# 30 1848 MELUNGEON ARTICLE & LARRY KEELS

Newspapers write and rewrite stories all the time. If it's a slow news day or they need a filler, they can and will continue to rewrite history, embellish previous articles and reprint from other newspapers. Fortunately, for the genealogist, sources of the printed information are usually given and dates are important.

With reference to an article yesterday, an 1898 article, Joanne -- KYROOTS, passed this 1894 article, taken from a 1848 article, on to the RanDs research site.

TRENTON TIMES, Trenton, New Jersey, October 19, 1894

Some People In Eastern Tennessee

(This article originally appeared in the Louisville Examiner in 1848 and reprinted in the Knoxville Register and Littel’s Living Age. The words are pretty much the same but have been changed around a little almost 50 years later for this article that apparently appeared in a New York paper--JP)

It is not generally known that in the mountains of eastern Tennessee there is a class of peculiar looking people whose origin is wrapped in mystery and who are called by the whites, Melungeons. They resent this appellation and proudly declare that they are Portuguese.

The legend of their history, which they carefully preserve, is this. A great many years ago, these mountains were settled by a society of Portuguese Adventurers, men and women--who came from the long-shore parts of Virginia, that they might be freed from the restraints and drawbacks imposed on them by any form of government.

They made themselves friendly with the Indians and freed, as they were from every kind of social government, they uprooted all conventional forms of society and lived in a delightful Utopia of their own creation, trampling on the marriage relation, despising all forms of religion, and subsisting upon corn (the only possible product of the soil) and wild game of the the great forests.

They intermixed with the Indians, and subsequently with the Negroes, and thus formed the present race of Melungeon's.

They are tall, straight, well-formed people, of a dark copper color, with Circassian features. They were privileged voters in the old slave days and accredited citizens. They are brave, but quarrelsome, and are hospitable to strangers. They have no preachers among them and are almost without knowledge of a supreme being.------NEW YORK RECORDER

Of course, the dates and place names of publication alone, pretty much bury the racist remarks and claims of Larry Keels that the name Melungeon was contrived for -- "tourism purposes?" How absurd even for the weak minded.

I think that when a thorough search of newspaper records are done for across the Southern and Eastern States, from Virginia, Carolina's, Georgia, Alabama Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, the name Redbone will also be discovered. For now, they reside in library genealogy records.

Of course, the name Redbone migrated with the people who carried the name, just like the people who carried the name Melungeon; however, it would seem that the Melungeons who migrated, were careful not to outwardly import the name with them.

Have you noticed lately, over on the racist site of Larry Keels,
melungeonsorredbonesorrenegades , that he is now carrying on a conversation with himself? Sort of a "Dancing with myself" blog, a la Larry Keels.

It's been known for quite sometime in legitimate genealogy circles that Larry was using another name over on ROOTSWEB and other sites where he had been removed (removed has a softer sound than booted).
His prowling name is LESTER KNOUGH CUMMINGS or "Les." Aka cummings_lk@yahoo.com .

Last week, in his blog, he wrote:


Date: Sat, 07 Jul 2007 15:54:55 -0000
Subject: [melungeonsorredbonesorrenegades] Wayne Winkler and Gary Gabehart?

http://redbone- red-bone. blogspot. com/2007/ 06/redbone- related-by-blood.html . I keep finding public relation references to cooperative endeavors between the organizations headed by Gary Gabehart and Wayne Winkler. Can anyone explain the agendas of these two allied groups of genealogy hobbyists?

Lester Knough Cummings

To which Larry replied to himself:


Date: Sat, 07 Jul 2007 19:51:38 -0000
Subject: [melungeonsorredbonesorrenegades] Re: Wayne Winkler and Gary Gabehart?

Those of you who do not frequent the Melungeon Genforum should know that Don Collins suggests this link may offer some insight to the shared endeavors of the people whom Lester Knough Cummings questioned.

Larry

What can I say? "Larry, you're a wild and crazy guy!" And, "so is Lester Knough Cummings, your alter ego." Times must really be hard over there when anyone who opposes your thinking is moderated, and then you have no one to talk to. LOL

Larry, you really need to just give it up and accept your E3a heritage, as it is not going away -- it's historic, it's already happened.

As for Wayne Winkler and Gary Gabehart being envolved in a secretive sort of conspiracy -- well, beats me? Do you know Wayne? What organiztions do we head up? Is there any money in it? Maybe a cup of coffee? Are we simply stuck with the Spin Meister of Huntsville, Texas, Larry Keels? He needs to get a summer job to stay busy, not much in the way of butane deliveries in the summer you know.

But, you know, you can't say what you think about Larry over there -- he moderates everything that comes across his board -- if he doesn't like what you say, "it's chop off their heads." LOL

Gary J. Gabehart, Mishiho (Mish-eh-ho)
Mishiho@aol.com