Who were these Mysterious people found living secluded on Newman's Ridge about 1800? Where did they come from? How did they get here?

They had been discovered in the Appalachian wilderness as early as 1567. The curiosity and debates go on 200 years later.

The Melungeons called themselves "Portyghee," some, exclaimed they were Spanish and or Indian. The neighboring folks named them "Malungeon"supposedly for their color. For many years, the towns people feared them. When something bad happened, the people would often point their wagging fingers to Newman's Ridge, exclaiming, "it was those ___ Malugeons!!!"

In the late 1800's, people were less afraid of the Melungeons and a few even braved it up the mountain to investigate. They found a very unique group of people. Among this strange people lived American Indians and white- skin people too. The Melungeons had black straight hair, with black eyes, and had Mediterranean features with a skin color described as "swarthy."

Those in their group had black eyes, brown eyes, blue eyes... with hair colors of black, brown, red, and even blond. Beautiful babies of many colors were among them; marking the beginning of the many branches which would eventually lead their way down to us. They were as one big happy family living high up on that mountain top. Their lifestyle appeared crude to the whites but none could deny, this people seemed content living far away from "civilization."

Today the quest to unravel the mystery continues. Genealogy buffs are often surprised to find their brick has aname: MELLUNGEON. Listed below are some known Melungeon surnames; however, it doesn't mean if your name is here, that you're of Melungeon descent ; but if you do find your ancestors name listed below and they are found living in and about the following areas, their's a good possibility they were Mellungeon. If your name is not found, that doesn't exclude you either.

North Carolina ( Orange County, New River ) Tennessee (Hawkins County, Hancock County, Clinch River area, Newman's Ridge, Stoney Creek, Fort Blackmore ) Kentucky (Boyd, Floyd, Carter) Virginia ( Louisa County, Scott & Lee County - later part of Lee became Wise County, Flat River area of Granville County which became Orange Co. in the middle 1700's)

Adams Adkins Allen Allmond Ashworth

Barker Barnes Bass Beck - Beckler Bedgood Bell Bennett Berry Beverly Biggs Bolen/Bowlen/Bolling/Bowling Boone Bowman Badby Boltons Branham Braveboy Breedlove Briger/Bridger Brogan Brooks Brown Bunch Butler Butters Bullion Burton Buxton Byrd

Campell Carrico Carter Casteel Caudill Chapman Chavis Clark Cloud Coal/Cole/Coles Coffey Coleman Colley Collier/Colyer Collins Collinsworth Cook(e) Cooper, Cotman Counts Cox/Coxe Criel Croston Crow Cumba/Cumbo/Cumbow Curry Custalow

Dalton Dare Davis Denham Dennis Dial Dorton Doyle Driggers Dye Dyess

Ely Epps Evans Fields Freeman French Gann Garland Gibbs Gibson/Gipson Goins/Goings Goodman Gorvens Gowan/Gowen Graham Green(e) Gwinn

Hall Hammon Harmon Harris Harvie/Harvey Hawkes Hendricks/Hendrix Hulan Hill Hillman Hogge Holmes Hopkins Howe Hyatt

Jackson James Johnson Jones

Keith Kennedy Kiser

Langston Lasie Lawson Linegar Locklear Lopes Lowry Lucas

Maddox Maggard Major Male/Mayle Maloney Marsh Martin Menleys Miles Minard Miner/Minor Mizer Mornings Moore Morley Mosely Mullins Mursh

Nash Nelson Newman Niccans Nichols Noel Norris

Orr Osborn/Osborne Oxendine

Page Paine Patterson Perkins Perry Phelps Phipps Pinder Polly Powell Powers Pritchard Pruitt

Ramey Rasnick Reaves/Reeves Revels Richardson Roberson/Robertson/Robinson Russell

Sammons Sampson Sawyer Scott Sexton Shavis Shepherd/Shephard Short Shumake Sizemore Smiling Smith Stallard Stanley Steel Stevens Stewart Strother Sweat/Swett Swindall

Tally Taylor Thompson Tolliver Tuppance Turner

Vanover Vicars/Viccars/ Vickers

Ware Watts Weaver White Whited Wilkins Williams Williamson Willis Wisby Wise Wood Wright Wyatt Wynn




For more information: Native American Indian Bloodlines.