Second Annual MHS Conference

The Second Annual MHS Conference will be held Saturday, June 19 and Sunday, June 20 at the Hancock County High School in Sneedville, Tennessee. The MHS is very pleased to be able to hold its second conference in the heart of Melungeon country, in the very shadow of Newmans Ridge. This will be a two day event with much more time available than last year for informal discussions, answering questions and sharing genealogical information. Speakers and other details will be announced here well in advance of the conference.

Public Access to Genealogical Records

Have you considered how unfairly genealogists are being treated by those who are in possession of the records we need access to so badly? $20 to $30 for one record and being charged to even look at the records. Here's an organization seeking to change this situation.

Records Preservation and Access Committee, a joint committee of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Genealogical Society.

To continue reading: Click Here.

Old Thomas Collins of Flatt River

Written and Compiled by Jack Goins

According to documented family research, old Thomas Collins Sr., born before 1710, was the father and/or grandfather of the historical Tennessee Melungeon Collins. At least one of Thomas Collins parents was probably full blood Saponi Indian. Collins family history handed down from father to son was, "The Collins were living in Virginia as Indians before they migrated to North Carolina, and they stole the name Collins from white settlers" ( Will Allen Dromgoole's 1890 interview with Calloway Collins, quoted in Melungeons And Other Pioneer Families.)

To read the story of Thomas Collins and his descendants: Click Here.

Books We Own

A Look-Up Resource for International Genealogical Research

What is Books We Own?

Books We Own is a list of resources owned/accessed by individuals who are willing to look up genealogical information and e-mail or snail mail it to others who request it. This is a free service - volunteers may ask for reimbursement of copies and postage if information is provided via snail-mail. The project began in 1996 as a way for members of the ROOTS-L mailing list to share their resources with one another. Today, there are over 1500 volunteers.

For more information, including how to make a look-up request: Click Here.

In the Tennessee Hills

A Month among the Mysterious Tribe of Malungeons
October 4th, 1890
Cincinnati Commercial Tribune

Another fine article which apparently accompanied the articles written by Will Allen Dromgoole

Contains Sketches Of:

The Gowens Resdence
A Malungeon Graveyard [grave shelters]
Dorcas Collins
Calloway Collins [on the stump]
A Malungeon Boarding House

To read the article: Click Here. (A PDF reader is required.)

Note: Many thanks go to the noted and tireless Melungeon researcher Joanne Pezzullo for bringing this unique article to light and to the web.

Predictions for the Year 2000

From The Ladies Home Journal of December 1900

The Ladies Home Journal from December, 1900, contained an article by John Elfreth Watkins, Jr.: What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years. Mr. Watkins wrote: “These prophecies will seem strange, almost impossible. Yet, they have come from the most learned and conservative minds in America. To the wisest and most careful men in our greatest institutions of science and learning I have gone, asking each in his turn to forecast for me what, in his opinion, will have been wrought in his own field of investigation before the dawn of 2001 - a century from now. These opinions I have carefully transcribed.”

Well, I am about ten years late in analyzing Mr. Watkins' predictions. However, I think they are still interesting and many of them were surprisingly accurate.

To continue reading: Click Here.

Worst Mine Disaster in US History

At 10:20 a.m., December 6, 1907, explosions occurred at the No. 6 and No. 8 mines at Monongah, West Virginia. The explosions ripped through the mines at 10:28 a.m., causing the earth to shake as far as eight miles away, shattering buildings and pavement, hurling people and horses violently to the ground, and knocking streetcars off their rails. Three-hundred and sixty-two men and boys died. It remains the worst mine disaster in the history of the United States.

To continue reading: Click Here.

Note: 2009 was the safest year in US mining history.