Kathleen McGowan writing for Discover on Where do we really come from?:
Brent Kennedy’s 19th-century ancestors stare out from his photo albums with dark eyes, high cheekbones, olive skin, and thick black hair—a genetic riddle waiting to be solved. It comes as no surprise that Elvis Presley, Ava Gardner, and Abraham Lincoln may be among their kin, yet the members of this tribe have never fitted properly into American racial categories. Depending on the census taker or tax man, they were classified as white, “free persons of color,” or mulatto, often drifting across the color line as they moved from county to county.
The history of Melungeons is both rich and tragic. An interesting book on the topic is Mike Nassau’s Melungeons and Other Mestee Groups.
Link courtesy of the Rootsweb – Melungeon mailing list.
Hello My name is Ernie Nichols. The only reason that I have written this e-mail is it seems the only way that I might be able to contact Brent Kennedy.
I have read the book North from the Mountains and although I don’t agree with everything that is in it and have found mistakes in it I would like to ask Brent a question. On page 63 or 64 there is a picture of my grandmother and on another page there is a picture of my dads second wife. What I would like to ask Brent is if he might have any other photos that might have been taken around that time period in Carmel. Maybe he would have photos of my family that no one else has or maybe he might know someone who does. Any photos of that time period in Carmel, Ohio would be greatly apprectiated.
Thank you
Ernie Nichols