melungeons

[grizzard]

what is the true ancestry of melungeons (and i don't mean tri-racial isolates)?

[Quizmonster]

Click http://www.google.com/custom?q=melungeon&sa=Go&cof
=T%3Ablack%3BLW%3A282%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.refdesk.com%2Frd.gif%3BLH%3A94%3BBGC%3Awhite%3BAH%3Acenter%3BAWFID%3A6332576430c078b2%3B and a link will take you to a search-engine page which lists over 160,000 websites on the subject. The answer must be in there SOMEWHERE! Just click on any of the blue-coloured headings listed for further information.

[mikewith]

That first answer's hardly in the spirit of the site, is it? I found a couple of sites and enjoyed reading up on the melungeons - and the redbones - though I certainly haven't learnt enough to actually answer the original question. Though I'm leaning towards the theory that a separate group may be defined by their relationship to the dominant culture as much as by ethnic heritage - even though the melungeons exhibit certain similar characteristics, they may each and separately descend from any number of ethnic mixes. But they're still identifiably melungeon.