The Charleston Gazette

July 21, 2008
By Kellen Henry
Staff writer

"Reading the clues

Genealogy research helps unravel a mystery of Appalachian medicine
Growing up in Charleston, Nancy Sparks Morrison always loved hearing family stories. While the other children played outside, she preferred staying in, listening to relatives tell tales."

PANEL DISCUSSION ON "COMMON ROOTS BETWEEN NATIVE AMERICANS AND TURKS"

NEW YORK (A.A) – 27.01.2008 - A panel discussion on "Common Roots between Native Americans and Turks" was held in New York, on Saturday

Newsletter Volume 1, No. 1 September 1989

Excerpt:

"Today, Turkish scholars have verified that the name Melunjun was applied and used freely by early Ottoman Turk-ish sailors. The modem Turkish people recognize this term which meant cursed soul or abandoned by God. How ironic in view of the traumatic history of the Melungeons in America. Also, Spanish Historian, Eloy Gal-legoes, found the name in early Spanish Folk songs."

Where Do We Come From? Genetics DISCOVER Magazine by Kathleen McGowan

"Kennedy calls himself a Melungeon, but no one knows exactly what that means. There are perhaps as many as 200,000 Melungeons in the United States today, all descended from a mysterious colony of olive-skinned people who lived for centuries in the foothills of the Appalachians. Some say the Melungeons can be traced back to Portuguese sailors, shipwrecked in the 16th century, or to colonial-era Turkish silk workers. Others point to Gypsies, to Sir Francis Drake's lost colony of Roanoke, or to the ancient Phoenicians. It's not even clear where the word Melungeon comes from: It might be derived from the French mélange or even a corruption of an Arabic or Turkish term for "cursed souls."