The
The Melungeon Mystery:
The Making of Myth? By Pam Vallett
_______________________________
"...shiftless, idle,thieving, and defiant of law, distillers of
brandy almost to a man...they are not at all like the
mountaineer either in appearance or characteristics...Their
complexion is a reddish brown, totally unlike the mulatto. The men
are very tall and straight, with small, sharp eyes, high cheek bones,
and straight black hair, worn rather long. The women are small, below
the acerage hieght, coal black hair and eyes, high cheek bones, and
the same red-brown complexion."
Will Allen Dromgoole, 1891
_______________________________
A sociology professor at the
says that the Melungeons of East Tennessee, a people thought for many
years to possess unique racial and cultural characteristics, may not
be so unique after all.
"People have been asking the wrong question all along," said C.
McCurdy Lipsey, associate professor of sociology at UTN. "Instead of
asking, 'Who are these strange people and where do they come from?'
they should be asking, 'Are these really a strange people? Do they,
in fact, possess unique racial and cultural characteristics?'
"According to my interpretation of the evidence, they are not and do
not."
Lipsey says the term Melungeon became a derogatory label for all the
people who lived on
Valley, and that the basis for the myth which now surrounds them can
be traced to the period between 1889 and 1891 when a wealth of
material was published about the Melungeons.
"The single most damaging article from among this proliferation of
misinformation, and the one most commonly referred to by other
writers in the perpetuation of the myth about the Melungeons, was
written by a young
Allen Dromgoole," he says.
"Published in The Arena in 1891, it asserted that the records of the
constitutional convention of 1834 show that John A. McKinney, a
delegate to that convention, used the term Melungeon to refer to free
persons of color. In checking the journal of the constitutional
convention of 1834, I found the
Melungeon was not mentioned."
Articles Perpetuate Myths
Practically all subsequent articles, with few notable exceptions,
adopted the assumptions of these early articles, Lipsey said.
"It is in this manner that the myth of the Melungeons has been
perpetuated. Nobody has conducted a thorough investigation.
Researchers only go as far back as the articles published between
1889 and 1891 and stop there.
"Information contained in Dromgoole's article to support the claim
that the Melungeons are a unique racial group can be used to show
just the opposite. If the Melungeons had been designated as free
persons of color at the constitutional convention of 1834, then,
according to the Southern custom which did not permit Negroes to
participate as citizens, they would not have been able to own or buy
land, recieive land grants from the state of
other legal business. While it's true that some of the people on
Newman's Ridge and Blackwater valley were refused these rights,
public records show that by no means were all of them refused."
In a forthcoming article, Lipsey turns to the history and settlement
patterns of the
alternative theory to the existing Melungeon belief. He maintains
that by the nineteenth century, there had already been over 300 years
of American history which included lost colonies and mixed groups.
"The eastern seaboard and the western frontier - that is,
and
stories and ballads, legends, and myths," explained Lipsey. "Not
surprisingly, when Will Allen Dromgoole 'found' the Melungeons on
Newmans Ridge, the available and handy myths were tested for
their 'fit' and the speculators were off and running. What you had,
in essence, were legends waiting for groups to explain."
Indians Join Migrating Parties
Lipsey also said that it was not unusual during the nineteenth
century for groups of outcast Indians and "half-breeds" to attach
themselves to migrating groups of English, Scotch, and Germans and to
take their surnames.
"Evidence reveals that this was the case of the people who came to
settle on Newman’s Ridge. L.M. Jarvis, a long time resident of
derision during the 1800s and given the Indians on account of their
color."
"Lipsey said other evidence supports his theory. "The reputable
History of
before the dromgoole articles, does not mention the existence of a
race of people called the Melungeons, although the author does refer
to people with a mixture of white and Indian blood living on Newman's
Ridge."
Dr. Lipsey first became interested in the Melungeons when he was
living in
"I had read an article in the local paper which told about this
strange-looking group of people with peculiar habits who lived 75
miles further west in
"Interestingly enough, it subsequently became necessary for me to
make monthly trips to Vardy, which is at the foot of Newman's Ridge
in
looking, strange-acting group of people. What I found was a people
who were, in appearance, general Anglo-Saxon types, the majority
being of Scotch and Irish descent.
"This aroused my curiosity. Where had all the information about the
Melungeons come from? Why had something so obviously not true - as
evidenced by the appearance of the people in and around Vardy - been
allowed to be perpetuated?"
Studied at
In 1971, Dr. Lipsey was a graduate student in sociology at the
from the late Dr. Norbert Reidl of the anthropology department, he
decided to undertake the study of the Melungeons. He conducted
interviews with folklorists, attorneys, historians, other authors who
have written on the subject, and people in
"Interviews with persons who are of Melungeon-designated families
have been almost impossible to obtain because of the intense
resentment to the implications of the term," said Lipsey. "I have
talked with long-time residents of the county about the Melungeons,
including the mayor of the county seat in Sneedville, public school
teachers and local historians.
"My most significant contact is Bill Grohse, who has lived in Vardy
since 1930. Interestingly enough, he fits the description of a
Melungeon better than most of the residents of the Ridge.
Unfortunately for the proponents of the Melungeon myth, he was born
and raised in
"Bill Grohse has collected a fantastic amount of material on families
of Newman's Ridge which he has shared with me. He has researched
court records, conducted library research and done a number of
genealogical analyses. The information he has uncovered also supports
the theory that the history of the Melungeons is a myth.
"In fact, he married a woman from a Melungeon-designated family whose
maiden name was Mizer. He has traced her genealogy back to
through
analyses he has conducted. Evidence such as this certainly doesn't
support the theory of a unique racial group."
In addition to conducting numerous interviews to collect information
on the Melungeons, Lipsey has compiled an extensive bibliography.
"Compiling a comprehensive bibliography has been no small task," said
Lipsay. "It has required long hours in archives and extensive
correspondence with libraries throughout the
has been spent reading nineteenth-century newspapers which, whether
on my subject or others, are fascinating to read."
Future research of the Melungeons will include a more thorough
investigation into cultural indicators such as architectural
structures. Dr. Lipsey thinks such indicators will be the same for
both the Ridge and the rest of
which they would need to be to support the present theory of the
Melungeons being a unique cultural group.
Seeks Origins of Word
Additional research will need to be done on the term "Melungeon"
itself. There are several theories as to it's origin and meaning.
"I am suggesting the possibility that the term was derived from the
middle English term 'mal engine' which meant deceitful, tricky,
treacherous, wicked. It may have been a generally derogatory term
used in reference to persons or groups who were threatening or who
were considered wicked or evil.
"The term could easily have made the transition from adjective (a
malengine person) to noun (a malengine), especially if applied to
readily identifiable persons or groups which, in turn, could provide
racial overtones to the word." A third area of study involves a more
thorough investigation of the account by Louis Shepherd of a trial
which took place in
"In his memoirs, Judge Shepherd recounts the details of an 1872
trial in which he successfully defended a young woman's right to
inherit property with the argument that she was of Melungeon
ancestry, not Negro, and that the Melungeons were descendants of the
Moors. Further research is needed on this topic in order to clear up
many unanswered questions."
The last phase of Dr. Lipsey's research will be to publish a book on
the myths which have evolved in the east
has been partially supported by a grant received during the past year
from the UT National Alumni Association. He presented his findings to
the Southern Sociology Society in April.
"I am writing a short article for publication in the near future,"
said Lipsey. "I don't think there is any evidence to support the myth
that the Melungeons constitute a unique racial group or a unique
cultural group. I hope to be able to set the record straight and clear
up eighty-seven years of misconception."
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Article by Pam Vallett
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Bunch Family File - 1965
Click Here
Large File may take a long time to load, but well worth the wait. Scroll down the right side for the permanent link.
Requires Adobe Acrobat software, available here FREE:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Autosomal DNA Testing and Analysis
Unlike yline and mtdna testing where the DNA of the father or mother is passed to the offspring unmixed with that of the other parent, autosomal testing tests all portions of the DNA of an individual. As the field of genetic genealogy has moved forward, research has begun to indicate that certain markers are found in higher or lower amounts in different ethnic populations.
For example, if someone has the Duffy Null allele, or genetic marker, we know they positively have African admixture. We don’t know how much African admixture, or from which line, or when that individual with African admixture entered their family tree, but we know for sure they existed.
Attempting to determine the population frequency of varying markers and what that means relative to other populations is the key to this analysis. Few markers are simply present or absent in populations, but are found in varying frequencies. Some populations are widely studied in the research literature, and others are virtually untouched. The process of compiling this information in a meaningful manner so that it can be analyzed is a formidable task, as the information is often found in nearly inaccessible academic and forensic research publications. It’s difficult to determine sometimes if the DNA analysis of 29 individuals in a small village in northern Italy is, for example, representative of that village as a whole, of northern Italy, or more broadly for all of Italy as a whole. Is it representative of Italy today or Italy historically? These and other similar questions have to be answered fully before the data from autosomal testing can be useful and reliable.
If the DNA tests being performed aren’t mtdna or yline, then they are autosomal tests, meaning they are performed on the balance of the DNA contributed by both parents to an individual.
Before we discuss the varying kinds of autosomal tests and what they mean, let’s take a look at the inheritance process and how it really works.
Inheritance
Everyone knows that you inherit half of your DNA from your mother and half from your father. However, this isn’t exactly true. While each child does on average receive half from each parent, the actual inheritance pattern varies much more than that and each sibling may receive far more than half of their markers from either parent.
We don’t understand today how inheritance traits are selected to be passed to children. Some “groups” of genetic material are inherited together, and you may wind up with more or less genetic material from one of your parents. In time, certain genetic “traits” will be lost in some descendants, while not in others. Therefore, you can’t figure actual inheritance percentages by using the 50% rule. This means that if your father was 50% Native American, you are not necessarily 25%, genetically speaking. You may receive 40% Native genes and your sibling may receive 60%.
Let’s use the Duffy Null allele we mentioned earlier as an example. This marker could have entered your DNA pedigree chart with a grandmother who carried the allele but had no obvious visible African ancestral traits, or from your father who might have been visibly African in ethnicity. The Duffy Null allele, which is just one marker, could have been passed in the inheritance of DNA for many generations, far after any visible African traits had disappeared, or it could be one of many African traits passed from parent to child.
The relevance of the Duffy Null allele is determined by the number of other “African” markers that appear in high quantity. If there are few other African markers, then your African ancestry was likely further back in time. If there are many, then your African ancestry was likely more recent. These statistical calculations are how the importance of autosomal markers are determined and how percentages or estimates of ethnicity are calculated.
Any one allele or marker can be lost permanently in any generation. Each child receives one gene from each parent. In the example below, let’s say that the mother carried genetic markers A and B, and the father C and D, and D is the Duffy Null allele.
Mother Father
Markers A B
Child 1 A and C
Child 2 A and D
Child 3 B and C
Child 4 B and D
You can see that half the children received the D marker, but each inheritance event was a random recombination of the markers. It is also possible that none of the children would receive the D marker, or all of them would receive it. Statistically speaking, half will receive the marker, but statistics and individual inheritance are two different things. Random recombination is the reason why siblings who take autosomal tests sometimes show significantly different results.
You can also see how a marker that is very old ancestrally, meaning introduced many many generations ago, could be absent in one entire descendant line and present in another line.
From the above examples, we see that we have two variables that we need to deal with when attempting to use autosomal DNA for genealogy.
First, we need to take into consideration inheritance patterns which we can’t determine retrospectively without testing several descendant lines. So, in essence, we can only deal with, and test, what we personally carry today as our genetic inheritance.
The second variable is determining population frequency for a particular marker and understanding its significance to us through comparative population genetics.
This is why autosomal testing can give us important hints, but are often considered unreliable. The results are highly subjective today, but increase in accuracy as more research is completed, compiled, published and analyzed.
Types of Autosomal Tests
There are two types of autosomal tests used today for genetic genealogy. One type of test uses the Codis forensic markers and the second type, biogeographical tests, use a much broader spectrum of marker results. Let’s look at both types of testing and the information they provide separately.
Codis markers are a standardized set of autosomal markers used for paternity testing. Additionally, they are used by police departments and forensics labs. The markers employed in these tests are selected specifically to differentiate between people in order to identify them individually, not to find common markers to place them in ethnic groups.
The results from these tests are only numbers, and the recipient is often left to their own devices as to how to interpret the results. These tests are available from numerous sources. I prefer to interpret these results in conjunction with Yline and mitochondrial DNA test results for as much of the genetic pedigree chart as can be provided in order to obtain a more complete genetic picture.
Below is an example of what Codis test results look like. They are very similar from any lab.
Location Mother
Analysis of Codis Markers
Unless you?re using the Codis marker results to determine siblingship or some other personal reason, these numbers are fairly useless genealogically. It?s the analysis of these markers that matters.
There are different avenues to analyze Codis results. None are ?right? or ?wrong?. DNAexplain (www.dnaexplain.com) provides analysis of these tests, along with broader more comprehensive analysis of genetic genealogy and what all of these tests together mean about you.
We use a combination of resources, both public and private, including Omnipop and other European and Canadian autosomal forensic data bases.
Tribes (www.dnatribes.com) has been compiling population data on these genetic markers for some years now and will compare your autosomal results with their data base. Take a look at their samples tab.
Ironically, the results may vary significantly between these resources. There is no right or wrong answer at this point. I encourage everyone to simply view these results as data, hints to puzzle pieces. As the data bases improve and we better understand population migration and movement, the clarity of the results will improve too.
Tribes early population tables did not include data from the British Isles, so their results were highly skewed towards other world populations. Omnipop today relies on self-reported ethnicity and does not include normalized data (or a normalizing factor) for varying populations. Because Tribes is a private company, we don?t know much about their population data, whether it's widely representative of the world population distribution and whether it has been normalized or not.
To learn the most about your autosomal test results, you can take a dual approach, having them analyzed by Tribes as well as by DNAexplain using the other autosomal codis reference tools. We?ll be glad to help you through this process and provide a summary analysis of both.
Biogeographical ancestry testing
Biogeographical ancestry testing, available from DNA Print Genomics (www.dnaprint.com), is the second type of autosomal testing. They test all of your genetic contributions for specific, proprietary markers that indicate geographical heritage, not just the Yline or mtdna. They do not use the Codis markers, but use, depending on your test selected, between 500 and 1349 markers they?ve discovered to be relevant to ethnicity.
This test is currently available from only one source, although the test is resold by several testing companies. Results from this test are returned as percentages of ethnic heritage as shown below.
Your results are reported within confidence bands, which indicate a range of percentages that might actually be accurate. This is shown above by the bands surrounding the red dot which shows the ?most likely? result. The margin of error is often as high as 15%. Typically, there is no dispute over the majority ancestral type. However, minority types are apparently much more difficult to discern. Summary There are only two tests that can provide you with solid evidence of the source of your Native American or other ethnic ancestry. Those are yline and mitochondrial dna tests. It?s important to try to fill in the blanks in your family tree pedigree chart by testing relatives who carry the yline and/or mtdna of the lines of your tree that you cannot personally be tested for. In addition, two types of autosomal testing can provide useful clues as to the percentage of your ethnic heritage and the geographical source. Percentages of the 4 major world populations (Native American, African, Indo-European and Asian) are available using the DNA Print test. Codis marker testing is another type of autosomal test used to determine the Codis marker values which in turn can be used to map those marker values against known population groups. Tribes provides this service for an additional fee using their own internal database. DNAexplain provides autosomal analysis services for Omnipop and other public databases in addition to analysis services for yline and mtdna test results. All genetic genealogy results need to be accompanied by genealogical research to unravel the historical context for the lives and trials of our ancestors. DNA testing may well answer the question what and who, but the why is typically revealed only by studying the history of the times in which they lived.
Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and University of Pavia Publish Most Comprehensive Answers to Date on Genetic Origins of Native Americans
Researchers from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit foundation building the world's largest collection of integrated genetic and family history information, the department of genetics and microbiology at the University of Pavia, and others today published online at the Public Library of Science (www.plos.org) the results of their study of more than 200 full mtDNA sequences from Native Americans. mtDNA traces maternal ancestry for both men and women and is inherited exclusively from mothers.
Researchers combed GenBank, the National Institutes of Health genetic sequence database, and earlier scientific publications for scans of Native American mitochondrial lineages and added previously unpublished sequences to this work, said study co-author Ugo Perego, director of operations at SMGF. The genetic sequences are pan-American, including native North, Central and South American populations.
"This is the first comprehensive overview of the principal pan-American branches of the Native American mtDNA tree," said Antonio Torroni, study co-author heading the University of Pavia group. Torroni is considered one of the fathers of genetic research on Native Americans and was the first to discover, 15 years ago, the four major genetic groups to which 95 percent of Native Americans belong.
The study released today identifies the six surviving Native American mtDNA lineages that are dated to approximately 20,000 years ago, designated as A2, B2, C1b, C1c, C1d and D1. Today's study also confirms the presence of five more rare, less known and geographically limited genetic groups: X2a, D2, D3, C4c and D4h3.
The five more rare genetic groups will help researchers isolate branches within the pan-American groups that are younger or come from a better-defined geographic area, said lead author Dr. Alessandro Achilli, researcher at the University of Pavia and assistant professor at the University of Perugia. "For example, we learned one branch is only found among Aleuts and Eskimos," he said. "The presence of these additional subgroups suggests different migratory events from Asia or the Bering Straits. This study will be used as a reference for all future research on Native Americans. It is essential for reconstructing the history of specific Native American groups and for reliable association studies between mtDNA haplogroups and complex disorders," said Achilli.
Comprehensive data from the study is available online at www.plos.org, said Perego, and may be used to improve tests by commercial genetic genealogy firms, such as GeneTree. GeneTree (www.genetree.com) is a DNA-enabled family history-sharing Website helping people understand where their personal histories belong within the greater human genetic story. GeneTree was developed by the Sorenson family of companies and draws on the expertise of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation.
People are increasingly using genetic testing to learn about their roots, said Perego. "I receive calls and emails regularly asking, 'With a DNA test, can you prove I have Native American ancestry?' Our new research has the potential to fine-tune genetic genealogy tests for these people." He noted genetic testing is not currently accepted as proof of ancestry for admission into a tribe.
About Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF; www.smgf.org) is a non-profit research organization that has created the world's largest repository of correlated genetic and genealogical information. The SMGF database currently contains information about more than six million ancestors through linked DNA samples and pedigree charts from more than 170 countries, or approximately 90 percent of the nations of the world. The foundation's purpose is to foster a greater sense of identity, connection and belonging among all people by showing how closely we are connected as members of a single human family. For more information about the foundation's free, publicly available database, visit
http://www.smgf.org/.
See also:
http://download.ajhg.org/AJHG/pdf/PIIS0002929708001390.pdf
Monday, March 10, 2008
MELUNGEON FAMILY OF THE MONTH
''Under the column Purebred Indian group from Blackwater are the Minors. The Minors, a fighting people, show more of the Indian than any other Indian group in Scott County. They claim to be Portuguese Indian stock. They are of large stature, tall of black complexion and very strong. I believe the Minors are of three-quarters Indian and one-quarter Portuguese. The are of the type of people whose word is their bond. In Scott County some of them own large stock farms and have prospered.'' Source: Wash Osborne
James Anderson Minor: Son of Lewis Minor & Sarah Fields, Grandson of Hezekiah Minor & Elizabeth Goins
Richard C. Minor Rosa Minor: Children of Gilford Minor & Ussley Roberts, Grandchildren of Zachariah Minor & Aggie Sizemore
Ussley Roberts Born 1841, Wife of Gilford Minor, Daughter of Emanuel and Lucy Roberts
Photos Here:
http://www.geocities.com/ourmelungeons/melfam3.html
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Standards For Sound Genealogical Research
Remembering always that they are engaged in a quest for truth, family history researchers consistently—
- record the source for each item of information they collect.
test every hypothesis or theory against credible evidence, and reject those that are not supported by the evidence. - seek original records, or reproduced images of them when there is reasonable assurance they have not been altered, as the basis for their research conclusions.
- use compilations, communications and published works, whether paper or electronic, primarily for their value as guides to locating the original records, or as contributions to the critical analysis of the evidence discussed in them.
- state something as a fact only when it is supported by convincing evidence, and identify the evidence when communicating the fact to others.
- limit with words like "probable" or "possible" any statement that is based on less than convincing evidence, and state the reasons for concluding that it is probable or possible.
avoid misleading other researchers by either intentionally or carelessly distributing or publishing inaccurate information. - state carefully and honestly the results of their own research, and acknowledge all use of other researchers’ work.
- recognize the collegial nature of genealogical research by making their work available to others through publication, or by placing copies in appropriate libraries or repositories, and by welcoming critical comment.
- consider with open minds new evidence or the comments of others on their work and the conclusions they have reached.
© 1997, 2002 by National Genealogical Society. Permission is granted to copy or publish this material provided it is reproduced in its entirety, including this notice.
See also:
Standards for Sound Genealogical Research
Guidelines for Using Records, Repositories, and Libraries
Standards for Use of Technology In Genealogical Research
Standards for Sharing Information with Others
Guidelines for Publishing Web Pages on the Internet
Guidelines for Genealogical Self-Improvement and Growth
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Surviving Indian Groups
Be sure and take advantage of the 1948 Smithsonian Booklet; a Report of the Surviving Indian Groups in the Eastern United States, which Don Collins has contributed. Scroll down the right side until you come to the image of the booklet cover. Click on that and you will be taken to an album with all the pages in order. You can enlarge the pages and save and print if you desire or you can download the entire album.
Many thanks to Don for this great information!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Melungeon Myth: Joseph's Machado Disease
The following statement is an example of the kind of Melungeon Myths being found on the Internet. These statements are being used as an attempt to link Melungeons to non-existent Turkish ancestors and do not bear close scrutiny.
_http://www.turkgenealogy.com/turkhistory/TurkPapers/The%20Melungeons.htm_
Machado−Joseph disease (MJD) is an autosomal dominant, multisystem neurodegenerative disorder involving predominantly cerebellar, pyramidal, extrapyramidal, motor neuron and oculomotor systems. Although it was first reported in families of Portuguese−Azorean descent, MJD has also been described in non−Azorean families from various countries, being one of the most common hereditary spinocerebellar degenerations. With the use of highly polymorphic microsatellite DNA polymorphisms, we have assigned the gene for MJD to the long arm of chromosome 14 (14q24.3−q32) by genetic linkage to microsatellite loci D14S55 and D14S48 (multipoint lod score Zmax=9.719).
What is Machado-Joseph Disease?
Machado-Joseph disease (MJD)-also called spinocerebellar ataxia type 3-is a rare hereditary ataxia. (Ataxia is a general term meaning lack of muscle control.) The disease is characterized by clumsiness and weakness in the arms and legs, spasticity, a staggering lurching gait easily mistaken for drunkenness, difficulty with speech and swallowing, involuntary eye movements, double vision, and frequent urination. Some patients have dystonia (sustained muscle contractions that cause twisting of the body and limbs, repetitive movements, abnormal postures, and/or rigidity) or symptoms similar to those of Parkinson's disease. Others have twitching of the face or tongue, or peculiar bulging eyes.
The severity of the disease is related to the age of onset, with earlier onset associated with a more severe form of the disease. Symptoms can begin any time between early adolescence and about 70 years of age. MJD is also a progressive disease, meaning that symptoms get worse with time. Life expectancy ranges from the mid-thirties for those with severe forms of MJD to a normal life expectancy for those with mild forms. For those who die early from the disease, the cause of death is often aspiration pneumonia.
The name, Machado-Joseph, comes from two families of Portuguese/Azorean descent who were among the first families described with the unique symptoms of the disease in the 1970s. The prevalence of the disease is still highest among people of Portuguese/Azorean descent. For immigrants of Portuguese ancestry in New England, the prevalence is around one in 4,000. The highest prevalence in the world, about one in 140, occurs on the small Azorean island of Flores. Recently, researchers have identified MJD in several family groups not of obvious Portuguese descent, including an African-American family from North Carolina, an Italian-American family, and several Japanese families. On a worldwide basis, MJD is the most prevalent autosomal dominant inherited form of ataxia, based on DNA studies.
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/machado_joseph/detail_machado_joseph.htm
Disclaimer:This article is not intended to provide medical advice or diagnosis. Consult a medical health professional if you think you might be suffering from a medical condition.
Sarcoidosis is Not a Melungeon Disease
Janet Crain
SARCOIDOSIS
What is sarcoidosis?
Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that can appear in almost any body organ, but most often starts in the lungs or lymph nodes. The disease also can affect the liver, skin, heart, nervous system and kidneys. No one yet knows what causes sarcoidosis. It can appear suddenly and then disappear. Or it can develop gradually and produce symptoms that come and go, sometimes for a lifetime.
As sarcoidosis progresses, small lumps--granulomas--appear in affected tissues. While these granulomas frequently clear up, with or without treatment, sometimes they do not heal. In these cases, the tissues tend to remain inflamed and become scarred (fibrotic).
What are the symptoms of sarcoidosis?
Generally, shortness of breath and a cough that will not go away are among the first symptoms of sarcoidosis. The disease also can show up suddenly with the appearance of skin rashes. Red bumps on the face, arms or shins and inflammation of the eyes also are common symptoms. It is not unusual, however, for sarcoidosis symptoms to be more general: weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, fever or an overall feeling of ill health.
Patients can have symptoms related to the specific organ affected, they can have only general symptoms or they can be without any symptoms whatsoever. Symptoms can vary according to how long the illness has been under way, where the granulomas are forming, how much tissue has become affected and whether the granulomatous process is still active.
Who gets sarcoidosis?
Once considered a rare disease, sarcoidosis is now known to be a common chronic illness that appears all over the world. Indeed, it is the most common of the fibrotic lung disorders.
Anyone can get sarcoidosis. It occurs in all races and in both sexes, but mainly in people between 20 and 40 years of age. The risk is greater if you are a young African-American adult (especially a woman) or of Scandinavian, German, Irish or Puerto Rican origin. White women are just as likely as white men to get sarcoidosis but, among African Americans, females get sarcoidosis two times as often as males.
Cont. Here:
http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbsarcoi.htm
Disclaimer:
This article is not intended to provide medical advice or diagnosis. Consult a medical health professional if you think you might be suffering from a medical condition.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
There really is no 'Melungeon or Anatolian bump"
There really is no 'Melungeon bump." The "anatolian bump" is actually a
PRONOUNCED EXTERNAL OCCIPITAL PROTUBERANCE or EOP and it does not mean you
"have ancestry from the Anatolian regions that are now Turkey" as has been
reported over the years. There is a higher incidence in that region but it
is found in Germans, Asians, and Africans. I know of no report that suggests
Melungeon descendants have a higher average of this Pronounced EOP than
compared to other groups. Actually it is reported;
"As this trait relates to activities and muscle development, physical labor
will affect EOP development. Increased physical activity (e.g., to plow
arable fields, to reap and carry crops) may explain some of the observed
differences.'' [See article below]
Nadir Gülekon,1 M.D., Ph.D. and H. Basri Turgut,1 Ph.D.
The External Occipital Protuberance: Can It Be Used as a Criterion in the
Determination of Sex?
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
''It is known that the EOP can show shape differences in various
populations. The incidence of a prominent EOP has been reported to be 10.9%
in Germans, 8.3% in Asians, 8.3% in Americans, 4.4% in Africans, 1.2% in
Egyptians, and 0.0% in Australians (1). The incidence of the EOP is found
higher in the Anatolian population (in general, 33.8% in the modern and
32.8% in the historic samples) compared with other populations. As this
trait relates to activities and muscle development, physical labor will
affect EOP development. Increased physical activity (e.g., to plow arable
fields, to reap and carry crops) may explain some of the observed
differences.''
http://books.google.com/books?id=EWc7d22_UMYC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=pronounc
ed+external+occipital+protuberance&source=web&ots=Pe5coLXOb8&sig=OyeeHk33lpc
kqWz3hueaGxWnkqY
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
There is No Unique TURKISH DNA
It is now quoted widely on the Internet that certain groups (American Indians and Melungeons) in the USA have Turkish DNA. The article below from PubMed does not bear out that possibility. The suggestion is disengeneous at best.
The most important sentence in the article below is this:*The major components (haplogroups E3b, G, J, I, L, N, K2, and R1; 94.1%) are shared with European and neighboring Near Eastern populations* and contrast with only a minor share of haplogroups related to Central Asian (C, Q and O; 3.4%), Indian (H, R2; 1.5%) and African (A, E3*, E3a; 1%) affinity.
In other words, 94.1% of the DNA found in 523 Turkish Y chromosome samples is shared with European and neighboring Near Eastern populations. So there is no special motif or Turkish DNA. And this finding is explained by the closing sentence; "the variety of Turkish haplotypes is witness to Turkey being both an important source and recipient of gene flow".
Genes have flowed out and genes have flowed in for a very long time and cannot now be separated as belonging exclusively to one group or the other. So it is very deceptive to speak of "Turkish DNA" in the context of it being unique.
See Also:
http://hpgl.stanford.edu/publications/HG_2004_v114_p127-148.pdf
Hum Genet. 2004 Jan;114(2):127-48. Epub 2003 Oct 29. Links
Excavating Y-chromosome haplotype strata in Anatolia.
Cinnioglu C, King R, Kivisild T, Kalfoglu E, Atasoy S, Cavalleri GL, Lillie AS, Roseman CC, Lin AA, Prince K, Oefner PJ, Shen P, Semino O, Cavalli-Sforza LL, Underhill
PA.Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA 94305-5120, USA
Analysis of 89 biallelic polymorphisms in 523 Turkish Y chromosomes revealed 52 distinct haplotypes with considerable haplogroup substructure, as exemplified by their respective levels of accumulated diversity at ten short tandem repeat (STR) loci. *The major components (haplogroups E3b, G, J, I, L, N, K2, and R1; 94.1%) are shared with European and neighboring Near Eastern populations* and contrast with only a minor share of haplogroups related to Central Asian (C, Q and O; 3.4%), Indian (H, R2; 1.5%) and African (A, E3*, E3a; 1%) affinity. The expansion times for 20 haplogroup assemblages was estimated from associated STR diversity. This comprehensive characterization of Y-chromosome heritage addresses many multifaceted aspects of Anatolian prehistory, including: (1) the most frequent haplogroup, J, splits into two sub-clades, one of which (J2) shows decreasing variances with increasing latitude, compatible with a northward expansion; (2) haplogroups G1 and L show affinitie s with south Caucasus populations in their geographic distribution as well as STR motifs; (3) frequency of haplogroup I, which originated in Europe, declines with increasing longitude, indicating gene flow arriving from Europe; (4) conversely, haplogroup G2 radiates towards Europe; (5) haplogroup E3b3 displays a latitudinal correlation with decreasing frequency northward; (6) haplogroup R1b3 emanates from Turkey towards Southeast Europe and Caucasia and; (7) high resolution SNP analysis provides evidence of a detectable yet weak signal (<9%) href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14586639">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14586639
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_people
Monday, March 3, 2008
Who's Your People?
A few years back the late Brenda Collins Dillon and Penny Ferguson had both told me of a good research document by Richard Carlson Jr. After ordering it and reading it, I was amazed at the amount of documented information there was about my direct Collins line.
This Dissertation is not about "theories" or "opinions", but a work of painstaking research.
If your family migrated from Hawkins County TN. to SE Kentucky in the 1800’s , this is a must read for family research, especially for researching the Collins, Cole, and Gibson families. There is also information on the early migration from Virginia. This is a paper written for and by kin folk.
"Who's your people?": Cumulative identity among the Salyersville Indian population of Kentucky's Appalachia and the midwest muckfields, 1677--2000
by Carlson, Richard Allen, Jr., Ph.D., Michigan State University, 2003, 711 pages; AAT 3115947
Abstract (Summary)
"The Salyersville Indian Population is a composite of Cherokee, Saponi and "Old Virginia" Indian families that consolidated in the late colonial period to form a distinct Appalachian Indian population. The families have preserved their identity as an Indian people ever since. An analysis of this identity through time shows that Salyersville Indian identity is the product of cumulative historical actions guided by specific sociocultural processes that subvert notions regarding race, class, ethnicity, religiosity, or political affiliation. In this case, the effective operational definition of Indian identity is based on family relations that provide kinship links, social integration, cooperative efforts, sources of knowledge and emotional support. Highlighting the functional aspects of kin arrangements--articulated through and supported by interrelated family groups--over time reveals that the economic and social cooperation of kin works to maintain the size and strength of the families. The operationalization of kinship acts to focus Salyersville Indian identity on a definition of "kin" which subsumes various attitudes about race and ethnicity that are encountered at specific times and under specific circumstances. By assigning kinship a higher priority than relations based upon religious, class or political affiliation, the Salyersville Indians have managed to keep their kin affiliations and thus their Indian identity, from being obscured over time. Family is the vehicle by which this cumulative identity as "Indian" has been maintained. That is because kinship is the only constant serving to define and maintain Salyersville Indian identity through time and space."
You can order a copy here from ProQuest UMI Dissertation Publishing:
http://tinyurl.com/ytl4sk
Here is a link to more info for "INDIAN/MELUNGEON ABSTRACTS" on this work:
http://tinyurl.com/ysqb4y
http://www.angelfire.com/tn3/youngeagle/INDIANMelungeon.htm
Saturday, March 1, 2008
A Scientific Researcher's View of the Lack of Evidence for a Turkish Connection
By James S. Elder
Young Turks…
Recently we have seen an over-abundance of newspaper and magazine articles suggesting that Melungeons may have Turkish roots. Such articles are inevitably of the interview type in which the reporter doesn't actually do any research himself but instead lets subjects ramble on about their latest supposed discovery.
Journalists, with white space to fill, love every new conjecture. They neither know of the accuracy of these discoveries nor care if they are accurate. The comedian Carrot Top talking about physics would be as good as Einstein talking about physics for such "reporters". They are, after all, just reporting; and mindless babbling fills column space just as well as real research.
As far as I can determine, the Turkish Melungeon speculation seems to have started with Brent Kennedy and some apparently incorrect information. Kennedy is an entertaining man. I first heard him speak in Gate City, Virginia in October of 1995. According to his introduction at the talk, he holds a Ph. D. in Mass Communications from The University of Tennessee. He is certainly a good communicator. I still have an audiotape of that speech. He told the enthralled crowd about his brush with death from his Melungeon disease, let everyone hear the sound his Mediterranean teeth make when you pluck them with a fingernail, rubbed the bump on the back of his head, and spun a web of Turks stranded in 1586 by Sir Francis Drake at Roanoke Island who migrated to Hancock County and started the Melungeon race. It was an interesting, if not accurate, talk.
He says in the preface to his book that he is neither an historian nor an anthropologist. Nevertheless, he has managed to become a much-publicized name in Melungeon "research" over the past several years.. He certainly has charisma. Unfortunately, for his mass of partisans, his ideas don't appear to stand up to close, or even cursory, scientific examination.
Here's his basic story. According to his book, Kennedy became ill in 1988 with what eventually was diagnosed as erythema nodosum sarcoidosis. Kennedy and his wife went to the library and discovered sarcoidosis is "primarily of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean disease [sic], although it's not unknown among Irish and some Scandinavians as well…". Kennedy gets better, returns to his hometown in Virginia, talks to his family, and finds out his people were oppressed. He gets a research grant in 1995 from the Turkish government and goes to that country for a visit. He thinks that Turks and Melungeons look alike, eat alike, dance alike, dress alike, and have some similar sounding words. From all of this, he deduces that Melungeons are a mish-mash of people including Portuguese from Santa Elena, Dominicans, Jesuits, French Huguenots, Acadians, Drake's Turks and others who mysteriously decided to leave the Atlantic coast and go to the boonies, intermarry with Native Americans and become the Melungeons. He somehow divines "that the Turkish/Moorish element was at least in the beginning the predominant one…".
First of all, sarcoidosis is not predominantly a Middle Eastern or Mediterranean disease. Far from being "not unknown" among the Irish and Scandinavians, those populations, along with Germans and Puerto Ricans, have the highest incidence of the disease.
I examined information from a number of physicians who specialize in treating sarcoidosis as well as information found in standard medical literature. The literature and MDs' definitions and etiologies of sarcoidosis invariably followed that of the National Institutes of Health. The NIH says," Sarcoidosis was once considered a rare disease. We now know that it is a common chronic illness that appears all over the world… It occurs in all races and in both sexes. Nevertheless, the risk is greater if you are a young black adult, especially a black woman, or of Scandinavian, German, Irish, or Puerto Rican origin. No one knows why…No one knows what causes sarcoidosis… Sarcoidosis is currently thought to be associated with a abnormal immune response. Whether a foreign substance is the trigger is [sic] a chemical, drug, virus, or some other substance; how exactly the immune disturbance is caused are [sic] not known". The article these comments are taken from can be found at
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000076.htm .
Simply put, no one knows what causes sarcoidosis. Suggestions have included a virus, a fungus, a bacillus, and even pine pollen. A genetic connection has been suggested but has not been proven by scientific study. It is much more prevalent among the Irish than the peoples of the Middle East. In my view, if sarcoidosis has a genetic link, it certainly seems that someone named Kennedy would be more likely to trace the disease to the Irish than to the Turks.
Kennedy suggests that the similar sound of some Middle Eastern words compared to American words support his conjecture that Melungeons have a Turkish connection. Alabama for instance, according to Kennedy, sounds like "Allah Bamya" meaning God's graveyard in Turkish. The fact is, we don't know exactly where the word Alabama came from. It was the name of a southern Indian tribe who lived in what is now central Alabama. The term first appears in the accounts of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540. It was written Alibamo by Garcillasso de la Vega, Alibamu by the Knight of Elvas, and Limamu by Rodrigo Ranjel.
How this term could somehow come from the Turks is "jest-a-bit" fuzzy in my old brain. One writer (not Kennedy) suggested that Turks are somehow cousins of Native Americans through some mysterious Asian connection. I can only surmise that, according to this reasoning, the early Neo-Indians must have brought a bunch of meaningless (to them) Turkish terms with them when crossing the Bering Strait land bridge during the Ice Age and mysteriously applied the terms centuries later to themselves. Or maybe Turks somehow came to the Americas before 1540, headed for the backwoods, met a tribe of Indians and mentioned their term meaning "God's graveyard". The Indians didn't speak Turkish but must have thought Allah Bamya sounded neat and immediately changed the name of the tribe from whatever they had been calling themselves to "Alabama". Maybe not….
Cont. Here:
http://www.freedom4um.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=50142