Appalachian Collection

Melungeon History—Research and Resources


 

Scope

This pathfinder contains materials pertaining to the ethnically unknown group, the Melungeons. Here you will find general history, cultural studies, linguistic studies, genetic studies and nonfictional works about the Melungeons and their communities, from their first discovery by early explorers, to the most recent research. The works in the pathfinder also contain information pertaining to the theories of the Melungeons origin.

 

A good Introduction to the history of the Melungeons and Melungeon research can be found in:

Everett, C. S. "Melungeon History and Myth." Appalachian Journal . ASU APP COLL STACKS: F216.2 .A66. See v. 26, #4 (1999), pp. 358-409.

 

Some relevant Library of Congress Subject Headings
( Search by "Subject" in the online catalog using these headings) :

Frequently used Library of Congress Call Number ranges :

 


More information can be found in the Appalachian Collection Clippings File under the subject heading:

Melungeons

There are many articles and works of interest in the clippings file that are very informative. Some of these include :

Newspaper Articles :

Anthony, Ted. "The Melungeons: Mystery in the Mountains." The Knoxville News-Sentinel. June 18, 1998.

"Breakthrough: Genetic Tests Trace History of Melungeon People." Winston-Salem Journal. May, 17 1993.

"Melungeons Are Vanishing: Mixed Race Leaving Mountain Home." The Atlantic Constitution. Dec. 2 1971.


Journal Articles :

Ball, Bonnie. "Who are the Melungeons?" Southern Literary Messenger. v. 3, No. 2, (June 1945): pp. 5-7.

Shaub, Earl L. ed. "Melungeons: The Mystery People of Tennessee." The Tennessee Conversationist (August 1959): pp. 18-19.

Shepard, Lewis. "Romantic Account of the Celebrated 'Melungeon' Case." Watson's Magazine. v. 17 No. 1 (May 1913): pp. 34-40.

 

Some Frequently Cited or Relevant Books include the following :

Nonfiction :

Ball, Bonnie. The Melungeons: Their Origins and Kin . Haysi, VA. 71 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: E184 .M44 B34 1969.

Bible, Jean Patterson. The Melungeons, Yesterday and Today . Jefferson City, TN : Bible, 1975. 125 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F445 .M44 B52.

Kennedy, Brent N and Robyn Vaughan Kennedy. The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People: An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America . Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. 180 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: E184 .M44 K46 1997.

McGlothlen, Mike. Melungeons and Other Mestee Groups . Gainesville, FL. 159 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: E184 .M44 M34 1994.

Fiction :

Davis, Louise Littleton. "The Mystery of the Melungeons." Frontier Tales of Tennessee . Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing, 1976. 190 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F436.5 .D36. Pages 165-179.

Haun, Mildred. The Hawk's Done Gone . Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1968. 356 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: PZ3.H2931 Haw4.

Stuart, Jessee. Daughter of the Legend . New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965. 249 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: PZ3.S9306 DAU.


Relevant Journals in the W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection:

Appalachian Journal: A Regional Studies Review . Boone, NC: Appalachian State University. v. 1, 1972 to present. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F216.2 .A66. Indexed in vols. 7, 18, and 23.

Appalachian Quarterly: People, Places, History, Heritage . Wise, VA: Wise County Historical Society . v. 1, 1996 to present. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F217.A65 A657. ( This journal offers articles on melungeon history, folklore, and current updates of new information and research in each issue.)

Bibliographies that contain materials on this topic include:
(See also Web sites at the end for online bibliographies.)

Ball, Donald B. A Bibliography of TN Anthropology: Including Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Melugeon Studies . Knoxville: TN Anthropological Association, 1976. 56 pages. ASU ASU APP COLL STACKS: Z1337 .B35.

Langdon, Barbara Tracy. Melungeons: An Annotated Bibliography: References in Both Fiction and Non Fiction . Woodville, Texas: Dogwood Press. 82 pages. ASU ASU APP COLL STACKS: Z1251 .M35 L36 1998.


Dictionaries and Encyclopedias:

Cavender, P. D. "Melungeons." An Encyclopedia of East Tennessee . Jim Stokely and Jeff D. Johnson, eds. Oak Ridge, TN: Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, 1981. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F442.1 .E53.

Converse, P. D. "Melungeons." Dictionary of American History . James Truslow Adams and R. V. Coleman, ed. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1940. 6 vols. ASU MAIN STACKS: E174 .A43. See vol. III (1940), p. 371.

Kennedy, Brent. "Melungeons." Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture . Carroll Van West, ed. Nashville: Tennessee Historical Society and Rutledge Hill Press. 1193 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F436 .T525 1998. See page 604.

Other Related Materials :

Reviews :

Henige, David. "Henige Answers Wilson." Appalachian Journal : A Regional Studies Review . Boone, NC: Appalachian State University. v. 1, 1972 to present. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F216.2 .A66. Indexed in vols. 7, 18, and 23. See Spring 1998 issue, pages 297-98.

Wilson, Darlene. "A Response to Henige." Appalachian Journal : A Regional Studies Review . Boone, NC: Appalachian State University. v. 1, 1972 to present. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F216.2 .A66. Indexed in vols. 7, 18, and 23. See Spring 1998 issue, pages 286-97.


Theses :

Barr, Phyllis Cox, The Melugeons of Newman's Ridge . Graduate thesis. 401 pages. Department of English Faculty, East Tennessee State University, 1965. One copy being processed for ASU.

Burks, Jacquelin Daniel. The Treatment of Melungeon in General Literature and Belletristic Works: A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Tennessee Technological University . Tennessee Technological University, 1973. One copy being processed for ASU.

Web Sites :

"Appalachian Studies Bibliography 1994-1998: Ethnicity and Race, African Americans, Immigrants, Native Americans." Morgantown, WV: Appalachian Collection of the West Virginia University Library. http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/bibliography/ethnicity.htm .

Heinegg, Paul. "Free African Americans of North Carolina and Virginia . " [Book review,article, and online resources.] http://www.genealogy.com/genealogy/12_heing.html .

Kennedy, Brent N. "Saga of the Melungeons" A Melungeons Home Page." [Online article, in Turkish, with many links to Melungeon sites in English]. http://www.tuvpo.com/meluncan/mel.html .

Lester, Jeff. "Debate on Melungeon gene pool remains alive, well Appalachain Focus: News Articles of Appalachian Culture." Newspaper article for the Coalfield Progress , Norton, VA. 23 May 2000. http://www.appalachianfocus.org/_culture/00000003.htm .

Nassau, Mike. "Miscegenation and Genetics." [Online article]. http://www.geocities.com/mikenassau/third.htm .

_____. A webography of ethnicity, religion, and regionalism. http://dmoz.org/profiles/mnassau.html.

_____. A webography of Melungeon and indigenous groups of East Tennessee. http://dmoz.org/Society/Ethnicity/Melungeon/ .

RootsWeb. "Melungeon Archives." This article contains recent research on the origin of the Melungeons in America. http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/Melungeon/2000-11/0975425545 .

Stapleton, Robert. "Melungeon and Pre-Columbian Links." [Online webogarphy.] http://homepages.lycos.com/~RobertStapleton/lypersonal/index-2.html .



Compiler: Theresa Burchett,  10 December 1999