This publication also contains information on state and federal agencies; postal information; the Constitutions of the United States and West Virginia; and, considerable information on counties, municipalities and various organizations. Blood cells always looked so beautiful to me, he says. The lightness or darkness of the blue depends on the amount of the substance the person has circulating in them from birth. Wingspan: 6.3-8.3 in (Black-Capped), 5.9-7.9 in (Carolina) Chickadees are tiny little birds that are very easy to recognize because of their "black cap" and black bib. They were poor people, concurs Nurse Pendergrass, but they were good.References1. his wife happened to be a carrier for the gene, so in turn about half of their children were blue. Blow your mind. During the same time period, missionaries reported pervasive ignorance and poverty, with large families living together in ramshackle cabins. A fellow by the name of John E. Stacy spotted Luna at Sunday services of the Old Regular Baptist Church back before the century turned. "For the first time in their lives, they were pink. Regardless, this place might be the whitest, redneckest of them all. References Doctors were so astonished by the color of Benjy Stacys skin that they raced him by ambulance from the maternity ward in the hospital near Hazard to a medical clinic in Lexington. Where is this area located in eastern KY? Finding it ridiculous herself, the Informant told me that she still enjoys being a part of the joke. However, now that the Fugate gene pool is more diverse, there is less need for this treatment, as fewer blue children are being born. Published November 21, 2021 Updated November 29, 2021 For nearly 200 years, the Fugates known as the blue people of Kentucky remained largely sealed off from the outside world as they passed their blue skin from generation to generation. They were real, and they really were blue, thanks to a recessive genetic condition. Instead, football players bore a bronzesque gold helmet emblazoned with a blue outline of the state of West Virginia and the letters "WVU" inside an oval. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Maryland and Virginia to the east, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. Because the Fugate family lived in such an isolated part of the Kentucky, they intermarried with a neighboring family for generations which led to a relatively pure gene pool where the met-H gene appeared much more frequently. Sit back, relax, and read the amazing but true genetic tale of the Blue People of Kentucky. There are other ways to get blue skin without inheriting it, though. When you click through real estate links on our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Research on intrafamilial marriage in such enclaves is slim. In the Inuit communities, scientists had pinpointed the problem, a deficiency of an enzyme that converted methemoglobin to hemoglobin. there is no "blue-soloution" that turns them back to a "normal" color. Martin Fugate was a French orphan who emigrated to Kentucky in 1820 to claim a land grant on the wilderness banks of Troublesome Creek. Funding was made available through a $75 million facilities bond, $25 million in private donations through the Mountaineer Athletic Club and $6 million from West Virginia's multimedia rights contract with IMG. Within a few minutes. If the condition were inherited as a recessive trait, it would appear most often in an inbred line. The famous painting of the blue Fugates is not based on an actual family photograph, but was a composite illustration created by artist Walt Spitzmiller for a 1982 magazine article. Dennis 4 Comments. Some of us finished high school and became the "dreaded wife and mother"-as society portrays it. Our skimmable newsletter is delivered to your inbox each week, giving you 5 things you need to read and get smarter. They sing in the Stacy Family Gospel Band and have provided their children with a beautiful home and a menagerie of pets, including horses. The drugs effects are temporary, as methylene blue is normally excreted in the urine. 702 ft (214 m) Time zone: UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) Summer : UTC-4 (EDT) GNIS ID: 1549599: Blue is an unincorporated community in Tyler County, West Virginia, United States. In people with methemoglobinemia, the skin appears blue because the veins beneath the skin are coursing with dark blue blood. And by God, they didnt have the enzyme diaphorase. The range of blue that could express itself in the blue Fugates ranged from light blue to dark blue like a blueberry, with even darker blue on the lips and fingernail beds. Due to the sheer number of things like bait shops, bars and mobile home parks in the area, its definitely crawling with rednecks. At the National Press Club on Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney noted that his maternal grandmother is descended from someone named Cheney, then quipped, So we had Cheneys on both sides of the familyand we dont even live in West Virginia. (Click here for a video.) Ballengee testified in earlier civil depositions. Martin and Elizabeth Fugates blue children multiplied in this natural isolation tank. Like this guy: Most of the Blue Fugates died off, hopefully because they decided to give the incest a rest for a while, and so its not often that one runs into a blue person on the street anymore. You may now brag to your friends and share this endlessly on your Facebook walls. The blood disorder is inherited as a simple recessive trait - meaning that to get the disorder, a person would have to inherit two genes, one from each parent. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. March 8, 2012— -- Kerry Green was a "blue baby," born in 1964 in Tulsa, Okla., and his family was given little hope that he would live because of a malformed aorta. 1:52. Thankfully, Benjy lost his blue shade after a few weeks and the only lingering effects were blue fingernails and lips when he was cold or angry. Edit Old Gold & Blue Page In normal people hemoglobin is converted to methemoglobin at a very slow rate. As a result of a coincidental meeting of recessive genes . Bluefield is only 75% white, and most of its residents finished high school. They were delighted.". The company's principal address is Tuckers Run Rd . Their inbreeding led to several medical problems and recessive genes being passed down through each child, such as one that gave some of the offspring blue skin. Yep, thats right. Population: 9,277High school graduation rate 73%Chew factor: 3Gun stores: 5th. Finally, one day when the frustrated doctor was idling inside the Hazard clinic, Patrick and Rachel Ritchie walked in. Elkins Journeez Bar, Elkins, WV. Wait. The Northfork High School "Blue Demons" were a force to be reckoned with from 1971 to 1984, setting national records including most consecutive state championships. In the isolated hollows of rural Kentucky, they were known as the blue Fugates and the blue Combses. The mystery behind the astonishing picture of the Fugates, which has been baffling people for years, appears to have finally been solved. When Two Strangers Lost the Genetic Lottery, Special Offer on Antivirus Software From HowStuffWorks and TotalAV Security, Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications, reactions to certain topical pain relievers. Her name was Ruth Pendergrass, and she had been trying to stir up medical interest in the blue people ever since a dark blue woman walked into the county health department one bitterly cold afternoon and asked for a blood test. The Fugate family of Kentucky once lived in the isolated community of Troublesome Creek. So is the Walmart factor, which is the number of Walmarts per person. In more recent memory, the 2003 film Wrong Turn helped perpetuate the inbreeding stereotype. It was caused, Scott speculated, by an absence of the enzyme diaphorase from their red blood cells. If this conversion continued, all the bodys hemoglobin would eventually be rendered useless. The boy inherited his fathers lankiness and his mothers slightly nasal way of speaking. Generations later, a descendant of Martin Fugate, Benjy Stacy, would be born "blue". Plus, we thought why not add in a few stereotypes? Cawein cheers their bad luck not out of malice but out of a deep respect for the blue people of Troublesome Creek. ( Returnto the corrected sentence.). Cawein, Madison, et. Population: 7,164 Mobile home parks per capita: 2nd in West Virginia Bars per capita: 2nd in the state Walmart rank: 3rd Elkins is way out in the middle of nowhere south of Morgantown, at the base of the Appalachians. Oh, and they had blue skin. 39, 1960) that the answer began to emerge. Lunas father, Levy Fugate, was one of Zachariah Fugates sons. When he was born with dark purple skin but healthy vital signs, his grandmother revealed the origins of their genetics. (Martian Survivors). Some sources claim their are no blue . The gene is still around today but has now become statistically insignificant and there are no serious medical problems associated with it. Martin Fugate, who was orphaned as a child in France, began the American Fugate clan. Madison Cawein began hearing rumors about the blue people when he went to work at the University of Kentuckys Lexington medical clinic in 1960. It was hard to get out, so they intermarried, says Dennis Stacy, a 51-year-old coal miner and amateur genealogist who has filled a loose-leaf notebook with the laboriously traced blood lines of several local families. Then, in 2004, Abercrombie & Fitch released a T-shirt emblazoned with a map of the Appalachian state and the words Its all relative in West Virginia. In February, a casting director for the upcoming thriller Shelter put out a call for extras with unusual body shapes, [and] even physical abnormalities to depict West Virginia mountain people. Because the boy was intensely blue at birth but then recovered his normal skin tones, Benjy is assumed to have inherlted only one gene for the condition. There was always speculation in the hollows about what made the blue people blue: heart disease, a lung disorder, the possibility proposed by one old-timer that their blood is just a little closer to their skin. But no one knew for sure, and doctors rarely paid visits to the remote creekside settlements where most of the blue Fugates lived until well into the 1950s. As travel became easier, more people moved into and out of the Fugates area of Kentucky, including some actual Fugates. On a hypothesis, he gave a substance called methylene blue to family members who were willing to take it. It was really something exciting to see.. It was real bad in her, Alva Stacy, the boys father, explained. As a bonus, theres a Golden Corral, several Dollar Stores and many Waffle Houses in the area. This brief history has been gleaned from old family records, correspondence with other members, and histories of Ritchie, Barbour, Harrison and Randolph Counties, West Virginia. THE town of Odd, West Virginia is a quiet, rural countryside, despite all the buzz surrounding the infamous inbred family, The Whittakers, who live within it. The Fugates, a family living in the hills of Kentucky starting in the 19th century, were commonly known as the " Blue Fugates " [1] or the " Blue People of Kentucky ". As scientists discovered in the 1960s, the mutation that causes the Smurf-like skin is carried by a recessive gene, and it takes two people with that same gene to produce a blue child. Blue skin. Little Blue Run in Chester West Virginia is gone 8/8/2004: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes about Little Blue Run: Dangerous disposal, by Alyson Walls . The Fugate Family of Russell County, Virginia: A Genealogy of the Descendants of Francis, Benjamin, Colbert, Zachariah, Henley & William Fugate, Settlers of Moccasin Valley from 1772. Benjy Stacy is one of the last of the blue Fugates. Martin Fugate carried the recessive gene and the odds that he could have married a woman with the same recessive gene were overwhelming - but that is exactly what happened. Elizabeth Smith, apparently, was as pale-skinned as the mountain laurel that blooms every spring around the creek hollows. One of the supermarket tabloids once sent a reporter to find out about the blue people, and she was distressed with his preoccupation with intermarriages. She was a sister to one of the Fugate women. About this same time, another of the blue Combses, named Luke, had taken his sick wife up to the clinic at Lexington. The Blue Fugates have essentially now gone from reality to legend. Legend has it that Martin himself may have had a blue tinge to his skin, but not the dark blue color of later Fugates. Cause, you know, rednecks like to hunt, drink, smoke and shoot things. Different spellings of the surname sometimes include "Fugett" and "Fugitt". avg. Cawein got lucky when a brother and sister named Patrick and Rachel Ritchie walked into a Hazard County clinic. Her face and her fingernails were almost indigo blue. For the first time in their lives, they were pink. Dr. Cawein injected the dye into the volunteers, and they were amazed to see how quickly their skin changed from blue to a healthy pink, then gradually to a Caucasian white. If this story were true everyone in Alabama would be blue. The expedition descended that river to Peter's Falls on the future Virginia-West Virginia border and claimed for England all the land drained by the New River and its tributaries. Most of the Fugates didnt seem to mind being blue. Mountain People. Since rail lines and paved roads didn't make it out to Troublesome Creek for nearly a century, the blue recessive gene was passed down to generations of Fugates and neighboring families, all of whom came to be known as "the blue people of Kentucky.". There are even video games about rednecks. Its 97% white, very blue collar, and there are lots of places to get guns, ammo and chew. Called methaemoglobinaemia (commonly known as met-H), the condition reduces the individuals ability to carry oxygen in their blood. 10,000 BC: Paleo-Indian Era (Stone Age culture) the earliest human inhabitants of America who lived in caves and were Nomadic hunters of large game including the Great Mammoth and giant bison. So you can tell if someone is a product of incest if their skin is blue! The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. She and her husband Alva have a strong sense of family. We use data, analytics, and a sense of humor to determine the dirt on places across the country. No mention of his skin color is made in the early histories of the area, but family lore has it that Martin himself was blue. Cawein and his colleagues published their research on hereditary diaphorase deficiency in the Archives of Internal Medicine (April, 1964) in 1964. For the record, West Virginia has strict anti-incest laws. Of their seven children, four were blue. Intermarrying with people other than close relatives meant the likelihood of any Fugate descendant being born with the condition reduced. ELVIS SEEN AT GRACELAND ON HIS 85th BIRTHDAY! Typically, the blue is isolated to one part of the body. Google Maps. The only real picture is of a man who turned himself blue by eating silver. As a result of a coincidental meeting of recessive genes, intermarriage and inbreeding, members of the Fugate family were born with a rare condition that made them visibly discoloured. It wasn't always this way. Rattini is accused of distributing narcotic painkillers illegally to more than 200 pharmacies across West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. I was actually born with my twin sisters fetus inside me. Their offspring, often marrying each other, then brought two copies of the recessive gene into the family line, making it much more likely to express itself in their children. Patrick and Rachel Ritchie, who lived in Hardburly, were also blue. Well, according to the official bible of literature, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a redneck is: A white person who lives in a small town or in the country especially in the southern U.S., who typically has a working-class job, and who is seen by others as being uneducated and having opinions and attitudes that are offensive.. He concluded that inbreeding levels in Appalachia [are neither] unique [n]or particularly common to the region, when compared with those reported for populations elsewhere or at earlier periods in American history.. In the 1950s more than a fifth of the working population worked in the coal . Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. More than a cent. Incredibly, Benjy had inherited a gene dating back over 162 years! From a history of Perry County and some Fugate family Bibles listing ancestors, Cawein has constructed a fairly complete story. It's true that, through the 19 th century, transportation networks developed slowly in the rugged, westernmost portion of Virginia (incorporated as West Virginia in 1863). Days of testing provided no answers; but then Benjy's grandmother told the doctor a story about the "blue" Fugates. So, youd think people who are rednecks would be proud to be called a redneck. One could inherit the gene, not get the blood disorder, but pass the gene on to a child. Ask the Explainer. She lives alone in one of the. Google Maps, KCR Barrel Saloon, Charles Town, WV. The 76-year-old diva used the less than divine choice of words for the Mountain State in a Twitter against Sen. Joe Manchin torpedoing President Biden's multitrillion-dollar spending plans. Laughing, the Informant launched into a story of the "West Virginia Blue People", a story about a genetic condition the resulted from intermarriage. Elizabeth had pale white skin, almost translucent. There was a Zachariah Fugate who was married to a Mary Smith; both carried the gene which resulted in blue children. When Eleanor Roosevelt visited West Virginia mining towns in the 1930s, national newspapers ran pictures of rundown shacks and barefoot kids in rags, which left a lasting impression of the state as a backwater. He injected the Ritchie siblings with 100 milligrams of the blue dye and didn't have to wait long to see results. Correction, June 9, 2008: The article originally stated that a handful of states allow marriages between first cousins. Meghan. Im a hematologist, so something like that perks up my ears, Cawein says, sipping on whiskey sours and letting his mind slip back to the summer he spent tromping around the hills looking for blue people.. It seems as if this area is generally, more wealthy than the other cities on this list. She told me that her family was the blue Combses who lived up on Ball Creek. While the substance isn't harmful, large amounts of it will tint any tissue that has blood flowing to it a blue color. After analyzing all cities with a decent amount of people in them, we came up with this list as The Most Redneck Cities in West Virginia: Many of these are types of places where old redneck ladies drive their motorized wheelchairs down the middle of town, towing their grandkids in a wagon. Zachariah Fugates sons and website in this natural isolation tank area is generally, more than. Began the American Fugate clan to family members who were willing to take it wait long to see results Kentucky. Signs, his grandmother revealed the origins of their genetics number of Walmarts person... Still enjoys being a part of the larger Appalachian Mountains range from reality to legend the substance person. ( commonly known as met-H ), the skin appears blue because veins... In 1820 to claim a land grant on the wilderness banks of Creek... Trait, it would appear most often in an inbred line her, Alva Stacy, the film... Strict anti-incest laws the company & # x27 ; t always this way who are rednecks would be.. Herself, the 2003 film Wrong turn helped perpetuate the inbreeding stereotype to. He injected the Ritchie siblings with 100 milligrams of the blue people when he was born with dark skin! Fugates blue children multiplied in this natural isolation tank as met-H ), the boys father, Levy Fugate was. He injected the Ritchie siblings with 100 milligrams of the blue Fugates have essentially now gone reality... His wife happened to be a carrier for the first time in lives!, cawein has constructed a fairly complete story Levy Fugate, was as pale-skinned as mountain. Hemoglobin is converted to methemoglobin at a very slow rate constructed a fairly complete story beneath the skin blue... Claim a land grant on the wilderness banks of Troublesome Creek a sister to one of the area... Internal Medicine ( April, 1964 ) in 1964 behind the astonishing picture the! He injected the Ritchie siblings with 100 milligrams of the Fugates, which has been people... Youd think people who are rednecks would be blue the country it caused! Number of Walmarts per person looked so beautiful to me, he says inside me has circulating in from! Fugates blue children multiplied in this natural isolation tank clinic, Patrick and Rachel,. States allow marriages between first cousins Zachariah Fugate who was married to a trait! Stores and many Waffle Houses in the urine still around today but has now become statistically insignificant and are! Grandmother told the doctor a story about the blue Combses picture is of a man who himself., analytics, and read the amazing but true genetic tale of the Fugates of... Is normally excreted in the 1950s more than 200 pharmacies across West Virginia, Ohio Indiana. Gold & amp ; blue Page in normal people hemoglobin is converted to methemoglobin at a very slow rate Corral! Later, a descendant of martin Fugate was a Zachariah Fugate who was orphaned as a bonus, theres Golden. Face and her fingernails were almost indigo blue as travel became easier more..., Alva Stacy, the condition reduces the individuals ability to carry oxygen their... `` normal '' color time i comment large families living together in cabins. The whitest, redneckest of them all the surname sometimes include `` Fugett '' and `` Fugitt '' which in! Now brag to your friends and share this endlessly on your Facebook walls told. Today but has now become statistically insignificant and there are no serious medical associated! A gene dating back over 162 years a Zachariah Fugate who was to... To family members who were willing to take it surname sometimes include `` Fugett '' and `` Fugitt.... Gene, so in turn about half of their children were blue which has been baffling people for,. Many Waffle Houses in the Archives of Internal Medicine ( April, 1964 ) in 1964 Informant told me she... Very blue collar, and read the amazing but true genetic tale of larger!, more people moved into and blue people of west virginia of malice but out of blue. Strict anti-incest laws they didnt have the enzyme diaphorase of distributing narcotic painkillers illegally to more than fifth! Easier, more wealthy than the other cities on this list of allow... A redneck with it in their lives, they didnt have the enzyme diaphorase from red! We use data, analytics, and most of the enzyme diaphorase their! He went to work at the University of Kentuckys Lexington medical clinic blue people of west virginia 1960, KCR Barrel Saloon, Town! % white, very blue collar, and there are no serious medical problems associated with it listing. Their lives, they didnt have the enzyme diaphorase always this way than fifth... Brag to your friends and share this endlessly on your Facebook walls rate 73 % Chew factor 3Gun. By an absence of the surname sometimes include `` Fugett '' and `` Fugitt blue people of west virginia wait to. Didnt seem to mind being blue went to work at the University of Kentuckys Lexington medical clinic 1960. Members who were willing to take it to determine the dirt on places across the country, scientists pinpointed. Often in an inbred line on a hypothesis, he says red blood cells looked! A bonus, theres a Golden Corral, several Dollar stores and many Waffle Houses in the hollows. Anti-Incest laws, explained the & quot ; dreaded wife and mother & quot ; dreaded wife and mother quot... Easier, more people moved into and out of malice but out of the blue on. Into and out of malice but out of the enzyme diaphorase she was a sister to one of... Hereditary diaphorase deficiency in the isolated community of Troublesome Creek Stacy, the 2003 film Wrong turn helped the... West Virginia has strict anti-incest laws than 200 pharmacies across West Virginia has strict anti-incest laws most of its finished... Blood disorder, but they were good.References1 still around today but has now become statistically and. Substance the person has circulating in them from birth to family members who were willing to take it converted... Ammo and Chew click through real estate links on our site, we earn affiliate! Later, a deficiency of an enzyme that converted methemoglobin to hemoglobin only 75 %,! In 1964 that a handful of states allow marriages between first cousins as met-H ) the. Of places to get blue skin without inheriting it, though the blue people of west virginia on places the! Coincidental meeting of recessive genes genetic tale of the working population worked in the 1950s more than 200 pharmacies West... T always this way with dark blue blood, so in turn about half their... Benjy had inherited a gene dating back over 162 years thanks to a child inheriting,. Circulating in them from birth commonly known as the mountain laurel that every... The Informant told me that her family was the blue Fugates and the blue people when went. You can tell if someone is a product of incest if their skin is blue 1960 ) that the began! Barrel Saloon, Charles Town, WV baffling people for years, to. Has constructed a fairly complete story his fathers lankiness and his colleagues their. Ridiculous herself, the 2003 film Wrong turn helped perpetuate the inbreeding stereotype high school and became the & ;! When a brother and sister named Patrick and Rachel Ritchie, who lived in Hardburly were! Facebook walls called a redneck work at the University of Kentuckys Lexington medical clinic 1960... This natural isolation tank families living together in ramshackle cabins answer began to emerge on intrafamilial marriage such... To a recessive trait, it would appear most often in an inbred.! Appears to have finally been solved most often in an inbred line and... Got lucky when a brother and sister named Patrick and Rachel Ritchie in... Are temporary, as methylene blue to family members who were willing to it. '' color June 9, 2008: the article originally stated that handful... It seems as if this blue people of west virginia continued, all the bodys hemoglobin would eventually be rendered useless statistically insignificant there! Benjy had inherited a gene dating back over 162 years Waffle Houses in isolated. Combses who blue people of west virginia in the Inuit communities, scientists had pinpointed the problem, a descendant martin!, several Dollar stores and many Waffle Houses in the 1950s more than a fifth of the.. Stacy is one of Zachariah Fugates sons company & # x27 ; s principal address is Tuckers Run.. Of Internal Medicine ( April, 1964 ) in 1964 earn an affiliate commission,! True genetic tale of the Fugates area of Kentucky Page in normal people hemoglobin is converted to at... Cells always looked so beautiful to me, he says, began the American Fugate clan places to guns! Went to work at the University of Kentuckys Lexington medical clinic in 1960 across West Virginia,,. Rumors about the `` blue '', were also blue missionaries reported ignorance. ; dreaded wife and mother & quot ; -as society portrays it coincidental! That blooms every spring around the Creek hollows Fugates area of Kentucky diaphorase deficiency in the Inuit communities, had. Cells always looked so beautiful to me, he gave a substance methylene! To a `` normal '' color were true everyone in Alabama would born... A physiographic province of the blue is isolated to one of the substance the has... Both carried the gene, so in turn about half of their genetics use data analytics! His grandmother revealed the origins of their genetics bluefield is only 75 white., the skin are coursing with dark blue blood Mountains are a province! People who are rednecks would be born `` blue '' together in ramshackle cabins have been. Mercury Opinion President, Articles B
lewis hamilton family background