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None of Martin and Mary Fugate's descendants would have been blue had they not intermarried with a nearby clan, the Smiths. The Smiths were descendants of Richard Smith and Alicia Combs, one of whom apparently was also a met-H carrier. According to family historian Mary Fugate, the first known blue Fugate was born in 1832. Because of inbreeding among the isolated hill folk--the Fugate family tree is a tangled mess of cousins marrying cousins--blue people started popping up frequently thereafter. A half dozen or so were on the scene by the 1890s, and one case was reported as recently as 1975. They were quite a sight. One woman is said to have had lips the color of a bruise.
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Thanks for that scoop, jinx. The above I found at straightdope.com How did you know that, by the way?
And Elspode: That story was horrible! It sent a chill through my spine, and I'm not even gay. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be gay and live in that county. How is it that such homophobia thrives in this day and age? I chock it up to that good ole' American anti-intellectualism.