does anybody know a Melungeon ?

Answer 1

Seems like lots of people do --> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Melungeon+&btnG=Google+Search

Answer 2

I guess everybody, considering that:

A Melungeon (during the formative period from about 1700 to 1860) was someone who was free but thought not to be pure White in the area where the word was used - northern North Carolina, southern and western Virginia, eastern Tennessee, eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia, southern Ohio, western Louisiana, the eastern edge of Texas, the panhandle of Florida, and northern Alabama. The person might actually be White, but of a darker strain like a Greek or Portuguese. The person might be mixed White and Black, White and Indian or all three. The White might be northern European or Mediterranean or both. A few people may have been of other races, such as South Asian (Tzigane, Asian Indian, etc.).

After becoming a Melungeon by coming to live in one of these areas, these persons tended to intermarry and produce a more uniform mixed population. People who were definitely considered to be Black or Indian or were members of a Black or Indian group probably would not be counted as Melungeon unless they joined or married into a Melungeon group. There are many members of Black and Indian communities who have a lot of Melungeon ancestry and even with Melungeon names, and some are gradually coming to think of themselves as Melungeons. Today, most Melungeons have quite a little of both northern European and Mediterranean white, some Black and at least a trace of American Indian. But anyone who traces back to someone considered Melungeon before the Civil War is definitely Melungeon, and that is many thousands and a very diverse group.

Answer 3

Melungeon is a term traditionally applied to one of a number of so-called "tri-racial isolate" groups of the Southeastern United States, found mainly in Appalachia, especially Eastern Tennessee, Southwestern Virginia, and Eastern Kentucky. "Tri-racial" refers to populations of mixed European, sub-Saharan African, and Native American ancestry, and "isolate" refers to "genetic isolate," that is, a group that has maintained to some degree a distinct ethnic identity, though is not necessarily isolated in a geographic or cultural sense. Although there is no consensus on how many such groups exist, estimates range as high as 200. Some self-identifying Melungeons dislike the term "tri-racial isolate", believing that it has pejorative connotations, although the term "Melungeon" itself was considered pejorative until the late 20th century.


Melungeon is not a separate category on the census, but is tabulated under the "SOME OTHER RACE 600-999" category as a result of respondents writing it in. For the 2000 Census it was "662 Melungeons".

Melungeons are defined as having racially mixed ancestry, thus do not exhibit characteristics which can be incontrovertibly classified as being of a single racial phenotype. Most modern-day descendants of Appalachian families traditionally regarded as Melungeon are generally Caucasian in appearance, often, though not always, with dark hair and eyes, and a swarthy or olive complexion. Descriptions of Melungeons vary widely from observer to observer, from "Middle Eastern" to "Native American" to "light-skinned African American."

With this kind of description, I think if we look at the fact the descendants are mostly from the Appalachian region, we could possibly rule out some of the obvious (i.e., light skinned African American, middle easter to native american, etc.).

I do not know anyone personally that is a melungeon; didn't know there was that particular group until you posed the question, which made me look it up. Thanks! :)

Answer 4

I don't, but:

http://genforum.genealogy.com/melungeon/
has 17,400 messages at the moment.

http://www.cyndislist.com/melungeons.htm
has at least 100 links.