Melungeon anyone?

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by KatieKate1244

The term "red neck" comes from the days when coal miners in WV were striking in order to get the coal companies to allow them to unionize. You could tell who was pro-union by miners wearing red bandanas around their necks, hence "red necks."

And another theory, the term came from the sunburned necks of farmers.

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

Anyone else believe/know that they are of Melungeon descent?

My mom thought we might have some family members. All my kin are from northwest North Carolina, high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

[Munchkin03]

Howdy!

One of my early pandemic projects was genealogy and developing a family tree for my daughter who was born in August 2020.

My family is most likely NOT Melungeon, but our paths cross with them a little bit. When it doesn't distract from my major work, I've taken some steps to research them, so this article was timely! What we are is Dominicker, which is very similar to Melungeon in that it's a triracial isolate. Both of my paternal grandparents had ancestors who came from the Dominicker community of West Florida. My 3rd great-grandfather's brothers both moved to Louisiana after the Civil War, where they absorbed into the Red Bones. Some moved to California where some even passed into "full" whiteness.

The past almost three years has been a wild ride in terms of what genealogical research we found! I am eligible for DAR membership through a few different folks on my dad's side. I found some great photos of the village my FIL's parents immigrated from, leaving much of their family who later died in the Holocaust. Given some documentation I stumbled upon while going through photos with my MIL, my husband and his sisters were able to apply for UK citizenship, which should arrive any day now.

[carnation]

My ancestors are Red Bones from Louisiana.

[ZTA72]

Originally Posted by carnation

My ancestors are Red Bones from Louisiana.

I asked my husband who lived in Louisiana for a few years if he knew about Red Bones. He said he did and I did a little research on the topic.
I have a fascination for genealogy and I appreciate you bringing this up.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by ZTA72

I asked my husband who lived in Louisiana for a few years if he knew about Red Bones. He said he did and I did a little research on the topic.
I have a fascination for genealogy and I appreciate you bringing this up.

Rumor has it that Ice-T's ancestors are Red Bones.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by carnation

My ancestors are Red Bones from Louisiana.

Had you ever come across the Dominickers in any of your research? They're not particularly well-discussed, other than some information Zora Neale Hurston recorded when she worked for the Florida Writers Project.

[PGD-GRAD]

Over the Holidays I received and read the bestseller “Demon Copperhead”, based loosely on Dickens’ “David Copperfield”. The main character in the novel discovers he’s actually of
Melungeon descent. Throughout there are details and references to his heritage. The novel is a very graphic account of a kid growing up and being shuttled around from one place to another. It’s also about the strength of the human spirit in sheer survival.

[navane]

Ok....I've been reading along with the recent posts in this thread for a bit and I have to admit that I don't really "get it".

I had to go look up Melungeon and Red Bones to understand what everyone is talking about. Forgive me if I'm being too simplistic......but it sounds like both groups are comprised of multi-racial people - White, Black and Native American. I mean.....ok......

I suppose that may make sense to people from the "South" and that fact that these labels came about many, many years ago, but I don't understand the labeling of it. It's as if these pockets of multi-racial people were proud of their mixed race at a time when it might not have been socially acceptable. (?)

But then, one reference I saw stated that the Red Bones successfully got their group to be considered "white" instead of "colored" for voting purposes. So, I guess they were proud to be "Red Bones" as long as no one said the word Black?

In my ignorance, I assume that, back in the day in the South, being a mixed race was not favorable. Right? And even to this day some people [all over] are still racist. Unless they're Melungeon or Red Bones....in which case their "coloredness" is ok?

I guess I'm confused is because I grew up in Southern California where being a mixed race wasn't a big deal. It's not as if the family of my sister's friend, Crystal, had to come up with a group name for being bi-racial. The family of my childhood best friend, Shelley, didn't have a special name for their tri-racial family. I guess I don't understand why this is a "thing"?

I tried to read-up, but I'm getting a bunch of ancestry/genealogy type results. I'm trying to work out the sociological and cultural implications of what it means to be Melungeon or Red Bones both back then....and today.

I am a social scientist by nature and scholarship - my brain is trying to understand this concept. If anyone can fill me in....or point me to a better reading material.....I would appreciate it.

Edited to add - This article illuminates the situation quite a bit and confirms many of the things I suspected: https://www.newsleader.com/story/new...on/4611383001/

[honeychile]

Interesting article, navane.

While this is not about the Melugeons, this one also takes on an interesting twist in Southern genetics: The Blue People of Appalachia

[FSUZeta]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Here's an article on Melungeon lineage:Family Tree Magazine, Are You Part of the Lost Tribe of Appalachia?

From the article: "Some researchers believe they descend from the lost colony of Roanoke, and ended up marrying into American Indian families."

Wouldn't it be amazing if it could be proven that these Melungeon ancestors were Roanoke colonists?

[ZTA72]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

From the article: "Some researchers believe they descend from the lost colony of Roanoke, and ended up marrying into American Indian families."

Wouldn't it be amazing if it could be proven that these Melungeon ancestors were Roanoke colonists?

I have followed that story since I was a child. I would love to have a resolution to that story.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

From the article: "Some researchers believe they descend from the lost colony of Roanoke, and ended up marrying into American Indian families."

Wouldn't it be amazing if it could be proven that these Melungeon ancestors were Roanoke colonists?

I would love to know of anyone who descended from the Roanoke colonists, Melungeon or not! Does John White have any other descendents?

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by navane

Ok....I've been reading along with the recent posts in this thread for a bit and I have to admit that I don't really "get it".

I had to go look up Melungeon and Red Bones to understand what everyone is talking about. Forgive me if I'm being too simplistic......but it sounds like both groups are comprised of multi-racial people - White, Black and Native American. I mean.....ok......

I suppose that may make sense to people from the "South" and that fact that these labels came about many, many years ago, but I don't understand the labeling of it. It's as if these pockets of multi-racial people were proud of their mixed race at a time when it might not have been socially acceptable. (?)

But then, one reference I saw stated that the Red Bones successfully got their group to be considered "white" instead of "colored" for voting purposes. So, I guess they were proud to be "Red Bones" as long as no one said the word Black?

In my ignorance, I assume that, back in the day in the South, being a mixed race was not favorable. Right? And even to this day some people [all over] are still racist. Unless they're Melungeon or Red Bones....in which case their "coloredness" is ok?

I guess I'm confused is because I grew up in Southern California where being a mixed race wasn't a big deal. It's not as if the family of my sister's friend, Crystal, had to come up with a group name for being bi-racial. The family of my childhood best friend, Shelley, didn't have a special name for their tri-racial family. I guess I don't understand why this is a "thing"?

I tried to read-up, but I'm getting a bunch of ancestry/genealogy type results. I'm trying to work out the sociological and cultural implications of what it means to be Melungeon or Red Bones both back then....and today.

I am a social scientist by nature and scholarship - my brain is trying to understand this concept. If anyone can fill me in....or point me to a better reading material.....I would appreciate it.

Edited to add - This article illuminates the situation quite a bit and confirms many of the things I suspected: https://www.newsleader.com/story/new...on/4611383001/

Part of the reason you're drawing a blank on this is precisely because you grew up in California during the second half of the twentieth century. Many people who felt boxed in by the weird racial dynamics of the Southeast moved to California after World War II in part to get away from that...and Jim Crow/rampant de jure segregation.

Virtually everyone who can trace their ancestry to the Southeast a few generations claims some Native American heritage. For Black-presenting people, we often claim Native ancestry to explain straight hair, light skin, sharp features, or hazel eyes. The rise of DNA testing has blown that right out of the water--most Black-presenting Americans have about 15-20% of Northwestern European ancestry, the rest being Subsaharan African. Most of the European ancestry is along the male line, which suggests slaveowners. For White-presenting Americans, that very same Native ancestry--or Iberian ancestry--is used to explain away darker hair or skin.

There's obviously substantial pride on both sides of having Native American heritage as well, and I know Blacks and Whites who get disappointed when their DNA doesn't reflect this grand Native American heritage at all, or only in small amounts. More and more people are learning that the "full-blooded Indian great-great-great grandmother" was most likely someone with noticeable African ancestry. How would Spanish or Portuguese people have made it to the Inland South en masse and integrate with the local populations during and after the Civil War?

The Melungeons, Dominickers, and Red Bones all received a lot of stigma for being so obviously mixed-race. In fact, the Dominickers were called that because they were "black and white, like a Dominecker chicken." It was an insult. If people could, they'd pass as white and/or leave the region. If they couldn't, they were stigmatized. Their descendants have taken this as a badge of honor. If anything, I'm glad that people are starting to embrace all of their heritage...as slow as a process it may be.

People who know more than I do, please feel free to chime in!