Chestnut Ridge people facts for kids
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| About 1,500 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States |
|
| Languages | |
| English | |
| Religion | |
| Protestant | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Melungeon, Mulatto, American Indian |
The Chestnut Ridge people are a group of people with mixed heritage. They mostly live in an area northeast of Philippi, in Barbour County, West Virginia. Smaller groups also live in nearby Harrison and Taylor counties.
People sometimes call them "Mayles," because Mayle (or Male) is a very common last name among them. They were also sometimes called "Guineas," but this word is now considered offensive.
Many researchers have studied this group. Some say they are a "tri-racial isolate." This means they are a community with a mix of three main backgrounds: European, African, and Native American. Old records often called community members "mulattos," which meant they had some African heritage.
Many Chestnut Ridge people see themselves as having a mix of Native American and white heritage, or simply as Native American. However, they are not officially part of any recognized Native American tribe. Historical records show that many were listed as "free people of color" in the past.
Some Chestnut Ridge people have connected with the Melungeon group, another mixed-heritage community from Kentucky and Tennessee. They have even attended Melungeon gatherings.
Contents
Who Are the Chestnut Ridge People?
The Chestnut Ridge people are a community in West Virginia with a unique history. They are known for their mixed heritage, often including European, African, and Native American roots. This mix has shaped their identity and experiences over many generations.
Where Do They Live?
Most Chestnut Ridge people live in Barbour County, West Virginia. This area is in the north-central part of the state. You can also find smaller groups in nearby Harrison and Taylor counties. Today, about 1,500 people are part of this community. Most of them share a small number of last names.
A Look at Their History
Barbour County was first settled by white people from eastern Virginia in the late 1700s. At that time, it was part of Virginia. West Virginia became a separate state during the Civil War.
Mixed-heritage families, who later became the Chestnut Ridge people, started arriving after 1810. Census records show they were in what was then Randolph and Harrison Counties.
Identity and the Civil War
By the 1860s, many people from these mixed families had married into white families. Their children often identified as white. Some men from these families even fought for the Union army during the Civil War. After the war, records show that about a dozen men successfully asked the courts to declare them legally white. This happened at the Barbour County Courthouse.
Early Observations
A local historian named Hu Maxwell studied Barbour County in the late 1890s. He was curious about where these people came from. He wrote:
There is a clan of partly-colored people in Barbour County often called "Guineas", under the erroneous presumption that they are Guinea negroes. They vary in color from white to black, often have blue eyes and straight hair, and they are generally industrious. Their number in Barbour is estimated at one thousand. They have been a puzzle to the investigator; for their origin is not generally known. They are among the earliest settlers of Barbour. Prof. W.W. Male of Grafton, West Virginia, belongs to this clan, and after a thorough investigation, says "They originated from an Englishman named Male who came to America at the outbreak of the Revolution. From that one man have sprung about 700 of the same name, not to speak of the half-breeds." Thus it would seem that the family was only half-black at the beginning, and by the inter-mixtures since, many are now almost white.
Facing Challenges
The Chestnut Ridge people have historically faced discrimination from the surrounding white community. This often meant they were excluded from certain things. In the 1930s, a historian noted that there were attempts to stop their children from attending schools with white children. However, there was never proof that they had "negro blood."
Even in the late 1950s, some businesses in Philippi had signs saying "White Trade Only." These signs were meant to keep out the Chestnut Ridge people, as they were thought to be partly African-American. Public schools were not officially separate, but rules about attending school were often not enforced for "Ridge people."
Community Life and Surnames
If you include related people in nearby Harrison and Taylor counties, there are about 1,500 Chestnut Ridge people today. Most of them share one of fewer than a dozen last names.
Taylor County Group
The group in Taylor County was also called "Guineas" by their neighbors. Many of them moved away in the 1930s. This happened because their community, called the "West Hill settlement," was flooded when Tygart Lake was created. Common last names in this group included Mayle, Male, Mahalie, Croston, Dalton, Kennedy, Johnson, and Parsons.
Common Surnames in Barbour County
A study of obituaries in The Barbour Democrat from 1977 showed something interesting. Out of 163 "Ridge people" living in Barbour County, 135 (83%) were married to people with specific last names. These names were Mayle, Norris, Croston, Prichard, Collins, Adams, or Kennedy. In 1984, most of the Mayle families with telephones lived on "The Ridge."
Different Ideas About Their Background
There are different ideas about the exact origins of the Chestnut Ridge people.
Idea 1: No Black Heritage
B.V. Mayhle wrote a family history book in 1980. He looked into the origins of the Male, Mahle, Mayle, and Mayhle names in the United States. He said he found only one instance of a marriage between different races.
He suggested that newspaper articles from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the early 1900s might have caused the idea that the group was mixed-race. These articles often focused on poverty and mixed-race communities in the area. However, some accounts of the group being mixed-race existed before these articles.
Photographs of Male family members in his book, from the same time, do not show features usually linked to African heritage. But other photos of Chestnut Ridge people available online today do show some with such features.
Mayhle also pointed out that three brothers, direct descendants of the first Male immigrant, fought in white units during the U.S. Civil War. Two were in the 7th West Virginia Infantry and one in the 1st West Virginia Cavalry. However, historical records show that some soldiers, including those with the Male/Mayle surname, did ask courts to be declared legally white after the war.
Idea 2: Native American Heritage
Another idea suggests a strong Native American heritage. One story says that Wilmore Mail Jr. married Priscilla "Nancy" Harris, who was said to be a "Catawba" Indian.
Notes about Priscilla (Nancy) Harris say she was the daughter of a slave girl and a Cherokee Indian. Her mother was supposedly brought to America in the mid-1700s by a Frenchman from the Bahamas. It's not known if her mother was of Native Bahamian Indian ancestry. Priscilla's mother reportedly ran away with a Cherokee Indian named Harris, and Priscilla was born to them.
French and Spanish settlers in America often married Native Americans. English settlers, however, rarely did. So, it seems that among the early families of Barbour County, the Mayle, Mail, or Male family might have Native American blood.
In 1936, a Maryland newspaper reported on a Garrett County family history. It said that, according to family tradition, a Frenchman named Marquis Calmes had a French servant woman. She was said to fall in love with a Cherokee man, and they had a daughter named Priscilla Harris. Priscilla grew up on the Calmes plantation. She was described as beautiful, with olive skin, black eyes, and very long hair. Her descendants were said to have kept some of her hair for many years.
