Most of us probably think of America as being settled by British, Protestant colonists who fought the Indians, tamed the wilderness, and brought “democracy”–or at least a representative republic–to North America. To the contrary, Elizabeth Caldwell Hirschman's research indicates the earliest settlers were of Mediterranean extraction, and of a Jewish or Muslim religious persuasion. Sometimes called “Melungeons,” these early settlers were among the earliest nonnative “Americans” to live in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. For fear of discrimination–since Muslims, Jews, “Indians,” and other “persons of color” were often disenfranchised and abused–the Melungeons were reticent regarding their heritage. In fact, over time, many of the Melungeons themselves “forgot” where they came from. Hence, today, the Melungeons remain the “last lost tribe in America,” even to themselves. Yet, Hirschman, supported by DNA testing, genealogies, and a variety of historical documents, suggests that the Melungeons included such notable early Americans as Daniel Boone and Abraham Lincoln. Once lost, but now, forgotten no more.

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Elizabeth Caldwell Hirschman was born in Kingsport, Tennessee and is of Melungeon descent. She is Professor of Marketing at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Professor Hirschman has contributed more than 200 articles, essays and chapters to professional journals and books, and is author of more than a dozen books, including When Scotland Was Jewish and Jews and Muslims in British Colonial America:  A Genealogical History (both co-authored with Donald N. Yates). Hirschman's research indicates the earliest American settlers were of Mediterranean extraction, and of a Jewish or Muslim religious persuasion. Sometimes called “Melungeons,” these early settlers were among the earliest nonnative “Americans” to live in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, perhaps including Daniel Boone, John Sevier, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and Andrew Jackson. She is currently at work on a history of English crypto-Jews from the beginnings to the Enlightenment. She lives in New Jersey and spends part of the year teaching in Virginia.

More information about Melungeons
Toward a Genetic Profile of Melungeons in Southern Appalachia
Melungeon Studies
Melungeon Match