Melungeons Among Us...

Philip R. Beltz states that he has been drawn into fascination with, "THE MELUNGEONS".

He sends his views, along with references and questions referring to these Barlows....

Because I have begun to speak on the subject, I needed a working definition. From several authorities, the Melungeons have been variously described as: "One of a group of dark-skinned people of mixed Indian, White, Negro and other Cultures which live or have lived in the southern Appalachian Mountains".

Once into the subject of Melungeons, one must read about the "Lost Colony of Roanoke." I was surprised to see Master Arthur Barlowe, and later, Captain Edward Barlow featured not only fo rhis actions and authority; but also for his documentary writings. This is apparently the same man.

This pertains to Master, and later, Captain Arthur/Edward Barlow, of the 1584 voyage by Sir Walter Raleigh to Roanoke Island, North Carolina. This voyage began the "Lost Colony of Roanoke" story. But Captain Arthur Barlow returned to England.  What happened to Arthur Barlow? What is the "official" response of the Barlow Family to this venture, 415 years ago?

I attended "THE MELUNGEON WORKSHOP" at Berea College, Kentucky on September 25 & 26, 1999. One of the speakers was an industrialist and immigrant from Portugal, Manuel Mira.   Mira refers to "Master Arthur Barlowe".    Mr. Mira spoke and autographed a copy of his book.

In addition, at the book sales table, I bought, "THE MELUNGEONS", by Bonnie Bell.  She recounts the same story, but refers to "Captain Edward Barlow".

Please refer to Manuel Mira's:

"THE FORGOTTEN PORTUGUESE: THE MELUNGEONS AND OTHER GROUPS; THE PORTUGUESE MAKING OF AMERICA".

Master Arthur Barlow is referred to on pages: 33, 34, 110, 121 and 303.

Beginning with page 33:

"The Arrival of the Melungeons - Before 1558 or 1584?"

"Sir Walter Raleigh's first expedition departed England on April 27, 1584 and arrived at the Carolina coast on July 4. Included in this expedition were Captain Master Philip Amadas, Master Arthur Barlowe, and as Master Pilot, the Portuguese Simao Fernandes, from Terceira Island, Azores, ..."

"Master Arthur Barlow, who discovered part of the country now called Virginia, gave to Sir Walter Raleigh a narrative of the voyage.   After having had contact with the natives, he writes the following description:"

"They are of colour yellowish,and their haire blacke for the most part, and yet we sawe children that had very fine auburn and chestnut colour haire .... and few early descriptions mention hair of other colours, except with the assumption that it represents a mixture with the Europeans. ... reddish hair is often found in children whose hair later becomes, to all appearances, black. 46"

Citation # 46 is "THE ROANOKE VOYAGES" by David Beers Quinn, Vol. I, pp. 102, 103.

Continuing on page 34:

"A similar story is told after Master Barlowe traveled inland near a town called Sequotan where Wingina appears to be the chief of all the villages from Pamlico River to Roanoke Island ...

'neere unto which, sixe and twentie yeers past, (1558) there was a shippe castaway, wherof some of the people were saved, and those were white people, whom the Countrey people preserved. After ten daies, remaining in and out Island uninhabited, called Wococan, (an island in the Carolina Outer Banks) they with the help of some of the dwellers of Sequotan, fastened two boates of the Countrey together, and made mastes unto them, and sailes of their shirtes, and having taken them such victuals as the Countrey yeelded, they departed after they had remained in this out Island three weeks: but shortly after, it seemed they were cast away, for the boates were found upon the coast, cast aland in another Island adioyning': ..."

"These shipwrecks prove that they were common in these parts of the east coast. They may not have survived but why not others?"

"'...other than these, there was never any people appareled, or white of colour, either seen, or heard amongst these people'"[Ibid, page 111]

"These natives in particular may not have seen any other white men, but it is known that other explorers and navigators were traveling along the east coast since the early 1500s, ..."

Continuing, slightly repeating on page 110:

"In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh obtained a charter from Queen Elizabeth I giving him the right to possess lands in the New World not already under Christian control. A voyage was planned with Arthur Barlowe and Philip Amadas in charge, and the Portuguese Simao Fernandes was the pilot.   They departed on April 27 and arrived on July 13 at Roanoke, Virginia."

Continuing with a chronology listing on page 121:

"The 16th Century Virginia-Roanoke Voyages Chronology Chart"

Continuing with another Portuguese History Chronology listing on page 303:

"1584 - July -Simao Fernandes a Portuguese navigator, leads an expedition to North America under the command of Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe. The first colonists arrive in Roanoke, Virginia.  This colony is named after England's virgin queen." Ibid, page 28.

Now, please refer to: "THE MELUNGEONS: NOTES ON THE ORIGIN OF A RACE" by Bonnie Bell, published by The Overmountain Press, Johnson City, Tennessee, 1992

Beginning with page 1:

"EARLY EXPLORATIONS"

"Sir Walter Raleigh's first expedition to the New World sailed on April 27, 1584, for that part of America he called upon his return "Virginia". According to Sams, Captain Edward Barlow of yet another expedition (1587) gave the following description of the native Americans with whom he came into contact:"

"CONQUEST OF VIRGINIA" by Conway Whittle Sams, Washington, D.C., Library of Congress, 1924

"They were of color Yellowish, and their hair black for the most part, and yet we saw children that had very fine auburn and chestnut colored hair."

This, said by "Captain Edward Barlow" is the same as said by "Master Arthur Barlowe". ---Pardon my asking; but how is this explained? Was his christened name Arthur Edward Barlowe, Edward Arthur Barlow, Edward Barlow, Arthur Barlowe, or What?---

"These children were assumed by Captain Barlow to have been descendants of sailors who had been shipwrecked on the coast some years earlier, as Sams discusses in later paragraphs."

.....Barlow continued......

"Within the place where they feed was their lodging, and within that their idol, which they worship, at whom they speak incredible things ...when they go to war they carry about with them their idol, the God O-kee, of whom they ask council."

"Toward the southwest [from the viewpoint of Roanoke Island], four days journey, is situated a town called Se-quo-tan [probably Secotain Beaufort County, North Carolina, at the confluence of the Pamlico and Pango/Pungo Rivers] near which six and twenty years past, there was a ship cast away, whereof some of the people were saved, and these were white people whom the country people preserved.'"

"And after ten days remaining in an outisland, uninhabited, called Wo-co-kon, they, with the help of some of the dwellers of Se-quo-tan, fastened two boats of the country together, made masts unto them, and sails of their shirts, and having taken into them such victuals as the country yielded, they departed after they had remained in this outisland three weeks; but soon afterward it appeared that they were cast away, for the boats were found upon the coast, cast a-land in another island adjoining.'"

"Other than these, no other white people had been seen among them. They were seen only by inhabitants of Se-co-tan.'"

"The ship mentioned here by Captain Barlow was probably wrecked on the coast of South 'Wo-ko-kon'. Some of the inhabitants of 'Se-co-ta' may have found them there, but the Indian town of "Wo-ko-kon" (or Croatoan) would have been nearer the site of the wreck than "Se-co-ta". There may have been another town on the coast which has been omitted from the maps. The direction "southwest" would properly describe 'Se-co-ta'."

"A group that calls itself 'Croatan' still lives among the hills of North Carolina. They usually have English names. Archaeological surveys of the region by the National Park Service in 1938 located outlines of forts built by persons many assume were members of the Lost Colony."

"The point I (author, Bonnie Bell) wish to make here is that very early in the history of the New World, white men (who were alone in a strange land, and because they were alone, were probably inclined to commingle with native Americans) were permanently ashore on the continent. Furthermore, this area was a part of the world where the Melungeons clearly could have originated."

"Roanoke Island"

"The first settlement on Roanoke Island was in 1854 [should have been typed as 1584] Officers of this settlement included the following men:

Philip Amadas
Arthur Barlow
John Wood
James Brownwich
Henry Greene
Benjamin Wood
Simon Ferdinando --- believed to be a Spanish spy
Nicholas Petman
John Howes
William Greenville"

"Of all these names, note that only Ferdinando is non-English."

According to Sams in the book mentioned above, this group took two Indians named Wan-chese and Manteo back to England. (It is believed that two Englishmen were left behind as hostages.) Manteo became a true friend of the English; he was born, and many of his kindred continued to live, in the coast town of Croatoan.

Before proceeding to the next book, I must ask you experts about the first name and job title. How can they be reconciled?

Master Arthur Barlowe (Manuel Mira and David B. Quinn)

Captain Edward Barlow (Bonnie Bell)

Captain Arthur Barlow (Conway Whittle Sams in Bonnie Bell's book)

Now for the final book reference. I have been an active "Palatines to America" member for almost 20 years. At national conventions, I have come to know Kenneth Marple, now of Florida. So I was particularly drawn to his March 1999 article in "The Palatine Immigrant" entitled, "The Ahnentafel". Here Ken discusses the repulsive efforts of Dr. Walter Plecker, Virginia's first Registrar of Vital Statistics, serving from 1929 to 1943.

He attempted to enforce Virginia's 1924, "Act to Preserve Racial Integrity". To help him identify "those trying to pass as white", a felony, he used the 1830 Federal Census of Virginia. Those enumerators, while looking at families in 1830, sometimes concluded that, "they were not White, not Negro, not Indian; but some kind of different combination" marked a designation of "FPC" or "FC"; for "Free Person of Color" or "Free Colored".

Plecker used that enumerator's judgment, 100 years old, to define persons living in modern times, having such same last names as those that should not be trying "to pass as white". So in his official Virginia memos to County Officials, Ministers, Justices of the Peace; Plecker warned about "these people". In one famous 1943 memo, he defined them by County. We find Barlow is one of the surnames found to be in these locations. They are defined and treated by Plecker to be equivalent to Melungeons.

Barlow: Counties of Lee, Roanoke, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise

My next question is where did these Barlow people come from? I will assume that they were dark-skinned, people of color, with both European and Indian characteristics. Stated otherwise, they must have appeared and had characteristics for enumerators to add "FPC" or "FC" after their names. Why?

Are these Barlow Melungeons descended from Master/Captain Arthur/Edward Barlow/Barlowe? Were there other Barlow immigrations to America in the 1500s? If so, where did they land.   Into which Indian tribes did they mix?

Because I do not know the answers, I cannot ask all of the proper questions. Hopefully, you get the gist of what I am asking. It is basically:

Who, What, Where, Why, When and How did the 1830 Barlow(e) families get into Virginia as Melungeons?

Your response, over the coming months will be appreciated. We have no deadline for learning the answers .  Your help, as you have the time, will be appreciated.

Susan BARLOW Holmes:

Philip, what about William Barlow of Robeson Co North Carolina?

Philip writes:

William Barlow of Robeson County, North Carolina is a good potential candidate to be Melungeons.  You might look into the Lumbee and Croatan Indians, in part, because the Lumber River which flows freely as the major river in Robeson County.

The DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer for North Carolina, on page 73, grid B/C- 6, shows, "BARLOW ROAD", near and South of the intersection of 3 counties: Robeson, Hoke and Cumberland.  Just Southwest of Fayetteville, Cumberland Co, N.C. look at the 3 counties' intersection.  Drop South 2 or 3 miles into Robeson County.   Find the small town of Parkton.  From the center of Parkton, "BARLOW ROAD" flows Northwest, a distance of 3 or 4 miles to the Hoke Co line.

Using this same DeLorme Atlas, on pages 84/85, gridB-4; find "BARLOWES", a crossroads in eastern Pender Co, near the Pender Co / Onslow Co line.  It is 2 miles in from the Atlantic Ocean.  "BARLOWES" is midway between Wilmington to the South and Camp LeJeune Marine Corps Base to the North.

"BARLOWES" is a the intersection of North Carolina #3 and #210, with the Watts Landing Road; and 1 mile southeast of US #17.

Many of these "State", Delorme Atlas and Gazetteers can be found at major bookstores, such as Barnes & Noble or Borders.  So far, I have bought 8 States.  They are great.   You can stare for hours {uh-oh} and locate SURNAMES that are assumed from crossroad names (no side streets), 1-milelong creeks and branches, mountain tops, 1-mile long roads up hollars, abandoned roads and coal mines, swamp names, etc.

We might ask our Barlow friends about the origin of this "BARLOW ROAD" and the "BARLOWES" crossroads.  We should also ask our Melungeon friends about early, 1521 to 1607, activity by early explorers and settlers in this area.  Maybe there is a connection to your line.

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

Contributed by: Maggie Trotter Edwards, who believes her family, Arthur Knight Barlow, is descended from Sir Arthur Barlow

"We found shallow water, which smelt so sweetly and was so strong a smell, as if we had been in the midst of some delicate garden, abounding with all kinds of odiferous flowers, by which we were assured that land could not be far distant." Description by the English sea captain Arthur Barlow of his approach to North Carolina in 1584.

In 1584, Walter Raleigh (with a charter issued by Queen Elizabeth) sent an expedition to America to locate a site for a colony. The ships were commanded by Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlow. On July 04, 1584, the ships approached North Carolina.

Amadas and Barlow explored the Outer Banks and left to return to England after about two months. They took plant and animal samples and written reports of their findings back with them. Two Indians named Manteo and Wanchese, willingly went with them on the return trip.

On January 06, 1585, Queen Elizabeth knighted Raleigh and named the American land Virginia. At that time, Virginia included the Carolinas and several other states. About 600 men were organized to start England's American colony. Among these were Ralph Lane (who would govern the colony). Sir Richard Grenville, Philip Amadas, John White (artist), Thomas Heriot (astronomer and mathematician), Manteo and Wanchese. They reached Roanoke Island in July of 1585, Grenville soon left for England for more supplies. He left only about 100 men behind. Many things went wrong with the "Ralph Lane" colony. Sir Francis Drake stopped at Roanoke Island, on his way from Florida, to see how the colonists were faring. Drake offered to take all the colonists back to England immediately if they wanted to return. Lane opted to keep one of Drake's ships for a month while waiting for the supplies Sir Richard Grenville was sending. However on June 13, 1586, a storm hit the North Carolina coast and damaged Drake's fleet. The colony's leaders decided to return to England with Sir Francis Drake and they sailed on June 19, 1586. When they left, they abandoned three colonists who were away from the settlement at that time along with several hundred African and Indian slaves who had been captured by Drake.

Ironically, a short time after the colony was abandoned, a supply ship reached Roanoke Island and a few weeks after that. Grenville arrived with eight ships and supplies to last a year. Sir Walter Raleigh recruited more people in another attempt to colonize Virginia.

This time he signed up families because he decided families were more likely to put down roots.

John White was named to govern the new colony and he was accompanied by his daughter and her husband (Eleanor and Ananias Dare). Upon arriving on Roanoke Island, they repaired the fort and cottages. On August 13, 1587, Manteo (of the Croatoan tribe) adopted the Christian faith. Just five days later, on August 18, 1587, John White's granddaughter, Virginia Dare, was born.

The ships were ready to return to England by late August 1587, White needed someone to return for food and supplies. Though he wanted to stay and run the colony, no one else wanted to go. Virginia Dare was nine days old when her grandfather said good-bye and left for England. Before leaving he gave them instructions in case they had to leave the settlement. They were told to carve the name of their destination on a tree near the fort and to carve a cross above it if they left in danger.

Because of attacks by the Spanish Armada, John White had to wait until 1590 to return to America. He reached the fort around the time of Virginia Dare's third birthday, but no one was there to greet him. Because the word Croatoan was carved on a tree and there was no cross above it, he decided the colonists had gone to Croatoan Island (now Hatteras Island) to live with friendly Indians.

White tried to visit Croatoan Island, but due to stormy weather and a food shortage, the expedition had to give up and return to England. John White died without ever learning what had become of his family and the "Lost Colony" of North Carolina.

The English learned from their mistakes and later attempts at colonization were successful. Some North Carolina place names that are reminders of the lost colonies are Dare County (named for Virginia Dare); Raleigh, the state capital (named for Sir Walter Raleigh); and the town of Maneo in Dare County (named for the colonists Indian friend). The men named on the first voyage were these following:

Philip Amadas
Arthur Barlow, Captaines
William Grenuill
John Wood
James Browewich
Henry Green
Benjamen Wood
Simon Ferdinando
Nicholas Peryman
John Hewes