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The Graysville Melungeons: A Tri-Racial People in Lower East Tennessee
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- updated:
- status: high-priority, to be worked
- Melungeon-specific
- tri-racial
publication:
DOI:
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abstract:
Located approximately 30 miles north of Chattanooga, the community of Graysville,
Tennessee contains one of the most stable Melungeon settlements in the state. Field
work in the community conducted in conjunction with archival research demonstrates
that the Melungeons, who now compose more than half of the local population, came
from Hamilton County durning the latter half of the nineteenth century. Census records
and other archival sources indicate that prior to comming to Hamilton County they
had lived in Virginia and North Carolina. In Graysville, the Melungeons strongly deny
their Black heritage and explain their genetic differences by claiming to have
Cherokee grandmothers. Many of the local Whites also claim Cherokee ancestry and
apper to accept the Melungeon claim.The racist discrimination common in Hancock
County and in other Melungeon communities is absent in Graysville. Here, the
Melungeons interact in all phases of community life,and exogamy with local Whites is
common practice.- Goins- and the term "Melungeon" is not used by the people or by
their neighbors. Recent field observations of the Graysville Melungeons differ in no
way from that of any other small southern Appalachian community.
Tennessee contains one of the most stable Melungeon settlements in the state. Field
work in the community conducted in conjunction with archival research demonstrates
that the Melungeons, who now compose more than half of the local population, came
from Hamilton County durning the latter half of the nineteenth century. Census records
and other archival sources indicate that prior to comming to Hamilton County they
had lived in Virginia and North Carolina. In Graysville, the Melungeons strongly deny
their Black heritage and explain their genetic differences by claiming to have
Cherokee grandmothers. Many of the local Whites also claim Cherokee ancestry and
apper to accept the Melungeon claim.The racist discrimination common in Hancock
County and in other Melungeon communities is absent in Graysville. Here, the
Melungeons interact in all phases of community life,and exogamy with local Whites is
common practice.- Goins- and the term "Melungeon" is not used by the people or by
their neighbors. Recent field observations of the Graysville Melungeons differ in no
way from that of any other small southern Appalachian community.
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Other Resources
- Melungeon Voices S5 E4 – Melungeon & Maroon Communities and the Underground Railroad
- Hillbilly Women: Mountain Women Speak of Struggle and Joy in Southern Appalachia
- Researchers Tackle Mystery of the Melungeons
- Toward a Genetic Profile of Melungeons in Southern Appalachia
- Melungeon Voices S3 Bonus – Live from the 2022 Author Event
- Melungeon Voices S2 E7 – Dr. Arwin Smallwood