The Blue People of Kentucky and the Pack Horse Library Project are both fascinating historical realities that are barely understood today. The blue people of Kentucky and the deaf of Martha’s Vineyard illustrate the dilution of genetic disease. As time went on, fewer and fewer people with the condition were born and the blue skin condition disappeared altogether. The Blue People of Kentucky, also known as the Blue Fugates, have long been of scientific interest. He made frequent trips to Hazard in the hope of finding some blue people. Cussy is a nineteen year old and she is the last living female of the rare Blue People ancestry. Doctor Ayalew Tefferi of the Mayo Clinic told ABC news in 2013 that “You almost never see it.” Kerry Green, an Oklahoma native, has a severe version of the disease that affects his health, and his body has trouble carrying oxygen to his organs. Cawein remembered that the two were embarrassed to be blue-skinned, since it had become associated in the area with inter-marriage. For nearly two centuries, the Fugate family of Kentucky passed their unique characteristic of blue skin from one generation to the next. Ask below and we'll reply! Blue People of Kentucky, Appalachia (Blue People of Kentucky) Fugates: The genetic form of methemoglobinemia is caused by one of several genetic defects. Why Are They Blue? One of the most recent descendents that was born blue was Benjamin “Benjy” Stacy. Looking for more information on how cells, enzymes, and genetics work? Blue People Genealogy. The Fugates’ son, Zacariah, married Elizabeth’s sister/his aunt. Kentucky has … blue people? As the Fugates had children with people outside of the isolated Kentucky mountains that they’d originally settled, the likelihood of inheriting met-H decreased. The doctors were astonished by the color of Benjy’s skin. The only other families nearby were related to Elizabeth. Cawein had just started work at the University of Kentucky’s Lexington medical clinic. I enjoy historically based novels because I can see into a world different from my own. The Blue People of Kentucky and the Pack Horse Library Project are both fascinating historical realities that are barely understood today. The blue people in Kentucky began to disappear in the early 20th century as families moved apart and the disease therefore became less common as inbreeding reduced, reported ABC News. Not myth or legend; The Blue People of Kentucky were an isolated enclave of Appalachian people who lived with an embarrassing skin discoloration until a young hematologist took notice and found a solution. Some reports say Martin was not blue but was a carrier of the methemoglobinemia gene. Diagnosis and Treatment of the Blue Fugates of Kentucky. Just my opinion.. Blue Rules! Be sure to jot down important information as to how these people turned blue. I recently took a genetics course this past spring semester and learnt a lot about genetic mutations which can be sex-linked, linked or un-linked. Twitter. Jan 25, 2014 - Explore Janice Jordan's board "Blue People of Kentucky", followed by 192 people on Pinterest. Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, four of whom had blue skin. Yet Facebook groups have enabled the meeting of many people who have mutations in the same gene. Or if you can't get enough offbeat history, check out The History of the Hole Punch and The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Wells Fargo Heist. Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, four of whom had blue skin. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? Carrie holds a Bachelors in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College, and is currently pursuing an MFA. Related Love Makes Us More Intelligent, According to Neuroscience. The are… Hence this discrimination resulted in that the Blue family isolated themselves from the rest of the people. It is a rare condition that arises when the methemoglobin levels in your blood rise above 1 percent. Deep in the woods of Kentucky, a fiercely private family gave birth to blue-skinned children since the 1800s. Both Zacariah and his wife were non-blue skinned carriers of the gene, and then Zacariah's children went on to marry his younger siblings and their children. in the right direction in my search for the mysterious Blue People of the Cherokee Legends. The disorder is extremely rare. In the late 1950s, a hematologist named Martin Cawein from the University of Kentucky was fascinated by the stories of the blue Fugate family. Martin Fugate, a French orphan, married a woman named Elizabeth around 1820. For a hundred and fifty years, locals in the area of Hazard, Kentucky were stumped by a group of people. Related Love Makes Us More Intelligent, According to Neuroscience. He determined that injections of methylene blue would be able to cure them (more later on why that worked). They rushed him by ambulance to… Reference: Adapted from an article in Science 82, November 1982 by Cathy Trost For more information on the Blue Fugates of Kentucky go to google.com and type in blue fugates This novel is a love letter to books. The ancestral line began with a French orphan, Martin Fugate, who settled in Eastern Kentucky. Normal methemoglobin levels are less than 1%. Shame, psychological trauma, and discrimination resulted in that the Blue People of Kentucky isolated themselves from the rest of society. Not myth or legend; The Blue People of Kentucky were an isolated enclave of Appalachian people who lived with an embarrassing skin discoloration until a young hematologist took notice and found a solution. As a result of this weird disorder, they decided to isolate themselves from the community. This is especially true of the ‘Blue People of Kentucky’. The Blue People of Kentucky are still discussed, but less is known about. Old color photographs of the family clearly show about half of the members to have a distinct cobalt blue skin color, while the other have regular white skin color. Here, he planned to start a family with his new bride, a red-haired, pale woman named Elizabeth Smith. 017 | Blue People of Kentucky from Southern Oddities on Podchaser, aired Thursday, 14th January 2021. Old color photographs of the family clearly show about half of the members to have a distinct cobalt blue skin color, while the other have regular white skin color. There were no roads, and the railroad would not reach the area until 1910. SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. Martin Fugate and Elizabeth Smith[2] who had married and settled near Hazard, Kentucky, around 1820, were both carriers of the recessive methemoglobinemia (met-H) gene. Are there really blue skinned people living in Kentucky? This book explores the life of Cussy Carter, the last living female of the rare Blue People ancestry and is based on true life. Martin Fugate came to Troublesome Creek (near Hazard) from France in 1820 and… well… he happened to be blue. He was born in a hospital near Hazard, Kentucky. Ask questions; get answers. Our story starts near the town of Hazard, Kentucky where Martin Fugate and Elizabeth Smith settled down. [2][6] He found that a report from 1960 by a public health doctor, E. M. Scott, who published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation his research on the phenomenon among native Alaskans, based on the theory that a deficiency of the enzyme diaphorase is the cause of the oxygen deficiency in the red blood cells, causing the blood to appear brown, which in turn made the skin of those affected appear blue. People with methemoglobin levels above 10% may experience shortness of breath, headache, fatigue, dizziness, loss of consciousness, and cyanosis, the blue skin color that the Fugates were known for. Karason’s blue appearance and white beard drew comparisons to Papa Smurf, and brought renewed attention to the Fugate family though Karason’s ailment was unrelated. 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. Unbeknownst to the couple, they were coincidentally both carriers of a recessive gene (met-H) that caused methemoglobinemia, which can tint the skin of sufferers blue. A man named Paul Karason famously turned blue after getting argyria, as a result of drinking colloidal silver for alleged health benefits. A sad recent example is the Though these blue skin people were accepted socially in some places, in others they were discriminated against, pointed to as a warning against inter-marriage, and held up as a symbol of rural stereotypes. Email. A Comprehensive Guide. In 2019, the novel The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson, described a fictional version of the Fugate family during the Great Depression. Unbeknownst to the couple, they were coincidentally both carriers of a recessive gene (met-H) that caused methemoglobinemia, which can tint the skin of sufferers blue. Share. Check out this post about cell theory and why it's important and a discussion of enzymes and what they do. Neighbors used to laugh at the family’s blue appearance. He finally found a couplePatrick and Rachel Ritchiewho was willing to participate in his study. By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES. Life for the Blue people of Kentucky was not a dance on roses. Source – The Mind Unleashed Samuel Haddix, a native… Source – The Mind Unleashed Methemoglobinemia is a blood disorder where there are elevated levels of methemoglobin in the blood. Most stories about the blue people of Kentucky include an eerie, compelling drawing of a family, with the stark faces of 5 of the 9 members a striking bluish-gray, due to an inherited disease. Again, they were unable to prove a connection to the Fugates. They are known as the "Blue Fugates". Neighbors laughed at the family’s blue coloring and most avoided the Fugates. He married a red-haired American named Elizabeth Smith with a very pale complexion. 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