Was Elvis a Melungeon?

Was Elvis a Melungeon?

Elvis was born far from the hills of southwestern Virginia in Tupelo, Miss. But researcher Brent Kennedy, a college administrator in Wise, theorizes that the King, as well as Abraham Lincoln and Ava Gardner, might trace their ancestors to the mysterious Melungeons. These dark-skinned, blue-eyed people were first documented in Virginia�s Blue Ridge in the late 1700s. Over the years, various myths about their origin arose. Some believed they were either survivors from the Lost Colony of Roanoke or Portuguese shipwrecks. Others suggested they were descendents of one of the lost tribes of Israel or of early Carthaginian or Phoenician seamen.

Kennedy�s controversial 1994 book, The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People, is credited with reviving interest in this �little race.� He offered a theory, still debated today, that the mixed-race group can trace its lineage to Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the 16th century and perhaps their Turkish sailors and slaves. The Mediterranean and Middle Eastern settlers later intermarried with Native Americans and freed slaves. Prior to Kennedy, sociologists and anthropologists had referred to Melungeons as �tri-racial isolates,� with Scotch-Irish, Native American and African-American origins.

Kennedy, who is a native of Wise, became interested in Melungeons when he was diagnosed with a rare disease that was most common among African Americans, people of Mediterranean descent and New England�s Portuguese immigrants. He had always been told his heritage was Scotch-Irish, despite physical evidence--swarthy family complexions--to the contrary.

Not only is Melungeon racial heritage clouded in mystery, but even the term has obscure roots. In the 17th century, the French encountered Mediterranean-skinned peopl"