Sno-Isle Genealogical Society will feature a program on “The Melungeons: A Look at America’s Tri-Racial Isolates,” with presenter Craig Gowans, on Wednesday, Jan. 2, at 6:30 p.m. in the LDS Family History Center, 22015 48th Ave. W., Mountlake Terrace.
When white settlers began pushing into the Appalachians in the late 1700s and early 1800s, they encountered mysterious communities of English-speaking settlers with darker skin but European features, such as blue eyes. While they called themselves Portuguese and claimed to be white, the English and Scottish settlers generally considered them to be black and socially, if not legally, inferior to whites. They referred to these people as Melungeons, a word that until recently carried a very pejorative connotation.
This program will provide a closer look at these mountain peoples of the Applachians and their cultural, ethnic, genetic and genealogical contribution to America.
Guests are invited. For more information, call 425-775-6267 on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
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