In online research, there was no mention made of "blue" people as recorded in the genealogy book, The Fugate Family of Russell County Virginia, published in 1986, but it has been confirmed in the Fugate discussions on the Genforum. Laughing, the Informant launched into a story of the West Virginia Blue People, a story about a genetic condition the resulted from intermarriage. What neither she nor Martin could have known is that they both carried the recessive gene for a rare hereditary blood disorder called methemoglobinemia. Hearing this story and conducting some research of my own led me to believe that people love to come up with their explanation for things they cannot explain, no matter how perplex. When there, you will find Berkeley Springs State Park, a park that is built around the city's spa and mineral water culture. Lunas father, Levy Fugate, was one of Zachariah Fugates sons. 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. Chasing Chains, LLC. 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. A reference to "the Huntsville subgroup" is made in the American version of television sitcom Shameless when Kevin Ball (played by Steve Howey) discovers that he may have ancestors from that group.[10]. Sometimes they married first cousins. A mutated gene causes their bodies to build up a rare form of hemoglobin called methemoglobin that can't bond with oxygen. 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. The antidote worked quickly but patients were required to take daily doses as it passed quickly through the urine. Cawein, Madison, et. The Informant learned this information from her brother, when he returned home after his first semester at school. Eventually, the recessive gene began to disappear once coal mining and the railroad opened the community to outsiders. 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. Cawein cheers their bad luck not out of malice but out of a deep respect for the blue people of Troublesome Creek. The railroad didnt come through eastern Kentucky until the coal mines were developed around 1912, and it took another 30 or 40 years to lay down roads along the local creeks. Oh, and they had blue skin. What Happened to the Blue People? It run in that generation who lived up and down Ball [Creek]., They looked like anybody else, cept they had the blue color, Stacy says, sitting in a chair in his plaid flannel shirt and suspenders, next to a cardboard box where a small black piglet, kept as a pet, is squealing for his bottle. 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. the blue color was gone from their skin, the doctor said. Bradley Cooper Parents, Population: 7,164Mobile home parks per capita: 2nd in West VirginiaBars per capita: 2nd in the stateWalmart rank: 3rd. Lives in the south or midwest (or West Virginia), Walmarts, Golden Corrals, Bass Pro Shops, and Dollar Generals nearby. Dating back to the early 1800s, an isolated family in eastern Kentucky who can trace their roots back to a French orphan started producing children who were blue. The Fugate family of Kentucky has been known for their blue skin color for generations. Add to calendar. For the Fugates, family members expressed the gene to varying degrees. Martin and Elizabeth Fugates blue children multiplied in this natural isolation tank. Even though the first stanza references the Shenandoah River and Blue Ridge Mountainstwo geological features that only skim the very eastern panhandle of the state and are not closely related with the statethe beauty and pride expressed in the song made it an immediate hit in West Virginia. The story of an Appalachian malady, an inquisitive doctor, and a paradoxical cure. See the video below. The couple had eight children, including Luna. In 2006 he became the longest-serving Senator in history, and in 2009 the longest-serving member of Congress in . Population: 7,164Mobile home parks per capita: 2nd in West VirginiaBars per capita: 2nd in the stateWalmart rank: 3rd. Whoo-whee, New Martinsville! 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. 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. Those who are otherwise healthy with levels under 15% may exhibit minor symptoms or none at all. Methemoglobin which is blue, is a nonfunctional form of the red hemoglobin that carries oxygen. Benjy was a pretty big item in the hospital, his mother says with a grin. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. For more West Virginia reading, check out: In order to rank the most redneck cities in West Virginia, we had to determine what criteria makes a redneck. It added residential housing options that include double or single rooms with full meal plans. Google Maps. It has nothing to do with melanin, the amino acid that gives people darker skin tones. Google Maps, KCR Barrel Saloon, Charles Town, WV. Dora Bryan House Chimes, What he got from Martin Fugate was dark blue skin. Trudging up and down the hollows, fending off the two mean dogs that everyone had in their front yard, the doctor and the nurse would spot someone at the top of a hill who looked blue and take off in wild pursuit. Blue skin. When you look at the numbers, its clear that most of Moundsville is a buncha fun-lovin rednecks. All Rights ReservedPrivacy Policy |Terms of Use, Baltimore, Chicago, and St. Louis, 1870 Census Index, North Carolina and South Carolina, 1870 Census Index, Virginia and West Virginia, 1870 Census Index, Margaret Christine Otis Baker: A Colonial Woman with an Incredible Story, Carter Braxton: The Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Josiah Bartlett: The Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Everything You Need to Know About the 1890 US Federal Census, The Real Truth Behind Coats of Arms and Family Crests, Curtis King: Unsung Heroes of the Civil War. They were like any other 1800s family except they liked inbreeding. 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. So close! Bradley Cooper Parents, "I started asking them questions: 'Do you have any relatives who are blue?' Stumped, the doctor turned to the medical literature for a clue. Methemoglobinemia is one of the rare genetic conditions that's treatable with a simple pill. Neighboring Virginia has more than 200 per square mile. 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. One of the girls, the Informant, was discussing an upcoming trip to visit her brother at West Virginia University. "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. Bannon's emotions overflowed over Rep. Mike Gallagher bashing Wisconsin's 1950's commie witch-hunter Joseph McCarthy. Benjy lost his blue tint within a few weeks, and now he is about as normal looking a seven-year-old boy as you could hope to find. @font-face { This is redneck wonderland. As a bonus, theres a Golden Corral, several Dollar Stores and many Waffle Houses in the area. And shop at Walmart. Laughing, the Informant launched into a story of the "West Virginia Blue People", a story about a genetic condition the resulted from intermarriage. It is documented that Fugates were born in the colonies in the mid 1600's but the original progenitor has not been confirmed. Jefferson County, Ohio house fire ruled arson; $5,000 reward. I looked at other enzymes and nothing was wrong with them. His lips and fingernails still turn a shade of purple-blue when he gets cold or angry a quirk that so intrigued medical students after Benjys birth that they would crowd around the baby and try to make him cry. Her face and her fingernails were almost indigo blue. Within a few minutes. From a history of Perry County and some Fugate family Bibles listing ancestors, Cawein has constructed a fairly complete story. They took the doctor to see their uncle, who was blue, too. Had you guys just ditched school even more, you might have won this whole thing. From a history of Perry County and some Fugate family Bibles listing ancestors, Cawein has constructed a fairly complete story. The following piece was collected at a dinner table with a group of girls out celebrating a friends birthday. Poisoned water shut down state capital and exposed endemic carelessness in oversight. Give the gift of knowledge with our official 'did you know' book. [2][7] Based on a report published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in 1960 by a public health physician named E. M. Scott, who had studied a similar phenomenon among native Alaskans, Cawain concluded that a deficiency of the enzyme diaphorase resulted in an oxygen deficiency in the red blood cells, causing the blood to appear brown, which in turn made the skin of those affected appear blue. In other words, to get the disorder, a person would have to inherit two genes for it, one from each parent. 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