Irony
I remain haunted by my encounter at the barbershop yesterday but am amused at the irony of it.
The earliest settlers in Alleghany County where a triracial group of people known as Melungeons. Descendants of English slaves, the Melungeons were a mixture of sub-Saharan African and European (primarily from the northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea) ancestors. First established in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia, they spread south and west, living largely in remote areas along the North Carolina-Virginia line where they intermarried with the native Indian peoples.
The Alleghany Mulungeons arrived in the late 1700's from Orange County, NC. Today, their surnames – Andrews, Carrico, Caudill, Cheeks, Collins, Cox, Fields, Goins (Joines, locally), Osborne, Pruitt, Reaves, Tolliver, Phelps, Epps, Hawkes, Miles, and Richardson – account for a goodly portion of names of county roads and names in the telephone books of Alleghany and surrounding Counties. With all the intermarriages over the past 200+ years, virtually every native of Alleghany County has Negro and Indian blood flowing in their veins!
I often see people in Alleghany County with obvious Melungeon features. When I told this story to one of the local public health nurses, she exclaimed that this history explained many physical features in patients she had never understood. And, of course, the Melungeons themselves in other areas of the county have conducted DNA testing to confirm their identity.
The barber's surname, by the way, is Pruitt.
Irony at it's finest.
The earliest settlers in Alleghany County where a triracial group of people known as Melungeons. Descendants of English slaves, the Melungeons were a mixture of sub-Saharan African and European (primarily from the northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea) ancestors. First established in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia, they spread south and west, living largely in remote areas along the North Carolina-Virginia line where they intermarried with the native Indian peoples.
The Alleghany Mulungeons arrived in the late 1700's from Orange County, NC. Today, their surnames – Andrews, Carrico, Caudill, Cheeks, Collins, Cox, Fields, Goins (Joines, locally), Osborne, Pruitt, Reaves, Tolliver, Phelps, Epps, Hawkes, Miles, and Richardson – account for a goodly portion of names of county roads and names in the telephone books of Alleghany and surrounding Counties. With all the intermarriages over the past 200+ years, virtually every native of Alleghany County has Negro and Indian blood flowing in their veins!
[caption id="attachment_1465" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Caroline Joines Brinegar"][/caption]
Caroline Joines Brinegar, shown above, lived in the Brinegar Cabin on what is now the Blue Ridge Parkway, and is buried in the Crouse Family Cemetery a short distance away with others of Melungeon ancestry.
I often see people in Alleghany County with obvious Melungeon features. When I told this story to one of the local public health nurses, she exclaimed that this history explained many physical features in patients she had never understood. And, of course, the Melungeons themselves in other areas of the county have conducted DNA testing to confirm their identity.
The barber's surname, by the way, is Pruitt.
Irony at it's finest.
Dave: I learned the quote from Haile Selassie from a song that you indirectly introduced to me. It is from the body of work called Playingforchange. Remember posting a link to that some time ago? I still listen to those tunes.... Thanks
ReplyDeleteYour blog about the man that wanted to buy the barber shop reminded me of a barber in Natchez, MS back before the uncivil war. You might find this of interest.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nps.gov/natc/historyculture/williamjohnson.htm
I grew up in a small town in northeast Mississippi back in the early 1950’s. That was well before what we call integration. Best I can recall there were 4 barber shops in town. One of them was owned and operated by a Black Man and he had one or two other Blacks that worked there as barbers. They only cut white men's hair. Their price was lower than the other 3 shops, and they had a big business.
Yes, I do remember the organization. It continues to grow. Here's their Website for those not familiar with them: http://playingforchange.com/
ReplyDelete