The Melungeons: A forgotten people : Genealogy Blog
The Melungeons: A forgotten people
When Spanish expeditions left the interior of the Southeastern United States in the mid-to-late 16th century, hundreds of colonists were scattered in small settlements and forts. Those few fathered thousands of descendants.
In his 1997 book “The Melungeons, The Pioneers of the Interior Southeastern United States 1526-1997,” author/historian Eloy J. Gallegos concludes that the sub-culture created by the intermingling of Native American tribes and various Spanish cultures is what by the 1800s in some regions were called the Melungeons.
When the Northern European settlers arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 in the Americas, Pardo’s group and descendants called the land home for more than 50 years. English settlers heard from Native Americans about people who were like them already living to the west. Some settlers referred to them as “white indians.”
Many historians relate as English, Irish, Scottish settlers pushed westward they found much of the best bottom land already occupied by these people, some of which were dark-skinned, some having red hair, blue eyes and other European features. The settlers lived in cabins, practiced Christianity and dressed much like the Northern Europeans and their ancestors did.
Through the passage of more than 400 years, the history of the descendants of Northwest Georgia’s original European settlers may only be left in some rock walls, a few artifacts, and several hundred thousand descendants scattered across the country, most not knowing their ancestors uniquely honorable heritage as America’s first settlers.
Melungeons: The Last Lost Tribe in America
When Spanish expeditions left the interior of the Southeastern United States in the mid-to-late 16th century, hundreds of colonists were scattered in small settlements and forts. Those few fathered thousands of descendants.
In his 1997 book “The Melungeons, The Pioneers of the Interior Southeastern United States 1526-1997,” author/historian Eloy J. Gallegos concludes that the sub-culture created by the intermingling of Native American tribes and various Spanish cultures is what by the 1800s in some regions were called the Melungeons.
When the Northern European settlers arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 in the Americas, Pardo’s group and descendants called the land home for more than 50 years. English settlers heard from Native Americans about people who were like them already living to the west. Some settlers referred to them as “white indians.”
Many historians relate as English, Irish, Scottish settlers pushed westward they found much of the best bottom land already occupied by these people, some of which were dark-skinned, some having red hair, blue eyes and other European features. The settlers lived in cabins, practiced Christianity and dressed much like the Northern Europeans and their ancestors did.
Through the passage of more than 400 years, the history of the descendants of Northwest Georgia’s original European settlers may only be left in some rock walls, a few artifacts, and several hundred thousand descendants scattered across the country, most not knowing their ancestors uniquely honorable heritage as America’s first settlers.
Melungeons: The Last Lost Tribe in America
posted by Helen Campbell @ 9:19 PM
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