My AncestryDNA Results | Melungeons + GEDmatch
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มี.ค. 2017
- If you don't have an open mind, or an interest in history, science or genetics, please don't bother watching my video!!!!!
I know a lot of people will be upset that I am discussing the theory and evidence of certain populations being of Middle Eastern and Jewish origin but that is what I am exploring, as that is what my mother's side of the family primarily is and has been for generations. I did not do this test or make this video just because it became a trend on TH-cam.
Native American DNA: New Tests Show Middle East Origins?: www.theepochtimes.com/n3/10218...
I know this is a long video. And I still feel like I left a lot out so I am going to try and put it here! First and foremost, I know these ancestry videos can be controversial. I have always had a huge interest in this stuff and have done years of research on it. This is me trying to make sense of my results, provide some information about the theories I have researched and basically rant off my thoughts.
Whether my West Asian DNA is a small fraction of a distant Cherokee ancestor from many generations ago, or a distant Turk ancestor, still remains a mystery. Many of my European ancestors can be traced back to the initial colonial times and those ancestors can then be traced back to their countries of origin, notably England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands. I do understand that people can have DNA that comes from one place and then live in another, for instance my confirmed German ancestor could have been more Italian! Also, I have never come across any surnames that would suggest Western Asian, Spanish or even Italian blood.
I have traced my Melungeon ancestors back to Hawkins County, Tennessee and surrounding areas in the 16-1700’s. It must be noted, a vast number of ancestors on my mom’s side of the family trace back to absolutely nothing and dead ends, whereas my dad’s side, which is so rich in Northern European blood, can mostly be traced back to the North Atlantic.
My older cousin/family matches have significantly more Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, North African and Jewish DNA, as their biggest percentages, including the Finnish/Russian. And as I mentioned in the video about some living Melungeon descendants having Portuguese in their DNA, I have read that others have also reported Turkish/Middle Eastern DNA. My AncestryDNA results had range possibility for Spain/Portugal and North Africa. And I did match on GEDmatch with a few Spanish locations but the clear majority are Northern Europe, West Asia/Middle East (a whooole lot of Turk), Jew, Mediterranean, North Africa and Russia. While AncestryDNA has me at 1% West Asian with a range up to 4%, GEDmatch has me much higher.
Legend says Melungeon people of Portuguese/Turkish/Mediterranean/Middle East descent were believed to have been present in the Appalachian mountains centuries prior to Columbus, therefore, would that technically make them Native Americans after all? And if they came later as slaves or seamen, did they mix with the Native Americans as theorized or did they create their own tribes? These people are believed to actually be some of the Cherokee Indians who were primarily mixed with European, West Asian/Middle East, North African and even Jewish, per genetic testing done on Cherokee reservations. These are the populations I match on GEDmatch, and through matched family/cousins.
I will note that also on GEDmatch, I match Amerindian on most of the calculators to some degree but I am taking that with a grain of salt as I only match to reference locations in Brazil for Amerindian DNA. And it seems most of the Amerindian, Siberian, Papua, Berengian, Australian, Oceanian (Pacific Islander), and South East Asian only populate a percentage for me with the calculators that focus more on ancient DNA.
I’ll continue my research for answers. I may also be taking more DNA tests in the future and hopefully they may provide a deeper analysis. 😊 Regardless, I am who I am, as we all are.
Much love,
Johnna
Who are the Melungeons? www.tngenweb.org/campbell/hist...
Melungeon DNA Study: www.accessgenealogy.com/nativ...
The History of Newman's Ridge: www.historical-melungeons.com/...
Evidence of Ancient Cultures in the Americas: s8int.com/phile/page43.html
Cherokee DNA: www.accessgenealogy.com/nativ...
Instagram: @CherubicDolly
Twitter: / cherubicdolly
My brother did a DNA Test and it came back with a high percentage of Subsaharan African which made him mad and he didn't believe it . BUT my grandmother on my Mom's side had a great grandmother that was from WVA EKY and was supposed to be Shawnee , but I think she was black or mixed black , maybe Melungeon . Its interesting , and I love it .
Why would it make him mad?
@@tropicalsavannah6484 he just thought the test was crap, never heard what my grandmother told me about her being black. I think I was the only person to ever ask. He was like Really? yep.
@@yarekim5932 These tests are a bit off.. We only get a certain percent from each grandparent..and very often not the same.. it washes out superfast.. I took a test and my brother took one.. we have the same mum and dad. Still we only share 36%.. Our test showed only 2 "races" for us..It showed that We are both Scandinavian/Nordic and the other part was totally different: i am native American and my brother is Canadian indigenous.. It turns out that grandfather was 1/4 scandinavian but mostly Mohawk ( Canada) and his grandfather was Lakota Sioux so that is the part i inherited.. . To have a better picture you need all siblings to take a test..at the same company.I love these tests :)
@@stinkbug4321 Lol!! mine did not have such an impact.. No Pow wows in my back yeard yet.. But i DID by myself a Teepe.. so we might get there...Lol
@@goymedhundDogtrainingBehavior
Really? That’s your response to an overtly racist comment? A racist response? No wonder your brother didn’t want to believe you had African ancestry-probably wouldn’t align with the racist stereotypes and tropes you find so funny. Shameful, really. Hope you grow up. Read a book, even.
Thanks for educating people about the true diversity of America. Beautiful Melungeons.
As someone who once lived in Appalacia I understand the controversy of doing a DNA test there. You are very brave for doing it and are making a great contribution.
Charlie Alolkoy there are alot of people in the "Melungeon areas" that don't trust DNA testing, and really do NOT want to know, because they're afraid of finding something they don't like. And she's right when she says opinions run strong among Melungeon researchers!
I still live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Va. The Melungeons migrated out of Virginia during the early colonial period. That's why my DNA matches have a lot of Melungeon descendants on the list. I can tell that this is what they look like as far as DNA... prntscr.com/j2pwe3
klmullins65 This happens for many Americans claiming Native American DNA, which is usually Cherokee, and they have this story of Amerindian ancestry but DNA tests give them no Amerindian ancestry or like less than 1%. They try to say the tests are faulty and can't accept they are not Native American. Either the story is false or the 100% Amerindian ancestor was too far back for the DNA to make it to their body, and thus, them not being part Native American.
I am from East Tennessee and you have my DNA exactly. My mom is melungeon. Her family is out of Southwestern Va.
I have lots of Melungeon on my dad’s side. Both of his grandmothers were Melungeon. They are Turkish/Middle Eastern.
Girl you had me laughing out loud because I just discovered my possible Melungeon ancestors, I saw a video of a lady who said she was driving through Sneedville cemetery and the names she saw on the headstones were Collins and Gibson, well…my Mom is a Collins and my Dad is a Gibson and we’re are from Kentucky, now I have a whole lot more digging to do.
Vardy Collins is my 7th great grandfather, Sheppard Old Buck Gibson is my 8th great grandfather. My maternal great grandmother, Ogie Collins Conley, was very dark complected. I have several branches on different sides of my family that trace to Melungeon area of Hancock County Tennessee. Specifically Newmans Ridge.
@@melodiepatton2651 I am doing several DNA tests, we were never really told much except that we had Cherokee in our family, Scottish and a little Irish but this is an unexpected and joyful turn of events, I always expected that we had African in our bloodline.
@@melodiepatton2651Vardy Collins is in my family tree as well. Goldie Collins had a daughter Wanda who married my great Uncle Darryl Watkins and who i found out they are related but far off.
Be proud of all that you are. All cultures bring something novel to one's personality, features, and so on.. Mixtures, in my opinion, make for great, interesting, and good-looking people. You are absolutely gorgeous thanks to the wide range of genes in your DNA.
You are such an open, honest and intelligent young woman! I truly enjoyed this video and I am more informed than I was about ancestry, DNA, genetics and so much more. I thought I knew all I wanted to know about my personal family but you've inspired me to look further. Thank you Johnna!
All of my Melungeon ancestors come out of Hawkins County, Tennessee; Granville County, North Carolina; Stokes County, North Carolina; Virginia; North Georgia, etc. Surnames are: Sanders, Adams, Lewis, Medaris, Heim, etc.
I have ancestors with the last name Maderis from Virginia and North Carolina
My mom's mother's line goes all the way back to pamunkey tribe in mid 1650's. Their queen and colonel John west were my 13 th/great grandparents. Their son captain John West was my 12 th/ great grandpa.
Both of my parents are of Appalachian descent and told they had Cherokee ancestors. Both DNA lines came back with Anatolian/eastern Turkey results. Recent updates have said that there are not enough native Americans doing the tests to get correct readings.
My husband’s family was the same. His dad has said they are Cherokee. I want him to do a DNA because he is definitely has the look of an American Indian but the trail stops. I wonder if they are part of the Mulungeon people.
I had my DNA tested by 2 different companies when they first became available. Not surprisingly, I always knew I was a mixture of Eurooean, Sub Saharan African, and Native Cherokee. The DNA tests confirmed it. When I began to research more, I learned that it was called Melungeon (at one time considered a racial slur). I have done extensive research about the Melungeons. I just wanted to clear up a slight misunderstanding. Though a large part of the Melungeon DNA is mixed European ( mine were England, Ireland, German and Scandinavian)
Even though Portugal IS a European country and part of your ancestry can be Portuguese, most of the Melungeons were actually not Portuguese or Gypsies as rumored. I found out in my research that my family on my grandmother's side listed themselves as Portuguese on Census records.....yet, there is NO Portuguese DNA on my dad's or my test. When I questioned this, I found out that being white, african, and Native American.....whether it was bi or tri racial....was taboo and if known, they were persecuted mercilessly. So, many claimed to be Portuguese, Gypsies, and even Greece (I think) to cover the question about why their skin, hair & eyes were slightly darker than the average white person. Most families remained silent about their true ancestry to prevent anyone from finding out. And, so.....children were raised not knowing the truth either. My dad was about 45 before he found out about his true as ancestry. He said he had never heard his parents or grandparents talk about it. After he was grown, he asked my grandmother. The only thing she admitted to was having a grandmother who was 100% Cherokee, who never even learned any English. But, she wouldn't tell him anything else. His grandmother wouldn't answer any questions at all. I'm thankful for DNA. I have a better understanding of myself and a deep appreciation for ALL my ancestors. And, it's wonderful that we are free today to talk openly about being Melungeon without being persecuted. Thank you for stepping out there and making this video about it.
You lose 50% random dna from each parent each generation. You have ancestors from places that you don’t have dna from. Many of them.
I enjoyed this video a lot. You have a good understanding of genealogy and DNA as it applies to the test kits we are using. You have a GREAT speaking voice. As far as the subject matter goes this is one of my favorite things to learn and talk about with other family members but it would be a dream come true to sit and chat with someone as interested as I am and who shares the passion and excitement of learning about our ancestors! I'd love to see more videos about genealogy, your personal journey doing research, etc. I will check out your fashion videos, but we are probably very different there. Haha I'm a lot older than you and pretty much a hippie type of person. Nice meeting you and I'm looking forward to more!
Both sides of my family are predominantly from Georgia but in researching my family history for over the last 10 years I've discovered ancestors in the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, etc.
AncestryDNA results:
African, Native American, Iberian Peninsula, Scandinavia, Finland/Northwest Russia, Great Britain, and Europe West.
GEDMATCH DNA results:
Using MDLP World 22 calculator it basically said that I was a mixture of: African, European, Native American, Asian, and Middle Eastern. Some of the Native American tribes that came up were: Lumbee, Aleut, Miwok, Serrano, and Nez Pierce! When using two population approximations on my DNA Puerto Rican came up but it makes sense. Puerto Ricans are tri racial just like the Lumbee in North Carolina (Native American, Black, and White)
My DNALAND results:
African, European, Middle Eastern, and Native American.
I came back with western Africa, Egyptian, Arabian and North African.. have a lot of connections to the states you mentioned as well as lumbee. I have SO MANY BRICK WALLS!! I have NO IDEA where to start looking, lol.
I found a record for my 4th great-grandmother and her parents where they were listed as "M" or presumably mulatto on an 1870 US census. Their last name was Evans, one of the prominent Melungeon surnames. This is also around the time my mother's family says the Native American ancestry came in. Mulatto was used for both mixed black and whites and Melungeon people at the time; anyone who looked mixed and not entirely white. Unfortunately, the parents are a complete dead end, which sucks hard, but to have an actual record is awesome. usgwarchives.net/ky///pulaski/census/1870/1870f.html
"Contemporary accounts documented that Melungeon ancestors were considered by appearance to be mixed race. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, census enumerators classified them as "mulatto", "other free", or as "free persons of color". ... They had been designated as "mulattoes" in an earlier record of 1755." - Wikipedia
Concerning Cherokee reservation DNA being North African, Middle Eastern, and Jewish: "The origin of the core group of Cherokees may well have been the offspring of mixed-ethnic pairings who looked so non-European that they coalesced into bands and villages, then in to small tribes, then upon the manipulation of British officials, into a large Cherokee Tribe. After then, wave after wave of Native American captives or refugees from remnant tribes added Native American DNA to the gene pool. This theory is one of the few that could explain why a region in northeastern Tennessee that contained Spanish/Portuguese-speaking towns, African settlers, mullato settlers, Middle Eastern settlers, Jewish settlers and northern European settlers during the late 1600s, could also be simultaneously labeled the original heartland of the Cherokee People in the 1700s." accessgenealogy.com/native/cherokee-dna.htm
A 2nd or 3rd cousin match on Ancestry shares this line and has Northern African and Cameroon, Congo & Western Bantu Peoples DNA at 2% and 1% respectively. They suspect it is from these ancestors as there are zero signs elsewhere in their lineage. Here is a really interesting piece discussing the early African origins of the Melungeons. sites.rootsweb.com/~gowenrf/malangu.htm
Also, another interesting read about the proposed Jewish origins of Melungeons. web.archive.org/web/20110808171423/www.melungeons.com/articles/march2003a.htm
That's pretty cool 👍 I just found your video im gonna upload my raw DNA to Gedmatch .. myfamilydna has me as 69% America's/indigenous, 24 % central European, 1% Ashkenazi Jew , 5 % North African Egypt,Libya,Algeria ,1% East Slavic ,and 1% West Indian.. All of its cool 👍 You should upload more TH-cam vids I would watch more of your content 🙏
My mother's family were melungeon. It is so funny how a lot of us look alike. I see myself in your face. That is crazy.
LoniLovesLife where is your family from? I’m very interested in melungeons because I strongly suspect we have melungeons blood too.. my family came from Virginia through the Cumberland gap and settled in eastern Kentucky with Daniel Boone.. who was also part melungeon. Would love to know more about you.
LoniLovesLife me too same nose
She looks like she could have been at my Thanksgiving dinner the other.day..we all look similar
She definitely looks like she could be my sister. Lol
Wow your mom looks native.
I really enjoyed this video and can definitely relate. I am from Southeast Kentucky, and I am also descended from the melungeons and have native American ancestors.. a best friend of mine is a direct descendant of Vardy Collins.
anyway, I also thought my DNA results would have had at least a trace of Native American or African but only showed a trace amount of North African. but on GEDmatch I had Native American percentages of 5 and 6 percent. it's all very speculative... but interesting none the less. I'm a huge nerd when it comes to geneaology and history in General so I'm happy to see people out there who nerd out on it as hard as me!
-Cleveland
Same here my man
Lol I'm a nerd too
Maybe I need to try GEDMatch also. My test showed no native ancestry but my family is historically Native on both sides with records of ancestors that were registered Native. We are from Oklahoma. Dad born in a reservation.
Some of us are in florida
did your results update? As they broaden their database and improve their science the results become more accurate. Have your results changed? Mine have changed quite a bit over 2 years
problem with DNA tests among Native communities is that a many Native people (and European and African descendants to a lesser extent) today have mixed lineage beginning since the 1600s. Which prompts the question: What would the Cherokee DNA tests have shown if they were done in 1500 instead of today? Just because DNA tests today show that many Natives TODAY have some European ancestry, it doesn't mean that the Cherokee ORIGINATED in Europe or anywhere else.
Some Cherokee DNA tests, pointed at the Polynesian islands. Like a weird what's up with that. But clearly, gives them unique DNA over northern Indian Tribes.
east Tennessee here, you look like the rest of us hillbillys.
RudeSwine bruh
Bruh
Most look either very Native or very Celtic. I grew up in Oak Ridge. Trust me, her features are straight up Eastern Cherokee. We're round faced, almond eyed, and short and round as a rule. The grey eyes are from the Irish.
blackcitroenlove What is it with anglo Americans and “cherokee” specialization?
Melungeon people are a great mix of Nations Native American, white and black and brown.
I am a descendant of the Melungeon people also! :D
Girllll. We are probably related! I have many many things in my DNA including Iberian, Middle Eastern, and many others! I've traced my Native roots. My dad's family is all from Hawkins County! So cool. Hope to hear back from you!
What do you get on Eurogenes K36?
To me you look you could a mixed race Sammi person from Scandinavia! Yes, you are white, but something about your bone structure looks different.
saami are only 6% northeast asian
I’ve been doing research for yrs. but on my dads side....dad always told me his mom his mom was Cherokee Indian. I grew up in Ashland KY. Once I joined ancestry Dad told me I was Melungons! Dad side is Scottish and Mom side is English German and Irish.
Always Cherokee lmao
UPDATE: 23andMe Results - Actually very upset it took me this long to go with this company.
British & Irish - 87.9%
French & German - 9.9%
Broadly Northwestern European - 0.7%
North African - 0.5%
Cypriot - 0.4%
Coptic Egyptian - 0.3%
Nigerian - 0.2%
Broadly East Asian & Native American - 0.1%
Did you ever research your maternal haplogroup number? I find that many people don't know how to interpret that.
I would like to tell you that there was a lot of Native American from Cherokee that left the trail of tears so they didn't have to leave the area and I think it may be in the history but I don't recall but when they left they went to the wilderness of The Cumberland Gap is what I have heard and also what I think is in a book that I had years ago but I don't recall the name
You left out 100.0% cute.
Good video! You're so pretty. My mother always told me I'm Melungeon from my father's side but I've never taken any tests.
Great results, thanks for sharing, maybe your mom and grandmother should do a dna test as well, it would definitely clarify a lot more on your mother's side.
My family came fr south eastern KY. Does anyone know about the connection with polysithemia viral a blood disease.
Thanks for posting this video. I am creek/Cherokee on my mothers side and my DNA results came back west Asian, Jewish, middle eastern too & also Amerindian, Siberian on GEDmatch. There needs to be more research on this topic because it's such a mystery! i know my ancestors were creek & Cherokee because of their creek names and were they lived in Florida and Georgia. Keep up the research and continue to be proud of who you are!! :)
I’m melungeon 🙌🏼 we were always told we were Native American, Cherokee specifically.
After a DNA test, I discovered we are not Cherokee we are Africa, French German Irish Scottish East Indian Portuguese-a little sprinkle of everything. My family is from Hancock co, Lee county Virginia & Tennessee.
Superior genetics baby😘😂🙏
Great video. Thank you!
A diverse gene pool is a strong gene pool. It's true, your genes are better than theirs.
I too have Mulungeon DNA that originated in my ancestors with the last name of Sealock. Genetics is a crazy thing!
Hawkins County is where my family comes from too. It would be neat if we are distantly related. It looks like you are on ancestry and Gedmatch. I am too.
Funny you have an Asian nose and eyes. You have Finnish ancestry it could be Saami, who are indigenous Norway, Finland,Russian, Sweden. Polynesian, Melanesian are markers for possibly Native American.
Saami are still over 90% European. On average 5-6% East Asian
If you ignore color and hair type some Asians and African look very similar ive noticed.
Can't believe it's taken this long to respond. I'm of mixed Ancestry but mostly African but a lot of Sami ancestry Haplogroup y I2 and mtdna Z1a, U5b, U2. This person has a very Finnish look to me especially with her nose. But there was an ancient connection with East Asia and indigenous European nomads like the Sami that traveled back in forth to Russia (which is mostly in Asia).
This is so interesting & familiar to me. I am very pale and typical white in my appearance, but my maternal grandfather looked very Native and so does my mom, though her full blood siblings are just as white as me. Her father is from southeastern KY and his family was there for generations. She was told there was Native blood on her father’s side but they didn’t like to talk about it. Once I started researching I kept running into brick walks with my great grandmother Mahala, whose origins I can’t trace. I did my DNA test and I show no native or African, but my great uncle on the KY side came up as 1% Nigerian. I did come up with a surprise amount of Portuguese that I have no idea where it came from. My mom is doing her test now & we can’t wait to see the results. The Melungeon is making more sense to me the more I hear about it. Have your results updated? I’d be so interested if you have or do a follow up video, or if you do another test, like 23&me. Thank you for posting this!
Many families of Indeginous people had to assimilate and become “white” by default. There is no source DNA for certain people groups, but this can be proven via gene mapping through hair forensics. Without source DNA, there is no true indicator that certain people are who they are, in ancestry DNA/23 and me. I would guarantee, you’re more native than you think.
Edit: select native DNA is flagged as polynesian, which are mongoloids as native Americans are. This can be the same for Turkish people. Turks are mongoloid. It is very hard to determine the difference between Asians and Native Americans, because Natives are essentially Asian. If there is no ‘source’ via these companies, they are something else by default. Research the Racial integrity act. Remember, they wanted these people to disappear, and what better way to do it, than with something that people deem to be concrete science.
I have to say your unusual and lovely appearance much more reflects the GEDmatch results. I have been studying DNA results for quite some time and you are not of the stock standard Western European that Ancestry has given. thank you for posting
Fascinating stuff, you definitely have a Finnish kind of a look. Might be interesting to get your grandmother to take the test.
Anastasia Beaverhausen I definitely agree! I may have to do that.
All of my Melungeon dna matches show Portuguese, Irish, and African(small amounts), but not much Native American... prntscr.com/en68w9 Their family trees have Native American individuals, but not their dna. I am from Appalachia(still live here) and most of my matches are Va, NC, Tenn, Ky, and SC
That is interesting! My Melungeon matches show Middle Eastern, Caucasus, African, Iberian Peninsula, South Asian and Melanesian. The older matches test heavily for those populations. I have a 4th or so cousin that was born in Hawkins, Tennessee, she's in her 60's and her biggest percentages include Middle Eastern and Caucasus. Crazy stuff! Most of my family is from Appalachia and I grew up there as well.
I'm late to the show... Just solved a 50+ year roadblock in my family tree... Linking me to the Melungeon community of KY & TN. My family also had heard the Cherokee -Shawnee heritage stories but nothing showed in the DNA. My g-grandmother never even told her maiden name (Gibson) to my grandmother! She distanced herself from any known connections. It was a secret she wanted to keep. As far as the Native American genetics, a lot of people forget that people of other DNA origins were commonly adopted into Native American tribes, thus becoming Native American as far as cultural heritage. So, those individuals would have called themselves Shawnee or whatever tribe they had been adopted into. DNA is not proof that they were not "Native American"
Genetically they weren't. Everyone seems to be Cherokee. Why not another tribe. Iriqouis, Sioux, Pawnee, Creek, Comanche, Lakota etc? People liked to hide their black ancestry back then, especially if they were mixed
Hi Walter, I am a Gibson on my Father’s side and a Collins on my Mother’s side, my Father’s Mother’s maiden name is Riley, I always wondered about our family being Cherokee and having blue-green eyes and dark very curly hair, I wondered if we had African heritage but was shut down quickly but after dna testing it was revealed that I was correct, we came out of Northeastern Tenn, Southeastern KY, I am so very proud of my ancestors and feel badly for the fear they had that made them feel the need to hide their heritage.
@@rhondag8128 I agree with you. Somewhere along the lines, we might be connected through the same area. My DNA also showed a small amount of Portuguese mixed in.... which seems to tie in the very early mixture of Native Americans with the Portuguese sailors. The DNA tests have not been developed enough to determine precisely if there was Native American ancestors or not. (see: accessgenealogy.com/native/cherokee-dna.htm)
@@frasiercraine17768
Hi! My family has melungeon names in both sides, from Wise Co. Virginia. I have red hair and green eyes, and I'm noticing you look very red too!!! The Irish, I suppose? Anyway, gonna do my Ancestry DNA soon! Love that you shared! And, my cousin is a Ballard now by marriage. :)
I have a lot of relatives from Virginia and the Carolinas. My surname Moore comes up in Melungeon study and my family is mixed.
I'm Irish (96%) according to DNA ..I thought you looked a little bit Irish but I think the Finnish look is quite pronounced! cool vid
My mother is from SE Kentucky. Her dna results show American Indian. We were surprised that middle eastern, and African did not show in her estimate, or perhaps might be unassigned. Her dna matches on Ancestry show that the cousins have similar percentages in English, Wales, Scottish, Irish, Norway, Germanic Europe. Her matches either have between 1-23% Native American, or no NA dna, and just have 1-9% Senegal, Bantu, or Congo with all the European estimates vice-versa.
Surnames are Collett, Whitehead, Roark, Sizemore. Do you have these surnames in your tree?
Hey, Iris....who are your Roarks?? Do they descend from William Roark (born 1802 Tennessee moved into southeast Kentucky by 1840) and Nancy Johnson? Their children were James who married Emily Stepp, Rebecca Jane, Elizabeth married John Hobbs, Lucretia married John North, Martha married James North, Manerva, Willis married Catherine Wilson, Margaret "Peggy", Louisa and David.
I have Roarks and Sizemores. I believe that William Roark was the son or grandson of Valentine Collins.
Melungeons were believed to have migrated originally as Scotch-irish and then interbred with the Native Americans.
Rubbish. It’s White Americans in denial of Black heritage.
Hello. Thanks for posting the video. I have hit a brick wall also but clues are pointing me to Newmans Ridge. I looked through the text to see if you posted your Gedmatch # but didnt see it. Maybe I could send you mine to see if there is a match? So far I havent found a DNA link to the melungeons but records indicate i may be descended from Moses Collins. Thanks!
Johnna, I'm glad to find you. I am part Melungeon, and I think it's on both sides of my family! I have a very similar look to you, (Or did, I'm almost 70.) Nice to meet you!
I also have Melungeon ancestry. My father is from Pike County Kentucky. My AncestryDNA results was mostly Western Europe 53%, multiple other European but I did have 1% Polynesian and 1% Caucasus. Thank you for sharing!
I matched with Atkins did you match with any Male/Mayle's?
DNA Consultants does not give a percentage of ancestry and say that any company that does is misrepresenting the data.
I live in an area that is a Native American statistical area and the general area has different tribal headquarters. Basically I see many Native people and the first pic you showed, I would not be able to tell the difference between them and her.
Johnna, Hey cuz! I am related to other Ballards at the third-cousin level! My Grandma was from eastern Kentucky. Our names are: Griffin, Drew, Collins, Brown(e), MacQueen, Hubbard, Moore, Lloyd, Fox, Spears, Sparks, Allendale, Nalle, Hollinsworth, and others.
Blue eyed Appalachians and light, almost white skinned people were not the only type of Melungeons. There were all sorts of very dark skinned people, people with straight dark hair, African features, European features, medium skinned people, white looking people. I've even seen the very dark skinned, with straight dark haired people today on court shows and knew they were Melungeon. It was amazing! But we never see them in these videos about Melungeons. And mostly European ethnicities are spoken about more than anything else. I'm going to devote my obssession with this group that I believe runs in my family, to the darker varieties because I think it's genetically fascinating. Historically, during colonial times some NAs were called Turks. But you are virtually European which is not what Melungeons were at all. The Settlers of the Appalachian trails were the Europeans who did maintain non-mixed groups in that area. The NAs were very dark skinned Asians, because that's what Asians were originally before they were colonized by Brittain. But the actual Melungeons were mixed race and treated discriminatory and assumed to be a sort of mixed race negro, and were mostly black and white mixed OR the three way mixed people. But tbh, if you were any kind of African mix, it would definitely show up. 👀 Your facial structure does have a hint of the Ab-origines from Australia, esp your nose. The Caucasus mountains were where Europeans came from thousands of years ago. Ok. The more you share polynesian, melanesian and samoan ad mixtures, I'm confused because maybe some of your European ancestors came here with those mixtures in them somehow. Now, I'm confused and a bit more fascinated. Your genealogy is not usual to Melungeons or any typical mixed race group that I've heard of. 🤔🤔🤔🤔 Maybe some of the early Asians, who came here during colonial times settled in Appalachia too. Anything's possible in American history. That's what I know.
My family came from Hawkins County and Rogersville and I do have Melungeon characteristics and genes. My grandfather was born in Hawkins County in 1805 and the majority of my family today has stayed in Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee. I find this very interesting and I wanna know more about it. My mother's AncestryDNA results came back Portuguese, Jewish, Congo African, and some Scandinavian. Very interesting!
My Barnett's were from Hawkins county. They came from Berks co Pennsylvania, to Sullivan co, then into Hawkins county, and final known location into Roane county Tennessee.
I'm Melungeon on my mother's side. Father was full Eastern Band Cherokee. I was going to say, you look like a Melungeon with a lot of Native in her.
When you go back 6-7-8 gens...that is more than 100 people so 1 person is going to be less than 1% and not show in any pie charts from these companies.
could you afford to test your brother or mom's brother? we sent his sample to Tribes and the results were pages compared to my few results from Ancestry.
my deceased husband was raised in a orphanage as Ottawa when in fact he tested mostly Croatian/Greek.
so brava kid, enjoy this lovely day
My mother is Colonial blood lines but my father's mother is Scots Irish Cherokee from Tennessee. Melungeon also came up on my DNA consultants Cherokee test. Chippewa was #1 and #Cherokee #2 and I knew about that but Melungeon came up and that is a surprise.
Very interesting. I always thought I had native ancestry. I have almond shaped eyes, high cheekbones, and I tan really well. I’ve done Ancestry DNA, Family Tree DNA, 23andMe, and uploaded them to GEDMatch. One thing I’ve seen is small amounts (1-3%) of Native American, Sub-Saharan African, West and South Asia, and North African. Also, anywhere from 10-30% Mediterranean, specifically Iberian (Spain and Portugal) and maybe Italian. Seeing pictures of my great grandmother’s mother (dark skinned, narrow eyes, wide nose, etc.) we assumed Native American. Her daughter, my great grandmother, looked to have native roots. Not as dark complected but sharing similar features. My great grandmother’s mother came from Russell County, Virginia, which is in Far Southwest Virginia not too far from Hawkins County TN.
I am Afro-Indigenous of Cherokee and possibly Choctaw descent. The reason why the Native American DNA doesn't show up a whole lot in ancestry tests is because tribal Nation members have been discouraged from donating to the database therefore there's not a whole lot to compare to. My mom showed up as 2% and I showed up as none and my sister showed up as 1% but we know where indigenous and we have family verbal history.
Or maybe your not native american lmao it’s always the five civilized tribes or Blackfoot.
There is a TON of native American dna that has been tested. All you have to do is look at Mexican and South/Central Americans. Native dna is easily recognized in them. Trust the dna test...and the mirror. If you look mostly European, it's because you ARE mostly European.
I just ran across this video 7 years after you made it. I'm interested in where my ancestors came from, but haven't done a DNA test yet. I know most of my mom's history, but ran into a wall researching my dad's family. I did trace them to Southwest Virginia, and the term "Melungeon" came up, so that's how I found this video. I'm hoping to do a DNA test soon and I'm SO excited to find out what it shows! As a child, I was always told his family was Cherokee, German, and "Black Dutch", but nobody could tell me what Black Dutch meant. I'm finding that it might be Melungeon and possibly African American. It would be really cool if that's true. Thanks for the video!
Looking at those pix you put up, was it your grandparents, they're Native, whatever DNA results say.
That's pretty damn spooky that those stereotypical 'American Indian' looking ladies are (probably) almost 100% 'White'. Unless a LOT of so-called 'full blood' Cherokee et al are part Euro/White before they arrived here many hundreds of years ago.
my lineage on both sides have been in the east tn. western carolina area for 300 years. me and my siblings are the first generation raised outside of that area in centuries. my dna results came back with sub saharan african dna which was surprising at first but looking at my mothers side they are olive complected and so am i. we were always told there was native blood but i don't have any. one of my moms brothers looked very melungeon.
Before the Settlers came here, a group of Scottish adventurers came to the Americas and made friends with Native tribes, traded with them, mated with them and took a few home with them. This left behind blue eyed offspring among the NAs, that showed up recessively by the time the Settlers showed up. Thank you for the GEDMatch shout out. I want to explore that too.
I'm just watching your video now ( yes years later) My immediate thought before seeing your updated DNA was that with the Caucus, Finland, Scandinavian, and possibly Irish is that you possibly have a link with Sami people. That was my first thought when I saw you. I've just recently found out about my surprise Scandinavian and Finnish connection. And same as you, I've always had a 'thing' for snow, mountains, etc.You reminded me of the girl in the movie Sami Blood (Swedish movie).
my papaws side the side of the family is from hawkins county and are melungeons and moms native american. as far as we know her dad was too.
I grew up in church hill in Hawkins county, tn from 1960's Thruough 1988. I went thruough school with many melungeon children. My moms parent's were clarks and Jones who migrated into eastern Tennessee by 1770's from eastern parts of Virginia going way back to the early 1630''s to early 1700's around Richmond area.
Melungeon here on my mothers side! From what I have been told from my grandmother, Melungeons were called grass hopper Gypsies or mountain Gypsies. She also used to tell me I have the "Melungeon head" 😂 Fellow Melungeons will know what that means lol
I should have watched the whole video. My DNA showed early settlers of Tennessee and Arkansas. My tree places me in Tennessee a I received 4% Caucasus and Finnish/NW Russia as well. Thank you for this. I've learned a lot. I have more to study. Thank you!!!
I was adopted and so was my mama. My mama has blue eyes but she is so mixed- and her mama comes from West Virginia. When looking at our dna background it’s like we are so many things- so much so that we really don’t have a big amount of any one race or ethnicity. We have scratched our heads for a long time- as we have darker skin. We have turkey and iran, we have french, Irish, English, Scottish, Italian, Greek Islands- and Cyprus. That’s a lot for one person. But it’s all on her dna test and mine. But we have zero “Native American” of any other tribe here anyhow. I think I want to test to see if we match other Melongeons. Which is what we think we are now. It’s wild- but now we think we have solved the puzzle. I live in NC now- where are you from?
I come from Sawyer, Thomas, Meadows, and Winters. So this should be interesting. I'm supposedly related to Pocahontas. My Mom does Genealogy.
Too, thanks for the video. It was very interesting! I wish more people would do this. Did you contact any family that you were linked to on Ancestry that you did not know prior to?
Well I live in Sullivan county across the river. I was born and raised here and I have always been told the Melungeons were further down in Hancock County down around Sneedville. Now the only ones I eva met was in Sneedville. Thats my 2 cents worth.
My family is from Sevierville, Tennessee. I did a DNA test and found that I am 100% European. Irish, Scottish, English, German, Spanish and Portuguese. I was so confused about my nationality. This is why I took the test. Because most of us have dark or a olive complexion, with blue, green or dark brown eyes & black or dark brown hair. It's been long said that we were "Black Dutch" or "Native American". But none of those were in my results. Lol Great video. Thank you for sharing. BTW, you look like we're related. 😁 Big eyes, high cheek bones, and the shape of your face.
My husband was always told his family background was Black Dutch. First time he told me that, many many years ago, I said "as opposed to White Dutch?" He said he never knew what his grandmother meant by Black Dutch. I think we are closer now than ever before to finding out.
DNA Land:
Northwest European - 74% - Scottish, British, Icelandic, Norwegian, Orcadian
South/Central European - 15% - Italian(Bergamo), Italian(Tuscan)
Finnish - 7.4%
Kalash - 1.6% - Pakistan
Mediterranean Islander - 1.4% - Cypriot, Sicilian, Maltese
I suspect the Kalash percentage stems from my mother's side as my father's mother does not show this ethnicity on DNA.LAND. I also suspect it to possibly represent some other ethnicity that is relatable or that shares a common migration or DNA marker. This ethnic group seems to be pretty isolated and I just feel while definitely not a high percentage, that amount would result from having a 6th or 7th great-grandparent who was of that ethnicity. True Kalash ancestry feels incredibly unlikely considering the nature of that group from my research, but still possible. Interestingly enough, I have two mysterious great grandmothers around that generation that I suspect were either Native American or South Indian/Middle Eastern, including the one mentioned in this video. They were born in the United States in the Melungeon areas and Kalash for any of my ancestors born around that time in America just seems really random.
"Sequences from that first genome sequence suggest the Kalash are related to the Mal'ta boy, a Paleolithic hunter-gatherer from a population believed to be among the European ancestral groups.
A study published in Nature earlier this year indicated that Siberia's Mal'ta boy also shared ancestry with a group of Eastern European hunter-gatherers that was ancestral to a Yamnaya steppe herder population, which in turn contributed substantially to Europe's current population structure." www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/genetic-study-points-ancient-split-isolated-population-pakistan#.YHCWFbcpAzQ
"The genome of a young boy buried at Mal’ta near Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia some 24,000 years ago has turned out to hold two surprises for anthropologists.
The first is that the boy’s DNA matches that of Western Europeans, showing that during the last Ice Age people from Europe had reached farther east across Eurasia than previously supposed. Though none of the Mal’ta boy’s skin or hair survives, his genes suggest he would have had brown hair, brown eyes and freckled skin.
The second surprise is that his DNA also matches a large proportion - about 25 percent - of the DNA of living Native Americans. The first people to arrive in the Americas have long been assumed to have descended from Siberian populations related to East Asians. It now seems that they may be a mixture between the Western Europeans who had reached Siberia and an East Asian population." www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/science/two-surprises-in-dna-of-boy-found-buried-in-siberia.amp.html
My dad's side is from Hawkins county/sneedville/kyles ford! I understand the road blocks- I have come across the same thing for the women on that side. Most of my Hawkins county family moved to wise county, Va- BSG in the early 1900s and worked the coal mines. Ur not by chance related to any Fugate, Nichols or Collins are you??
senoritabella3 Yeah, I have traced many To Wise County, as well. I do have some Fugates on my mom's side. Henley Fugate born in Hancock , TN. Thanks for your comment!
My dad's family moved from Hancock Co to Big Stone Gap to work the mines too! My paternal great grandmother was a Collins
I have in my DNA all of the expected melungeon genetics to include 60% African ancestry, 40% European with Native American. My family earliest known ancestor was mixed Indigenous Indian and African from Eastern Virginia. As a child he was taken prisoner during the Anglo-Indian War in 1600s. He eventually in 1663 married a white Welsh Indentured servant woman who they had children. His Indentured servitude was for life however his wife and kids were free. They lived in Charles County Mayland and my family migrated Westward to Eastern Kentucky then to Ohio.
sooo for some reason native american doesnt show up truthfully on these dna tests
Hey! To OP and to anyone in the thread, does anyone want to share their kit number? Or have you checked for updated admixture? (GEDMATCH is also outdated now, tbh...)
Some of you are also part South Asian. Back then a lot of er, Indians from India, people from Pakistan etc got classified as ‘other’ also. Example, the Weaver family.
If any of you are my cousin, say hello, lol. I’ve got quite a many distant cousins in what seems to be Appalachia.
Lots of last names like ones listed below :)
I would love to talk to you
Though I now live in Portland OR, I was born and raised near Cherokee NC. I totally know what’s up with people thinking your Asian! My dads family is like yours, Scott-Irish German back to the 1600s+, and my mom is the melungeoun “Cherokee” mystery meat. When I moved out West, people used to ask me if I was Samoan! Being 6’6” didn’t help either... I think your literally a beautiful example of why I can still love America.
Big Dude my family is from Rural Appalachia, and many of us have a Melanesian/Polynesian result in our DNA. Maybe you could have this trait too, there is lots of us and the ones I have got the talking to vacant figure out where this comes from, it certainly isn't ancient admixture.
You look like my friend Toni clark. She grew up in kingsport,tn. Her dad's family was from over in southwest region of Virginia.
Her mom's maiden name was Bradshaw. She grew up on east coast over by Wilmington,nc area.
also, don't pay attention to all this negativity.. people obviously don't know how genetics work and how much can filter out of be lost within just one generation. I wouldn't doubt if we aren't distantly related. I also came back with Finnish/Northwest Russia. that has to mean something about central Appalachian DNA!
I think she looks like she have very much Sami blood in her.
hi sister! i always knew we had 'some" native blood probably Cherokee and some 'other' ancestry. My test showed my highest ethnic likelihood match was Melungeon, I also have sub-subharan African and several Jewish allele...also a mix of Portuguese etc....so hi sister! I'm pretty white (skin) but my full siblings can pass for 'someone exotic" to Mexican and Natives...so I guess we are closest to Melungeon, I wish it was it's own ethnicity.
It's fascinating to say the least. You look a great deal Asian by looking at you. I think your a wonderful mix of so many interesting rich cultures and people and look how absolutely beautiful you are as a result. I believe you're blessed. ❤
My moms side of the family is said to be Melungeon. I just took a dna test today and sent it off so we shall see
So what were the results.
Part of my tree is from burnside.that branch is dark like Greek people.grandpa reminded me of Aristotle Onassis.I have a pretty strong suspicion they were melungeon.I am going to take a vacation and explore down there a bit.two great grandpas died down in that area not of natural causes.
shout out cousin ima Melungeon too they keep showing my 6th gr grandfathers pic ol jock perkins :) in the drawing
I'm a apart of the Eastern band Cherokee my family is from North Carolina and I'm 1/4 according to the rolls but I can confirm from taking a DNA test that the original Cherokees are just as native as all the other tribes I have cousins and uncles who are full Cherokee and received 98 to 99% Native American/ East Asian Asian ancestery coming from Siberia I came back with 21% and 3.9 East Asian from Siberian so pretty accurate to the rolls. So the theory from Siberia makes sense especially for the Cherokees.
I've been researching families like Collins, Goins, Gibsons...families that were refered to as Melungeon, for 20 yrs, and all I can tell is my opinions. I believe that certain families were the earliest product of the "Great Melting Pot"...in a nutshell, I believe they descended from indigenous tribes that befriended the earliest explorers, took up the "White way" of living, and eventually assimilated, as best they could. It's much more complicated, of course, but it's always seemed more of a "mixed" thing, than a unique tribe or race. I think the word was made up by their neighbors to call them by, because it's rare to ever find examples of anyone calling themself a Melungeon before the 1970s.
Believe im descended from melungeons on my dads side too! My family comes from Eastern Kentucky Appalachia, Paintsville, magoffin and Floyd ky. I have Gibson Castle Hicks Hendricks Daniel and Ward in my main line and Goins Minor and Sizemore as well as Caudill as cousins!
Did you match with any Male/Mayle
@@granny_hack795 I'm not sure, but I'll take a look. Have u done ancestry dna?
My ancestry is melungians. Valentine Collins is a direct ancestor along with dicey price gibson.
She looks a little bit Lapland' ishy, which could be, that Northwest Russia-N Scandinavia area,some Native American tribes could have migrated from there, or be related to the people there
My mom's side (both maternal and paternal) are from Hawkins Co, TN and some of them migrated together from TN to the hills of Missouri. We were told we had some Black Irish and Cherokee.. I'm pretty sure I have the bump, however I am fair skin with blue eyes with a slight olive undertone. My youngest daughter used to constantly get asked what nationality she was because she didnt look "white" they would guess Jewish, Cuban, etc..I'm suspecting Melungeon heritage given the mystery around my mother's family and the county they are from.
Years ago I thought my family could be related to the melungeons. But I had a geneologist research a little in my family and she said that she found no melungeons. However many of family looks native American or melungeon and many are from the regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, the Carolinas, Arkansas... I've taken DNA tests and the don't always seem to match up with genealogical research or family physical traits. I know both my parents are my real parent because I've had them but tested. I've ever proved my grandparents to be my Genetic family through DNA by way of cousins etc. So very interesting and mysterious to me lol. Would love to talk more about this with you.
The way someone looks is not really a representation of what they really might be.
I never knew I had melungeon ancestry.. until I took a dna test and placed me with Arabic, Egyptian ( North African) and Says western Asian ?? Also west African.. But 99.2% European, Russian/Siberia included. Most of all the relatives I compared myself to, matched my random stuff and share the ancestors in question. On to the paper trail. My percentage for those regions are small because the ancestors in question were over or around 200 years ago
We have similar DNA results. My recent ancestors migrated from KY. Looking at you I see myself, siblings, nieces, nephews, etc. It's amazing to see the physical similarities. You don't happen to have any DeHarts in you family tree do you?
Great video ! Thanks!
The problem is most people have the wrong idea of what actual native peoples of the of the Americas look like, also a lot of Europeans registered as Native American back in the day to take advantage of attaining land in the Americas. Native people of the Americas do not look European in any way shape or form.
"Registered as Native American back in the day to take advantage of attaining land in the Americas." Um, no. Europeans didn't care about Native land rights and Native Americans had no official systems where one could "register."
Squeezie_ B The Dawes Rolls and the 5 dollar Indian. Have a nice day
Squeezie_ B wow you've been deceived or your willfully ignorant. My family on my father's side are black Native Americans, not mixed with African, but black natives whose land was deeded to them by the chief through his son; which white ppl knew and still came to take the land from them in Georgia and south Carolina. They didn't come from Africa. They stayed together for many years, but ultimately the tribe couldn't continue the fight against the Caucasian military. White ppl paid to get on the Dawes Rolls to steal government benefits, hence them being called $5 Indians and propaganda showing you these light, bright, white Indians on tv. Meanwhile on the us census they would mark the dark Cooper colored Indians like my grandfather as black. I have pictures and pottery to prove my truth. You need to do research my friend.
My grandmother was from Pennsylvania and I was told she was mixed with native. My DNA also showed
I did an ancestryDNA test and the result basically said I'm 97% African with 3% European but it didn't say any Native American as my great grandmother from my dad side had some Taino ancestry, so I uploded my results to Gedmatch and it found traces off me having some Native American with most of the calculators saying between 0.2%-0.5% so I uploded my results to Adntro which goes way back in time and it said 7% Native American, so I think AncestryDNA dosen't go back like 20-30 generations which is why majority of people who have some Native American get like between 3%-
We're probably related; between a LOT of my maternal DNA was/is in SW Virginia, W Va, Ohio, Kentucky, etc. My father was Hungarian, born and raised yet, HIS lineage, extrapolating between a cousin on his side and me, he was mostly German/English with the remainder being Eastern Euro/Russian.
My family is Melungeons on my Mom's side. We traced it to Elvis Presley so he is my distant cousin on his mother's side. Now my Grandmother and Great Grandmother both had black hair and olive skin. My Great Uncle even looked just like Elvis. My Great Grandmother is from Virginia but her husband was from Tennessee in Hawkins. Now my brother moved into Hawkins with his wife. He is a preacher and has three little ones.
My results were 58% southern European 18% African, 18% native American ,and 3% North African berber that came with the spanish dna. I also have 3 trace ancestry from South Asia, that ties into the natives that cross the bearing straight.. I don't think u look like a inuit at all ,but still very beautiful. Great results ,and awesome video keep up the good work.
Thanks for the video and very interesting. I have some ancestry on my mother's side where the paper trail goes back to colonial Virginia and the DNA continues on with matches to those of Tidewater Powhatan Native Ancestry. In many cases the ancestors married white and left their tribes and became submerged in white culture and yet traces of the physical appearance still comes through in each generation. I'm not surprised the Ancestry test said 0% NA however keep in mind Ancestry sets the bar really high for NA ancestry and they do not use Eastern Woodland as part of their reference population.