George Santayana wrote;
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."You might want to remember this next time you find yourself tempted to copy and paste something from the recent Melungeon paper, or the genealogy of President Barack Obama published by ancestry.com. Or Paul Heinegg's "freeafricanamerican.com" website, or the hundreds and hundreds of websites that are now copy and pasting this information as if it is documented.
No, there is no evidence John Punch left descendants, just as they said there is no evidence William Bunch of the 1665/66 record left descendants. They don't tell you who twenty year old Eliza Bunch was that came over in 1635 or what happened to her. They don't tell you Jeremiah Bunch was imported to King William County in 1671 or what happened to him. Or John Bunch who was imported (probably from South Carolina) by Robert Hix, Captain of the Saponi Fort, in 1716, or the mulatto (Indian?) slave who 'went by' John Bunch in the 1719 deposition.
And you will also find copy and pasted all over the internet now the Melungeons descend from Sub-Saharan men and white women. The authors, knowing this is in error, has done nothing to correct this, and so it will be copied as the Melungeons were Turks, the Melungeon diseases, the Melungeon squat and the hundreds and hundreds of other myths spread across the internet today.
There is evidence, oral and historical documents that show the Melungeons had Native American ancestry. There are no records to prove the word was first used at the Stoney Creek Church, the original has never been seen and could read as 'harboring Mcclungs' as well as harboring Melungins.
George Gibson of Orange County, North Carolina is NOT the son of Gilbert Gibson of Louisa County. Jack Goins has been given the documentation at least twice proving this is misleading Gibson researchers, and still they used it in their report, and it is being copied and pasted.
Paul Bunch was NOT called before Governor Johnson with Gideon Gibson in 1735 and Vardy and Valentine Collins were not brothers no matter how many times they wrote it in their report or who said they were. Their DNA proves they are not brothers. Valentine is NOT even a Collins, his DNA matches the Bunch family, yet these researchers instead of correcting the misinformation continue to spread it.
Remember this next time you are tempted to copy and paste something from the internet. Check for sources and if you can't find them don't copy it. Speculation is fine, just note that it is speculation.
GUSTAVE ANJOU AND FAKE GENEALOGIES
Few if any names in genealogical circles draw the outrage that Anjou enjoys. He presented himself as a professional genealogist, and his services were employed by many East Coast families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Anjou initially earned a reputation for providing copious amounts of research to back up his findings, much to the delight of his clients. For his "findings," Anjou's services were expensive for the day and he became quite well off.
However, scholarly investigation of Anjou’s findings has revealed flawed research with the intent to defraud. A 1976 article by George E. McCracken[1] is one of the most widely quoted sources on the Internet about Anjou's fraudulent works. McCracken's article also names other authors of "suspect" genealogies, although none come close to Anjou and his activities.
In 1991, genealogists Robert Charles Anderson and Gordon L. Remington wrote companion articles on Anjou in the Genealogical Journal, a publication of the Utah Genealogical Association.Anderson's article. "We Wuz Robbed, The 'modus operandi' of Gustave Anjou"[2] discussed the manner in which Anjou fabricated his genealogies. Anderson wrote:
"A typical Anjou pedigree displays four recognizable features:
1. A dazzling range of connections between dozens of immigrants to New England; for example, connections far beyond what may be seen in pedigrees produced by anyone else.
2. Many wild geographical leaps, outside the normal range of migration patterns.
3. An overwhelming number of citations to documents that actually exist, and actually include what Anjou says they include and
4. Here and there an invented document, without citation, which appears to support the many connections noted under item 1 above."[3]
Remington's article, "Gustave We Hardly Knew Ye: A Portrait of Herr Anjou as a Jungberg,"[4] revealed Anjou's true identity through exposing who his biological father really was.
Anjou's fakery has also been well documented by the late Donald Lines Jacobus, founder of The American Genealogist.
As a result of this research, Anjou’s findings are not respected in professional genealogical circles.
Anjou died on March 2, 1942 at Tottenville, Staten Island, New York, and was buried in Fairview Cemetery (at West New Brighton, Castleton Corners, Richmond County, New York). He was predeceased by both his Swedish-born wife Anna Maria Anjou (Oct. 21, 1860–July 6, 1922) and by his only child. (Wikipedia)
