Unmasking the Melungeon Mystery 

My great grandma Lena Mullins was most definitely Melungeon. She bleached her skin and straightened her hair. Her siblings and cousins were much whiter though. I have many Melungeon lines in Kentucky and I show dna from just about everywhere on the world map. My hair is straight, shiny black and my eyes change green/gold/brown, & my skin ranges from pale olive to very dark olive depending on the time of year. I have dna and paper proof of a good portion of my ancestors. On a side note, you’d be surprised at how many Appalachian’s are descended from royal lines. Our Appalachian people are so diverse. It really was the first melting pot of America.

I’m a Louisiana Creole and my grandma spoke of the Melungeon people that way. We were always told that Melungeons were black. As you know, South Louisiana is enriched in the Creole culture that is very similar to being Melungeon, but very many Creoles were white passing and moved away. A good story would be that of Anatole Broyard who’s daughter didn’t discover she was half black until after her father died. Broyard is one of the many common names of a Creole family from New Orleans. My grandmother also said that Elvis was Melungeon.

Living in Virginia at the border with Hancock County, TN I had heard various "theories" on exactly who the Melungeon's were. I found these DNA results very interesting but, honestly, not surprising. More along the lines of what I suspected to be the truth of who they were. I do enjoy history, so I knew, before moving here, that not every person of color in the south was a slave.

I'm a melungeon. I hadmy DNA tested. It was native American, sub Saharan African, Sephardic jew, Irish and Portuguese

My father was born and raised in Hancock Co. He and his siblings were not particularly dark skinned, but their coloring was unusual. Their mother was a chimera, having one blue eye and one brown eye. Going to Kyle's Ford is a trippy thing...like stepping back in time.

Thanks! I did both '23 and Me' & 'Ancestry' DNA tests in 2003. Both supported that I am a Melungeon descendant: I show 'White', but have ~3.1% African, ~1.5% Native American, & ~12% Portuguese DNA, suggesting an 'early influx'. My grandmother came from SE Kentucky; her family said they were 'Indian & Portuguese' to explain their darker complexions.

My father was always told he was black Scotch, because he had such dark brown hair and eyes, and olive complexion. But as we did more genealogical research we see that his grandfather was from Southern Germany, and had the same coloration as my dad. I think of it as a Mediterranean complexion. I assume his Scotch line was dark as well. Genetics are so interesting and exciting.

My Grandmother referred to herself as Black Irish. Not because she had African in her, but because she had olive skin and dark hair.

Thank you so much Barry this explains so much about some of my heritage and unanswered questions I have had about this group of people. I really appreciate this video so much.

Very interesting lecture on the history of the Melungeons. In Robeson County, NC, there are the Lumbees who are part Indian and part White and part Black, as a DNA study has shown. Some are part Indian and part white while others are part Indian and part black. Then you have others who have the same Lumbee surname but are only white. To add to the mix, there are some Tuscarora Indians who are federally recognized also in Robeson County, while the Lumbee are not. Many people are unaware that there was a fair amount of mixing between black/whites/Native Americans in Virginia. Until about the 1650's I believe, then marriages between blacks and whites became illegal. Marriages could no longer be performed in Virginia between them. That is when the "rule" about who was born a slave came into being. The children of black female slaves and white men were slaves, while the children of white females and black male slaves were born free. Many lived among some of the Native American tribes and some tribes became so mixed, that they were no longer recognized like the Gingaskin Indians in the Eastern Shore of VA. This was in the early to mid 1800's. Many also moved further South to North Carolina, then to South Carolina and Georgia. At least in NC, you have to be very careful about last names. There are surnames that associated with the Lumbee and other associated Native Americans that white/black/Native American peoples all use. As for the Lumbees, they may have been Native American and White originally. Why do I say this? Because when that area was first settled, the colonists came upon them and found them to be English speaking, with typical English names and blue eyes and fair skin. Whether they were part of the Lost Colony who intermarried with the Native Americans, who can say. But certainly as time went on, they intermarried/mixed with Black slaves and you have the current population of today. They consider themselves Native Americans, but have no Native language but do have some Native practices and music. However, they are state recognized, but not federally recognized. There are quite a few Native American tribes in both South and North Carolina from the Peedee area who may actually be part of the same Native group. But the Peedee tribe is not known for being a mixed group like the Lumbees, but others in SC do have similar stories.

Glad to have found you. Have been lightly studying the Appalachia for a while now. Looking forward to follow your quests.

Thank you I always enjoy hearing about Appalachian history. My family is from Southwestern West Virginia. Thanks again. I've been a subscriber for sometime.

I was hoping you would do a video on the Melungeons!!! Thank you !!!

I've heard a lot of the theories, this was interesting and proves one thing for sure, we are all human! Thanks for all you do.

Fascinating video. Thank you for sharing.

Wonderful lecture. I had never heard of them until I saw a movie about a woman who lived in a town in southwest Virginia starring Ashley Judd. Loved you information.

My family were Collins from Kentucky. This information is a long time coming and so welcome.

This is something I've never heard about before! Very interesting.

Fascinating. We did so much moving around back in the old, old days.

Thank you, Barry. It's through my maternal grandfather's line that leads me to the surname Bunch and that's where I have gotten stuck and unable to find any names past them. One of these days I will get around to a DNA test. I do hope you're feeling better and things are going well for you.

Thank you for doing justice to our shared humanity in the making of America. My ancestors are a mixture of English, Native American and west African. Fascinating to say the least.

This is something i have been looking for a while. My family on my dad's side are all from that part of the mountain regions of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. My dad's moms family have always had a certain way of talking that was unusual from anything I have ever heard. They were dark haired and big boned people. I hope that i can find out more about the Melungeon peoples.

Enjoyed the video . Very interesting.. Thank you.

Thank you for addressing this subject. We are Scottish and Cherokee. We were able to retrieve our Scottish background, but due to The Trail of Tears we know nothing about our Cherokee background. Other than my father and his siblings were 1/5 Cherokee. They all had beautiful medium colored skin with pretty blue eyes. I have the blue eyes and so do my sons. But that’s about it. We do know that our Scottish decedents came from a small township called Gee. And that we are sons and daughters therefore we are McGees. And that they were processed through Ellis Island. And that’s all we know. Once again thank you for shedding more light on this subject. my husband is English and German and all have the same blue eyes. That’s all we know. 😀❤️

I'm from SWVA and I have some friends who are Melungeon. I remember when one of the main theories was that they originated from Turkey.

Handcock County is just one chapter in the melungeon story..The Lumbee, Brass Ankles, Red Bones, and Ohio Yellow all have their own chapters as well as the indentured-slave stories..They were all mostly isolates.. The Cherokees also took in all comers and owned slaves..I love the different stories of these mixed people, if they are truely mixed..Thank you for your work..I had my DNA done and it was of little value as it didn't take into accounts information that I clearly know..I have 2 third GGMs of indian ancestry..one Shawnee.Sarah Cornstalk Adkins and Old Cherew Notoway, Jincy Bowles.

My Grandpa Mullins was born in Hancock County, Tennessee. Nice video

Thank you for your educational presentations ❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉

I am tri-racial and both of my parents have one melungeon parent. From what I understand the way you know for sure is by last name, especially for the WV group. My great-grandpa (and grandma until she married) was Croston. It's a cool group to be a part of. Super American.

I've been researching all this in my own family tree. My family identified, not as Melungeon, but as Blackfoot. However, I think the difference, at this point, is entirely negligent. So, we are a mix of White, Black & Native American. Albeit, by this point in history, we are mostly white &, irregardless of physical looks, I don't think a single person among us is above 10% Native. Most of us, it's so low that it's within the margin of error on most DNA tests & may not come up at all. Most of our Native ancestors, assuming we could track them down on our family trees & verify their existences, were between 200-300 years back. We mixed blood back & forth between people that were varying degrees of Native & Black ancestry & those of pure white ancestry so many times that our genetics became unstable & people are born with wildly varying physical features, some of whom can look very Native American in appearance. Most of our Native ancestors came from completely random tribes & were loners, but all of us who ended up within a certain proximity to one another eventually ended up related, just because there came a point in history where no one else wanted us, but our own. We already know that whites rejected us, but apparently blacks & Natives also didn't want our kind around, for their own reasons, between the mid-1800s- mid-1900s. Other than those who identify as Melungeons, there are also two different groups who identify as Blackfoot (one from Georgia & one from West Virginia) & the rest claim vague "Cherokee" ancestry, but we are all from Appalchia & pretty much all the same thing. What I am beginning to think happened is that we had ancestors who were half Native & half white who got stuck between the animosity between those two races, felt the need to overly represent as one side or the other in order to have a place & went with the white side, but their descendants were never accepted as fully white & were relegated to second class citizenship, anyway. Later, when we ended up trapped between all three races, the only one that wasn't around to tell us we weren't wanted were the Natives, so many of us began to swing back & overly identify with our Native ancestry again, despite a lot of us not really knowing what it had been, who our Native ancestor(s) were, or what tribe they were, so they pieced together what little bit they knew with a bunch of nonsense they made up. I know we're pretty much all mixed between the three. I was able to verify two Native ancestors & one black ancestor in my own family tree. Someone told me Melungeons had a distinctive racial mark, where, when they tanned really dark, their elbows & knees end up with an even darkersplotches. My mother was one who had a really strong Native look & had those elbows, yet we identified as Blackfoot, not Melungeon. Not that I think it helps anyone else, but my two Native ancestors were Lenape & Catawba. I imagine there may be others who were Shawnee, too, but I've never been able to verify it. What little history I was able to gather across the board is that the word Hillbilly was coined during the eugenics movement of the late 1800s to mark us as an ethnic group. A scientist claimed that people in Appalachia who were stupid, arrogant, needlessly violent & mentally ill ended up that way because they crossbreed with an inferior race, rendering them incapable of blending into a civilized society any longer. People in West Virginia have also noted that people used to call them Guineas as a derogatory term. Black Dutch was also used- I think it's because when the New Netherland colony was taken over by England, many of the Dutch citizens on the coast chose to move to the wilderness of eastern Ohio to avoid potential future religious persecution & mostly only dealt with the Native American from them on, so people likely assume we were connected to them. None of us have any actual Blackfoot ancestry & few of us are likely actual Cherokee. Even if we did prove Native ancestry, it wouldn't do much. We don't have enough to join pre-existing tribes & the way the law works with Native tribes, we wouldn't really be able to form our own, either, because anyone who couldn't prove ancestry would have to be discluded from membership, which is a lot of us, & most of us are from a bunch of rrandom, unrelated tribes. Eartha Kitt, Scott Stapp (the former lead singer of Creed) & Johnny Depp are all famous examples of whatever we are, I believe, albeit several other famous people have lied about ancestry as part of their stage personas in film & music, before. But, that's what I have. I definitely don't think it'd be possible for one of our people to have such dark skin without the "black hair" if we were only black & white alone, as some Native tribes have attempted to assert. We just are what we are, I guess, & we have to live with & be OK with that.

This was so interesting. Thanks!

Thank you for this EXCELLENT and informative lesson, Barry! I am transfixed by the Melungeons! It is my understanding the Portuguese Explorers had Black slaves as they sailed up the River from Florida, and due to fatigue, both Portuguese and Africans escaped into the thick brush to be taken in by Indians. I thought there would be more Native DNA from the results of the study initiated in 2005. Now that I have found out just how Southern my roots are, this was very interesting to me because when I first received my DNA Results, I had Portuguese and Italian, but you know how results could change, so two weeks later I had neither of those, but my Germanic inheritance increased ( not on my Southern Father’s side, no German there). And by the way, for the first time, I understood the Germanic-Scots connection due to your opening! So very much to learn! DD

I had never even heard of Melungeon people until I did a DNA test...I always knew we had some native american and some sub-subharian African but I had no idea about this ethnicity until my results came back as #1 Mulengeon...which makes a lot of sense to me now. I am brown haired blue eyed but have a large set of siblings, some of which look Native American and Mexican (another type of Native from the America's) my sibs and I range from black hair (truely black not dark brown) with dark brown eyes to light brown hair and grey/hazel eyes..so we are all over...we do have relatives from OK and TN however none of the traditional "Melungeon names fit". That all said I'm just wondering if we should start adding in "mulengeon" under Ethnicity on forms rather than "Caucation" or is that even appropriate?

Very interesting. Being a Spanish transplant to the USA, I was not familiar with the Melungeons, but I’d like to add that I lived with a UK family in the early 80s, taking care of their babies. The father, of Welsh descent, was tall, of very pale skin and very dark brown eyes and hair. He said that people like him were descendants of members of the Spanish Armada that tried to invade England during the reign of Elizabeth I. After being defeated, they tried to save their lives going West, around the coast of Wales and North to Ireland, where people with similar characteristics can also be found. BTW, Spanish people can be very light skinned, with light brown or blond hair and blue eyes. I’m one of those and perhaps I descend of Celts or the Goths that invaded the Peninsula after the fall of the Roman empire.

Excellent! Very interesting! Thank you.

Goins is my mothers surname. We have melungeon history but it has always been hidden up until recently. Story was that her father's father was adopted but the records were lost in a fire. The truth was that he was melungeon and hated himself.

Cool, Doc! Seems sorta kinda similar to how the Seminole people began their culture. A lot of my family is in/from the Gulf Coast. Lots of mixing in New Orleans & surrounds for hundreds of years. I’m a glorious shade of pasty pinkish beige, while my sister is almost olive. Got cousins that look Choctaw.

Really enjoyed your teaching here in Washington NC

Both of my parents are natives of Hawkins County TN, as are their parents and grandparents. I attended Rock Hill School as a young child. The people you speak of here are my family, my kin.

Very interesting. I have found more Celtic origins that match my own heritage. Also Native American. You failed to mention how absolutely beautiful these people are ! All features from skin color to bone structure are gorgeous !

I would love to understand this better. Great information. I’m a descendant of Goings, Gowen, Collins, Ailstock from the Rockbridge Co VA area. My fathers DNA while mostly European, German, Scottish included Bantu, Cameroon and Nigeria. Mine included Nigeria. While records seem to indicate a tri racial mixing of White, Black and Indian, no Indian DNA detected. Would you consider this part of the Melungeon Community? Regardless, very proud of the adversity my family endured.

Greene is my family name. We're from sneedville. I'm the more olive complected one of the family. Also striking green eyes🙂 My grandpa is gonna love this video. Thanks!

As a Brit I worked in and around the Appalachian Mountains NC/TN border in the early 90’s, I loved the place 😎✌🏻

My great grandparents were from Spain 🇪🇸. My Parents from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷. One ancestor is from the Philippines 🇵🇭. That’s my Mothers side. My dad great grandparents from Spain 🇪🇸, My great great grandfather from Ghana 🇬🇭 Africa was a slave bought to Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 from the Spaniard about 1870. I was born in Williamsburg Brooklyn 1958 from Puerto Rican Parents. I’m call a Jabao witch mean I’m light skin blue gray eyes with a Afro. Jabao = mix. Proud to. Thank you for this educational video friend. Amen 🙏.🇺🇸🇵🇷🇵🇭🇬🇭🇪🇸🙏.

Last part of my research some authors attempted origin of melungeons in late 1800s dr swan Burnett wrote recollection of stories he had heard about them for American anthologist in 1889 , although he saw mixture of white indians and dark hair in groups , he noted melungeons called themselves Portuguese dromgoole included some family history in her articles. In 1950 in form of cultural geographer Edward dissertation on “ mixed blood populations of eastern USA as origin of localization “ . In 1969 anthropologist William politzer and w. H. Brown published their study comparing physical characteristics and gene frequencies in six blood group systems of 177 melungeons in Tennessee and Virginia and worldwide population. They mentioned they derived from English background with African Americans and Cherokee roots wth Portuguese components. Today large number of persons began search for melungeons roots , embracing identity that most of their ancestors denied for some , Kennedy theory of moorish ethnicity is accepted, white others adhere to evidence of white , black and native Americans family lines . Ihope you like my research stay safe blessed good luck to you your family friends.

I'm from Appalachian country, both parents were, near the Kentucky/ Virginia State line, my DNA had heavy Scottish and Irish, with Welsh ancestry, however there was Portugal and Spain DNA.

Thanks ! Very informative

I’ve never done a genealogy test. I grew up in Hancock county Tennessee. I am related to Mullins, Goins, Quillen, Gibson, Richardson, etc. I am dark skinned and I know for sure my great grandmother was 100 percent Cherokee.

The "Carmel Indians" moved to Highland County, Ohio, from Maghoffin County, Kentucky. My Grandma was a Moore, descended from Bryson Gibson, who was her 2nd great grandpa. She had a very dark complexion, but to me she looked like she had more of a spanish or Middle Eastern look to her than native. The dark skin and light eyes still live on in the younger generations as well, but boy, are we a rainbow family. 😊

Great video. Who is the family in the video image saver? I didn't see it in the actual video or note it being referenced.

Love learning about haplogrop (V3c for me) origins and spread patterns!

Thank you for the Melungeon study most people do not want to touch it. Your comment about the Portuguese connection goes along with what my great grandfather said that his grandfather which was my great great great grandfather whose name was David Denham claimed he was Portuguese my grandmother Denham said she also heard from him that his grandfather said they were sailors. My ancestors married in different directions some married into an Indian family and some married into African descendants families mine happened to marry into a Scott Irish family. I guess that’s why it is so mixed up.

Really interesting stuff. I have Mullins and Gibson. I've run into dead ends on my Mullins family. I trace them back to Eastern North Carolina and I was told they started in VA. But all the Virginia Mullins' seemed to go to NC and then West to Tenn and Kentucky. My Mullins ancestor must have found a woman in NC because the Rev War or 1812 War put him somewhere he wouldn't have otherwise. We have trace Angola in our DNA.

Well that cleared that up ! Thanks

Interesting channel, I would like to learn more.

Thank you professor, that was a great summary. Did you do the name Bobo yet. There are quite a few down here in our hills and hollers. Your cousin down here in Birmingham used to love gambling. We would be at the gun club shooting trap and he would suddenly announce that he had a hundred bucks bet on my next shot. He was a hoot to hang out with as he was a gregarious guy with lots of personality, like yourself.

My Irish grandmother had almost black eyes and hair, and pale, but olive toned skin. Born and raised in Galway. I always suspected that there was a Spanish second-story man somewhere in the family background.

My great grandfather was melungeon, probably from Scott County Virginia, family name Williams. His daughter, my grandmother, was darker in complexion. In his adult life he lived in Russell County, adjacent to Scott County.

Thank you. So very very interesting.

Bunch is one of my family surnames.

My mama was born so dark like an native Indian baby with silky black hair and ever so slightly wavy. Back then schools schools were segregated and when my grandma went to register her to start school they asked if she would be going to the school for black people. My grandma's mother was said to be full Indian. I have a picture of her and her husband who I believe was English, a Lee. I found it hard to trace her family though but I believe I connected her maiden name of Turner to also some Jones. We live in NC on generational family land and 1 county over from Robeson County where the Lumbee Tribe is located. Anyway I will hush because that rabbit hole is a deep one. ❤

What are the best resources to obtain DNA profiles? I’m from Greene County, TN. Mr family sir names are Kesterson (material) & Douthat (paternal). I was adopted away from my birth family to Middle TN & subsequently found my birth family who I’ve had in my life for the past 40 years!! I truly need to get more information about my genetic heritage! Thanks in advance. Blessings 🌼

I'd to know more about this. I've never heard about this.

I'm related to Bunch

DNA and records/ documents are a great resource for my lineage. 4th great grandparents are Collins, Gibson, Nickels, Mullins ect.

Interesting. I've heard of melungeons for maybe 15 years or so, since reading about it on the internet. The story of the melungeons debunks the current narrative that different 'races' were always at each others' throats. Thus, we don't hear much of them or the 'tri-racial isolate' populations that were common in the 18th and 19th centuries.

I have Collins, Evans & Sexton ancestors. 1 of my cousins had DNA profiles worked & we have an ancestor from Peru! (Western Africa) My Mom's sisters had this gorgeous dark curly hair & tanned INCREDIBLY well. My Mom's people are Irish/Welsh Native American on 1 side & Welsh & Native Ameticam on the other side. I inherited the fair Irish complexion, blue eyes & blonde hair. My Dad was of the Daniel's/Castle & the Thomas/Griffith families. They're Irish, Scottish & Native American. I can't wait to get my own workup. .

Very interesting thank you!

Very interesting. Thank you.

Thank you very much! ❤️

Subscribing - reminds me of stories from my youth. Mother has medium color skin that darkens in the sun. She with thick dark hair and blue light eyes with the old family name of Skittlethorpe from the Sounds of North/Central coastal NC. She was born in the 1920s on a tobacco farm. I believe Powhatans' tribes loosely stretched from the York River in Va. down through that part of eastern NC and out a bit to the west straddling the state lines. I have fine light brown hair with bright green eyes and light skin that can get kinda dark and takes the sun very well. Never read up on this subject. Which DNA company or test would you suggest? Now subscribed.

I enjoyed your video. If you haven't already done so I was wondering if you can do a video of what it means to be black Irish or black Dutch.

Eye opening!

Lost you for awhile and you asked me what surname I was waiting for and that was really a thinker. I'm greedy but maybe very interesting would be Edmondson of Roanoke Rapids NC and the Lumbe Indians. Tks

Fascinating!

Do you know if Melungeons have any known history of Thalasemia (an inherited anemia known for its mediteranean roots). My fair skin and Scotch/Irish/Welsh ancestry perplexed the doctors who diagnosed me with Thalasemia. We do have some geographical connections with lower Appalchians. Thanks.

I like you...this is a very interesting topic, I love this sort of stuff, but I have adhd and lot's of words without visual stimuli can actually become painful for my brain, but not here. Because you seem to be a really good person. Thank you from Tasmania Australia 😃👍🦘🇦🇺🐨🕊.

Very similar to the "issues" of Bear Mountain and eastern sections of the Blue Ridge of Amherst County

I have a friend from eastern Tennessee that is a melungeon.

My family traces back to Sir John Wallace in Scotland 1700’s. My Maiden name is Wallace. I have very dark hair and gray eyes. My son black hair with hazel eyes. My father and several uncle and aunts had very dark hair, eyes ranging from blue, gray and brown. Some fair skin some quite dark. It is amazing how genetics work.

I was in Knoxville an read n article about them between there and Rogersville. Crazy interesting. If I remember this correctly

Thank you for an interesting history. All my ancestors are white,Irish and English. However my maternal grandfather whose ancestors came from Ireland had olive skin dark eyes ,black hair. My mother had the same coloring but the rest of her siblings had fair skin,black hair and blue eyes. We always thought they had some rogue Spanish or Portuguese dna

Many stories ❤

Wonderful information. My mother's family comes from western Kenturcky and were very dark complected. There is no sub saharan African or native American DNA...but a great deal of western European. Makes better sense now. Thank you

I always find these videos amusing. I'm a direct decendent of famous MELUNGEON people that books have been written about. I have never been approached by any study. They always pick someone else. This makes me Question these studies.

Thank you 🎉

I did the 23andme DNA test. The most interesting part was the list of relatives. I examined all 1500 profiles of my relatives and accourding to their y chromosomes and x chromosomes, they were a mix of European, Afican, Native America and Middle Eastern. Most of my relatives come from NC and VA some from GA. But let me tell you that in many cases, the dna profiles said they were 100 percent European, but their Y or X chromosomes showed African or Native American. And none of them knew anything about their ancestry. When I told my cousins that they have native ancesty, they didn't believe me.

Interesting, thank you.

I have been digging since yesterday.. My great great great grandfather shows born in tenn... doesn't give a town...i can't find anything on his parents. We are talking prior to 1800 so understandable I'm sorry if I kinda bombarded you yesterday and I appreciate the insight...

My relatives got together and had a family reunion not long back…Crime in the surrounding area went down to 7 percent…but incest at the reunion went up 93 percent!..

Very interesting

I wa just reading up on the definition of melungeon and they mentioned a bump on the back of the head. Is that the same as an Occipital Bun (or "genius bump" as it's called in my family)?

We have Clark, Gower and Wilson names. My grandfather had the rugged face and was born in Indian Territory, Oklahoma. I have shovel shaped incisors and the skull bump, my great niece has an extra bone in her foot . Just started this journey. My DNA shows Italian and A drop of Central America, along with Scandinavian and English, Irish , and Middle East. My mom had a drop of North Africa.

Doing Genealogy in SW VA and East TN I was surprised at the number of freed slaves living there before the Civil War.

I have Goins in my family tree, too! Mine is spelled with a g on the end.

We transferred from Tazwell, VA to Pike County, Kentucky.

Interesting I just came across this video while doing some genealogy last week looking at the census of my great grandfather and his race was reported as black. Talked to my father and he said that black also refers to the Scott's Irish.

This appears to be a very interesting topic, could subtitles be added.

I’m Irish/English 95.5% and oddly 4% sub Saharan African. My ancestors settled in the Midwest and haven’t been here very long. 1800s and early 1900s

Very interesting 😊