Melungeon is a term that refers to a tri-racial people that live in the Appalachian area. Melungeon was originally a racial slur that the Melungeon descendants have recently reclaimed.
Melungeons considered themselves white but had such a dark skin tone that their neighbors wondered their origins. The Melungeons often claimed to have Indian and Portuguese ancestors who had intermingled with the white settlers. More than likely, the Melungeons had some African ancestors that they had wanted to cover up and claimed Portuguese roots instead.
One particularly romantic story is that the settlers of the lost colony of Roanoke intermingled with the Croatans and settled into Appalachia. It is more likely that some of the white settlers intermingled with free blacks and potentially some Native Americans, which resulted in the tan-skinned people with fine European features.
The study of the Melungeon is relatively new and thus has not been explored too terribly much. We do not have any definitive proof of where the Melungeons came from because it seems that all of the studies regarding Melungeons conflict. It is also difficult to confirm whether or not one has Melungeon ancestors since no one is quite sure what a Melungeon is—there is no DNA test to confirm Melungeon ancestors because no one has agreed upon the genetic makeup of a Melungeon.
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