Redbones

Redbones and Melungeons

The Redbones is the collective term for the group of people who have a multitude of mixed ancestry , living in the south eastern areas of the United States . One of the famous groups of these Redbones is the ones called Melungeons , or the people who are living mostly in the west of Virginia , as well as the eastern part of Tennessee . There are other groups of the same characteristics , including the Brass Ankles , Turks of Southern Carolina , Kentucky 's Brown People , Ohio 's Camel Indians , and the West Virginia

's Guineas . These Redbones however , were known to originate from South Carolina , and were able to acquire fame as an identity in the Southwest of Louisiana

Both the Melungeons and Louisiana 's Redbones ' origins were full of controversy because of several factors . These groups of people usually have copper colored skin , and both has dark eyes and hair . However these groups were found to be fluent with the English language , as well as having English names . Their first encounter with the European settlers has really surprised the latter , since they look like natives yet they are speaking in their language . These people were discovered in the Carolinas as well as Virginia ADDIN EN .CITE Sultzman2Lee Sultzman Redbones and Melungeons2007November 302000http /www .murrah .com /gen /redbones .htm (Sultzman 2000

There are speculations that the Melungeons are allegedly being tri-racial . But according to the Melungeons themselves , they are called Portygee , or Portuguese . According to some Melungeon researchers , these people were the mixture of different cultures , especially of the tribes from the Eastern Indian settlements . When these Indian people were devastated by the diseases being caused by the European settlers , they were forced to move westwards . Those who moved were able to find a suitable leaving area in a matter of days

These people are characterized as having three different races , and this characterization is because of the 2 different factors . One of this is that the Melungeons married both the people from Europe and the Africans in the later times ADDIN EN .CITE Geocities .com2Geocities .com ,What is a Melungeon ?2007November 302002http /www .geocities .com /melungeonorigin /what .htm (Geocities .com 2002 . This has lead to African Americans possessing certain North American branches as indicated in their family trees . There are also a lot of white-skinned people from the south who have various claims over their ancestors , like being Cherokee , or a black Irish or a black Dutch . These terms were usually the ones to refer about mixed cultures . These euphemisms greatly show how these native ancestries have truly an odd ancestry

Another factor to consider was the hardening or strengthening of the racial attitudes that is present in the south during the 17th century around 1830 's because of the abolitionist movement 's rise to fame . Many states in the United States has agreed to screen their people and pass on racial purity laws . It would depend on whether or not the person could get the full rights as a...