"Plecker list" of Virginia mixed-ancestry surnames

[Melungeon Heritage Association]

For Virginians wondering whether they might have a connection to Melungeon heritage, it is worth noting that in 1943 Virginia Bureau of Vital Statistics Director Walter Plecker issued a list of surnames suspected of being  mulattoes trying to "pass" as white or Indian.  He estimated "One hundred and fifty thousand other mulattoes in Virginia are watching eagerly the attempt of their pseudo-Indian brethren, ready to follow in a rush when the first have made a break in the dike."(see full letter here.)  More than 20% of these surnames were in southwest Virginia, so based on Plecker's estimation perhaps 30,000 "mongrel Virginians" were in areas where the term Melungeon was prevalent.

 

Page 2 - SURNAMES, BY COUNTIES AND CITIES [illegible] VIRGINIA FAMILIES STRIVING

Albemarle: Moon, Powell, Kidd, Pumphrey Amherst: (Migrants to Allegheney and Campbell) Adcock (Adcox), Beverly (this family is now trying to evade the situation by adopting the name of Burch or Birch, which was the name of the white mother of the present adult generation), Branham, Duff, Floyd, Hamilton, Hartless, Hicks, Johns, Lawless, Nuckles (Knuckles), Painter, Ramsey, Redcross, Roberts, Southwards (Suthards, Southerds, Southers), Sorrells, Terry, Tyree, Willis, Clark, Cash, Wood Bedford: McVey, Maxey, Branham, Burley (See Amherst County) Rockbridge: (Migrants to Augusta) Cash, Clark, Coleman, Duff, Floyd, Hartless, Hicks, Mason, Mayse (Mays), Painters, Pultz, Ramsey, Southerds (Southers, Southards, Suthards), Sorrell, Terry, Tyree, Wood, Johns Charles City: Collins, Dennis, Bradby, Howell, Langston, Stewart, Wynn, Custalow (Custaloo), Dungoe, Holmes, Miles, Page, Allmond, Adams, Hawkes, Spurlock, Doggett New Kent: Collins, Bradby, Stewart, Wynn, Adkins, Langston Henrico and Richmond City: See Charles City, New Kent, and King William Caroline: Byrd, Fortune, Nelson. (See Essex) Essex and King and Queen: Nelson, Fortune, Byrd, Cooper, Tate, Hammond, Brooks, Boughton, Prince, Mitchell, Robinson Elizabeth City & Newport News: Stewart (descendants of Charles City families). Halifax: Epps (Eppes), Stewart (Stuart), Coleman, Johnson, Martin, Talley, Sheppard (Shepard), Young. Norfolk County & Portsmouth: Sawyer, Bass, Weaver, Locklear (Locklair), King, Bright, Porter Westmoreland: Sorrells, Worlds (or Worrell), Atwells, Butridge, Okiff. Greene: Shifflett, Shiflet Prince William: Tyson, Segar. (See Fauquier) Fauquier: Hoffman (Huffman), Riley, Colvin, Phillips. (See Prince William) Lancaster: Dorsey (Dawson) Washington: Beverly, Barlow, Thomas, Hughes, Lethcoe, Worley Roanoke County: Beverly (See Washington) Lee and Smyth: Collins, Gibson, (Gipson), Moore, Goins, Ramsey, Delph, Bunch, Freeman, Mise, Barlow, Bolden (Bolin), Mullins, Hawkins (Chiefly Tennessee Melungeons) Scott: Dingus (See Lee County) Russell: Keith, Castell, Stillwell, Meade, Proffitt. (See Lee and Tazewell) Tazewell: Hammed, Duncan. (See Russell) Wise: See Lee, Scott, Smyth, and Russell Counties.

[Melungeon Heritage Association]

There were two waves of 20th century acceptance and embrace of Melungeon heritage, the first occurring in the 1970s in Tennessee, the second in the 1990s in Virginia. The former was primarily a local phenomenon, but the latter became regional and now attracts national interest.  MHA was founded in 1998 and has now held four Unions in Virginia where it was born, but also five in Tennessee, and others in Kentucky, West Virginia, and North Carolina. The broader regional use of the term Melungeon and embrace of Melungeon heritage has been a gradual phenomenon, documented in blog posts here, and visible to MHA volunteers in recent years at National Genealogical Society events. Melungeon surname lists associated with Tennessee are more widely known, but we encourage any Virginians investigating mixed ancestry heritage to examine the Plecker lists for possible clues.