Photo: Goins family in the 1920s, attributed to Arch Goins and family (probably Elijah Goins, Arch Goins' brother) from Graysville, Tennessee. Attributed to Arch Goins by Barbara Goins. Goins is a common Melungeon surname, Wikimedia
The Melungeons are several mixed ancestry communities of the Appalachian Mountains and other areas of the Eastern United States. They are, to varying degrees, a mix of European, African and Native American. Melungeon people can look White, Black or Indian, sometimes in the same family.
Their origins go back to the colonial period of U.S. history, and staying in a Melungeon community was a good way to avoid kidnapping into slavery. The greatest numbers of Melungeon people live in the mountainous regions of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky.
On old censuses, they are often listed as “Mulatto.” This was a way of avoiding identifying as Indian (Native American), which might subject them to Removal to Indian territory. If a Melungeon person was light-skinned, then revealing “Negro” ancestry made them vulnerable to enslavement.
Due to intermarriage with Whites and/or Blacks, many White and Black Southerners have Melungeon roots and often share surnames.
As Indian Removal ended as a policy, and Jim Crow laws against Blacks came down in the 1960s, Melungeon people have been more likely to celebrate their origins.
Photo: The Mahala Mullins Cabin, Hancock County, Tennessee, USA, Mahala Mullins (1824–1898) was a legendary Melungeon moonshiner.
