The Melungeons: Notes on the Origins of a Race by Bonnie Ball
Bonnie Ball (1901-1996) was born on Walden's Ridge in Lee County, Virgnia, the fourth of thirteen children. Like my mother she begin teaching nearby one-room schools and taking summer classes at the nearest normal school, in her case, Radford. Her husband managed stores for coal companies, and they lived mostly in the Virginia coalfields before retiring to Big Stone Gap. She was a charter member of the Historical Society of Southwest Virginia, and authored several books which are now obscure. In 1966, Bonnie Ball authored an article, "The Melungeons" in the Historical Society of Southwest Virginia periodical. In 1969, the first edition of her book about the Melungeons appeared. From the 1960 until the mid-1970s, she was considered the foremost expert on the Melungeon people. After Jean Patterson Bible published her book in 1975, they were considered the two leading experts until the 1990s when other researchers and authors came onto the scene.
Paperback
Johnson City: Overmountain Press, 1992 - 114p