Melungeon Ancestors Passed White

The Melungeons emerged in the colonial era as a mixed-ancestry community rooted in Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, with ancestors tied mainly to free people of color and white settlers. Historical records and later research describe ancestry that was primarily European and African, while some families also claimed or showed Native American and East Indian connections. Because racial classification in the United States carried serious legal and social consequences, many Melungeons and their ancestors passed as white over time.

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