Melungeon people are an ethnic group in the United States who are likely the descendants of people of many different races and ancestry. Before the end of the eighteenth century, Melungeon people lived in isolated communities in certain areas of the southeastern United States. Melungeon ethnic communities were originally found in the Appalachian Mountains near the point where Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina converge. Hawkins and Hancock Counties in Tennessee and Lee County in Virginia are identified as the locations with the first documentation of Melungeon people. In North Carolina, mountain counties such as Alleghany, Mitchell, Ashe, and Yancey are the historical homes of many Melungeon families.
The term “Melungeon” was originally used derogatorily to describe this group of people. White colonists created the term to differentiate people of this ethnic group. While the etymology of the term is unclear, "Melungeon" was used to mean a person of low social status and "impure" or “mixed” bloodlines and generally had a pejorative connotation. It first appeared in print in the 1800s. Many researchers believe the term is derived from the French word mélange, which means "mixture." Other theories about the word’s origins include connections to the Italian word melongena for "eggplant" but used here to refer to someone with dark skin; and melan, the Greek word for "black."
Early histories of the Melungeon ethnic group and its people are not well-documented. Melungeon people have historically been identified with Portuguese, Spanish, French, Welsh, and Turkish ancestry . Many eighteenth-century Melungeon people were colloquially referred to as “Black Dutch,” “Black German,” or “French” by their neighbors or other community members. Some families even changed how they recorded their ethnicities to these titles to avoid social discrimination. These coded names sometimes appear in the historical census records of Melungeon people.
Melungeon people share cultural roots with many different racial groups across the United States. One such cultural group is the Redbone people of South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana. Historically, Redbone people were similarly described as “mulatto” on government records and were defined as existing between or as a combination of white, Black, or American Indian. Unlike Melungeon people, most schools accepted Redbone people as white during the Jim Crow era. According to Census records, many Redbone people of the 18th- and 19th-century passed as white. In many historical cases, Redbone families were recorded as white. At times, the Redbone people have been mistaken for Melungeon people.
Due to the physical characteristics of Melungeon people, the collectors from the U.S. Census Bureau classified them as "free persons of color." In part because of how the law classified them due to their appearance, Melungeon people faced extensive racial and social prejudice throughout much of their history. They were often socially ostracized and deprived of resources available to white citizens. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Melungeon families in North Carolina were denied access to public schools due to their "non-white" legal status.
A landmark court case for Melungeon people in North Carolina occurred in 1915. The suit was known as Goins et al vs. the Board of Trustees Indian Normal Training School at Pembroke, North Carolina. The Goins family filed suit against the Indian Normal School, which had refused to admit their children. The family identified as Melungeon and wanted their children to attend a school for American Indian students. At the time, many people of the tribe now known as the Lumbee used the term Melungeon to refer to themselves. (The Lumbee were also historically known as the "Croatan" Tribe beginning in 1885.) The Goins children were not permitted to attend the Indian Normal school due to the school’s opinion that the Goins had Black ancestry. However, because the Indian Normal School could produce no evidence to prove that the Goins family was not American Indian, the Goins family won their court case. Although the Supreme Court ruled that the Goins children could attend the Indian Normal School or any other Croatan school, they chose not to and instead started a school system for a fourth race in Robeson County.
North Carolina has been home to many prominent Melungeon people. As indicated by the 1915 Supreme Court Case, Goins (Goyens, Goings, etc.) is a very common name amongst Melungeon people, and as such, this name is well represented in state history. One member was William Goyens. He was born in North Carolina in 1794 to parents William and Elizabeth Goings. Goyens, who self-identified as Melungeon, petitioned the court for "free papers" that would state he was a free person of color. After receiving the papers, Goyens left North Carolina for Texas, and subsequently earned many accolades. He volunteered in the War of 1812 and fought at the Battle of New Orleans. Goyens was also proficient in many languages. They included Spanish, Cherokee, and several other American Indian dialects. He served as an interpreter and conflict mediator for the Spanish, Mexican, and Texan governments. In addition to his service during the war, Goyens was an entrepreneur who owned several businesses. These included an inn, a blacksmith shop, a gunsmith shop, and a wagon factory. He also operated a freight line. Despite his accolades and wealth, Goyens routinely experienced racial discrimination, as was a reality for many Melungeon people. In 1826, courts held Goyens against his will when he was incorrectly assumed to be a freedom-seeking enslaved person. After Goyens presented his free papers that stated that he was Melungeon, the court released him. Goyens died on June 20, 1856, with an estate that included thousands of acres of land and was valued over a million dollars at the time. (One million dollars in 1856 would equate to nearly forty million dollars in modern times.)
According to the Melungeon Heritage Association, common surnames of Melungeon people include Adkins, Bennet, Collins, Mullins, Goins, Bolín, Denham, and Minor. Common given names include Eulalia, Canara, Deniza, Mahala, Sylvester, Sylvania, and Sarelda. A famous Melungeon woman named Mahala Mullins of Newman’s Ridge, Tennessee had both a Melungeon given and surname. The cultural surnames of Melungeon people are shared with other multiracial groups in the United States, including the Redbone people.
Today, many Melungeon people research their heritage. The Melungeon Heritage Association hosts an annual conference, which began in 1997, and welcomes researchers, genealogists, historians, and others. The conference also serves to bring Melungeon people together to share research, maintain cultural practices, and celebrate Melungeon heritage.