Category Archives: Melungeon

The Amis Store Account Book 1782-1789, Hawkins County, TN

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Roberta Estes

Before Tennessee became a state in 1796 and before the State of Franklin was formed in 1785, the area that would become Hawkins County, Tennessee was the frontier and was known generally as Watauga. In 1775, the grandparents of Davy … Continue reading →

Posted in Melungeon, North Carolina, Tennessee | 5 Comments

Correlating Historical Facts to DNA Test Results

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Roberta Estes

Sometimes DNA tests hold surprising results, results that the individual didn’t expect.  That’s what happened to Jack Goins, Hawkins County, Tn. Archivist and founder of the Melungeon Core DNA project.  Jack, a Melungeon descendant through several ancestors, expected that his Y … Continue reading →

Posted in DNA, Melungeon | 9 Comments

Portingals, Portuguese, Melungeons, Creoles, Moors, Mulattoes and the Banjo

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Roberta Estes

You just never know where a banjo is going to take you. George Gibson wrote a very interesting article about his own Gibson genealogy research, spurred by his enduring interest in banjos and banjo-playing mountain men. One of the areas … Continue reading →

Posted in Creoles, Melungeon, Moors, Portuguese | 3 Comments

Jack Goins New Blog – Melungeon and Appalachian Research

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Roberta Estes

Web sites come and web sites go.  Jack is replacing his old website, http://www.jgoins.com, now defunct, with a new blog, Melungeon and Appalachian Research.  Blogs are much easier to update and keep current, don’t require any knowledge of web programming, … Continue reading →

Posted in Melungeon | 46 Comments

Black, White or Red – Changing Colors

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Roberta Estes

The Root recently published the article, “Did My White Ancestor Become Black?”, written by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Eileen Pironti.  We all know who Henry is from his PBS Series, Finding Your Roots. America is the great mixing bowl … Continue reading →

Posted in DNA, Melungeon, Portuguese | 9 Comments

Melungeon Myth of Drake Dropping Off Passengers on Roanoke Island

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Roberta Estes

This article was written by Janet Crain and originally published in the Lost Colony Research Group Newsletter in August, 2012.  http://www.lostcolonyresearch.org A myth exists on the Internet that the Melungeons, a group of dark skinned persons of mysterious origins found … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Lost Colony, Melungeon, North Carolina, Virginia | 2 Comments

Minority Ancestry and DNA

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Roberta Estes

I originally wrote this article for the Melungeon Historical Society, but regardless of the target audience, the message is the same about how to use and interpret genetic information related to the search for minority admixture ancestors.   Hat tip to Jack … Continue reading →

Posted in Melungeon | 3 Comments

The Associated Press Reports on Melungeons: A Multi-Ethnic People

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Roberta Estes

In its own way, the Melungeon paper has gone viral, something very unusual for an academic paper.  We’ve received notes today from as far away as Australia and someone told us they say it on Fox News today.  The AP picked … Continue reading →

Posted in Melungeon | 3 Comments

Melungeons: A Multi-Ethnic Population

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Roberta Estes

Congratulations to my co-authors Jack H. Goins, Penny Ferguson, and Janet Lewis Crain for the publication of our paper ‘Melungeons, A Multi-Ethnic Population’ published in the Journal of Genetic Genealogy, an academically peer reviewed publication. I don’t know if many of our readers … Continue reading →

Posted in Melungeon | 7 Comments

William Eaton’s Muster Roll of 1754 – Granville Co., NC

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Roberta Estes

The Saponi Indians were allied and grouped with the Eno, the Shakori, the Totera and others especially after their time settled at Fort Christanna from about 1714-1716.  William Eaton was a well-known trader and he obtained land in Granville County, NC.  The smaller eastern tribes were … Continue reading →

Posted in Catawba, Melungeon, North Carolina, Saponi | 8 Comments