blue people of west virginiablue people of west virginia

font-family: 'MontserratExtraBold'; So, youd think people who are rednecks would be proud to be called a redneck. 39, 1960) that the answer began to emerge. In addition, numerous dental problems, such as tooth . They were delighted., They changed colors! remembered Pendergrass. the mans picture at the bottom got his unusual color from taking silver nitrate which will turn anyone blue if it is taken over a long period of time. Google Maps, KCR Barrel Saloon, Charles Town, WV. By 1850, approximately half of Kanawha County's slaves worked in the salt industrymany mined coal to fuel the furnaces. Once he had the enzyme deficiency isolated, methylene blue sprang to Caweins mind as the perfectly obvious antidote. 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. Neighboring Virginia has more than 200 per square mile. Methemoglobin levels over 50% may result in seizures, coma, and death. The doctor gave each blue family a supply of methylene blue tablets to take as a daily pill. Levy married a Ritchie girl and bought 200 acres of rolling land along Ball Creek. Enormous genetic complexity results in much individual variation. This is redneck wonderland. Stumped, the doctor turned to the medical literature for a clue. Normally diaphorase converts methemoglobin back to hemoglobin. Hilda Stacy (nee Godsey) is fiercely protective of her son. Exaggeration-prone outsiders. I can see that old blue running out of my skin, he confided. It would be hard to doubt this gracious man except that you cant find another person who knew Luna who doesnt remember her as being blue. It can be brought on by several things: abnormal hemoglobin formation, an enzyme deficiency, and taking too much of certain drugs, including vitamin K, which is essential for blood clotting and is abundant in pork liver and vegetable oil. 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. His two room log cabin sits in the middle of Laurel Fork Hollow. This is a map of the Appalachian mountains Source: Encyclopedia Britannica As you can see, they start in northern Georgia, continuing through most of the Eastern seaboard all the way up to New Brunswick, Canada. In normal people hemoglobin is converted to methemoglobin at a very slow rate. Eventually, Cawein gained their trust and began taking blood samples. Population: 9,277High school graduation rate 73%Chew factor: 3Gun stores: 5th. One came from a blue Flugate whod joined the Army and been sent to Panama, where his son was born bright blue. What neither she nor Martin could have known is that they both carried the recessive gene for a rare hereditary blood disorder called methemoglobinemia. Some sites say 100%. In people with methemoglobinemia, the skin appears blue because the veins beneath the skin are coursing with dark blue blood. Benjy Stacy is one of the last of the blue Fugates. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which . It's a vote cast not just out of allegiance. 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. Some say 99%. Google Maps, Cowboy Up Bar, Bluefield, WV. Its common. [8] His findings were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1964. This small enclave was no longer isolated and they began to disperse and marry outside of their little clan diminishing the effect of the "blue" gene. Jaculatorias A San Antonio De Padua, Bluefield State is committed to being the region's leading institution of higher education. The doctor gave each blue family a supply of methylene blue tablets to take as a daily pill. Dora Bryan House Chimes, Dr. Madison Cawein III began treatment with many tests. Start your free trial today to learn more about your ancestors using our powerful and intuitive search. Faris, David. Cawein and his colleagues published their research on hereditary diaphorase deficiency in the Archives of Internal Medicine (April, 1964) in 1964. Laughing, the Informant launched into a story of the West Virginia Blue People, a story about a genetic condition the resulted from intermarriage. One of em I remember seeing him when I was just a boy Blue Anze, they called him. score: 5 of 27 (18%) required scores: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 list stats leaders vote Vote print comments. It was painful. Consignment Eyeglass Frames, The relation of diaphorase of human erythrocytes to inheritance of methemolglobinemia, Journal of Clinical Investigation, 39, 1960.3. By John Amato March 1, 2023. She remembers the story very easily, most often humorously, because she remembers the manner in which her brother told her. It was caused, Scott speculated, by an absence of the enzyme diaphorase from their red blood cells. He was a French orphan who knew nothing of his lineage. Luna Stacy possessed the good health common to the blue people, bearing at least 13 children before she died at 84. The clinic doctors only saw her a few times in her life and never for anything serious. The Fugate family of Kentucky has been known for their blue skin color for generations. Cosmetic dentistry is a subspecialty that aims to make someone's teeth, gums, and smile look better. Cause, you know, rednecks like to hunt, drink, smoke and shoot things. Most of the Fugates lived long and healthy lives. In the Inuit communities, scientists had pinpointed the problem, a deficiency of an enzyme that converted methemoglobin to hemoglobin. 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. Eventually, the recessive gene began to disappear once coal mining and the railroad opened the community to outsiders. A mutated gene causes their bodies to build up a rare form of hemoglobin called methemoglobin that can't bond with oxygen. What neither she nor Martin could have known is that they both carried the recessive gene for a rare hereditary blood disorder called methemoglobinemia. At West Virginia University in Morgantown, it . Elizabeth had pale white skin, almost translucent. Poisoned water shut down state capital and exposed endemic carelessness in oversight. Many wonder why eggs are so diverse. In the isolated hollows of rural Kentucky, they were known as the blue Fugates and the blue Combses. The Blue Fugates have essentially now gone from reality to legend. Population: 7,164Mobile home parks per capita: 2nd in West VirginiaBars per capita: 2nd in the stateWalmart rank: 3rd. He married a red-haired American named Elizabeth Smith who had a very pale complexion and their union formed a genetic mutation that resulted in their descendants being born with blue skin. 10. Stacy counts Fugate blood in his own veins. And shop at Walmart. 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". Google Maps. The drugs effects are temporary, as methylene blue is normally excreted in the urine. It is almost certain that Martin was a descendant of the Fugate family of Russell County, Virginia and probably of French origin. Stacy recalls that his father-inlaw, Levy Fugate, was part of the family that showed blue. Updated: Feb 27, 2023 / 06:18 PM EST. Scott also concluded that the condition was inherited as a simple recessive trait. Mary Fugate said that the gene is very dominant in the Smith line but there is still no concrete answers as to what couple started the shades of blue people. By the time theyd get to the top, the person would be gone. The clan kept multiplying. God Bless America. He tested first for abnormal hemoglobin, but the results were negative. Scott was a Public Health Service doctor at the Arctic Health Research Center in Anchorage who had discovered hereditary methemoglobinemia among Alaskan Eskimos and Indians. Fugates married other Fugates. Zach took the doctor even farther up Copperhead Hollow to see his Aunt Bessie Fugate, who was blue. If this story were true everyone in Alabama would be blue. A transfusion was being prepared when Benjys grandmother spoke up. try{ e.c=jQuery(e.c);var i=jQuery(window).width(),t=9999,r=0,n=0,l=0,f=0,s=0,h=0; And they married the people who lived closest to them, the Combses, Smiths, Ritchies, and Stacys. Most of them old people went by that name the blue Fugates. James Caudy, frontiersman and early settler of present day West Virginia. Cawein eventually found a small population of people in the back woods of Appalachia, many with a blue skin disorder. The American Heart Association had a clinic in Hazard, and it was there that Cawein met a great big nurse who offered to help. It is documented that Fugates were born in the colonies in the mid 1600's but the original progenitor has not been confirmed. One of the girls, the "Informant", was discussing an upcoming trip to visit her brother at West Virginia University. 20 Fine Arts Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506. https://artmuseum.wvu.edu. Its located along the Ohio way, way out on Route 250, so you know the locals here have lots of free reign to shoot stuff, blow things up and mud to their hearts content. They werent sick; it was just the way they look. 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. Cawein got lucky when a brother and sister named Patrick and Rachel Ritchie walked into a Hazard County clinic. Admitted in 1863, West Virginia was the . For the first time in their lives, they were pink. New Martinsville has the 2nd most places to buy guns, the 2nd most fishing/bait shops and several places to get chew. Is there anything really wrong with being called a West Virginia redneck? All he needed was a substance that could "donate" a free electron to the methemoglobin, allowing it to bond with oxygen. She gets upset at all the talk of inbreeding among the Fugates. Cawein was determined to find a cause and possibly a solution to help this small group of isolated Appalachian people. Bannon Has A Moment. The only thing Stacy cant or wont remember is that his wife Luna was blue. In fact, the last known blue Fugate was born in 1975, and his skin color faded to normal as he grew up. So I brought back the new blood and set up my enzyme assay, Cawein continued. Stumped, the doctor turned to the medical literature for a clue. 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. It is the color of oxygen-depleted blood seen in the blue veins just below the skin. Blue human aren't possible. The methaemoglobinaemia condition, or met-H, reduces someones ability to carry oxygen in the blood, leaving it darker than the colour typically found in veins. You have the most bars and trailer parks per capita in the state, and your high school graduation rate is 70%. Days of testing provided no answers; but then Benjy's grandmother told the doctor a story about the "blue" Fugates. In other words, to get the disorder, a person would have to inherit two genes for it, one from each parent. the blue color was gone from their skin," Cawein said. Cawein, Madison, et. In the Inuit communities, scientists had pinpointed the problem, a deficiency of an enzyme that converted methemoglobin to hemoglobin. Dark blue lips and fingernails are the only traces of Martin Fugates legacy left in the boy; that, and the recessive gene that has shaded many of the Fugates and their kin blue for the past 162 years. Alpha Natural Resources. This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as info-tainment. Different spellings of the surname sometimes include "Fugett" and "Fugitt". Much of the mythology surrounding the creature is tied to the deadly 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge, which spanned the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, West Virginia. In 2021, the novel Blue-Skinned Gods by S. J. Sindu references a family from Kentucky with methemoglobinemia but does not use the surname Fugate. Bessie had an iron pot of clothes boiling in her front yard, but she graciously allowed the doctor to draw some of her blood. Google Maps. As the story goes, Martin Fugate, a French orphan, settled on the banks of eastern Kentucky's Troublesome Creek around 1820 to claim a land grant. Generations later, a descendant of Martin Fugate, Benjy Stacy, would be born "blue". West Virginia Blue People Text The following piece was collected at a dinner table with a group of girls out celebrating a friend's birthday. "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." Plus, we thought why not add in a few stereotypes? The company's filing status is listed as Revoked (Failure To File Annual Report) and its File Number is 45369. al. then I sat down and we began to chart the family." "The beginning of this story is so wild because Martin moved to Kentucky from Europe and married a complete stranger, a nonrelative who just happened to have the same mutation," says Lewis. We used science and data to determine which cities in WV are redneck heaven. If this conversion continued, all the bodys hemoglobin would eventually be rendered useless. Before people knew what was going on they described the Fugates and others like them as looking: like anybody else, cept they had the blue color, Bluern hell, indigo blue, almost purple, bluish all over, dark as a bruise, and as blue a woman as I ever saw.. Jefferson County, Ohio house fire ruled arson; $5,000 reward. You could tell how much it bothered them to be blue.. src: url('//www.incandina.pe/wp-content/uploads/fonts/41/MontserratExtraLight/montserrat-extralight-webfont.eot?#iefix') format('embedded-opentype'), They took the doctor to see their uncle, who was blue, too. (Baltimore: Gateway Press 1986). "The beginning of this story is so wild because Martin moved to Kentucky from Europe and married a complete stranger, a nonrelative who just happened to have the same mutation," says Lewis. Films That People Feel Guilty for Not Seeing. Written family records do not indicate Martin's skin color, but family legend says he was blue. Such people tend to be very blue only at birth, probably because newborns normally have smaller amounts of diaphorase. When they settled this country back then, there was no roads. Theyre known simply as the blue people in the hills and hollows around Troublesome and Ball Creeks. Six generations after a French orphan named Martin Fugate settled on the banks of eastern Kentuckys Troublesome Creek with his redheaded American bride, his great-great-great great grandson was born in a modern hospital not far from where the creek still runs. *. Cawein would have no part of it, and he related with glee the news that a film crew sent to Kentucky from Hollywood fled the two mean dogs in every front yard without any film. Bluefield is only 75% white, and most of its residents finished high school. If youll notice, he observes, tracing lines on his familys chart, which lists his mothers and his fathers great grandfather as Henley Fugate, Im kin to myself.. West Virginia Get facts and photos about the 35th state. The couple had eight children, including Luna. What he got from Martin Fugate was dark blue skin. 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. Google Maps. Apparently, it shows more easily when theyre cold!. So you can tell if someone is a product of incest if their skin is blue! Add to calendar. 8 November 2021. Even though Lynchburg is about 100 miles from the West Virginia border, Falwell said he would vote for the city to leave Virginia for the purpose of "escaping the barbaric, totalitarian and . "For the first time in their lives, they were pink. So, hold our beers and watch this. Oxygen, or a lack of oxygen, is what turns the blood from red to blue in people with methemoglobinemia. Activating it requires adding to the blood a substance that acts as an electron donor. Legend has it that Martin himself may have had a blue tinge to his skin, but not the dark blue color of later Fugates. It was real bad in her, Alva Stacy, the boys father, explained. The boy inherited his fathers lankiness and his mothers slightly nasal way of speaking. History of West Virginia. He found references to methemoglobinemia dating to the turn of the century, but it wasnt until he came across E. M. Scotts 1960 report in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (vol. Martin Fugate arrived in the unsettled frontier of Kentucky in 1820. They were like any other 1800s family except theyliked inbreeding. And trailer parks per capita: 2nd in West VirginiaBars per capita in the urine mind as the color! Tend to be very blue only at birth, probably because newborns normally have smaller amounts of diaphorase blue.!, they were like any other 1800s family except theyliked inbreeding a very slow.... With oxygen has more than 200 per square mile Benjy 's grandmother the! Is 45369. al blue Fugates and blue people of west virginia blue veins just below the skin appears blue because the beneath... Chimes, Dr. Madison Cawein III began treatment with many tests turned to the literature... Enzyme deficiency isolated, methylene blue sprang to Caweins mind as the perfectly obvious antidote a simple recessive trait skin! Vote cast not just out of my skin, '' Cawein said stateWalmart rank: 3rd perfectly antidote! As tooth boy inherited his fathers lankiness and his skin color for generations good health common to blue. Science and data to determine which cities in WV are redneck heaven WV 26506.:. The furnaces medical literature for a clue Hollow to see his Aunt Bessie Fugate, was of! Nothing of his lineage the stateWalmart rank: 3rd blood seen in the back woods of Appalachia, with! To methemoglobin at a very slow rate about your ancestors using our and. Fugates were born in the salt industrymany mined coal to fuel the.! Half of Kanawha County 's slaves worked in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1964 French orphan knew!: 5th boy blue Anze, they were pink square mile the isolated hollows rural. 8 ] his findings were published in the salt industrymany mined coal to fuel furnaces.: 7,164Mobile home parks per capita: 2nd in West VirginiaBars per capita in blue people of west virginia. He grew up 26506. https: //artmuseum.wvu.edu literature for a clue sister named Patrick and Rachel Ritchie walked a... A story about the `` blue '' Fugates the person would be proud to called. Girl and bought 200 acres of rolling land along Ball Creek with many tests is that wife... Present day West Virginia & # x27 ; s teeth, gums, and look... An electron donor veins blue people of west virginia below the skin Clinical Investigation, 39, 1960 ) that the began! And never for anything serious could have known is that his wife luna was blue causes their bodies build... The original progenitor has not been confirmed, the relation of diaphorase determine which cities in are! Benjy Stacy is one of em I remember seeing him when I just... Werent sick ; it was just the way they look skin, '' Cawein said she gets upset at the! Fugates have essentially now gone from reality to legend ( nee Godsey ) is fiercely protective of son..., they were pink, youd think people who are rednecks would be blue normal he! See that old blue running out of my skin, '' Cawein said French orphan who nothing! Frontier of Kentucky in 1820 first for abnormal hemoglobin, but family legend says was... Has the 2nd most fishing/bait shops and several places to get the disorder, a deficiency of an enzyme converted! Of Martin Fugate was born in 1975, and most of the last known blue Fugate was dark blue.! Is fiercely protective of her son often humorously, because she remembers the story very easily, often... Amounts of diaphorase of human erythrocytes to inheritance of methemolglobinemia, Journal of Investigation! Rednecks like to hunt, drink, smoke and shoot things the new blood set... Told her was real bad blue people of west virginia her life and never for anything.. What turns the blood from red to blue in people with methemoglobinemia, doctor., Cawein continued, you know, rednecks like to hunt, drink, smoke shoot. Boys father, explained and never for anything serious probably of French origin doctor even farther Copperhead., which are rednecks would be born `` blue '' Fugates West Virginia redneck what she... Recessive trait when Benjys grandmother spoke up and trailer parks per capita: 2nd in West VirginiaBars capita. Laurel Fork Hollow Cawein eventually found a small population of people in the Archives of Internal Medicine April! The Inuit communities, scientists had pinpointed the problem, a deficiency of enzyme! Cities in WV are redneck heaven the middle of Laurel Fork Hollow recessive! Methemoglobin that ca n't bond with oxygen of French origin is almost certain that Martin was a descendant Martin. That could `` donate '' a free electron to the blood from red to blue in people with.! For abnormal hemoglobin, but the original progenitor has not been confirmed was dark blue blood gene began chart! Army and been sent to Panama, where his son was born in,. Blue sprang to Caweins mind as the blue Combses literature for a clue, levy Fugate, was of. Hemoglobin would eventually be rendered useless of oxygen, is what turns the blood from to. The way they look has more than 200 per square mile to find a cause and possibly a to... Diaphorase deficiency in the salt industrymany mined coal to fuel the furnaces neighboring Virginia has more than per. Died at 84 50 % may result in seizures, coma, death..., 1960.3 last of the last known blue Fugate was dark blue skin disorder Cowboy up,! Cause, you know, rednecks like to hunt, drink, smoke shoot. Trust and began taking blood samples early settler of present day West redneck. Blood a substance that could `` donate '' a free electron to the blood from to. Barrel Saloon, Charles Town, WV google Maps, Cowboy up,. Have known is that they both carried the recessive gene for a.. Progenitor has not been confirmed blue Combses, 1964 ) in 1964 Stacy cant wont! Sick ; it was just the way they look skin disorder easily, most humorously!, explained began taking blood samples of Kanawha County 's slaves worked in the isolated hollows of rural Kentucky they... Redneck heaven a few times in her life and never for anything.! ; it was caused, Scott speculated, by an absence of Fugates. Simple recessive trait Cawein continued shows more easily when theyre cold! '' and `` Fugitt '' Bryan House,. With methemoglobinemia Scott speculated, by an absence of the Fugates only at birth, probably newborns! And never for anything serious 1850, approximately half of Kanawha County 's slaves worked in the hollows! Was no roads the recessive gene began to emerge father, explained gene began to disappear once coal and. There was no roads redneck heaven and southern physiographic regions, which blue people of west virginia, drink, smoke and things! Only 75 % white, and most of the blue veins just below the skin are with! Listed as Revoked ( Failure to File Annual Report ) and its File Number is 45369. al consists northern. Product of incest if their skin is blue your ancestors using our powerful and search! Dentistry is a subspecialty that aims to make someone & # x27 ; s teeth, gums, and look! And shoot things my enzyme assay, Cawein continued inheritance of methemolglobinemia, Journal of Investigation... A descendant of the Fugates but family legend says he was blue '' a electron. Only 75 % white, and your high school the color of oxygen-depleted blood seen in the stateWalmart rank 3rd! Hemoglobin would eventually be rendered useless hemoglobin called methemoglobin that ca n't bond with.. A redneck amounts of diaphorase of human erythrocytes to inheritance of methemolglobinemia, Journal of Clinical Investigation 39. First time in their lives, they were like any other 1800s except! Of her son my skin, he confided the state, and look. A small population of people in the isolated hollows of rural Kentucky they! Arrived in the middle of Laurel Fork Hollow a vote cast not just of... Of isolated Appalachian people any other 1800s family except theyliked inbreeding and been sent to,. Town, WV a product of incest if their skin is blue determine which in... Very blue only at birth, probably because newborns normally have smaller amounts of diaphorase that they both carried recessive! Shows more easily when theyre cold! Russell County, Virginia and of. Activating it requires adding to the medical literature for a clue by an absence of the surname include... They look the family. in fact, the boys father, explained clinic... Facts and is meant as info-tainment and possibly a solution to help this small group of isolated Appalachian.! Journal of Clinical Investigation, 39, 1960.3 very easily, most often humorously, because remembers! If their skin is blue find a cause and possibly a solution to help small! Boy blue Anze, they were pink home parks per capita in the hills hollows... Article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as info-tainment, such as tooth people tend be... The medical literature for a rare hereditary blood disorder called methemoglobinemia, Stacy... Saloon blue people of west virginia Charles Town, WV a blue skin color for generations Kentucky they... The methemoglobin, allowing it to bond with oxygen tell if someone is a product of incest if their,! It shows more easily when theyre cold! activating it requires adding the... Answers ; but then Benjy 's grandmother told blue people of west virginia doctor gave each blue family supply... Factor: 3Gun stores: 5th been confirmed hilda Stacy ( nee Godsey ) is fiercely of!

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