Actually the last few years of the show they were from Ark. In the beginning they were from Tn. Never understood why they changed states.
Yeah, I think in the movie they were from the Ozarks in Arkansas. I can't say much about mountain folks, as some of my ancestors came from what is now Cherokee county in North Carolina in mid 19th century. BTW, they were mixed bloods. I had heard this but never thought much about it one way or the other until my sister last year showed me a picture of our great-grandparents in a book. They were both listed as 3/4 Cherokee, but I think that percentage is high as I always heard she was 1/2 only, and from that picture I doubt he was that high a percentage. We do have a much better picture of her when she was old, and she was clearly part native American. It also showed very much in my grandfather.
BG