Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia By Wayne Winkler

"The Forgotten Portuguese (Portuguese making of America : early North-American history" by Manuel Mira

Many people can trace their ancestry to America's southeast Appalachia region. Some of these people tell an oral history of Portuguese ancestors and they came to America in pre-colonial times. It is said the very word Melungeon means cursed or cursed soul.


My own research reveals that the Spanish and Portuguese did indeed come to America in the six-tenth and seventeenth centuries. You can read my research at : The Age of Explorers and Conquerors : The Melungeon Melding Pot Begins

Manuel Mira, born in Portugal, has written an eye opening book about the Portuguese who came to the shores of America.

Book Description

"Early American History, researches the origin of Melungeons and other groups. History of Portuguese settlers in America since the 1500's and their participation in the making of America. This is a history of one of the many minorities that makes up the American population. It presents many facts and over 100 illustrations, photographs and charts with American and Portuguese history chronology. It also presents the names of many settlers as well as the anglicized version."

The Electronic Front Porch: An Oral History of the Arrival of Modern Media in Rural Appalachia and the Melungeon Community By Dr. Jacob J. Podber

Dr. Jacob Podber interviewed people from all over the U. S. who share a common Appalachian heritage. In his book he reveals how the Internet has brought the scattered Appalachian remnant together to form a family cyber community. The Internet has revolutionized the way people research their ancestors. The Internet is bringing families together and a better understanding of how their ancestors took part in the making of America.

"The book is published by Mercer University Press (September 30, 2007), they have published many books about Appalachian heritage. People worldwide are learning more about the overlooked history of many people who arrived in the Americas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. For the first time in history many records an documents are being digitized and published on the Internet, libraries, historical societies and by people who have a love of preserving history."





Biography Of the author:

"Dr. Jacob J. Podber is Assistant Professor in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts at Southern Illinois University. His research interests are in electronic media usage in rural Appalachia and other “outsider” communities. His article “Early Radio in Rural Appalachia: An Oral History” appears in the Journal of Radio Studies. He also has a chapter forthcoming in Global Media Studies: Ethnographic Perspective. Routledge Press. Dr. Podber has won several awards, including the Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award from the Broadcast Education Association, the Carl A. Ross Paper of the Year Award from the Appalachian Studies Association, the Top Paper Award from the Broadcast Education Association, and the Top Paper Award on an American Theme from the Ohio University-American Studies Steering Committee. In addition, Dr. Podber was Graduate Production Supervisor for the videotape accompaniment to the book Entertainment-Education: A Communication Strategy for Social Change by Everett Rogers & Arvind Singhal."

Melungeon Related Surnames by Brent Kennedy P. 171-174

How does the Ottoman Empire relate to Melungeons?

Any serious researcher of early American history should read this eye opening book written by the late professor Joseph M. Scolnick (1940-2005) and N. Brent Kennedy. Professor Scolnick was teaching at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise until he passed away in December 2005. I met and talked to him at a Melungeon Gathering in Kingsport, TN and listened to his lecutre.

NORTH FROM THE MOUNTAINS BOOK REVEIW

NORTH FROM THE MOUNTAINS: THE CARMEL MELUNGEONS OF OHIO by John S. Kessler (Author), Donald B. Ball (Author), N. Brent Kennedy (Foreword)
by John S. Kessler, is a worth the time to read if you are interested in Appalachian genealogy and history of the southeast. Donald Ball is an archaeologist for the US Army Corps of Engineers in Louisville, Kentucky.