You've been Googling "Melungeon" for hours. You've got a family story that doesn't match the paper trail. You took a DNA test and got results you don't know how to read.

This guide gives you a map and includes twenty-four pages with 100+ interactive fields, plus a full family walkthrough of Vardemon Collins.

What's inside

• Self-assessment across surnames, geography, family stories, and DNA

• Six archives you can actually reach today, with URLs and what each one holds

• A Vardy Collins family walkthrough across seventy years of records

• What Estes 2012 actually found — and why the Portuguese and Turkish theories didn't hold up

• Real admixture ranges to expect on a Melungeon-descended DNA profile

• GEDmatch, Eurogenes K13, and the Melungeon Core FTDNA project — and how to use each one

• A thirty-day research plan you can start on Monday

Who it's for

The person with a family story their grandma wouldn't explain. The person who took AncestryDNA and got results that don't match the census records. The person who's been reading forums since 2004 and still isn't sure whether to keep looking.

How to use it

Fill it out on your device or print it and pen-tick your way through. Both work. Every interactive element renders as a fillable box or checkbox on paper.

What it's built on

The 2012 Estes / Goins / Ferguson / Crain study. Jack Goins' Core Melungeon DNA Project surname list. Primary records from the Tennessee State Library and Archives, the Library of Virginia, and the Hawkins County Archives.

Digital download, delivered instantly after purchase. For personal research use only. Not for AI training, ingestion, or redistribution. Common law copyright, Danielle N. Romero.