Gowen Research Foundation

Electronic Newsletter

December 2000

Volume 3 No. 12

ORIGIN OF THE MELUNGEONS

By Tim Hashaw

Editorial Boardmember

1937 Huge Oaks Houston, Texas, 77065

E-mail: wildwestgifts4u@aol.com

Part III:

The first recorded Middle Passage of Africans to an Eng-

lish-American colony was remarkable and momentous for ma-

ny reasons. The ships [in this unusual case, more than

one], sailing the Atlantic Ocean from West Africa to

America in 1619 were bringing not only the founders of

African-America, but these same black men and women were

also the ancestors of Melungeon America. This first mid-

dle passage witnessed high seas piracy by famous ships

and captains.

It started a scandal of royal proportions responsible for

the bankruptcy of the private company holding the Vir-

ginia charter. This in turn resulted in the direct in-

tervention into Virginia affairs by the English crown; a

policy which, once begun, would not end until the battle

of Yorktown some 150 years later. And of course, this

first arrival of Africans in 1619 colonial Virginia pre-

pared the backdrop of the War between the States. Howev-

er it was the result of the revocation, in 1670, by the

American colonies, of customs giving equal status to Af-

rican-Americans, which actually lit the slow-burning fuse

to the bloody Civil War. Nothing about the Virginia

landing of some 20 black men and women that summer day in

1619 signalled the awesome repurcussions to come.

MIDDLE PASSAGE

The first African middle passage to English-American col-

onies was the result of a victorious Portuguese military

campaign into the interior Angolan kingdom of the Ndongo,

a Bantu nation in the Malange highlands bordering on

southern Congo. This campaign lasted from 1618-1620 and

saw the capture of 50,000 Ndongo men, women, and child-

ren. These prisoners of war were led bound to the port

of Luanda for later shipment to the New World plantations

and mines of Portugal and Spain.

The historian Engel Sluiter has documented the Atlantic

passage of these African captives from 1619 through 1620.

He published an article in the 1997 issue of the "William

and Mary Quarterly" describing the event which led to the

arrival in Virginia of the "20 and odd" Africans from An-

gola. The Portuguese-Spanish slave traffic from Africa

to the Americas was handled by a general contractor call-

ed an "asentista." This person was the highest bidder.

Only he could ship African slaves.

The asentista agreed to pay a set amount annually to the

Spanish king for the right to send a fixed number of Af-

rican prisoners to certain Central and South American

ports. A Lisbon banker, Antonio Fernandes Delvas, held

the asentista contract from 1615-1622, according to rec-

ords translated by Sluiter. For the exclusive right of

importing slaves, he paid the Spanish crown the sum of

115,000 ducats annually. Delvas was allowed to ship not

more than 5,000 and not less than 3,500 Africans per

year, and only to two ports: Vera Cruz and Cartagena.

Records from the Vera Cruz, Mexico treasury for the fis-

cal year from June 18,1619 to June 21, 1620 show the

taxes paid on incoming Africans. Sluiter writes:

"During that year, six slavers arrived at Vera Cruz.

All had loaded their human cargoes at Sao Paulo de

Loanda, the capital of Portuguese, Angola. Out of

some 2,000 blacks they had taken aboard in Africa

1,161 were delivered alive in Vera Cruz. The losses

were caused not only by the rigors of the middle

passage but also by shipwreck and, in one case, by

corsair attack."

This is the actual account from Spanish records of the

single slave ship attacked by corsairs that year as it

sailed from Angola to Mexico.

"Enter on the credit side the receipt of 8,657,875

pesos paid by Manuel Mendes de Acunha, master of the

ship "Sao Juan Bautista" on 147 slave pieces brought

by him into the said port on August 30, 1619 aboard

the frigate "Santa Ana," master Rodrigo Escobar. On

the voyage inbound, Mendes de Acunha was robbed at

sea off the coast of Campeche by English corsairs.

Out of 350 slaves, large and small, he loaded in

said Loanda [200 under a license issued to him in

Sevilla and the rest to be declared later], the Eng-

lish corsairs left him with only 147, including 24

slave boys he was forced to sell in Jamaica, where

he had to refresh, for he had many sick aboard, and

many had already died."

These blacks had been originally loaded onto the Portu-

guese slaver in the port of Angola where inadequate slave

pens were overcrowded with 50,000 Ndongo captives. These

indigenous natives of one cohesive tribe were taken from

an area in the Malange plateau roughly 30 miles by 50

miles wide, centered around the Ndongo royal capital of

Kabasa. The English privateers therefore stole from 150-

200 of these Ndongo captives from the "Bautista" when

they caught the Portuguese ship in July of 1619. Sluiter

points out:

"The 'San Juan Bautistq' was the only slave ship among

the 36 named as arriving at Vera Cruz during the fis-

cal years 1618-1619 through 1621-1622 to be attacked

inbound from Angola, by corsairs."

A few weeks after the attack on the Bautista, the first

of two corsairs appeared at Point Comfort off Jamestown,

Virginia with African slaves to trade for grain. The

story behind that man-o-war remained cloaked in mystery

for almost 400 years because Virginia eye-witnesses who

wrote of her arrival, intentionally omitted the name of

the ship and gave scant details of the men who sailed her.

INTRIGUE IN VIRGINIA

In 1624 Captain John Smith wrote in his "General History

of Virginia" describing the landing 5 years earlier:

"About the last of August came in a dutch man of

warre that sold us twenty Negars."

The famous Captain Smith, penning his memoirs near the

end of his adventurous career, had not himself witnessed

the arrival of the privateer with its Africans. Smith

was quoting a letter written to Virginia Company treasur-

er Sir Edwin Sandys by Virginia tobacco planter John

Rolfe, widowed husband of Pocahontas. Rolfe had person-

ally witnessed the arrival of the ship and wrote:

"About the latter end of August, a Dutch man of Warr

of the burden of a 160 tons arrived at Point-Comfort,

the Comandor's name Capt. Jope, his Pilott for the

West Indies one Mr. Marmaduke an Englishman. They

mett with the "Treasurer" in the West Indies and

determined to hold consort shipp hetherward, but in

their passage lost one the other. He brought not

anything but 20 and odd Negroes, which the Governor

and Cape Merchant bought for victualle [whereof he

was in greate need as he pretended] at the best and

easyest rate they could. He hadd a lardge and ample

Comyssion from his Excellency to range and to take

purchase in the West Indies . . . Three or four days

later, the "Treasurer" arrived." [From the "Records

of the Virginia Company of London," Susan Myra Kins-

bury, editor.]

And last we have the account from the Secretary of State

of the Virginia colony, John Pory, who, on September 30,

1619 wrote from Jamestown to Sir Dudley Carleton, English

envoy to The Hague. Pory sent this letter by Jope's pi-

lot, Marmaduke Rayner, which incidentally indicates that

the Dutch ship remained at Jamestown for some weeks after

arriving. Pory was also an eyewitness of the first Afri-

cans in Virginia and wrote:

"Having met with so fitt a messenger as this man of

warre of Flushing, I could not imparte with your

lordship . . . these poore fruites of our labours

here...The occasion of this ship's coming hither

was an accidental consortship in the West Indies

with the 'Treasurer,' an English man of warre al-

so, licensed by a Commission from the Duke of Savoy

to take Spaniards as lawfull prize. This ship, the

'Treasurer,' went out of England in Aprill was

twelve moneth, about a moneth, I thinke before an

peace was concluded between the king of Spaine and

that prince. Hither shee came to Captaine Argall,

then the governour of this Colony, being parte-own-

er of her. Hee more for love of gaine, the root of

all evill, than for any true love he bore to this

Plantation, victualled and manned her anewe, and

sent her with the same Commission to raunge the

Indies."

When we study Pory's complaint against the second priva-

teer involved in the consort attack upon the Portuguese

slaveship and when we consider the secrecy surrounding

the so-called and hitherto unrevealed "Dutch" man-o-war

delivering the "20 and odd Negroes" to Virginia, we begin

to pick up in-house Virginia Company politics boiling un-

der the surface of this historic event.

The "Treasurer," the second ship in the attack on the

Portuguese, was jointly owned by Virginia Company invest-

or Lord Rich [later Earl of Warwick] and his partner,

Virginia governor Samuel Argall. At this time James,

king of England had a peace treaty with Catholic Spain.

Lord Rich, who was anti-Spanish, had gone behind the back

of his king to obtain a license from the Italian Duke of

Savoy authorizing his ships to take Spanish and Portu-

guese ships in the West Indies.

This inadvertently put the young Virginia colony in Amer-

ica in danger, not only of losing its charter and its fi-

nancial backing, but of waking one morning to a fleet of

angry Spanish ships aiming their cannons at their humble

fort. On the other hand, the Virginians could not afford

to rile Lord Rich, one of the largest and most influen-

tial stockholders financing the Virginia venture. Rich

and Governor Argall were conveniently using Jamestown as

a black market to sell goods taken from their Spanish

prizes behind the back of the English crown. The Virgin-

ians desired the goods, but feared detection. They were

alone and isolated, far from the protective arms of Eng-

land.

After taking the slaves from the "Bautista" in the West

Indies, the "Treasurer" and the "Dutch" man-o-war divided

the human cargo, probably no more than 100 slaves for

each of the two ships, and then prepared to sail to Vir-

ginia. Supposedly in a consort, or partnership, the two

ships became separated enroute to Jamestown. Capt. Jope

in the Dutch [or Flemish] ship, reached Virginia first

and sold twenty-something Malange-Ndongo Angolans to new-

ly appointed Virginia governor George Yeardley and his

cape merchant, Abraham Piersey. Yeardley had just re-

cently replaced ousted Governor Argall, now a fugitive

from English justice.

Fearful that the freebooting activities of Lord Rich were

endangering the vulnerable young colony of Virginia, John

Rolfe in his letter alerted Sir Edwin Sandys, Virginia

Company treasurer, of the ongoing privateering, as dis-

creetly as possible. Sandys, aware that Argall had cap-

tured a Spanish prize a few months earlier, had already

moved quietly to end the blackmarket scheme by indicting

Argall for it. Argall had fled and the two ships return-

ing from robbing the BAUTISTA of its Angolan slaves just

happened to be sailing into Jamestown ignorant that at

the same time English officers were there to shut down

the operation.

The arrival of the "Dutch" ship with its Africans would

eventually open an irreparable breach between two fac-

tions of stockholders of the Virginia Company in London.

A group of older investors sided with the privateering

Lord Rich. The other group led by Company treasurer San-

dys wanted to stop Rich's racket which could have meant

trouble for their investment in the colony of Virginia.

After being called on the carpet for the raid on the Por-

tuguese Angolan slave-ship in July of 1619, Rich became

resentful of Sandys and the tension between the two fac-

tions eventually caused the collapse of the Company and

forfeiture of its charter to the Crown. King James would

later appoint a royal commission to take over the respon-

sibilities of governing Virginia after the Company's col-

lapse. The king's intervention in the business of the

Jamestown colony removed significant authority from their

own colonial legislature. The English crown's actions

were deeply resented and feared by the Virginia settlers

for the first--but not the last--time.

THE IDENTITY OF THE DUTCH MAN-O-WAR

Major Hugh F. Jope, USAF [ret.] of Haverhill, Massachu-

setts is a veteran of WWII. Crash-landing in the Philip-

pines in enemy territory in 1945, he was captured as a

prisoner-of-war, not once but twice. Major Jope, who

comes from a long line of Jope sea captains is also a de-

scendant of John Colyn Jope, born circa 1580 in Cornwall,

England. Capt. John Colyn Jope was the privateer who de-

livered the famous "20 and odd Negroes" to Virginia in

August of 1619. His full identity has not been revealed

until now. Maj. Hugh Jope has shared his research with

me, giving us for the first time also, the likely name of

the Dutch man-o-war which, along with the Treasurer, cap-

tured the Portuguese "Sao Juan Bautista" in July of 1619

off the coast of Campeche.

Major Jope believes this ship was the "White Lion." This

was not the Dutch "White Lion" which burned and sank in

1613 near the island of St. Helena, recently salvaged.

The Jope "White Lion" which arrived in 1619 Virginia was

ironically built in the Villa Franca shipyard near Lisbon,

Portugal in 1570 along with the "Pelicano" or "Pelican"

which was later captured by Sir Francis Drake. The Portu-

guese builders first named the "White Lion" the "Leona

Blanca" [White Lion]. The design of both men-o-war was

the same according to the Major's research, having provis-

ion for 10 cannon. Hugh Jope says,

"After sailing under the Marque of Portugal for only

one year, both "Leona Blanca" and the "Pelicano" were

seized by the Spanish Armada in 1571".

Drake captured the "Pelicano" in 1572. Major Jope's re-

search reveals that the "Leona Blanca" retained that name

under the Spanish Cross. He writes:

"Later in 1579, the name was changed to the "Witte Le-

euw," [White Lion] when it was captured by the Flemish

Second Squadron. In 1584, with the death of Prince

William of Orange, the Sea Beggars of the Netherlands

sold "Wite Leuw" to Admiral Howard of the English Pri-

vateers who was also a devout Calvinist. In 1585

Drake and Howard got the word from the Queen [indirect-

ly) that it was open season on Spanish Galleons." Ad-

miral Howard sold the "White Lion" to Drake who named

James Erizo its captain. Eventually Erizo desired to

purchase the "Lion" and got a loan from Drake. From

the book "Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries:"

"Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Erisey. On the

6th September, 1585, for 220 pounds, James Erysye of

Erysye, esquire, mortgaged his manor of Pensugnans in

the parishes of Guynop and Key to Sir Francis Drake

of Buckland in the Countie of Devon, Knight."

Erizo (Erisey) defaulted on the loan and lost the ship

but Drake kept him in command of her. Maj. Jope says,

"The White Lion with Erizo in command made a good

showing of itself during the years 1587-1588 going

full force in the war with the Armada. The "White

Lion" usually travelled with one of Drake's squad-

rons. The Queen's Navy and the Privateers cooper-

ated with each other during this common effort."

Sir Drake's will, probated a year after his death in 1596,

bequeathed the "White Lion" to Erizo who continued prey-

ing on galleons until 1609, when, according to Maj. Jope,

"Erizo sold the "White Lion" to his Calvinist minister,

the Reverend John Colyn Jope of Cornwall. the Rev/Capt.

John Jope had to overhaul the "Lion." It took him ten

years to get it in shape." Jope sailed the "White Lion"

out of Plymouth and Vlissingen [Flushing] Netherlands.

Notice that Capt. John Colyn Jope was not Dutch, but Eng-

lish. The reference to a "Dutch" man-o-war is believed

to come from the ship's license empowering the captain to

take Spanish and Portuguese prizes under a Dutch Marque.

Jope is reported to have purchased the permit from the

Prince of Orange. From the reign of Elizabeth into the

reign of James, many English privateers routinely avoided

the hassle of on-again, off-again English-Spanish treat-

ies by obtaining marques from foreign governments embroil-

ed with Spain.

This license gave Jope the slightest vestage of legality

needed to avoid charges of outright piracy. The settlers

in Virginia used this "Dutch" technicality, and intention-

ally hid the identity of the English ship which brought

them the valuable cargo of some 20 African slaves. The

"White Lion," unlike the "Tresurer," the second ship in

the consort against the Portuguese slaver, was not connec-

ted to the Virginia Company and therefore did not pose the

same threat to the colony as the "Treasurer."

TREASURER.

Jope and his crew of the WHITE LION were hunting for Span-

ish prizes in the West Indies in 1619 when they met up

with the "Treasurer" by accident shortly before consort-

ing to take the Portuguese slave ship from Angola. But

only the "White Lion" was able to trade some of its

slaves later in Virginia. Like Governor Argall earlier,

Daniel Elfrith, captain of the "Treasurer," narrowly a-

voided arrest in Virginia when he appeared four days be-

hind the "White Lion."

But months later in London, Elfrith had to face the

charges of illegal privateering. Sir Edwin Sandys suc-

cessfully hid the role played by Lord Rich, who neverthe-

less remained ungrateful. King James, trying to forge a

lasting treaty with Spain, had no love for the Puritan-

leaning Rich. No doubt James had heard how Rich had

saved Argall from arrest in Virginia by sending a fast

ship to spirit away the outlawed governor in the nick of

time.

Now, finally faced with the charges in London, Argall and

Elfrith concocted an incredible revision of the "Treas-

urer's role in the joint capture of the Portuguese slaver

it had robbed of the 20 or so Ndongo prisoners. Capt.

John Colyn Jope of the "White Lion" was made the fall guy.

The crew of the "Treasurer" was briefed with the new cov-

er story when time came to testify. "Abstracts from the

Examinations in the High Court of Admiralty" recorded the

testimony of a former "Treasurer" crewman present when

they captured the "Bautista:"

"Reinhold Booth, of Reigate, Surrey, gent aged 26.

He has known Daniel Elfrith for 10 years. In 1619

the deponent went on the 'Treasurer' [man-o-war

owned by the Earl of Warwick of the Virgnia Company]

to Bermuda from Virginia and at the end of June 1619

she was compelled while in the West Indies, to con-

sort with a Flemish man-o-war, the 'White Lion' of

Flushing, [Vlissingen, Holland] commanded by Captain

Chope [sic] who threatened to shoot at the "Treasur-

er" unless Captain Elfrith complied with his wishes.

Chope [Jope] had permission to seize Spanish ships

and in mid-July of 1619, he took 25 men from his own

and Elfrith's ship and sailed away in a pinnace [a

small, fast boat attending a large vessel]. After 3

days, he brought back a Spanish frigate which he had

captured and out of good-will towards Elfrith, gave

him some tallow and grain from her. Immediately aft-

er this, the deponent departed for Bermuda, leaving

the "Treasurer" and the "Seaflower," left Bermuda

for England, 23 July 1620. [see also Warwick v. Brew-

ster p. 12 ff)"

The whole claim that the smaller "White Lion" cowed the

larger "Treasurer" in the West Indies was preposterous.

Very little of Elfrith's charge against Jope was true. In

1620, a year after the "Bautista" episode, her stolen

slaves were still recoverable property. Therefore the

crewmembers, like Reinhold Booth, made no mention of them.

The Africans were capable of denying Elfrith's revision

of events. Any mention of the Ndongo was completely

omitted from the testimony of the privateer's crew. In-

deed one of those Malange Ndongo, Antonio [later named

Anthony Johnson] offered to testify on behalf of Jope

against Elfrith.

Elfrith's testimony was transparently self-serving, but

he had powerful friends at court to back him. The court

of inquiry accepted the Elfrith version. This despite the

fact that Elfrith's charade was additionally undermined

by a letter from the governor of Bermuda to Lord Rich as-

serting that Spanish slaves had indeed been taken when

"Treasurer" consorted with the "White Lion" and that he

had detained seven of them in view of the legal proceed-

ing in London. [The "Treasurer" had sold 14 of its share

of the slaves in Bermuda after fleeing Virginia in Sep-

tember of 1619.]

According to Wesley Frank Craven in "Dissolution of the

Virginia Company", the Bermuda governor acknowledged that

he had concealed the theft of the Africans "for fear of

the Company's finding it out and taxing him for not in-

forming them of it: as well as "for fear of prejudicing

your lordship".

John Colyn Jope was never tried for the attack on the

"Bautista" despite Elfrith's claims. Probably because he

had "20 and odd negroes", as well as his own crew to sup-

port the true events of what occurred. But the implica-

tions against the Reverend Captain from Cornwall came

back to haunt him after 1620. The Heralds came to re-

search him for a possible coat-of-arms. Maj. Jope writes

that his ancestor's enemies . . .

"...had the last laugh when the Herald denied him the

Jope Achievement-of-Arms. The negro Antonio [Anthony

Johnson) testified before the Virginia Company in be-

half of Jope [against Capt. Daniel Elfrith] but the

Crown would not admit the evidence at the Court of Ad-

miralty hearing."

Anthony, Isabella, and Pedro were three of the some 200

Malange Ndongo slaves who were taken from the Portuguese

merchant-slaver from Angola whose names we know. Anthony

was married to Isabella in Virginia. They had the first

black child born in English America, [William] and bap-

tised into the Church of England.

Anthony Johnson became a prosperous Virginia-Maryland

plantation owner. Thirty years after arriving as an in-

entured servant in Virginia, Johnson had worked himself

out of servitude. He and his sons owned a thousand acres

along with some 20 white and black, male and female ser-

ants. In 1651, Johnson organized a community with twelve

other African families along the Pungoteague River in

Virginia. As early as this the Africans from the Malange

highlands of Angola showed a tendency to congregate in

kindred communities.

This first arrival was not the only Angolan presence in

the 17th century colony of Virginia. It must be remem-

bered bred that at this time England had no significant

slave traffic of its own. From 1619-1650 the Virginia

colony had only 300 Africans. Jope was the first of

other documented captains bringing Angolans to Virginia.

In 1628, Captain Arthur Guy of the ship "Warwick" cap-

tured a Spanish vessel leaving the port of Angola with

African slaves. Guy traded all of the blacks in Virginia

in exchange for tobacco.

Then in the 1650s, when the Dutch had held control of An-

gola for a decade after ousting the Portuguese, Edmund

Scarborough traveled to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam

[New York] to buy 41 Africans for his Virginia plantation

on the Eastern Shore. This purchase was believed to have

been the largest single group of Angolan-Congo slaves to

enter Virginia up to this time. Also at this time, Ndongo

Queen Zhinga in Angola still fought wars to save her peo-

ple from European slavers continually raiding the Malange

highlands.

[To Be Continued]

This is the third article in a series written exclusively

for Gowen Research Foundation. It may not be reprinted

or sold without the permission of the author. December

3, 2000.

Biography of the Author:

Tim Hashaw is an investigative reporter living in Hous-

ton, Texas. He has filed stories for CBS, ABC, and NBC

from local network affiliates and he has been a journal-

ist in radio, television and print. Tim has received

numerous national awards for excellence in journalism

from: The Radio and Television News Directors' Associa-

tion, Associated Press, United Press International, Na-

tional Headliners Club and others. Tim is a seventh

generation Texan and a descendant of American Revolu-

tion veteran James Goyne of Mecklenburg County, Virginia.

Tim Hashaw may be reached at the address: 1937 Huge Oaks,

Houston, Texas 77055. He invites all comments on the An-

golan-Melungeon connection.

A MELUNGEON GHOST STORY?

By Tim Hashaw,

December 3, 2000

All rights reserved.

In 1843 Wagner wrote "Der Fliegende Hollander" [The Fly-

ing Dutchman], a classic opera based upon a story he had

read in Heinrich Heine's "Memoirs of Herr Von Schnabel-

wopsky". Wagner took the historic sea captain from

Heine's book and used him as the basis for his fictional

character of a mariner forever cursed to rove the ocean

until he was redeemed by the love of a virtuous woman.

The story follows similar fairly modern Dutch-related sea

legends. Seamen who sailed around the Cape of Good Hope

told a tale of a spectre ship forever trying to take the

Cape in a storm, helmed by a Captain Vanderdecken. The

appearance of the ghostly apparition is said to signal a

pending shipwreck.

In the North Sea, mariners tell a legend of Captain Falk-

enberg, proudly boasting he could take his ship through a

terrible storm. Failing, he too was condemned to sail

the seas forever playing dice with the devil for his soul.

But in the Wagner model taken from Heine's book, the real-

life sea captain, also a preacher, was named Johan Chope,

and he sailed in the same era as John Colyn Jope, the

Calvinist minister, between England and the Netherlands.

Maj. Hugh F. Jope, a descendant of John Jope, whose name

was sometimes written "Chope", called my attention to an

old book published in 1872 called "Flemish Archives of

Classical Music" by Hansel Voorhees of Amersterdam. In

this review of Wagner, Voorhees writes:

"Wagner has taken his obvious anti-semitism to new

levels in 'Der Fliegende Hollander' which he copied

from Heine's 'Memoirs of Herr Von Schabelwopsky'.

He assigned satanic symbols to the lead role of his

opera and imposed a curse on him which condemned him

to sail the seas eternally until he met and married

a good woman.

Furthermore, it was common knowledge that the origi-

nal Flying Dutchman was a "Sea Beggar" who sailed be-

tween Antwerpen and Cornwall under the Marque of Wil-

liam of Orange. His name was Johan Chope, a man of

the cloth and a gentleman also. Wagner's 'Flying

Dutchman' was indeed a finely finished work but alas,

his so-called trip to the sea when he envisioned the

particulars of this work differs greatly with the

true events but is without a doubt, where the master

got the idea and imposed creative license on it."

Was Captain Jope who brought the first ancestors of Afri-

can-America to Virginia in 1619 Wagner's inspiration for

"Der Fliegende Hollander?" Major Jope cites the "Virgin-

ia Chronicle" of March, 1821 and an article on Captain

John Jope of the "White Lion." It reads:

"Captain Jope had improvised a method which infuria-

ted the captains of other vessels which consorted

with him in that when the prize was sighted, he would

launch a pinnace and strip the captured ship clean

before the consorters could participate".

It was this maneuver which earned him the reputation of

the "Flying Dutchman," according to the Chronicle".

We remember then the testimony of the crewmember of the

"Treasurer" after it had consorted with Jope and the

"White Lion" to capture the Portuguese merchant slaver

"Sao Juan Bautista" and her cargo of Malange Angolan

slaves in 1619.

"In 1619 the deponent was on the "Treasurer" of the

Virginia Company to Bermuda, and at the end of June

in 1619, she was compelled while in the West Indies,

to consort with a Flemish man-o-war, the "White Lion"

of Flushing under the command of Captain Chope [Jope]

who threatened to shoot at the "Treasurer" unless

Captain Elfrith obeyed his command. Chope (Jope)

had permission to seize Spanish ships and in mid-July,

1619, he took 25 men of his own and Elfrith's and

sailed away in a pinnace."

It was probably not by chance that after taking the Afri-

cans from the Portuguese ship out of Angola, that Captain

John Colyn Jope somehow broke away from his partner in

piracy, "The Treasurer," and beat it back to Virginia

first. By doing so Captain John Colyn Jope earned a

place in history by bringing the first Africans to the

oldest continually existing colony in North America. The

"20 and odd" Malange Angolans he delivered to Virginia,

and the other Angolans to follow in the 17th century,

were the ancestors of the Melungeon people.

Was Captain Jope cursed? Probably not. But incidently

there is an inter-collegiate award for rowing that is

passed among the Ivy League colleges in the east, pre-

dominately Harvard and Yale. This is known as the

"Jope Cup". The old Captain himself may not sail on for

eternity, but apparently the Jope surname will.

MELUNGEON DESCENDANT JIM CALLAHAN

PUBLISHES STORY OF HIS ANCESTRY

"Lest We Forget: The Melungeon Colony of Newman's Ridge"

written by Jim Callahan is now off the press and avail-

able, according to the author

The story of his Melungeon ancestors has been completed

by Jim Callahan, Foundation Member of Nashville, Indiana

and has just been released. The book contains 255 pages

composed of text, maps, photographs and illustrations.

The volume is available from Amazon.com, Barns & Noble,

Borders or from Overmountain Press, Johnson City, Tennes-

see for $19.95. Orders may be placed at 1/800-992-2691.

Inquiries may be addressed to the author at 696 E. Freeman

Ridge, Nashville, IN, 47448, 812/988-9337, melungo@aol.com.

MELUNGEON DAVID GOINGS RODE HORSEBACK

300 MILES FROM FROM INDIANA TO VIRGINIA

David Goings, a resident of Virginia and Indiana was

born September 15, 1783 of parents unknown according to

the research of Catherine Elizabeth Strawn Olguin, a de-

scendant of Arcadia, California. Evelyn Lee McKinley

Orr, sixth generation descendant of Omaha, Nebraska adds

that the birthplace of David and is unknown. On census

records, his children named West Virginia, Kentucky, Tur-

key, and Virginia as possible places of his birth. West

Virginia and Kentucky were part of Virginia in 1783.

David Goings was married to Susannah Williams October 30,

1803, according to her bible record page provided by Nor-

man Haskell Goings. The page also lists the birth dates

for David, Susannah and all of Susannah's children.

No marriage record for them has been found to date, but

the marriage location was probably near the farm of the

bride’s parents along Sinking Creek in Montgomery County,

Virginia. This location today is between Pembroke, Vir-

ginia and Eagleston, Virginia in Giles County.

Susannah Williams, daughter of George Henry Williams and

Margaret Harless Williams October 2, 1783 in Montgomery

County. George Henry Williams was born April 8, 1747 in

Augusta County, [now Rockingham County] Virginia accord-

ing to Peaked Mountain Church birth and baptismal records,

as reported in "William and Mary Quarterly," Vols. 13-14

and LDS baptismal records of Augusta, County. Both

sources show him baptized as George Henry Williams, prob-

ably was never known as George Heinrich Wilhelm, the Ger-

man version of this name. His parents were Johan Hein-

rich Wilhelm and Anna Elizabeth Sherb/Sharp Preisch Wil-

helm, German immigrants. This was a second marriage for

both parents according to the research of Richard Wil-

liams of Columbus, Ohio.

The 1770-73 tithe list of Montgomery County records list

him living in the "Lower District of New River, Sinking

Creek, Thoms Creek, Greenbrier Run and the mouth of

Spruce Creek." From 1769-1772 his land was located in

Botetourt County, Virginia; from 1772-1776 it was in Fin-

castle County, and from 1776 to 1806, it was in Montgom-

ery County. The Williams family cemetery was located

"near old Maybrook," according to Ethel Walters, Williams

family historian.

In 1806, Giles County, Virginia was organized with land

from Montgomery County.

George Henry Williams died March 7, 1820 in Giles County.

His will provided that his widow was to receive one-third

of "the land I live on and adjoining land on the south

side of Sinking Creek." Five daughters, "Elizabeth Al-

bert, Margaret Burk, Polly Hatfield, Susannah Goins and

Catherine Stafford" were mentioned in the will. He also

mentioned the children of a daughter-in-law, Widow Wil-

liams. He referred to them as children that she had by

my son, Michael Williams. He bequeathed to his son, Fred-

erick Williams the "plantation on the north side of Sink-

ing Creek, where he now lives." He also mentions his son,

George Henry Williams, Jr. whose land "adjoined David

Goins."

George Henry Williams also devised to his grandson, Henry

Williams, "son of Susannah Goins," one beast when he

comes of age. He also stated, "it is my desire that Da-

vid Goins and his wife take Henry." George Henry Wil-

liams, Jr. was named executor. The will was proven in

May 1822 by witnesses, John Burk, Christian Snidow and

Isaiah Givens, according to Giles County Will Book A,

page 310.

Susannah Williams was apparently the mother of two sons

when she was married to David Goings. According to her

bible record, she had two sons, "Henry Williams born Oc-

tober 30, 1801 and James Williams born March 29, 1802,"

before her marriage to David Goings. "The birth years

are possibly correct, but the months must be in error,"

wrote Evelyn Lee McKinley Orr. Catherine Elizabeth

Strawn suggests that the sons were fathered by Jacob Wil-

liams, unidentified.

David Goings received a gift deed from George Henry Wil-

liams April 3, 1807 of 150 acres, according to Giles

County Deed Book 1:

"For consideration of love and affection and the fur-

ther consideration of $1.00, a parcel of land con-

taining 150 acres in the County of Giles on the wa-

ters of Sinking Creek, a branch of New River being

all that part of two tracts of land . . . which is

combined in two patents, one patent paid to Henry

Sharp assignee of James Salles and is for one hun-

dred twelve acres of land and bears the date 1786

the other patent is paid to George Williams, as-

signee of Henry Sharp for 370 acres of land which

bears the patent date 17 of January 1793."

David Goings was listed as a resident of Giles County in

the census of 1810, according to "Index to 1810 Virginia

Census" by Madeline W. Crickard.

"The 1815 Giles County, Virginia Tax List," pages B-6 and

B-16 included "David Goens, white male, over age 16, no

slaves, 3 horses, 4 cattle, with land along Sinking Creek

near Salt Pond Mt, Doe Creek and Knob Mt." His land was

located adjacent to the home place of his father-in-law,

George Henry Williams. His land was located between pre-

sent-day Pembroke and Eagleston in Giles County.

He reappeared as the head of a household in the 1820 cen-

sus of Giles County, page 116:

"Goings, David white male 26-45

white female over 45

white male 16-26

white male 16-26

white female 10-16

white female 10-16

white male 0-10

white male 0-10

white male 0-10

white female 0-10

white female 0-10

white female 0-10"

Three members of the household were engaged in agricul-

ture.

Williams family researcher, Ethel Walters of Pembroke,

Virginia suggested in 1989 that David Goings had family,

perhaps a brother, in Montgomery County, which may have

influenced him to move there.

"John Gowens" was enumerated as the head of a household

in the 1820 census of Montgomery County:

"Gowens, John white male 26-45

white female 26-45

white female 0-10”

On June 21, 1824 David Goings sold one parcel of land to

Guy French for $380 and another parcel to Guy French July

22, 1824 for $550. Other land records in Giles County in

1824 show indenture agreements between David Goings and

some creditors to pay off debts. One agreement was made

the 5th day of July 1824 with Henry Williams, the first-

born son of Susannah Williams Goings.

Sometime after the land sales in 1824 and possibly before

December of 1825 when their daughter Katherine was mar-

ried, David Goings moved to Montgomery County, Virginia.

Marriage records for his five daughters are in Montgomery

County. This move probably placed him closer to Newbern,

Virginia. Norman Goings, family historian, wrote in 1939

that the nearest town to David Goings was Newbern and was

also near the location of his daughter, Katherine.

"David Goaings" appeared as the head of a household in

the 1830 census of Montgomery County, page 67:

"Goaings, David white male 40-50

white female 40-50

white male 15-20

white female 15-20

white female 15-20

white male 10-15

white male 10-15

white male 10-15

white male 5-10

white male 0-5"

Evelyn Lee McKinley Orr wrote:

"In 1831 and in 1832, two of the married daughters of Da-

vid and Susannah left the mountains of the New River area

of southwestern Virginia and moved to Indiana. Word had

reached Virginia that land was available in Delaware

County. Members of the Goings family were among the very

first to purchase land from the federal government in

Liberty Township."

On December 24, 1831, David sent the following letter to

his daughter, Elizabeth Goings Campbell, shortly after

she had moved to Indiana. It isn't known if he wrote it

or had some else write it for him. The original was

written on a large sheet of paper, half of it being used

for the correspondence and the other half turned over

and sealed with wax to form an envelope:

"Dear Children,

I take the present opportunity of writing a hasty line to

you. We were glad to hear by Mr. Ribble that you were

all well or nearly well. I truly hope that you may enjoy

good health and also that you may be pleased with that

fine rich country. Your letter by Mr. Cecil last fall

brought us the distressing news of the death of your

daughter, Sally. It is needless for me now to turn back

to notice the afflicting circumstance. It is our duty to

be resigned.

My family and all your other relations in this country

are well as far as I know. I will mention the death of

one of your aunts, Mrs. Elizabeth Albert which took place

several months ago. Mr. Ribble can tell you more of the

news of our neighborhood than I can write. I expect to

come and see you next fall.

Your loving father,

David Goings.

My daughter Rachel and all my family joins in love to

you.'

The letter was sent with a Mr. Ribble who was traveling

to Indiana. Many friends and neighbors of the Goings

left the rocky hills of Virginia for cheap and fertile

land in Indiana. In 1939, the original letter was in

the possession of Anna Campbell Powers, granddaughter of

Elizabeth Goings Campbell. A typewritten version of the

letter appeared in the research of Norman Goings in 1939.

David Goings wrote in the letter of December of 1831 that

he would be coming to visit that next fall. David Susan-

nah and their sons came to Indiana to live about 1833.

The eldest son, Frederick, may have come in 1832 with the

East family. Three married daughters remained in Virgin-

ia. In 1832, a cabin on the farm of Ashel Thornburg was

converted into a school house, and Anderson R. East, son-

in-law of David and Susannah, taught there during that

and the succeeding winter. After arriving in 1833, the

younger Goings sons probably attended this school and

were taught by Anderson East or Samuel Campbell. School-

ing in Indiana was paid for by individual subscription

until public law provided free schools in 1851-52.

On February 21, 1835, "David Goings" purchased land in

section 17 of Liberty township, Delaware County. It was

located a mile west of Selma, Indiana. The tract book of

original land entries lists 40 acres in Sec. 17, twp 20,

Range 11E on "1/Nov/1826." The year "1826" is an obvious

typing error in the book and was possibly "01/Nov/1836."

the recording date for the February 1835 purchase.

The Goings family was among the first to settle in Liber-

ty township, and section 17 of Liberty township was en-

tered as early as 1833 and as late as 1837. The first

road built in Delaware County was built in 1829. It

crossed the township and ran from Windsor, Indiana in

Randolph County, due east to Muncitown, [now Muncie] In-

diana. The county had 2,272 inhabitants in 1830. The

area was described as generally level with the soil part

loam mixed with sand and very productive. Heavy stands

of timber consisting chiefly of walnut, ash, hickory,

buckeye, beech, popular, and oak with an undergrowth of

redbud, sassafras, and spice were found there. The chief

staples raised were wheat for flour, corn, pork, potatoes

and livestock. Muncietown had recently been established

and was the seat of justice. The largest rush of set-

tlers came during the years 1835-40, according to “Our

County, It’s History and Early Settlement” by John S.

Ellis.

According to Norman Haskell Goings, the original Goings

farms in Section 17 were still owned by the Goings family

in 1939.

Evelyn McKinley Orr wrote:

“On a visit to Muncie in 1989, I learned from a local

historian, Ira Bailey, that the Goings were all gone from

Delaware County at that time. Some Campbells and Easts

were still teaching in the Muncie area, according to Ro-

sella Cartwright of the Delaware County Historical So-

ciety who assisted me. A few years after the family came

to Indiana, David Goings returned to Virginia.”

Norman Haskell Goings wrote

“Grandfather rode a horse back to Virginia to the

home of Jacob Surface, husband of his daughter Kather-

ine. He then went to Pearisburg to the home of his

daughter, Rachel Goings Burton. There he sickened

and died. He was buried in an old cemetery in that

town. This was April 26, 1840. His death occurred

long before telegraph and mail service and the fam-

ily in Indiana did not know for years what happened.

“Ella Sales and Mildred Goings tried to find the

grave in 1908 and in 1916 so a tombstone could be

placed on it. On their 1916 trip, an old man pointed

out the burial spot to them and said, ‘It’s right

here.’

Mildred and I went there in 1933. She knew the spot

the old man had indicated, but we could not locate

the grave exactly.”

In a codicil of her will dated January 24, 1846 Susannah

Williams Going specified "William Chapman of Virginia to

be paid the amount that David Goings went [on] his fa-

ther's bail." The meaning of the bequest is obscure, but

it is suggested that court records of Delaware County,

Indiana or Montgomery County, Virginia might reveal some-

thing more about the purpose of the trip of David Goings

to Virginia.

Susannah Williams Goings purchased land from her son

Frederick Goings and his wife, Hannah Hoover Goings De-

cember 29, 1837. The transaction was recorded in May

1838. She paid $125 for 40 acres located in the northeast

quarter of Section 17, township 20, Range 11 of Delaware

County. This land was adjacent to the original Goings

land and to the East and Campbell farms, as shown on the

1861 atlas of the county.

In November 1839, Susannah Williams Goings sold land in

Section 17 to A. R. East. The farms of the Easts, Camp-

bells and Goings were all located northwest of Smith-

ville, Indiana, the oldest village in Liberty township.

It originated with a small group of houses along the

White River. All of the early settlers settled near the

rivers first. In the early 1850s a railroad, the Belle-

fontaine & Indianapolis, came through the county near

Selma a few miles away, and this sounded the death-knell

for Smithfield.

On the 18th day of March 1843 Susannah Williams Goings

wrote her will which was published in “Indiana Wills, Ft.

Wayne Indiana Library, 1988,” Vol. 2, pages 40-42. The

original in the County Recorder’s office in Muncie reads:

"I, Susannah Goings of the County of Delaware in the

State of Indiana do make and publish this my last will

and testament in manner and form following that is to

say,

First, it is my will that after my decease all my just

debts and funeral expenses be fully paid and satisfied.

Second, I give, devise and bequeath to my two sons

Lewis Goings and John Williams Goings the farm on

which we now reside known and described as follows

to wit, all the North West fourth of the North West

quarter of Section No. Sixteen in Township No. 20

North of Range North Eleven East and all of the

North East fourth of the North East quarter of Sec-

tion No. Seventeen in Township No. Twenty North of

Range Eleven East. The whole estimate to contain

eighty acres share and share alike.

Third, it is my will that my three sons William Go-

ings, Lewis Goings and John Williams Goings shall

each have a horse after they arrive at the age of

twenty one years and that John Williams Goings shall

have my bed, bedding and bedstead and one cow.

Fourth, it is my will that the balance of my per-

sonal property be sold and divided equally amongst

my children, the heirs of those who are deceased

to have the share of their deceased parent, namely

Henry Williams, James Williams, Elizabeth Campbell,

Catherine Surface, Mary East, Margaret Brown, Rachel

Burton, Frederick Goings, David Goings, Joseph Addi-

son Goings, William Goings, Lewis Goings, and John

Williams Goings. In testimony I have appointed

John Richey of the County of Delaware to be the

Executor of this My Last Will and Testament hereby

annulling all former wills by me at any time here-

tofore made or executed.

In witness whereof I have here unto set my hand and

seal this eighteenth day of March AD Eighteen Hun-

dred and Forty Three.

Susannah [X] Goings

Witnesses:

John Richey

Elizabeth Richey"

On the 24th day of January, 1846 she added a codicil to

the will, whereby she specified that,

"My youngest son, John Williams Goings shall have

the North forty, dividing the land East and West and

also all the grain and meat that may remain on hand

at the time of my decease and also a horse beast

worth sixty dollars or its equivalent in cash or

other property worth sixty dollars, also the table

linen.

It is my will that after my decease, my son Lewis

Goings shall have the bay mare and shall have a

share of the fruit of the orchard for ten years.

John Burton [son-in-law] of Virginia to be paid

$16.00 and William Chapman of Virginia to be paid

the amount that David Goings went his father's bail.

Elizabeth East, my granddaughter to have my clock

and Susannah Goings, daughter of my son Joseph Addi-

son to have my table cloth."

Susannah Goings sold a parcel of land to her son, Wil-

liams Goings October 20, 1843.

On the 1850 Federal census she listed a $1,000 value for

her farm. Her youngest son, John Williams Goings, was

still living at home. Susannah Williams Goings died

September 29, 1855 at age 71. Her will was probated Oc-

tober 30,1855.

In 1989, Evelyn McKinley Orr visited Truitt Cemetery near

Selma where Susannah is buried. She wrote:

"The main road that once passed alongside the ceme-

tery was overgrown with tall grasses. The cemetery,

on private land, is completely overgrown with trees

and brush. Vandals and time have destroyed or bur-

ied almost all of the headstones. County officials

are aware of this. The approximate location is

marked on the 1861 Land Atlas."

In 1939, Norman Haskell Goings wrote that Susannah had a

well preserved marker and a good location in the grave-

yard. He added:

“My father, John Williams Goings, enjoyed telling us

he was a ‘Tuck-a-ho,” a nickname for native Turks.

He often said his father was born in Turkey, but he

could never explain why we have an English name. My

notion is that Grandfather Goings was not a native

Turk, his ancestors having been in American a genera-

tion or more, but my father and Uncle David had many

features of the old men from Turkey.”

According to the research of Evelyn McKinley, Tuck-a-hoe

is not a nickname for native Turks, but when John Wil-

liams Goings heard his father say that he was a ‘Tuck-a-

hoe,” he was giving vague clues to socio-economic back-

ground of David Goings. That term was often applied to

an inhabitant of Lower Virginia and to the poor land in

that part of the state. In some parts of the South,

“Tuckahoe” means “poor white.” It was also a general

term applied to bulbous roots used by the Indians of this

region for food, according to “Hodges Handy Book of Indi-

ans North of Mexico,” Volume 2, page 831. It was also a

name sometimes applied to North American Indians. The

Blue Ridge Mountains divided the Old Dominion into two

nations called the Tuckahoes in the lowlands and the

Quo’hees in the highlands, according to “The Oxford Eng-

lish Dictionary,” Second Edition, page 649.

Hazel M. Wood wrote October 31, 1989 that “David Goings

was one of those persons with swarthy skin and fine fea-

tures, sometimes regarded as Melungeons. Some of his

descendants resembled people of Afghanistan or India."

In 1990 Hazel M. Wood provided Evelyn McKinley Orr with

a copy of Norman Haskell Goings’ three pages of family

notes, a copy of the bible page record of Susannah Wil-

liams and a list of descendants and spouses’ names com-

piled by Bruce Blank.

Evelyn McKinley Orr wrote in December 2000 that many de-

scendants of Joseph Addison Goings displayed fine North-

ern European features of other family lines. Some des-

cendants also displayed physical features amd swarthy

skin color of people from the Mediterranean, Middle East

or Southern Europe areas. The family tradition of her

Goings in Iowa was that they were thought to be French.

Two sons were born to Susannah Williams before her mar-

riage to David Goings, according to her bible record:

Henry Williams born October 30, 1800

James Williams born March 29, 1802

The names and dates of birth of all the children of Sus-

annah Williams Goings were recorded in her bible, along

with her marriage date. A copy of this bible page ap-

peared in the research of Norman Haskell Goings.

Children born to David Goings and Susannah Williams Go-

ings include:

Elizabeth Goings born March 29, 1804

Katherine Goings born April 21, 1805

Mary "Polly" Goings born January 29, 1807

[infant] born in 1808

Margaret "Peggy" Goings born February 5, 1810

Rachel Goings born November 27, 1811

Sally Goings born November 14, 1813

Frederick Goings born May 1, 1815

David Goings, Jr. born March 22, 1817

George Goings born October 4, 1818

Joseph Addison Goings born February 20, 1820

William Goings born January 1, 1822

Lewis A. Goings born June 30, 1823

John Williams Goings born December 16, 1826

==Dear Cousins==

I knew my father as James Walter Christy born August 30,

1889 in Folkston, Georgia. His parents were Thomas Al-

bert Christy and Georgia Victoria Christy, as far as I

knew. In a search of the 1900 Charlton County census, it

was found that my father was enumerated as "James Gowen,

age 11, born in August 1889, adopted son of Thomas Chres-

tie."

I have found nothing on Thomas Albert Christy, but I have

located the grave of Georgia Victoria Christy in Pineview

-Bachlott Cemetery in Folkston.

If my father were adopted, then I must turn to the Gowen

family of southeast Georgia to find my biological ances-

tors. Can the Foundation help to locate my Gowen family?

Drew Christy

christy@mpinet.net

==Dear Cousins==

The Lee County [Florida] Genealogical Society will spon-

sor a seminar in Ft. Myers on January 13, 2001. The

guest speaker will be Linda Woodward Geiger, C.G.R.S.

Sessions topics include "Designing An Efficient Research

Plan, Documentation: Never Having to Ask "Where Did That

Come From?", Using Deeds to Solve Genealogical Problems,

and Using Federal Naturalization Records. Details are

available from: pabetty@peganet.com

==Dear Cousins==

I am looking for further info on my Goins family of Ten-

nessee.

Julius C. Goins, born 1868 in TN, married to Caldona Cow-

den, daughter of Thomas Cowden of TN. Julius died 1933

in Strang, Mayes Co., OK. Julius & Caldona had the fol-

lowing children:Thomas Straley, Alvin C, Polly Ann, Eras-

mus "Guy", and Edith. I am from Thomas Straley Goins line

and would like to know more about the descendants of his

siblings.

Thomas Straley Goins, born 1888 in TN died 1932 in Strang

Mayes Co., OK, married to Nellie Jane Craig, daughter of

James Edward Craig and Elvira "Jane" Luttrell.

Thomas Straley Goins & Nellie Jane Craig had a daughter

named Corda Mae GOINS born 1917 in Strang. She married

to Lloyd Byrl Fisher, son of Manford Fisher & Stella

Blair. Manford Fisher was a blacksmith in the Strang area.

Corda Mae Goins and Lloyd Byrl Fisher are my grandpar-

ents, they migrated to Washington State with his sister,

Luella Fisher Johnson.

Any and all information on any of the above families

would be very much appreciated.

Jody Fisher Offen

4215 Pine Avenue

Bremerton, WA, 98310

casper1017@home.com

The Northern Arizona Genealogical Society annual Family

History Center Workshop will be held in Prescott, Arizona

on January 27, 2001. For additional information, check

the society's website: http://www.surnames.com/nags/.

==Dear Cousins==

The Whittier [California] Area Genealogical Society will

host their annual seminar 24 Feb 2001. This year's speaker

will be Richard Wilson, author of computer books for gene-

alogist and articles for national genealogy magazines. He

will present a summary of some of the popular genealogy

programs, how to use the Internet for effective genealog-

ical research, and on to some of the more advanced tech-

niques, such as using a scanner to add photographs to

your printed genealogy. Details are available at:

http://www.compuology.com/wags

Conversion to Digital Format an Economical Move

For Newsletter, But Does Not Cover All Expenses

When the Electronic Newsletter converted to digital and

began electronic distribution, the move eliminated many

of the Foundation expenses--printing, postage, permits,

etc. Additionally many members voluntarily donate their

time and efforts to keep the Foundation functioning.

Even with all this economy, the operation of the Founda-

tion is not a "free ride." There still remains the need

to pay the overhead. The salaries of a Webmaster, and

two researchers who "keep the wheels turning,' Internet

expenses including NTS telephone lines, Llano.Net, the

Internet Service Provider, RootsWeb, the Website provider

and other expenses keep the Foundation on the brink of

poverty.

As the end of 2000 approaches, the Foundation will ex-

perience another deficit, unless the "Cavalry dashes to

the Rescue at the Last Moment." Uncertainty adds to the

suspense in the matinee, but nail-biting is not good for

a non-profit genealogical society.

A timely reminder to everyone, all Year 2000 memberships

expire December 31, and NOW is a good time to get yours

in the mail.

A membership is required to access the Foundation Manu-

script and "Melungia." All other sections of the Elec-

tronic Library are open to the public without charge.

The membership fees are presently the only source of

income to meet the Foundation's operating expenses.

If you are financially able to "move up a notch" on

the Membership Schedule in the blank below, please do

so to keep the Foundation operating in its 12th year.

If you have family members on your Christmas List who

are interested in preserving our heritage, gift member-

ships in the Foundation would be very appropriate. The

Foundation will send gift cards acknowledging your

thoughtfulness, both to you and the recipients.

Hopefully,

Arlee

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Arlee Gowen, Editor

Gowen Research Foundation

A non-profit heritage society

5708 Gary Avenue

Lubbock, Texas, 79413-4822, 806/795-8758 or 806/795-9694

E-mail: gowen@llano.net

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following Families:

Gawan, Gawans, Gawen, Gawens, Gawin,

Gawins, Gawn, Gawne, Gawnes, Goain,

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Goene, Goens, Goin, Goines, Going,

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Gowain, Gowan, Gowane, Gowanes, Gowan,

Gowans, Gowen, Gowene, Gowens, Gowin,

Gowine, Gowing, Gowins, Gown, Gowne,

Gownes, Gowyn, Goyen, Goyens, Goyne,

Goynes, Goynne, McGowan, McGowen, McGowin,

O'Gowan, O'Gowen O'Gowin."

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