Kinnits/Kins

In Melungeon communities, people live(d) in small, close-knit groups called Kins. Each kin made up of families who shared close proximity and often bloodlines. These kins often being spread out along the same body of water or across a single mountain, creating a sense of unity within isolation. With several kins located in the same area, you get what is a larger group known as a Kinnit. To help understand this, think of a Kinnit as being like a mountain. The individual Kins would be the hollers, or valleys, running up and down that mountain, each one unique but connected by their location and shared way of life. Come the early 19th century, the names, dynamics, and locations of most of these kinnits had changed. Today these kins are often known as Bands, and the kinnits they form are called Pockets, the term “kin” is more commonly used to refer to close DNA related families.

Kinnits

*this page is currently under construction and being updated everyday, this is a new website, and archiving takes time. If the information you are looking for is incomplete or not here, please have patience and check back regularly for updates.*

The following lists are compiled and expanded from the now defunct Melungeon History Organization archives:

Sand Mountain
Black Oak
Sawta

Lakeminite/ Great Lakes Melungeons (for information on the Lakeminite Diaspora please visit Great Lakes Melungeon Melungeons)
Hazeltucky (formerly Bear Creek)
Del Ray
Countyline (formerly Bear Creek)
Big Bay