Abstract

The earliest mention of the culture known as Melungeons occurred in 1813 in the minutes of the Stony Creek Primitive Baptist Church. This mixed ethnic group is specific to the Newman’s Ridge area of east Tennessee, southeast Virginia, and parts of Kentucky. Melungeon families are part of a larger diaspora of colonial-era multi-ethnic families who migrated out of the Eastern seaboard. This folk group will be examined through their origin stories, place names, naming practices, religious practices, tall tales, and songs. The larger-than-life tales of several key figures will be critically assessed. I hope to expand on the circuit riding preacher’s importance in connecting multi-ethnic families across the larger diaspora.