None of the work below is my original work. It is copied as stated above from the Melungeon blogspot. I copied it for two reasons. As I have stated many times our family seems to have some "slightly exotic" or some would say some shameful genes. Since I think that God created everyone in His imagine., I do not believe in shameful genes or bad ethnicities. We are just who we are and had no control of out ancestors decisions and would not change a thing if I could. Somewhere along the line, most likely on my mothers side through her Granny Johnson ( Cordi or Cordellia Lambert Johnson ), I have administered a fair amount of DNA tests on myself and several family members. One service who claims a "deep dive" and goes 20 to 50 generations back. Obviously, I have a passion for this and there is no return on the investment other than my thirst for what many would call trivial knowledge. It typically makes no difference in the way we live; however, for obvious reasons stated before, it could impact our susceptibility to certain diseases. I have little formal education in biology but was fortunate enough to be well educated enough to learn how to do research and in the age of the internet, there are a lot of reliable sources available. My opinion is very much antidotal and not based on any scientific research by myself but I have read many DNA studies related to different people groups. I may have posted this before and if so, I apologize, I have had some time recently to continue a little of my research. Basically, I believe some of the articles toward the end that state the Phoenicians made it across the Atlantic at some point. I believe because the Cherokee were such a welcoming people group that they intermarried with the Phoenicians. I have no reason to know for sure, but for some reason a group of them must have isolated themselves because, I think that it was Desoto, if not another early explorer from Europe...maybe another from Spain documented the existence of this people group in the 1540's. Furthermore, the Melungeon themselves claim Portuguese ancestry and state that they are the descendants of Portuguese soldiers who abandoned DeSoto. My thoughts are that all of that could be true. The most recent DNA research....again a lot from memory this evening... states that the East Tennessee Melungeons are a tri-racial people. One group seems to be Native American, Portugese ( Southern European ) and Middle Eastern and the other group Native American, African American and Portuguese ( Southerrn European ) with different families having different make up and some Anglo European thrown in. My deep dive DNA would indicate that one of our ancestors may have been a product of the two Melungeon families intermarriage. I am predominantly Germanic and English. Going down in percentage I am Irish, Finnish, Scottish then descending into smaller percentages Iberian Peninsula ( such as Spain, Portugal and Tuscany Italy ). Then going into very small percentages South Asian ( Pakistan and India ). Then a very little Native American ( which appears to be more from the Incas than Aztecs ). A tiny bit of eastern Asian, and finally a tiny bit unassigned or at on point before a change in the DNA services sample groups, it was listed as African. My mothers is similar but she has less Germanic than I do and a whole lot more Irish. The larger amounts of Scottish and Scandinavian seem to have come from my Dad's side. Also mom has the more exotic amounts in a little higher percentile than myself. Also recall, if you just do the typical Ancestry DNA, 23 and Me DNA or My Heritage DNA, they only look at the last 4 and sometimes 5 generations. ( Recall that my family has had two different stints of 5 generations, so a lot of you already know who those 4 to 5 generation ancestors are because you have met many of them. You will probably get something like the English, Germanic, Scotch, Irish and possibly some Scandinavian. Most of us, including myself look very Anglo-Saxon/Caucasian. Recall at 7 generations one has 264 ancestors and at six, 132 ancestors assuming no one married a cousin. For example, If we had a "Full Blooded Native American" six generations back, then if all of that DNA got passed to you which is statistically impossible, then one would still just have 1/132 of Native American ancestry. That is hard to find in a $100 or less DNA test. ). That to say, the Melungeon story is interesting and it would be really hard to have such a mixture of ethnicities without there being some Native American and more specifically Cherokee. The Cherokee do not look the same as many of the western tribes so the early crossing of the Atlantic by Phoenicians ( maybe the best ship builders of all time before our modern era ) makes a lot of sense to me. It also explains our "Middle Eastern/Old Silk Road" gene that allowed the Behcet's Syndrome to incubate. Furthermore, how many of us on the Cordie Johnson side were told to say that we were Black Dutch if anyone asked!
Again, all of the information below was my selection of the Melungeon Blogspot articles. If you want to see them all, just google Melungeon Blogspot and it is hard to miss. None of the work below is my original.
William Vaughn----1774 (Lord Dunmore's War): William was among those diverted to Capt. Looney's company on the Clinch and did not fight at Point Pleasant. Instead he was with Capt Looney, Lieut. Daniel Boone and Lieut. John Cox guarding the Clinch frontier.....Daniel Boone records meeting him in the wilds of Kentucky on his first visit (Howling Wilderness). William married a Cherokee maiden by the name of Fair-A-Bee-Luna in Tennessee. It was around his wife's tribal fire that he first heard of the old Indian Healing Springs, now known as Eureka Spring, Arkansas. (Don Byrne)........Eddie Davis was unable to prove Fereby's Cherokee ancestry through DNA testing.
The 1755 Orange County, North Carolina, tax list several families who either they, or their forefather once lived on the Pamunkey River in Louisa County, Virginia and who eventually migrated to Hawkins County, TN and became know as the Melungeons.
Gidean Bunch 1 tithe (mulatto)
Micajer Bunch 1 tithe (mulatto)
Moses Ridley (Riddle) 1 tithe and wife Mary (mulattoes)
Thomas Collins 3 tithes (mulatto)
Samuel Collins 3 tithes (mulattoes)
John Collins 1 tithe (mulatto)
Thomas Gibson 3 tithes (mulatto)
Charles Gibson 1 tithe (mulatto)
George Gibson 1 tithe (mulatto)
Mager Gibson 1 tithe (mulatto)
You must know that within ten miles of this owl's nest, there is a watering-place, known hereabouts as 'black-water Springs.' It is situated in a narrow gorge, scarcely half a mile wide, between Powell's Mountain and the Copper Ridge, and is, as you may suppose, almost inaccessible. A hundred men could defend the pass against even a Xerxian army. Now this gorge and the tops and sides of the adjoining mountains are inhabited by a singular species of the human animal called MELUNGENS. The legend of their history, which they carefully preserve, is this. A great many years ago, these mountains were settled by a society of Portuguese Adventurers, men and women.
[While this article appeared across the country in 1848, note at the end. "The Dance"
ONLY appears once that I have found, in LITTELS LIVING AGE.
The principal localities visited were Newman's Ridge and Blackwater Valley,
lying just south of Powell's mountain and 14 miles north of Rogersville, Tennessee. the inhabitants there, known by the local name of "Malunjins"
are a mixture of whites, blacks and Indians, Destruction of Illicit Distilleries 1873
A settlement was also made at an early date at Mulberry Gap, where a little village sprang up. Newmans' Ridge, which runs through the county to the north
of Sneedville, and parallel with Clinch river, is said to have taken its name
from one of the first settlers upon it. It has since been occupied mainly
by a people presenting a peculiar admixture of white and Indian blood. Goodspeed's History of Tennessee-1886
His name Melungeons is a local designation for this small peculiar race. Their own claim to be Portuguese is more generally known. Their original site is on the Pedee river in South and North Carolina . They were once especially strong in Georgetown and Darlington districts of the latter. Though called Portuguese – this does not indicate their true origin. I have no doubt local traditions, and the records still to be found in the Charleston library will give the true account.............................................
'The Croatan tribe lives principally in Robeson county, North Carolina,
though there is quite a number of them settle in counties adjoining in
North and South Carolina. In Sumter county, South Carolina, there is a
branch of the tribe, and also in east Tennessee. In Macon county,
North Carolina, there is another branch, settled there long ago.
Those living in east Tennessee are called "Melungeons", a name also
retained by them here, which is corruption of 'Melange', a name given them
by early settlers (French), which means mixed.''
R. M. Ewing, wrote that when he attended law school at Lebanon Tennessee, in 1851:
" there was a colony of people residing within a few miles of Lebanon who were locally, and so far as I know generally, called Malungeons. They seemed to be a hard working, harmless, inoffensive people, a dark red or copper color, and jet black, straight hair... these people claimed to be of Portuguese descent. Malungeon Town 1890
The owner was a full-blooded Indian, with keen, black eyes, straight black hair, high cheeks, and a hook nose. He played upon his violin with his fingers instead of a bow, and entertained us with a history of his grandfather, who was a Cherokee chief, and by singing some of the songs of his tribe.
Such are the remnants called Indians in some states where a pure-blooded
Indian can hardly longer be found. In Tennessee such a group, popularly
known as Melungeans, in addition to those still known as Cherokee.
Somewhere in the eighteenth century, before the year 1797, there
appeared in the eastern portion of Tennessee, at that time the
Territory of North Carolina, two strange-looking men calling themselves "Collins" and "Gibson". They had a reddish brown complexion, long , straight , black hair,
keen, black eyes, and sharp, clear-cut features. They spoke in broken English,
a dialect distinct from anything ever heard in that section of the country.
There is in Hancock county, Tennessee, a tribe of people known
by the local name of Malungeons or Melungeons. Some say they are
a branch of the Croatan tribe, others that they are of Portuguese stock.
Who are these people?” has been asked thousands of times,
doubtless by some passing traveler, who quickly noted their clean-cut,
distinctive race features, speech and bearing. The answer made invariably is “Melungeons” - Our fathers who settled here along about 1790 to 1800,
found them here, with another small settlement near Nashville’s present site.”
This is all you can obtain in the way of information by casual inquiry. Melungeons at the Worlds' Fair 1894
It is not generally known that in the mountains of eastern Tennessee there is a class of peculiar looking people whose origin is wrapped in mystery and who are called by the whites, Melungeons. They resent this appellation and proudly declare that they are Portuguese. (This is the original 1848 article)
There is a race of people in Hawkins County, Tenn., whose origin is a mystery," said G. L. Babbit. "They are called the Melungeons, and are found no place else. They have been traced back to North Carolina, but further than that nothing is known. They are not Indians, they are not negroes, they are certainly not of any known race of white people.
They have been classed with Negroes but it is easily demonstrated
that they are not of negro origin. I mingled with them a great deal at one time,
and was fortunate enough to obtain their confidence through an act of
kindness to one of their number. A few relics of great age can be found
in the pottery and implements. Some of these marked with rude
imitations of the Maltese cross. They have a tradition that
their ancestors in North Carolina are buried in mounds.
Putting these points together, I believe that they are
descendants of the Aztecs and of Portuguese sailors
who landed upon the North Carolina coast.
As to the Melungeons I know of no book containing any history of them.
They are a peculiar set of people, most of them are very dark, straight hair
and high cheek bones resemble a Cherokee Indian. Since the war they
have become civilized and a great many of them are good citizens
and good livers....................................
The Blackwater Valley lies between Mulberry and Newman’s Ridges, and is from half a mile to mile wide. Twenty years ago it was still a wilderness, but is now under good cultivation, and divided into small farms upon which are rather poor dwellings and outbuildings. In this valley and along Newman’s Ridge, reaching into Lee County, Virginia, are settled the people called Melungeons. Some have gone into Kentucky, chiefly into Pike County, others are scattered in adjacent territory.The first settlers here were the great grand parents, Varday Collins, Shephard Gibson, and Charley Williams, who came from Virginia it is said, though other say from North Carolina. They have marked Indians resemblances in color, feature, hair, carriage, and disposition.
All along the southern coast there are scattered here and there bands of
curious people, whose appearance, color, and hair seem to indicate a cross or mixture of the Indian, the white, and the negro. Such, for example, are the Pamunkeys of Virginia, the Croatan Indians of the Carolinas, the Malungeons of Tennessee
The Melungeons of East Tennessee are not a mixed race. They are
descendants of some ancient Phoenicians who removed from Carthage to a
place near Camden, South Carolina and from there to Hancock County,
Tennessee. They have no facial resemblance to Indians or Negroes.
They have none of the characteristics of either negroes or Indians.
The fact is there is no negroid or Indian blood, but a pure distinct race. Phoenicians 1928 By J Patton Gibson
There is little authentic knowledge of the Melungeons, a people found
in certain parts of Tennessee and Virginia. They are about the same
color as mulattoes with no other discernible Negro traits. According to their
own tradition they are of Moorish descent, probably descendants of the ancient Phoenicians. They settled in Portugal and later crossed the Atlantic before the Revolutionary war, settling in South Carolina, due to discriminatory taxes and ostracism they emigrated in a body and settled in Hancock County, Tennessee. Answers to Questions 1939
I have read the article headed “Ancestry of Melungeon Ferry Pilot" printed
in the Daily Times of Feb. 10. It was very interesting to me. My
knowledge of the Melungeon race is limited. They did come from
Phoenicia, when Carthage fell to the Romans, and settled in North Carolina.
I once looked up this history when I wrote an article for the Times about
the Melungeons along the Foothills of Walden’s Ridge The Melungeon Race 1941
“I used to regard the stories about Melungeons as a part of mythology,”
Miss Collins, a college graduate who is descended from one of the
oldest families in the region, said. “But my sister said, “No, there is some
truth in it.” Miss Collins rose from her desk and walked thoughtfully
to the vault to withdraw a letter postmarked 1907. It had been written
to her by one of her uncles. Elegant in vocabulary and charming in
sentiment, the letter related some of the family stories about their origin.
Written by J. G. Rhea, the letter told of one of the legends that persists
to explain the presence of the dark-skinned people in the area: they are
descendants of the Spaniards and perhaps Portuguese men in DeSoto’s
party who ventured from Florida into parts of North Carolina and
Tennessee in search of gold in 1540.-
Martha Collins 1963
So this has been a fascinating subject for me and I still feel convinced
that they are a mixture of Moorish, Portuguese, Croatan Indians, and a small portion of Anglo-Saxon blood that was left from the final massacre of the Roanoke Island colony in North Carolina. If not, how can we explain why they use old Elizabethan English expressions and all the older ones said they were "Porty-gee." The Portuguese who were often shipwrecked off the stormy N.C coast and chose to stay there and marry Indian women. The small segment that escaped from the final massacre by the Va., Indians evidently retained the old English words that the Melungeons used, like "Hit" [for it] "ferninst'[?] for opposite, etc. Please excuse my rambling and crooked lines. Bonnie S. Ball - 1990
Atlanta Constitution
March 11, 1889
The Melungeons
Meridian, Miss.,
March 11– Editors Constitution
Near a month ago an article appeared in The CONSTITUTION named Melungeons. I laid it aside in order to correspond with the writer, but the paper got destroyed and the name and address had not been noticed with care, and are forgotten. Excuse me then for addressing him through the same medium.
His name Melungeons is a local designation for this small peculiar race. Their own claim to be Portuguese is more generally known. Their original site is on the Pedee river in South and North Carolina . They were once especially strong in Georgetown and Darlington districts of the latter. Though called Portuguese – this does not indicate their true origin. I have no doubt local traditions, and the records still to be found in the Charleston library will give the true account. As dimly recollected, for I never made search with a purpose in view, it was thus in the primary colonial times of the Carolinas, Winyaw Bay was the best and most frequented harbor on the coast, and Georgetown more accessible, was more of a commercial town than old Charlestown., to that port British cruisers sometimes brought prizes.
Among these once was a Salee Rover, (*See Below) which was sold for the distribution of the proceeds as prize money. The crew consisting mostly of Moors, with a sprinkling of Arabs and negroes, were turned ashore free. Their complexion and religion prevented immediate absorption by the white race, and they found wives among Indians, negroes and cast off white women at a time when many of these last were sold by immigrant ships for their passage money. They became a peculiar people. They were the free people of color of the Pedee region so true to Marion during our revolutionary struggle and no other race in America retained such traditionary hatred of the British.
Your correspondent [whose name I am sorry to have forgotten] having a taste for ethnological studies will confer a favor upon that branch of early post-colonial record and legislative proceedings of South Carolina. He will find it sustained by the appearance of these people if he can find a few pure specimens–their physical structure, their hair, their teeth, and general features, though every trace of their Moslem religion and north African dialect may have long been lost.
Very respectfully,
Laurence C. Johnson
About the Author
Lawrence Clement Johnson was born August 21, 1821 in Chester County, South Carolina. He died August 14, 1909 at the Confederate home (Beauvoir) in Gulfport, Mississippi. He was the son of Dr. Benjamin Brown Johnson and Jane Milling Young Johnson. He was the grandson of William Johnson, Revolutionary War soldier of Charleston, South Carolina and was a Lieutenant in Company F. 9th Mississippi Infantry CSA.
Johnson was a pioneer in the discovery and description of the phosphate fields of Florida and in 1886, he wrote a paper entitled "The Structure of Florida" and presented it at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in New York.
He lived in Holly Springs, Mississippi (Marshall County) and by 1860 held the position of Clerk of the Circuit Court in Marshall County. In 1882, he was hired as an Assistant Geologist.
Johnson married Mattie McLain, daughter of Rev. Robert McLain and Laura Brown McLain in Clarke County, Mississippi. The following year, Johnson's young wife died within a month of giving birth to their daughter, also named Mattie. Their little girl only lived three years. Johnson never remarried. He is buried in Enterprise Cemetery, Clark County, Mississippi beside his late wife and daugher. NATIONAL SURVEYS ARTICLE - NEW YORK TIMES June 29, 1885 Information provided by- Peggy Johnson Carey
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