Melungeons: "half Negro and half Indian," "Cherokee of mixed blood," and a disputed DNA study (TN/VA/KY, 1813–2012)

SUMMARYMelungeons: "half Negro and half Indian," "Cherokee of mixed blood," and a disputed DNA study (TN/VA/KY, 1813–2012) [Connections: Carolinas, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORDTennessee Encyclopedia (Ann Toplovich): the earliest known use of the word is in the Stoney Creek Baptist Church minutes (Scott County, VA), September 26, 1813, where a member was accused "for saying she harbored them Melungins." In 1840 the Jonesborough Whig called "an impudent Melungeon" a "scoundrel who is half Negro and half Indian." The US Interior Department's 1894 Report of Indians Taxed and Not Taxed said Hawkins County Melungeons "claim to be Cherokee of mixed blood." Origin theories since have included Portuguese, Indian, and Moorish (Brent Kennedy, 1994). Wikipedia: a 2011/2012 Journal of Genetic Genealogy study (Estes et al.) found ancestry "primarily European and African," with Native American DNA documented only in the Sizemore line, and theorized descent from Black and white indentured servants in 1600s Virginia

PATTERNFrom the first records, outsiders described these families as Indian and Negro together, the families claimed Cherokee or Portuguese, and the census swung between "free colored," "mulatto" and "Portuguee."

LENS (WW9)Every paper called them something different. "Half Indian" appears in the 1840 record

DISPUTEDThe DNA study tested selected male and female lines only and does not capture all ancestry; it conflicts with the families' own Cherokee claims and the 1840 and 1894 descriptions. Needs deep research; do not present DNA as the final word either way

SOURCETennessee Encyclopedia, "Melungeons"; Melungeon (Wikipedia). Primary: Stoney Creek Baptist Church minutes, Sept. 26, 1813; Jonesborough Whig, 1840; US Dept. of the Interior, Report on Indians Taxed and Indians Not Taxed (1894).