Who were the “Blue People” in Appalachia?
The “Blue People,” so named because of the blue appearance of their skin, were descendants of Martin Fugate, a French immigrant to Kentucky. Fugate had a recessive gene that limited or stopped his body’s production of the enzyme diaphorase. Diaphorase breaks down methemoglobin (a bluish or brownish component of oxygen and blood) into hemoglobin in red blood cells. When the diaphorase is not present, a disproportionate amount of methemoglobin remains in the blood, giving the cells a bluish tint, rather than the normal pink associated with the skin color of Caucasians. The condition is strictly one of pigment and does not deprive the person of oxygen or have any other negative health effects. Fugate’s family suffered from the condition because of excessive inbreeding (family members mating with one another). When both parents had the recessive gene, their children would be…
