"Melungeon" was an obscure racial pejorative in the early 1800s. A earliest dependable grounds to believe of anyone self-identifying when Melungeon comes in the Sixties. Based on data from folklorist Saundra Ivey, a emergence of this fresh identity was spurred per presentation of an outdoor drama all about Melungeons.

Controversy
Melungeons stand been a subject of great deal debate just about their ethnic, linguistic, cultural and geographic origins. Spell non officially recognized as an ethnic or racial group by the U.S. government, they often have a keen sense of self identity and, in some areas, a long history of existing separate from the mainstream community.

the extent to which Melungeons be a specific race or ethnicity is controversial, because members of this group come considered to become racially mixed like than exhibiting characteristics which may be demonstrably classified when existence of one racial phenotype.

Potentially a origin of the term "Melungeon" is extremely controversial. A few argue that it originates from either a Turkish "Meluncan" (deriving from a Arabic "melun jinn") which means "cursed soul" or even "lost soul." An additional theory is that it derives from either a French "Mélangien," meaning the individual by a mélange, or even mixture. a third theory traces the word to "malungu," a Luso-African root from Angola meaning "shipmate." However, "melungeon" is too an archaic English word meaning villain.

Researcher Brent Kennedy believes that Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley & Ava Gardner will will have Melungeon roots.

Locations
"Melungeon" has been applied to class action members sleep in: eastern Kentucky south-american Virginia eastern Tennessee southern West Virginia southern Ohio southern Indiana

Possibly related populations include a: Magoffin County People of Kentucky (Magoffin and Floyd counties) and a Carmel Indians of Ohio (Highland County) Brown People of Kentucky Guineas of West Virginia Person County Indians aka The Cubans & Portuguese of North Carolina A Dead Lake People of Gulf and Calhoun counties Florida. Goinstown Indians in Rockingham, Stokes, and Surry counties of North Carolina The class action known as the Goins locally who sleep in Rhea, Roane, and Hamilton counties of eastern Tennessee. It own yearn been identified when Melungeons by humans from either a rest of Tennessee.

Both one groupings of mixed-race populations has the particular history & culture, however historical grounds to believe shows relationships among a bit of of the children.

Local customs & beliefs inside Southwest Virginia & eastern Tennessee--a region where a Melungeon term is virtually all typically applied--held that it were dark-skinned because it got Western Indian ancestry, although African ancestry is the other plausible explanation for a select few.

Origins
Melungeons keep around multifariously claimed to exist as of the as punishment ethnic origin: Portuguese Turkish Moorish Arabic Jewish Native Americans particularly Cherokee Scottish