Ancestry.com - DNA Analysis Fails to Prove Melungeon Origins
Ancestry.com - DNA Analysis Fails to Prove Melungeon Origins: "DNA Analysis Fails to Prove Melungeon Origins
Who or what are the Melungeons? If you could prove the answer to that question, a lot of people would be interested.
The Melungeons were first discovered in 1654, living in the Appalachian Mountain areas that are part of present-day eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and western North Carolina. There is some evidence that the Melungeons were established in those areas even before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Various researchers have speculated that the Melungeons originated in Portugal or Spain or Turkey or England, or perhaps that they were one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. So far, nobody has been able to prove where these people came from. A just-completed genetic study of some of their 15,000 to 50,000 modern-day descendants failed to find the ethnic origins of these people.
These olive- and copper-skinned people have lived in isolated pockets across Appalachia over the past several centuries. The Melungeons were 'discovered' in 1654 by English explorers and were described as being 'dark-skinned with fine European features.' In April of 1673, James Needham, an Englishman, and Gabriel Arthur, possibly an indentured servant, came to the Tennessee Valley as explorers with approximately eight Indians. There, Needham described finding 'hairy people .... (who) have a bell which is six foot over which they ring morning and evening and at that time a great number of people congregrate togather and talkes' in a language not English nor any Indian dialect that the accompanying Indians knew. Needham also described these people as 'hairy, white people which have long beards and whiskers and weares clothing....' who lived in log cabins with peculiar arched windows. Some of these peoples were also descri"
Who or what are the Melungeons? If you could prove the answer to that question, a lot of people would be interested.
The Melungeons were first discovered in 1654, living in the Appalachian Mountain areas that are part of present-day eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and western North Carolina. There is some evidence that the Melungeons were established in those areas even before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Various researchers have speculated that the Melungeons originated in Portugal or Spain or Turkey or England, or perhaps that they were one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. So far, nobody has been able to prove where these people came from. A just-completed genetic study of some of their 15,000 to 50,000 modern-day descendants failed to find the ethnic origins of these people.
These olive- and copper-skinned people have lived in isolated pockets across Appalachia over the past several centuries. The Melungeons were 'discovered' in 1654 by English explorers and were described as being 'dark-skinned with fine European features.' In April of 1673, James Needham, an Englishman, and Gabriel Arthur, possibly an indentured servant, came to the Tennessee Valley as explorers with approximately eight Indians. There, Needham described finding 'hairy people .... (who) have a bell which is six foot over which they ring morning and evening and at that time a great number of people congregrate togather and talkes' in a language not English nor any Indian dialect that the accompanying Indians knew. Needham also described these people as 'hairy, white people which have long beards and whiskers and weares clothing....' who lived in log cabins with peculiar arched windows. Some of these peoples were also descri"
posted by Helen Campbell @ 9:25 PM
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