Burrow's Cave

[clubs_stink]

first, the welsh did it..now someone has figured out how to explain the white indians and blame it on the Portuguese
http://www.apol.net/dightonrock/opening ... lgrims.htm

[Forum Monk]

Clubs, I think we had a discussion some time ago about white people showing up quite early in the Powell's River valley or near-by. This was a theory about the Melungian people who still survive to this day, in the appalachians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melungeon

According to Pat Elder, the earliest of these was that they were "Indian" (often specifically "Cherokee"). Melungeon descendant Jack Goins states, however, that the Melungeons themselves claimed to be both Indian and "Portuguese." One early Melungeon was called "Spanish" ("Spanish Peggy" Gibson, wife of Vardy Collins).

Despite the scant evidence, Iberian (Spanish and/or Portuguese) and Native American ancestry are both possible given the history of multiracial families in the Melungeons' time and place of origin (late 17th century-early 18th century Eastern Virginia). However, claims about such ancestry made by Melungeon descendants in the 19th century or later should not necessarily be taken at face value. Many Southern families with multiracial ancestry have claimed Portuguese and/or American Indian (specifically Cherokee) ancestry as a strategy for denying any African ancestry.

Or am I confusing the history?

[clubs_stink]

Clubs, I think we had a discussion some time ago about white people showing up quite early in the Powell's River valley or near-by. This was a theory about the Melungian people who still survive to this day, in the appalachians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melungeon

According to Pat Elder, the earliest of these was that they were "Indian" (often specifically "Cherokee"). Melungeon descendant Jack Goins states, however, that the Melungeons themselves claimed to be both Indian and "Portuguese." One early Melungeon was called "Spanish" ("Spanish Peggy" Gibson, wife of Vardy Collins).

Despite the scant evidence, Iberian (Spanish and/or Portuguese) and Native American ancestry are both possible given the history of multiracial families in the Melungeons' time and place of origin (late 17th century-early 18th century Eastern Virginia). However, claims about such ancestry made by Melungeon descendants in the 19th century or later should not necessarily be taken at face value. Many Southern families with multiracial ancestry have claimed Portuguese and/or American Indian (specifically Cherokee) ancestry as a strategy for denying any African ancestry.

Or am I confusing the history?

I just bought a resource guide for the Melugeon issue and it's a neat tool because it lists all the places in the MLA format where Melugeons are discussed. It's helpful because just as in any dispute there are vicious diatribes for or against certain theories. In this case, lacking any real liturgical evidence the only reliable evidence would be DNA studies within certain families where documentation exists to prove they did not marry outside of the group. There are diatribes for the tri-racial theory which may hold water only in certain circumstances because the writer "forgot" to include an exhaustive study of the terminology, when it was used, time frames, and percentages. (for instance I know that some familes could be listed as white on one census and mulatto on another and it is supposed that this designation depended solely on the skin tone of the census taker) Thus the tri-racial theory is basically dead in the water. Other theories are about as valid. The interesting thing is that only one Melungeon that I have seen (meaning clan raised ect..not a person who suddenly discovered they were Melungeon) has ever written about the group. The rest of the literature is written by outsiders.

To my mind the only liturgical "evidence" that holds any water is the reference in a letter to the tribe of white men who claimed to be from Portugal in a very early explorers notes. It stands to reason that even though other people may have encountered this strange group, they were less intrigued with who they were than then immediate issues of their expedition and made little note of them.

I do think the early settlers in that bit of Kentucky made note of the lack of Indians LIVING in the area that they settled which is why that particular story was relayed. Relief? But of all the chatter about WHY there were no Indians living in that area no one seemed really concerned with the fact that the Indians were claiming other white men had been there, lived and died in that area long before the settlers got there. Why? Again issues regarding the immediacy of their lives, such as food and shelter? No one seemed intrigued enough to question or investigate.

It would be interesting to really look at who is pushing the oh so trite tri-racial theory...it would be good for the CLUB to be able to write the Melungeons off solely as mixed race nutjobs. Due to the intense, (and I do mean intense, it was UGLY) writings about these people during a certain time frame it does call into question the WHY..in the early 1900's people were in such a hurry to totally discredit this group in all ways. Horrible things were written about them (things no one would tolerate today).

What I have discovered is that settlers in the areas where "odd looking Indians" were found made note of them but were simply not curious to do anything more.