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Penn Dutch

My grandmother said she is Black Dutch, what is that?

Could be from Ohio Valley, Penn Dutch, I am not sure

According to researcher James Pylant, based on his extensive survey of American families claiming Black Dutch as part of their heritage:

"There are strong indications that the original "Black Dutch" were swarthy complexioned Germans. Anglo-Americans loosely applied the term to any dark-complexioned American of European descent. The term was adopted as an attempt to disguise Indian or infrequently, tri-racial descent. By the mid-1800s the term had become an American colloquialism; a derogative term for anything denoting one's small stature, dark coloring, working-class status, political sentiments, or anyone of foreign extraction."
He also writes:

"In contrast to the Anglo-surnamed Melungeons, nearly 60% of American families reporting Black Dutch tradition bear surnames that are either decidely German or possibly Americanized from Germanic origin." (Pylant, 1997)
German Gypsies are also known as the Black Dutch, and is probably the origin of the term.

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