The first written record of the word Melungin is recorded in the 1813 minutes of Stony Creek Church.  "Then came forward sister Kitchens and complained to the church against Susanna Stallard for saying she harbored them Melungins"

Blackwater Creek,  Vardy Valley

 Hancock County, Tennessee

You must know that within ten miles of this owl's nest, there is a watering-place, known hereabouts as 'black-water Springs.' It is situated in a narrow gorge, scarcely half a mile wide, between Powell's Mountain and the Copper Ridge, and is, as you may suppose, almost inaccessible. A hundred men could defend the pass against even a Xerxian army. Now this gorge and the tops and sides of the adjoining mountains are inhabited by a singular species of the human animal called MELUNGENS. The legend of their history, which they carefully preserve, is this. A great many years ago, these mountains were settled by a society of Portuguese Adventurers, men and women.   Littell's Living Age 1848   

Blackberry Creek begins in Patrick County, Virginia, and flows through the
western part of Henry County, Virginia. My 7th generation grandparents John
and Elizabeth Going owned a plantation (500 acres) that lay astride
Blackberry Creek. John Going was the first person granted permission in
Henry County, Virginia to build a grist mill (1777) and on Blackberry Creek.
They were the parents of 8 sons and 3 daughters. I descend from their son
Zephaniah and also their daughter Elizabeth who married Hezekiah Minor. JG
 

 A  big spring that runs out of a cave, 

behind Elm Spring Baptist Church, where Seven Gibson Baptizes. 

Hancock County, Tennessee.

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