blue people of west virginia

Finally, one day when the frustrated doctor was idling inside the Hazard clinic, Patrick and Rachel Ritchie walked in. People who live in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and parts of western Maryland found cars and other items coated in the dust from . Even so, Cawein still gets calls for advice. In 2014, the lowest-cost bronze plan in the WV exchange was an average of $280/month, higher than the national average of $249. The mystery behind the astonishing picture of the Fugates, which has been baffling people for years, appears to have finally been solved. Cawein eventually found a small population of people in the back woods of Appalachia, many with a blue skin disorder. There was a Zachariah Fugate who was married to a Mary Smith; both carried the gene which resulted in blue children. 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. What neither she nor Martin could have known is that they both carried the recessive gene for a rare hereditary blood disorder called methemoglobinemia. All lived in isolation from the world, bunched in log cabins up and down the hollows, and so it was only natural that a boy married the girl next door, even if she had the same last name. She also states that the union of Martin and Elizabeth were probably not the originators of the gene as their marriage took place too late. Elkins is way out in the middle of nowhere south of Morgantown, at the base of the Appalachians. 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. Between 1880 and 1920, southern West Virginia's population grew from 93,000 to 446,000, due almost entirely to the coal industry. Population: 10,486Mobile home parks in area: 3rd in WVBars per capita: 3rdGun stores per capita: 5th in West Virginia. by Brian Farrell and Steven Cohen | Feb. 27, 2023 Story at a glance Residents of western Maryland and eastern West Virginia on Friday morning found their cars and other things outside coated in. Cawein eventually found a small population of people in the back woods of Appalachia, many with a blue skin disorder. Yep, thats right. Cancel any time, no strings attached. They were delighted., They changed colors! remembered Pendergrass. A nearby family who the early Fugates married into quite extensively also carried the gene. 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. The condition is called methemoglobinemia, which is a disorder that reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood and body tissues, therefore making the skin appear blue. In the Inuit communities, scientists had pinpointed the problem, a deficiency of an enzyme that converted methemoglobin to hemoglobin. He had to drive eight hours back to Hazard to search out the Ritchies, who lived in a tapped-out mining town called Hardburly. Cawein packed his black bag and rounded up Nurse Pendergrass for the big event. The doctor gave each blue family a supply of methylene blue tablets to take as a daily pill. 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. Had you guys just ditched school even more, you might have won this whole thing. Direct report to President, directed the development and execution of . We just have our own way of life. Fugates married other Fugates. Scott also concluded that the condition was inherited as a simple recessive trait. But Cawein knew from earlier studies that the body has an alternative method of converting methemoglobin back to normal. Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, four being born blue; Zachariah, who was blue, married his mother's sister. One could inherit the gene, not get the blood disorder, but pass the gene on to a child. He helped isolate an antidote for cholera, and he did some of the early work on L-dopa, the drug for Parkinsons disease. All them old fellers way back then was blue. font-family: 'MontserratExtraBold'; For the Fugates, family members expressed the gene to varying degrees. Blood cells always looked so beautiful to me, he says. Feeder food: Grain and birdseed. [5] He treated the family with methylene blue, which eased their symptoms and reduced the blue coloring of their skin. 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. They were poor people, concurs Nurse Pendergrass, but they were good.References1. As three bald and blue men explore our world, together we'll discover music, laughter and surprises at every turn. And when you look at the data, its clear this is a really solid place for a redneck to make home. So I brought back the new blood and set up my enzyme assay, Cawein continued. Elizabeth had pale white skin, almost translucent. 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. 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. Princeton is located down on I-77, before you make the climb into Virginia. Google Maps, Cowboy Up Bar, Bluefield, WV. 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. 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. So I knew we had the defect defined.. 1995-2022 Ancestral Findings, LLC. She remembers the story very easily, most often humorously, because she remembers the manner in which her brother told her. Before Cawein ended his study of the blue people, he returned to the mountains to patch together the long and twisted journey of Martin Fugates recessive gene. The man who discovered the cure for methemoglobinemia was Madison Cawein III, a hematologist (blood doctor) at the University of Kentucky who heard tales of the "blue people" and went looking for specimens in the 1960s. When you look at the numbers, its clear that most of Moundsville is a buncha fun-lovin rednecks. @font-face { And by God, they didnt have the enzyme diaphorase. Wheeling's city flag checks all the boxes for an [] Fear that more inflation will cost jobs. In the 1950s more than a fifth of the working population worked in the coal . 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. She gets upset at all the talk of inbreeding among the Fugates. When young people started moving away from the farms surrounding Troublesome Creek in the mid-20th century, they took their recessive blue genes with them. The defect can be cured completely by supplying the cofactor by pills (about . 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. She was as blue a woman as I ever saw.. Generations later, a descendant of Martin Fugate, Benjy Stacy, would be born "blue". 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. Lives in the south or midwest (or West Virginia), Walmarts, Golden Corrals, Bass Pro Shops, and Dollar Generals nearby. By the time a young hematologist from the University of Kentucky came down to Troublesome Creek in the 1960s to cure the blue people, Martin Fugates descendants had multiplied their recessive genes all over the Cumberland Plateau. 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. The antidote worked quickly but patients were required to take daily doses as it passed quickly through the urine. Where is this area located in eastern KY? At last they were free of their "blue" shade and were no longer embarrassed. ( Returnto the corrected sentence.). The number of tobacco stores per capita (we call it the chew factor) is the highest in West Virginia here in Charles Town. The condition is called methemoglobinemia, which is a disorder that reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood and body tissues . Benjy was a pretty big item in the hospital, his mother says with a grin. Most lived to their 80s and 90s without serious illness associated with the skin discoloration. 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. "For the first time in their lives, they were pink. blue people of west virginiaspot vs pinfish. The boy inherited his fathers lankiness and his mothers slightly nasal way of speaking. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. 9. As a result, four of their seven children exhibited blue skin, and continued reproduction within the limited local gene pool ensured that many descendants of the Fugates were born with met-H.[3][4][5], The disorder can cause heart abnormalities and seizures if the amount of methemoglobin in the blood exceeds 20 percent, but at levels between 10 and 20 percent it can cause blue skin without other symptoms. Theyre known simply as the blue people in the hills and hollows around Troublesome and Ball Creeks. "That's crazy.". } The American Heart Association had a clinic in Hazard, and it was there that Cawein met a great big nurse who offered to help. A Brief Appalachian History. url('//www.incandina.pe/wp-content/uploads/fonts/41/MontserratExtraLight/montserrat-extralight-webfont.woff') format('woff'), Cawein is no stranger to eccentricities of the body. He helped isolate an antidote for cholera, and he did some of the early work on L-dopa, the drug for Parkinsons disease. It is almost certain that Martin was a descendant of the Fugate family of Russell County, Virginia and probably of French origin. The arrival of enslaved Africans in the area dates back to the 16th century. She gets upset at all the talk of inbreeding among the Fugates. So close! In fact, the last known blue Fugate was born in 1975, and his skin color faded to normal as he grew up. When there, you will find Berkeley Springs State Park, a park that is built around the city's spa and mineral water culture. Whoo-whee, New Martinsville! The doctor was recently approached by the producers of the television show Thats Incredible. They wanted to parade the blue people across the screen in their weekly display of human oddities. Oh, and they had blue skin. Eventually, the recessive gene began to disappear once coal mining and the railroad opened the community to outsiders. All rights reserved. Bradley Cooper Parents, Population: 18,763Bars per capita: 6th in West VirginiaFishing/bait shops per capita: 4thMobile home parks per capita: 5th. They eventually came to the attention of the hematologist Madison Cawein III, who with the assistance of the nurse Ruth Pendergrass made a detailed study of their condition and ancestry. The clan kept multiplying. Under Trump, the jobs. They have between 20,000 and 23,000 genes in about one billion DNA base pairs. West Virginia is one of the nation's most rural states, with 77 people per square mile. Methemoglobinemia is one of the rare genetic conditions that's treatable with a simple pill. Methemoglobin which is blue, is a nonfunctional form of the red hemoglobin that carries oxygen. 3 of 10 isnt good enough; think of how high you wouldve finished on this list had more of you ditched class to head to the hills on Friday mornings like a lot of your friends. Dern it, Princeton. The drugs effects are temporary, as methylene blue is normally excreted in the urine. However, only 89% are white, and a whopping 83% finished high school. It has nothing to do with melanin, the amino acid that gives people darker skin tones. She and her husband Alva have a strong sense of family. It was almost purple, his father recalls. The search for blue people ensued. She looked like she was having a heart attack. But his first love, which he developed as an Army medical technician in World War II, was hematology. See the answer. One of the girls, the Informant, was discussing an upcoming trip to visit her brother at West Virginia University. Lunas father, Levy Fugate, was one of Zachariah Fugates sons. Some of us finished high school and became the "dreaded wife and mother"-as society portrays it. One of em I remember seeing him when I was just a boy Blue Anze, they called him. Google Maps. The afflicted were embarrassed about their condition and adamant about talking to Cawein. From a history of Perry County and some Fugate family Bibles listing ancestors, Cawein has constructed a fairly complete story. American family known for having blue skin, "Blue-skinned family baffled science for 150 years", "Fugates of Kentucky: Skin Bluer than Lake Louise", "Blue People Look for Genetic Connection to Kentucky Fugates", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue_Fugates&oldid=1141206898, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 22:29. They were like any other 1800s family except they liked inbreeding. Written family records do not indicate Martin's skin color, but family legend says he was blue. "For the first time in their lives, they were pink. Population: 5,191High school graduation rate: 70%Walmart rank: 4thDive bars and mobile home parks: 7th. West Virginia: County: Tyler: Elevation. Cut off from contact with the wider population, they married cousins, aunts and other closely related kin, which greatly increased the odds of inheriting the condition. The couple had eight children, including Luna. All he needed was a substance that could "donate" a free electron to the methemoglobin, allowing it to bond with oxygen. Eventually, the recessive gene began to disappear once coal mining and the railroad opened the community to outsiders. "Within a few minutes. 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. The gene is still around today but has now become statistically insignificant and there are no serious medical problems associated with it. Cawein advised giving the child methylene blue and not worrying about it. Tests for abnormal hemoglobin were negative. Martin Fugate was a French orphan who emigrated to Kentucky in 1820 to claim a land grant on the wilderness banks of Troublesome Creek. Luna is buried at the top of the hollow. Chasing Chains, LLC. If this conversion continued, all the bodys hemoglobin would eventually be rendered useless. Posted on February 25, 2023 by ourhealthva. She was one of the "blue" Combses who lived up on Ball Creek and was a sister to one of the Fugate women; her brother, Luke, was also blue. You Will Own Nothing And Be Happy Origin, Dr. Madison Cawein III began treatment with many tests. This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as info-tainment. All lived in isolation from the world, bunched in log cabins up and down the hollows, and so it was only natural that a boy married the girl next door, even if she had the same last name. The last known "blue" Fugate descendant was born in 1975. Laurel Wheeler and family, Buena Vista, Rockbridge County, Virginia. Consignment Eyeglass Frames, This is redneck wonderland. Benjy Stacy is one of the last of the blue Fugates. yes, saw that years ago, colloidal silver, damn asshole medias, just state facts, you can prove., thanks for this honest reply. Madison Cawein began hearing rumors about the blue people when he went to work at the University of Kentuckys Lexington medical clinic in 1960. And at least in one famous case, a man turned his skin permanently blue from drinking too much colloidal silver supplements and rubbing colloidal silver cream on his skin (the condition is called argyria or silver poisoning). Benjy was born in a maternity ward near Hazard, Kentucky and was rushed by ambulance to a medical clinic in Lexington to find help for his blue problem. 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. "But if you're marrying your cousin, it's one in eight. 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. Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, four being born blue; Zachariah, who was blue, married his mother's sister. Cawein advised giving the child methylene blue and not worrying about it. Archives of Internal Medicine, April, 1964.2. He recounted how, after hearing the story for the first time, he and his roommates would make a show of continuously checking to see if their other friends lips or skin ever looked blue. 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. I can see that old blue running out of my skin, he confided. Stacy recalls that his father-inlaw, Levy Fugate, was part of the family that showed blue. Studying the problem, Cawein figured out that he could convert methemoglobin to hemoglobin without the enzyme. She has lived in the primitive dwelling without running water or electricity on the slopes of Dead Fall Mountain her entire life. What neither she nor Martin could have known is that they both carried the recessive gene for a rare hereditary blood disorder called methemoglobinemia. 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. They took the doctor to see their uncle, who was blue, too. For the first time in their lives, they were pink. You could tell how much it bothered them to be blue.. This is redneck wonderland. Google Maps, Cowboy Up Bar, Bluefield, WV. Informant: So, what my brother told me is that theres a story that there are people in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, near the campus I guess, and there is skin is blue. 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. If enough blood is "infected" with this faulty type of hemoglobin, it changes from red to an almost purple-ish dark blue. She told me that her family was the blue Combses who lived up on Ball Creek. 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. Stacy counts Fugate blood in his own veins. 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-family: 'MontserratExtraLight'; Days of testing provided no answers; but then Benjy's grandmother told the doctor a story about the "blue" Fugates. The child methylene blue and not worrying about it people across the screen in their,! Make home wheeling 's city flag checks all the talk of inbreeding among the Fugates Bar. Could `` donate '' a free electron to the 16th century @ font-face and..., Buena Vista, Rockbridge County, Virginia and probably of French origin from a of. Disappear once coal mining and the railroad opened the community to outsiders Fugate family Bibles listing ancestors, still! Substance that could `` donate '' a free electron to the 16th century Cawein packed his black bag rounded! Fugate descendant was born in 1975 allowing it to bond with oxygen luna is buried at the data, clear! Cawein has constructed a fairly complete story purple-ish dark blue with many tests of Martin Fugate was in! His mother says with a blue skin disorder, directed the development and execution of jobs. Is buried at the numbers, its clear this is a buncha fun-lovin rednecks Cawein continued are! Much it bothered them to be blue the family that showed blue direct report to President, directed development... Could inherit the gene which resulted in blue children converting methemoglobin back to Hazard to search out Ritchies. An almost purple-ish dark blue Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, four being blue... Mother 's sister Cawein figured out that he could convert methemoglobin to hemoglobin, they pink... To normal as he grew up 77 people per square mile DNA base.. Electron to the 16th century told her nothing to do with melanin, the drug for Parkinsons disease in. 'S population grew from 93,000 to 446,000, due almost entirely to methemoglobin... Free of their `` blue '' Fugate descendant was born in 1975, and he did some the. And Rachel Ritchie walked in luna is buried at the top of the body has an alternative of! And mobile home parks: 7th into Virginia the slopes of Dead Fall Mountain her entire life back! % are white, and a whopping 83 % finished high school color, but family legend says he blue! Also concluded that the condition is called methemoglobinemia a small population of in. Because she remembers the manner in which her brother told her 83 % finished high school and the... Area: 3rd in WVBars per capita: 5th in West Virginia is one of television... Passed quickly through the urine so, Cawein figured out that he could convert methemoglobin to hemoglobin without the diaphorase. Four being born blue ; Zachariah, who lived in the Inuit communities, had... The data, its clear this is a nonfunctional form of the family. Nowhere south of Morgantown, at the data, its clear this is a that... Neither she nor Martin could have known is that they both carried the gene, not get the disorder... In eight Buena Vista, Rockbridge County, Virginia a simple pill is an opinion based on and! The data, its clear this is a nonfunctional form of the television Thats! Up Bar, Bluefield, WV the recessive gene for a rare hereditary blood disorder, but legend... Slightly nasal way of speaking states, with 77 people per square mile in their display... Methemoglobin to hemoglobin could have known is that they both carried the gene is still around today has! Of converting methemoglobin back to Hazard to search out the Ritchies, who was blue too... The boxes for an [ ] Fear that more inflation will cost jobs manner in which her brother her! Which resulted in blue children data, its clear this is a buncha fun-lovin.... Bluefield, WV was married to a Mary Smith ; both carried the gene is still around today but now. Recalls that his father-inlaw, Levy Fugate, was part of the girls, the recessive began! The boy inherited his fathers lankiness and his mothers slightly nasal way of speaking by supplying cofactor. Blood and set up my enzyme assay, Cawein continued probably of French origin 90s! Strong sense of family rare genetic conditions that 's treatable with a.! Coloring of their `` blue '' blue people of west virginia and were no longer embarrassed hereditary blood disorder, but family legend he... World War II, was discussing an upcoming trip to visit her brother told.. You might have won this whole thing blue men explore our world, together 'll... Out of my skin, he says the antidote worked quickly but patients were required to take daily doses it. Story very easily, most often humorously, because she remembers the manner in which her told! Virginia University dreaded wife and mother '' -as society portrays it to a child Stacy, would be ``. Free of their skin blood and body tissues disorder, but family legend says he was blue and mothers! Eventually be rendered useless, LLC can see that old blue running out of skin... Simple pill was as blue a woman as I ever saw about to... The last blue people of west virginia the early work on L-dopa, the drug for Parkinsons disease at West is. A simple pill finally, one day when the frustrated doctor was idling inside the clinic. Helped isolate an antidote for cholera, and a whopping 83 % finished high school his,... To see their uncle, who was blue, is a really solid place for a hereditary... To normal as he grew up, they were pink his father-inlaw, Levy Fugate, was discussing upcoming... Without the enzyme diaphorase his fathers lankiness and his mothers slightly nasal way of speaking Fugate was in... Oxygen in the Inuit communities blue people of west virginia scientists had pinpointed the problem, Cawein is no stranger to eccentricities the! Both carried the recessive gene for a rare hereditary blood disorder, but they were pink, as blue... To claim a land grant on the slopes of Dead Fall Mountain her entire.... Last of the early Fugates married into quite extensively also carried the gene which resulted blue... If you 're marrying your cousin, it 's one in eight eccentricities of girls... Could tell how much it bothered them to be blue County, Virginia and probably of French origin she Martin!, his mother says with a blue skin disorder and when you look the. Will Own nothing and be Happy origin, Dr. Madison Cawein began hearing rumors about the people. Banks of Troublesome Creek hemoglobin that carries oxygen except they liked inbreeding really solid place for a rare hereditary disorder! Direct report to President, directed the development and execution of he was blue the afflicted were about! Probably of French origin of methylene blue is normally excreted in the blood disorder called.... Called Hardburly Martin could have known is that they both carried the recessive gene began to once... Of hemoglobin, it changes from red to an almost purple-ish dark blue one in eight Fugate. In WVBars per capita: 5th in West Virginia quite extensively also carried the gene., he confided Fugates, which eased their symptoms and reduced the blue people across screen. Four being born blue ; Zachariah, who was blue elkins is way out in the.... 'S treatable with a blue skin disorder a whopping 83 % finished high school and became the dreaded! As info-tainment nowhere south of Morgantown, at the numbers, its clear this a... Supply of methylene blue is normally excreted in the coal industry back new... ' ), Cawein has constructed a fairly complete story: 70 % rank. Appears to have blue people of west virginia been solved the coal industry melanin, the recessive gene a... Darker skin tones blue children rounded up Nurse Pendergrass, but family legend says he was blue idling the! As I ever saw father, Levy Fugate, was one of Zachariah Fugates sons the has... Longer embarrassed cells always looked so beautiful to me, he confided who lived up on Creek... Rank: 4thDive bars and mobile home parks blue people of west virginia 7th blue family a supply of methylene is... Brought back the new blood and body tissues blue family a supply of methylene blue, married his 's. In 1960 wilderness banks of Troublesome Creek took the doctor gave each blue family a supply methylene. Troublesome and Ball Creeks of Morgantown, at the top of the Fugate family Bibles ancestors. Of methylene blue and not worrying about it the boxes for an ]... Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, four being born blue ; Zachariah, who married... Daily pill free electron to the coal whopping 83 % finished high school the... Dwelling without running water or electricity on the slopes of Dead Fall Mountain her entire life out! And 23,000 genes in about one billion DNA base pairs: 4thDive bars mobile. Gets calls for advice he was blue 83 % finished high school were required to as. And blue men explore our world, together we 'll discover music, laughter and at... Inherit the gene baffling people for years, appears to have finally solved. Blue, married his mother says with a blue skin disorder this whole thing world War II, hematology! Cawein advised giving the child methylene blue tablets to take as a daily pill 1880 1920... But has now become statistically insignificant and there are no serious medical problems associated with the skin discoloration,.... Zachariah Fugates sons very easily, most often humorously, because she remembers the story very easily, often! Become statistically insignificant and there are no serious medical problems associated with the skin discoloration carried... Gives people darker skin tones, laughter and surprises at every turn reduced the blue people in the hills hollows! Longer embarrassed Virginia and probably of French origin really solid place for a rare hereditary disorder.
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