The Melungeons, DNA and Inherited Illnesses

 

by Nancy Sparks Morrison

Recent DNA research has shown that the Melungeons are a people of Mediterranean descent as well as a mix of Native American, black and Eurasian. This includes all of northern Europe and as far east as northern India and includes some 'exotic' DNA samples from both males and females which indicate Turkiq ancestry as well as Syrian and northern Indian ancestry.  Not every sample showed this ancestry but the descendants of those that do, then have the possibility of inheriting one or more of several illnesses, which doctors in the United States have considered to be rare. It is important that this change.
Because the health issues are so involved in the ancestry and the genealogy, let me first address the fact that we are dealing here with a Melungeon MOVEMENT. I have been at every UNION of the Melungeons since the First one in Wise, VA. I saw the beginning of this movement and I hope to continue to be a part of it as long as possible. I believe that this is a Melungeon movement because of many things, including the recent DNA research, but I heard these words for myself and

I believe them:

From By Carol Morello

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 30, 2000; Page A01
"This is a movement," said Connie Clark, head of the Melungeon Heritage Association and a Wise high school teacher who educates her students on their Melungeon links. "Some people don't accept or tolerate differences. Our mission is to show the world we are all one people. Who better to teach that than those of us who are mixed? Our ancestors were persecuted. We were raised believing we were white. And now we're saying we are not white. Race doesn't matter. Here we are, poor Appalachians, and we're leading a movement."
Morello also notes: "There probably would be no Melungeon movement if Kennedy hadn't gotten sick in 1988."  I AGREE. I have personally been involved in this movement, not only because of my connection to Melungeon families but because I have one of the inherited illnesses that comes from this ancestry and I found that out from N. Brent Kennedy.
Kennedy has written that: "Not all of us are the same, but in our family oral traditions and in our culture and in our genes, this broad mixture still shows itself and it is incredibly insensitive to dismiss it out of hand. This same sort of dismissal is, in good part, why the issue of "origins" remains with us today. It is NOT a question of origins: it is a question of respect for a people's right to self-identify." DNA not withstanding, this point is valid for us all. Dr. Kennedy has a genealogy that makes him a Melungeon and he has self-identified as a Melungeon. There are 'NO CLAIMS' that are unsubstantiated nor does his family differ from other Melungeon families EXCEPT in the choice of who they married. And while the DNA testing can show relationships, NO ONE has the right to tell anyone who they ARE or ARE NOT. I have noted that I am a Melungeon 'descendant' because I did not LIVE a Melungeon life. I claim my Melungeon ancestors and I self-identify as a Melungeon descendant be cause it is my right to do so. It is also my pleasure.
Kennedy also noted: "It takes very few individuals in a founding population to have a dramatic impact on a gene pool. African Americans and Native Americans can -- and do -- have Familial Mediterranean Fever. White Americans can -- and do -- have Sickle Cell Anemia. Having the genetic and genealogical data to explain why is critical to improving healthcare." In my own opinion, which is biased by the fact that I HAVE Familial Mediterranean Fever, the most important aspect of this DNA study is that it revealed that 7% 'exotic' ancestry from Syria, northern India, and Turkey and thereby lends credence to the fact that some of us do have Mediterranean illnesses.
My OWN mtDNA shows both Syrian and Turkiq input. And my father's mtDNA shows the possibility of Sephardic Jewish input. And in fact one of his connecting lines has PROVEN Sephardic markers. Kennedy notes "The finding of Turkish genes (both male and female lines) in the Melungeon population seems to indicate full families." This DNA study has given us a world of information that is only now being made available. When the study is published we will be able to compare our own DNA with the DNA of those who participated.
Kennedy has released his mtDNA.  He notes the following: "I don't yet know my full family DNA results but when I do I, and hopefully others, will share the information in an effort to help solve the roles specific families have played in the Melungeon odyssey. "
Kennedy continues, "But I do know one sequence and this single piece of information is enlightening. My Mitochondrial DNA, which I inherited from my Mother, matches the Siddis of India. The dark-skinned Siddis likely originated from what today is Ethiopia, Eritrea, or Somalia -- sub-Saharan, east Africa. They were transported to India in a variety of ways, most not so pleasant, and formed a major component of what became known as the Untouchable Caste. Their lives -- and the life of my ancestral Mother -- must have been horribly difficult. But she survived long enough to have at least one daughter and that daughter did likewise. And generation after generation this original Ethiopian girl's DNA was passed along until, in 1950, it came to me."
This is the DNA of a fascinating group of people, SOME of whom have inherited illnesses. These illnesses DO NOT characterize this group of people, else wise EVERY Melungeon descendant would have them and they don't. These illnesses are found among Melungeon descendants, however. Getting the word out to unsuspecting descendants of Melungeons is vital.
In 1997, I had to take early retirement because I could no longer work. I spent 16 to 18 hours a day on the bed or the couch in PAIN. I got a computer because there seemed to be nothing else I could do and as a long time genealogist I hoped that I might be able to spend a little time searching my family tree. What I found saved my life. I posted to a COLLINS message board searching for my third great grandfather Will COLLINS. I received a message saying to look for Will among the Melungeons and my first response was 'who or what the heck is a Melungeon?'
The answer was astounding and I immediately began researching these interesting folks. In short order I read N. Brent Kennedy's, The Melungeons: Resurrection of a Proud People. The pieces fell into place, but it was not until I managed to get to Wise, VA for the FIRST UNION, that I fully understood what this research was going to do for me. Even ill as I was, I went to Wise, had to go to the emergency room while I was there, but I heard folks talking about things that fit right in with the way my family lived and were. And then I heard Brent Kennedy speaking of his then tentative diagnosis of Familial Mediterranean Fever and I KNEW this was what I had.  Further research on FMF assured me this was so and thus began my search for a doctor who would listen and treat me. Finally after visiting four different doctors, I found one and I have never looked back. I am better than I have been in years. And because I believe that something good MUST come from the evil of this disease, I began to research and post on various surname boards, information about my own illness and the others that may also be a part of our Melungeon heritage. My first cousin Harold Sparks helped tremendously by putting up a web site for me. He is the best of cousins. I thank him.
Where and why and how that Mediterranean ancestry came to our shores will be left to historians to decide. I know that the Melungeons began along the shores of the Atlantic in Virginia, North and South Carolina as well as other places. They followed the flow of the rivers inland reaching the Cumberland Plateau areas of North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia and there they have stayed and from there they have spread around the world. They brought along with them some INHERITED illnesses common to the people of the regions from whence they came.
I am not a doctor. I can neither diagnose nor prescribe. I am a lay person, who because of my own personal health problems, has done extensive research on some Mediterranean illnesses which seem to run throughout my Melungeon connected families. The information that I am providing here is to be used for educational purposes only. It should not be used for diagnostic or treatment purposes.
Here is a very brief overview of the five major medical problems that *SOME* Melungeon descendants *MAY* inherit.
BECHET'S SYNDROME is a relapsing, multi-system inflammatory disease in which there are oral/genital ulcers. They are similar to cold sores, but must be on both oral AND genital areas and may even involve the throat and intestinal tract in the worst cases. There may be inflammation of the eyes, joints, blood vessels, central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract involvement. Attacks last about a week to a month and reoccur spontaneously. Onset is usually between 20-30 years of age with symptoms occurring up to several years after the onset. But cases have been known to be found as young as four and as old as seventy. Twice as many men as women are affected. There is a genetic predisposition with autoimmune mechanism and viral infection which may all play a part.
JOSEPH'S/MACADO JOSEPH'S DISEASE is a disorder of the central nervous system with slow degeneration of particular areas of the brain. Lurching gait, difficulty in speaking, muscle rigidity, impairment of eye movement, are involved. Mental alertness and intellect are preserved. Joseph's disease is inherited through autosomal dominant mode of transmission, which means that it takes only one parent with the marker for you to have a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. Type I, begins about age 20 years, Type II, about 30 years and Type III, Machado's after 40 years. This disease has been traced back to Portugal and is very similar to Parkinson's Disease and supranuclear palsy.
FAMILIAL MEDITERRANEAN FEVER is a hereditary, genetically restricted disease, commonly found among Jews originating from North African countries, Armenians, Turks and Arabs. Closely following the pattern of autosomal recessive inheritance (both parents must carry a recessive gene) , FMF is recognized by two independent manifestations:
1.) acute, short-lived painful, bouts of stomach pain, (may be followed by diarrhea); pleuritis, an inflammation of the lining of the body cavities, and/or some of its internal organs, which in its acute stage may produce, stabbing pain in the side or affected cavity, possible fever of 101-103 degrees, similar to gallbladder/kidney stone attacks/inflammation, and short, dry cough and body pain similar to arthritis and fibromyalgia and
2.) nephropathic amyloidosis, which can lead to terminal renal failure even at a young age. In half of the people this disease appears before age ten.
Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue are two manifestations of this illness and the illness is frequently being misdiagnosed as these illnesses as well as lupus, MS, MD, anklyosing spondalitis, Costochronditis, Relapsing Polychondritis, Pleurisy, myofascial pain and any number of other illnesses. FMF can also cause depression, confusion, and infertility. Pregnancy loss in women with FMF is much more common than it is in the general population.
SARCOIDOSIS is a disorder which affects many body systems. It is characterized by small round lesions of granulation tissue. The ones I have seen are about the size of a quarter, flat, reddish with yellow centers, which may dry out and look like scaly bumps. Symptoms may vary with the severity of the disease. Fever, weight loss, joint pain, with liver involvement and enlarged lymph nodes are common. Cough and difficulty in breathing may occur. Skin disease marked by tender red nodules with fever and joint pain is a frequent manifestation. Onset is usually between 20 and 40 years. This disease may have intermittent times of remission only to reoccur.
THALASSEMIA is a rare blood disorder. There is not just one disease called Thalassemia, but several of them. All are chronic, inherited forms of anemia that affect an estimated 6 percent of the world's population. These illnesses are among the most common inherited illnesses and are particularly common in people of Mediterranean, African, Southeast Asian and Chinese ancestry. Patients with Thalassemia don't produce enough red blood cells and cannot properly utilize iron. Some forms of the illness are mild, others are life-threatening.
On my website: http://www.melungeonhealth.org you will find more information on all of these illness as well as connecting links to medical sites for more help. I have more data on my own illness, Familial Mediterranean Fever, which I have not yet gotten on the net but which I will be glad to send FREE and via e-mail to anyone who wishes. Please direct inquiries to: nmorri2148@aol.com 
Following are several other ways that you may want to research these illnesses. Go to the websites indicated and input ONE of the diseases at a time for your search:
1.)  Google Search Engine  
2.) National Institutes of Health
3.) Medline Plus Search Engine

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