Ancestors?

I think the majority of Appalachia gets its heritage from Ireland/rural UK. You can hear the influences in their folk music. As for the Whites, I know that they are part Cherokee Native American on both Bertie Mae's side and possibly D. Ray's side as well. My theory is that English settlers from rural England settled in the Appalachian Mountains and were isolated there for so long that in order to "thicken the blood" and stray away from the inevitable incest, they may have mated with the Native Americans.

So basically, rural English settlers looking possibly for gold/coal to get rich settled in wild Appalachia, became isolated from the rest of the nation, mated with Native Americans a bit, and bam, you get the Whites.

The Appalachians were predominantly settled by Protestant Irish. They call themselves "Scots-Irish" to differentiate themselves from the waves of Catholic Irish that came later and mostly settled in urban cities.

the way the majority of the White family members look, some of the terms they use, the social problems they have with integration and the way they name each other - all that is typical for gypsies...and I mean real gypsies from the tribes ... even WHITE or/aka WEISS is a typical gypsy last name after (gadjos/white men)forced gadjo names on the tribe members in the 19th and 20th centuries .. some typical gypsy facial features are still recognizeable too.. They look like Sinti or Boyash tribe members
I'd love to talk to the elder family members one day to see if they know/understand words in gypsy language