The Melungeons, one of American's lost people, have no written history and no oral history either. The group are generally dark skinned, not black and not Indian, with straight black hair and dark eyes. They live mainly in the mountainous areas of Tennessee and western North Carolina and some parts of Virginia and Kentucky. In recent years many theories of their original have been put forward to explain their existence. Jean P. Bible taught school in Hancock County in the late 1940s and 1950s where she met and became friends with many of the leaders of the Melungeon Culture. She knew many of the older people and came to love them deeply. Being one of the first to write of these people, she has given us a deep insight into their background and lives today as they come to terms with who they really are. In spite of many who were skeptical about her work and many incidents where she was told to "Mind your own business!", she continued to research and write about these neighbors of hers. Chapters include: Who are the Melungeons?; Origin of the Term, "Mulungeon"; Melungeon Physical Characteristics; When, Where, and Whence Did They Come?; Were They of Carthaginian Origin?; Were Their Forebears Members of a Lost Tribe of Israel?; Are They Descendants of Welsh Indians; Are They Kin to the "Lost Colony?"; The Myth and the Legend.
Jean Patterson Bible
1991, hard cover, bibliography, indexed, 139 pp.
ISBN: 9780788491283
101E-TN0205
