, Bowling, Bowman, Bradby, Branham, Bravboy, Briger/Bridger, Brogan, Brooks, Brown, Bunch, Bullion, Burton, Butler, Butters, Buxton, Byrd.
C:
Campbell, Carrico, Carter, Casteel, Caudill, Chapman, Chavis, Clark, Cloud, Coal, Coffey, Cole, Coleman, Coles, Colley, Collier, Collins, Collinsworth, Colyer, Cooper, Corman, Counts, Cox, Coxe, Criel, Croston, Crow, Cumba, Cumbo, Cumbow, Curry, Custalow
D:
Dalton, Dare, Davis, Denham, Dennis, Dial, Dooley, Dorton, Doyle, Driggers, Dula, Dye, Dyess
E:
Ely, Epps, Evans
F:
Fields, Freeman, French
G:
Gallaher, Gann, Garland, Gibson, Gipson, Goins, Goings, Gorvens, Gowan, Gowen, Graham, Green(e), Gwinn
H:
Hall, Hammon(d), Harmon, Harris, Harvie, Harvey, Hawkes, Hendricks, Hendrix, Hill, Hillman, Hogge, Holmes, Hopkins, Howe, Hyatt
J:
Jackson, James, Johnson, Jones
K:
Keith(e), Kennedy, Kiser
L:
Langston, Lasie, Lawson, Locklear, Lopes, Lowry, Lucas
M:
Maddox, Maggard, Major, Male, Malone(y), Marsh, Martin, Mayle, Minard, Miner, Minor, Mizer, Moore, Morley, Mosely, Mozingo, Mullins
N:
Nash, Nelson, Newman, Niccans, Nichols, Noel, Norris
O:
Orr, Osborn(e), Oxendine
P:
Page, Paine, Patterson, Perkins, Perry, Phelps, Phipps, Prinder, Polly, Powell, Powers, Pritchard, Pruitt
R:
Ramey, Rasnick, Reaves, Revels, Reeves, Rice, Richardson, Riddle, Rivers, Roberson, Robertson, Robinson, Russell
S:
Sammons, Sampson, Sawyer, Scott, Sexton, Shavis, Shephard, Shepherd, Short(t), Sizemore, Smiling, Smith, Stallard, Stanley, Steel, Stevens, Stewart, Strother, Sweatt, Swett, Swindall
T:
Tally, Tackett, Taylor, Thompson, Tipton, Tolliver, Tuppeance, Turner
V:
Vanover, Vicars, Viccars, Vickers
W:
Ware, Watts, Weaver, White, Whited, Wilkins, Williams, Williamson, Willis, Wilson, Wisby, Wise, Wood, Wright, Wyatt, Wynn
This surname list is not all-inclusive. I'm sure there are several dozen more, if not hundreds more, names that could be on this list but were either not included due to the rarity of the name or because they were just not counted. I hope this information is able to help someone disprove or prove a family mystery :)
**Note: Just because your surname is on the list DOES NOT necessarily mean your family is Melungeon. Only diligent research would be able prove or disprove that.
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