Diet: Insects, seeds, and grains. Methemoglobinemia is a rare hereditary blood disorder that results from excess levels of methomoglobin (metHb) in the blood. She and her husband Alva have a strong sense of family. Yes, West Virginia is among the poorest if not the poorest state in the union as well as one of the most uneducated and least economically developed. However, it has the ability to change the blue hemoglobin back to a normal color, and remove the blue tone from their skin almost instantly. She gets upset at all the talk of inbreeding among the Fugates. Then, in 2004, Abercrombie & Fitch released a T-shirt emblazoned with a map of the Appalachian state and the words Its all relative in West Virginia. In February, a casting director for the upcoming thriller Shelter put out a call for extras with unusual body shapes, [and] even physical abnormalities to depict West Virginia mountain people. West Virginia had just one carrier in its exchange in 2015 - Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield - although the carrier only offered 12 plans in 2014, and bumped that up to 14 in 2015. The gene is still around today but has now become statistically insignificant and there are no serious medical problems associated with it. It was caused, Scott speculated, by an absence of the enzyme diaphorase from their red blood cells. Howells Pawn and Guns, New Martinsville, WV. Genetic Causes Other people in the region knew the family well, and most were related to them, so seeing blue people and marrying them did not seem unusual to the locals. This results in brown blood giving Caucasian patients a bluish hue to their skin. The expedition descended that river to Peter's Falls on the future Virginia-West Virginia border and claimed for England all the land drained by the New River and its tributaries. As it was, the Fugates stayed in the same area well into the 20th century. By. Matt Harvey The boy inherited his fathers lankiness and his mothers slightly nasal way of speaking. 702 ft (214 m) Time zone: UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) Summer : UTC-4 (EDT) GNIS ID: 1549599: Blue is an unincorporated community in Tyler County, West Virginia, United States. Buckhannon is a town thats 95% white, where 3 out of 10 people didnt graduate from high school. Matt Harvey Dan Cunningham was born Jan. 16, 1850, in Jackson County. Fairmont is a short truck drive down from Morgantown. 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. A transfusion was being prepared when Benjys grandmother spoke up. 11 HINTS YOU MIGHT BE DESCENDED FROM ALIENS, FUGATES OF KENTUCKY: SKIN BLUER THAN LAKE LOUISE As My World Turns, If Your Skin Is Blue, Dont Marry Your Other Blue Shaded Relative interesting12, Daily News investigates: Mystery of family with blue skin solved | Bazaar Daily News, If Your Skin Is Blue, Don't Marry Your Other Blue Shaded Relative - interesting12. The entry was on the blue men, not of West Virginia, but of the Mountain State's neighbor, Kentucky, . Having blue children did not concern them. Soon, the Fugates became known as the Blue Fugates of Kentucky. The solution, oddly enough, was a commonly used dye called methylene blue. One look at Luke was enough to get those doctors down here in a hurry, says Pendergrass, who joined Cawein to look for more blue people. Of their seven children, four were blue. As coal mining and the railroads brought progress to Kentucky, the blue Fugates started moving out of their communities and marrying other people. 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. Art Museum of West Virginia University, McGee Gallery View map. When you click through real estate links on our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Martin Fugate was a French orphan who emigrated to Kentucky in 1820 to claim a land grant on the wilderness banks of Troublesome Creek. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Martin Fugate arrived in the unsettled frontier of Kentucky in 1820. Despite those incredible odds, this is exactly what happened with the Fugates. The last known "blue" Fugate descendant was born in 1975. 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. If this conversion continued, all the bodys hemoglobin would eventually be rendered useless. Studying the problem, Cawein figured out that he could convert methemoglobin to hemoglobin without the enzyme. She looked like she was having a heart attack. Heres their story. Ask the Explainer. But as Kentucky became more populated and more genes came into the Fugate family tree, there were far fewer children born blue. (Baltimore: Gateway Press 1986). Scotts Alaskans seemed to match Caweins blue people. Patrick was all hunched down in the hall. 2 The state capital is Charleston. 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. The clinic doctors only saw her a few times in her life and never for anything serious. Embarrassed by their bluish hue, the families retreated even further from society, which only exacerbated the problem. The marriage of one of their blue boys, Zachariah, to his mothers sister triggered the line of succession that would result in the birth, more than 100 years later, of Benjy Stacy. Some of us finished high school and became the "dreaded wife and mother"-as society portrays it. Feeder food: Grain and birdseed. The family was first discovered in 1958 when one of the blue men, Luke Combs, who was a descendant of another branch of the Fugate family, took his white wife to the University of Kentucky Hospital and doctors paid more attention to him than his wife. Their inbreeding led to several medical problems and recessive genes being passed down through each child, such as one that gave some of the offspring blue skin. Major Occupational Groups in West Virginia ( Note --clicking a link will scroll the page to the occupational group): 00-0000 All Occupations 11-0000 Management Occupations 13-0000 Business and Financial Operations Occupations 15-0000 Computer and Mathematical Occupations 17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations Big deal, ive got an extra thumb, and twelve toes, but at least my parents didnt know they were twins until after they had me. The condition that made the Fugates blue causes large amounts of methemoglobin (which is a blue type of hemoglobin) to circulate in the blood. The following piece was collected at a dinner table with a group of girls out celebrating a friends birthday. All Rights ReservedPrivacy Policy |Terms of Use, Baltimore, Chicago, and St. Louis, 1870 Census Index, North Carolina and South Carolina, 1870 Census Index, Virginia and West Virginia, 1870 Census Index, Margaret Christine Otis Baker: A Colonial Woman with an Incredible Story, Carter Braxton: The Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Josiah Bartlett: The Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Everything You Need to Know About the 1890 US Federal Census, The Real Truth Behind Coats of Arms and Family Crests, Curtis King: Unsung Heroes of the Civil War. You couldve done even better than that. When Two Strangers Lost the Genetic Lottery Martin Fugate arrived in the unsettled frontier of Kentucky in 1820. More than a cent. "The True Story of the Blue People of Kentucky" She was a sister to one of the Fugate women. About this same time, another of the blue Combses, named Luke, had taken his sick wife up to the clinic at Lexington. get your facts straight for petes sake. The Fugate family of Kentucky has been known for their blue skin color for generations. Still, what a crazy world we live in. Others, however, did not like being blue, and it was these Fugates, who didnt like their blue coloring, who were the first to volunteer for Caweins experimental treatments. Sometimes they married first cousins. They wouldnt come into the waiting room. Dont freak out. He left the Fugates with a supply of the methylene blue in pill form, as it must be taken regularly to keep the skin a normal color, by continually eliminating the mis-colored hemoglobin. Methemoglobinemia is one of the rare genetic conditions that's treatable with a simple pill. Sometimes, it can be really faint though, so you have to look closely at their lips or fingernails. After ruling out heart and lung diseases, the doctor suspected methemoglobinemia, a rare hereditary blood disorder that results from excess levels of methemoglobin in the blood. The only thing Stacy cant or wont remember is that his wife Luna was blue. Add to calendar. According to the official dictionary definition of a redneck, and based on stereotypes that the internet says are true, using science to determine the most redneck cities in a state cant be too far off. They sing in the Stacy Family Gospel Band and have provided their children with a beautiful home and a menagerie of pets, including horses. "They vary in color from white to black, often have blue eyes and straight hair, and they are generally industrious. He was a French orphan who knew nothing of his lineage. 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. Population: 10,486Mobile home parks in area: 3rd in WVBars per capita: 3rdGun stores per capita: 5th in West Virginia. Where people have deer horns on their hoods. Little Blue Run in Chester West Virginia is gone 8/8/2004: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes about Little Blue Run: Dangerous disposal, by Alyson Walls . Stacy courted her, married her, and moved over from Troublesome Creek to make a living in timber on her daddys land. Finally, one day when the frustrated doctor was idling inside the Hazard clinic, Patrick and Rachel Ritchie walked in. Because the boy was intensely blue at birth but then recovered his normal skin tones, Benjy is assumed to have inherlted only one gene for the condition. Its 97% white, very blue collar, and there are lots of places to get guns, ammo and chew. Such people tend to be very blue only at birth, probably because newborns normally have smaller amounts of diaphorase. Some say 99%. The condition was clearly genetic, but the key for Cawein was reading reports of hereditary methemoglobinemia among isolated Inuit populations in Alaska where blood relatives often married. Legend has it that Martin himself may have had a blue tinge to his skin, but not the dark blue color of later Fugates. If youll notice, he observes, tracing lines on his familys chart, which lists his mothers and his fathers great grandfather as Henley Fugate, Im kin to myself.. 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. His lips and fingernails still turn a shade of purple-blue when he gets cold or angry a quirk that so intrigued medical students after Benjy's birth that they would crowd around the baby and try to make him cry. The doctor gave each blue family a supply of methylene blue tablets to take as a daily pill. Everyone knew the blue Fugates were healthy people. West Virginia History Timeline. The mystery behind the astonishing picture of the Fugates, which has been baffling people for years, appears to have finally been solved. It is almost certain that Martin was a descendant of the Fugate family of Russell County, Virginia and probably of French origin. This genetic defect comes from a rare recessive gene, so most people arent affected by it unless they happen to reproduce with another person who carries it. He knew the same thing was happening in this secluded corner of Appalachia. Google Maps. Cawein and his colleagues published their research on hereditary diaphorase deficiency in the Archives of Internal Medicine (April, 1964) in 1964. The doctors finally came to the conclusion that Benjys color was due to blood inherited from generations back.. Scott also concluded that the condition was inherited as a simple recessive trait. The Appalachian region of the US is a beautiful place with a rich and sometimes tragic history. How far from Flatwoods , ky? Martin and Elizabeth set up housekeeping on the banks of Troublesome and began a family. score: 5 of 27 (18%) required scores: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 list stats leaders vote Vote print comments. Everyone knew the blue Fugates were healthy people. The blue skin gene is a recessive gene that only appears when both parents are carriers of the gene. While in the hills, Cawein drove over to see Zach (Big Man) Fugate, the 76-year-old patriarch of the clan on Troublesome Creek. Sit back, relax, and read the amazing but true genetic tale of the Blue People of Kentucky. Rednecks love to shoot their guns and fish, and there are a really high number of ammo stores and bait shops in the area, per person. This is redneck wonderland. Fortunately, Cawein was able to find an antidote for the blood disorder - methylene blue which acted as an electron donor. 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. 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. Eventually, Cawein gained their trust and began taking blood samples. Of their seven children, four were reported to be blue. One relative describes her as blue all over, and another calls Luna the bluest woman I ever saw.. Edit Old Gold & Blue Page "They were bluer'n hell," said Cawein in a 1982 interview with Science 82. West By God is right. Madison Cawein began hearing rumors about the blue people when he went to work at the University of Kentuckys Lexington medical clinic in 1960. So, youd think people who are rednecks would be proud to be called a redneck. Exaggeration-prone outsiders. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. As a result of a coincidental meeting of recessive genes, intermarriage and inbreeding, members of the Fugate family were born with a rare condition that made them visibly discoloured. Book is out of print, borrowed from Special Collections at the St. Louis County Library, St. Louis, MO. Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, four of whom were "bright blue" according to Fugate family lore. He hasnt studied the condition for years. March 8, 2012— -- Kerry Green was a "blue baby," born in 1964 in Tulsa, Okla., and his family was given little hope that he would live because of a malformed aorta. Luna was bluish all over. Bessie had an iron pot of clothes boiling in her front yard, but she graciously allowed the doctor to draw some of her blood. All he needed was a substance that could "donate" a free electron to the methemoglobin, allowing it to bond with oxygen. In normal people hemoglobin is converted to methemoglobin at a very slow rate. It wasn't always this way. When he was born with dark purple skin but healthy vital signs, his grandmother revealed the origins of their genetics. My first reaction to this story was wondering whether there was a scientific reason, or condition perhaps, that acted as a precursor to this belief of a skin condition that was a result of incest. If you stayed awake in high-school biology, you might remember that blood is red because red blood cells are packed with proteins called hemoglobin. It run in that generation who lived up and down Ball [Creek]., They looked like anybody else, cept they had the blue color, Stacy says, sitting in a chair in his plaid flannel shirt and suspenders, next to a cardboard box where a small black piglet, kept as a pet, is squealing for his bottle. 3. Elkins Journeez Bar, Elkins, WV. The topographic boundary was modified where Route 9 crossed the watershed divide. They are known for being carriers of a genetic trait that led to the blood disorder methemoglobinemia, causing the skin to appear blue. 5,600 views made by Rocco. Google Maps, Cowboy Up Bar, Bluefield, WV. 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. 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. Published. His car gave out on the dirt road to Zachs house, and the doctor had to borrow a Jeep from a filling station. We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. He had to drive eight hours back to Hazard to search out the Ritchies, who lived in a tapped-out mining town called Hardburly. al. The Faces of Appalachia. For some, though, there was a pain not seen in lab tests. If enough blood is "infected" with this faulty type of hemoglobin, it changes from red to an almost purple-ish dark blue. Lappat, Hereditary Methemoglobinemia in Hemoglobin, Its Precursors and Metabolites, ed. They were poor people, concurs Nurse Pendergrass, but they were good.References1. By Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh Fast Facts Nickname: The Mountain State Statehood: 1863; 35th state Population (as of July, 2016): 1,831,102. 1:52. "If you took any random person in the population, maybe one in 100,000 would carry this gene, if that many," says Ricki Lewis, a science writer and author of the textbook "Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications," now in its 13th edition. 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