It is amazing how much can be learned about a person’s heritage just by taking a close look at the person’s DNA. A recent study investigated the genetics of people who are descended from Melungeons. It turned out that the origins of this group were not as people expected.
What does the word “Melungeon” mean? If you look up the meaning in the ROOTS Genealogical Dictionary you get a lot of different answers.
Some have said that the Melungeons were descendants of Portuguese sailors. Others define this group as the descendents of Spanish and Portuguese sailors who had children with Dutch women. It also says they are the descendents of Turkish and Moorish sailors who were sent to an an area that is now part of North Carolina. This group is said to have produced children with the Native Americans of the area. It also notes that the Turkish sailors had Asian heritage.
The word Melungeon has been used to refer to people who had dark skin and who lived in the Appalachian mountains. Which of these explanations is correct? This is where genetic genealogy steps into the story.
A study has been done that takes a closer look at the DNA of people who describe themselves as Melungeon. Jack Goins is a researcher of Melungeon history for around 40 years, and a person who has Melungeon heritage. He found that his distant relatives were listed as Portuguese on an 1880 census. However, when Jack had a cheek swab done so that his own DNA could be tested, the results of it said that he had African heritage.
This led to a larger study. DNA samples were taken from participants whose families were called Melungeon in the historical records of the 1880’s and early 1900’s. The families came from Tennessee’s Hawkins and Hancock Counties. 69 unbroken male lines and 8 unbroken female lines were tested. The study found that the Melungeons are the offspring of sub-Saharan African men and white women of northern or central European origin.
There are many people who are upset by the results of this study. It must be quite a shock to have always been told that your family descended from people who were Portuguese, and then learn that your DNA tells a very different story. This is one of the remarkable things about genetic genealogy. Your genes can tell you things that documents and records cannot.
Image by AJ Cann on Flickr