Chronicling Ulster's role in US history News Letter journalist and author BILLY KENNEDY looks forward to yet another trek to America on his I'm off to Boston this weekend to work on an American History Channel documentary on the Scots-Irish Presbyterian immigrants from Ulster who settled on the American frontier in the 18th century. In an invitation that has been extended by the History Channel producers as a result of the impact my nine books on the Scots-Irish have had in the United States over the past decade, I am honored to be the only non-American taking part in the two-hour programmed. No doubt my Ulster accent should at least give the show some authenticity and I am being asked to provide a detailed background to the movement of the immigrants from the Old World to the New World and speak about some of their remarkable achievements, including the fact that no fewer than 17 American Presidents can trace their roots back to this diaspora, who originally moved from lowland Scotland in the 17th century. The producers have also asked me to speak on the centuries-old tradition of making moonshine (poteen or illicit whiskey), which became the money-making preserve of the Scots-Irish backcountry farmers in the 18th and 19th centuries and resulted in the famous Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 in Pennsylvania, which caused problems for the first American President George Washington. Not being a tippler of the hard stuff myself, I can only relate what my research in Ulster and America has uncovered on this mountain practice. I have often been offered jars of the stuff on my travels into the heavily forested Appalachian backcountry, but always politely declined the generous hospitality. The working title of the History Channel show is Appalachia: America's First Frontier and producer Jenette Restivo, of Moore-Huntley Productions, confirms it will segment a wide range of the lives and times of the hardy Scots-Irish, who were among the first white Americans and who created a civilisation out of a barren wilderness. Among the American contributors to the documentary will be United States Republican senator and former governor of Tennessee Lamar Alexander, who can trace his Alexander and Rankin family roots back to Londonderry, and US Democratic senator from Virginia James Webb, who is also from a Scots-Irish background and the author of the best-selling 2004 book Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America. The producers have also lined up several American historians for interview, as well as a reputed "moonshiner" from the Maggie Valley district in Western North Carolina, and a spokesman for the highly lucrative NASCAR sport, which was founded in the Southern states by Scots-Irish "Good Ole Boys" during the prohibition years of the 1920s and 1930s. The trailer for the documentary explains vividly and colourfully the psyche of these unique people who left Ulster in such large numbers to escape religious persecution and deprivation and to stake for land, freedom and democracy in the New World. "The southern Appalachian mountains, America's first frontier! "It was these rugged hills and valleys that absorbed waves of tough, restless Scots-Irish immigrants in the 1700s, chewed them up with a series of epic tests of survival, and spat out a true-blue American original; the mountain people, aka mountaineers, Appies, Arkies, Okies, rednecks or as they're often labelled, hillbillies. "Fiercely independent and resourceful, these strangers in a strange land produced a new American culture, they created their own armies, alcohol, music, religious faiths and their own sport; the now fabulously popular and multi-million dollar stock car racing (the NASCAR). In fact, without them, there would be no United States of America at all! "Their contributions from the very heart of our national identity: rabble-rousing, freedom-loving, God-fearing people willing to die for a just cause or defend their way of life. They are the heart and soul of working-class America," runs the trailer. Certainly, this trailer accurately capsules a dogged determined people, who were undeterred by the enormous dangers that they faced on the American frontier. Jenette Rostivo adds: "The documentary, now being finalised, will cover the 17th century Ulster Plantation, the 18th century movement to America by essentially the Presbyterian people, the history up to and including the Revolutionary War, western frontier migration (to territories like Tennessee, Kentucky, the Shenandoah Valley, south-western Virginia and Western North Carolina), religion, music, the development of the railroad to Appalachia, coal mining, moonshine, stock car racing and stereotypes." History Channel programmes are extremely popular on both sides of the Atlantic and this documentary will be screened to millions of people around the world in the autumn. Filming has already taken place in Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and West Virginia and my contribution, which I am privileged to make, will cover all day Saturday. Now that one of our members is gone (which I did not read all of this bickering) maybe someone can look for the show when it does come on and if they would please let me know at cviescas@uia.net. This whole last couple of days has really gotten me upset and I am not involved at all. Why must people include so many other people when they do not agree. I would appreciate knowing when the show may come on. I am not sure if I will post the information if I find it after all of this upset. If anyone wants to argue with me please take it off of the site. Chris Viescas

Thanks for the info. I really did not know what all the recent fuss entailed. I read Webb's book which actually listed my New England Ancestors group arrival and I shall certainly look forward to the History Channel show. Dean Alexander -----Original Message----- From: chris viescas <cviescas@uia.net> To: gc-gateway@rootsweb.com Cc: alexander@rootsweb.com Sent: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 6:58 pm Subject: [ALEXANDER] History Channel Program Chronicling Ulster's role in US history News Letter journalist and author BILLY KENNEDY looks forward to yet another trek to America on his I'm off to Boston this weekend to work on an American History Channel documentary on the Scots-Irish Presbyterian immigrants from Ulster who settled on the American frontier in the 18th century. In an invitation that has been extended by the History Channel producers as a result of the impact my nine books on the Scots-Irish have had in the United States over the past decade, I am honored to be the only non-American taking part in the two-hour programmed. No doubt my Ulster accent should at least give the show some authenticity and I am being asked to provide a detailed background to the movement of the immigrants from the Old World to the New World and speak about some of their remarkable achievements, including the fact that no fewer than 17 American Presidents can trace their roots back to this diaspora, who originally moved from lowland Scotland in the 17th century. The producers have also asked me to speak on the centuries-old tradition of making moonshine (poteen or illicit whiskey), which became the money-making preserve of the Scots-Irish backcountry farmers in the 18th and 19th centuries and resulted in the famous Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 in Pennsylvania, which caused problems for the first American President George Washington. Not being a tippler of the hard stuff myself, I can only relate what my research in Ulster and America has uncovered on this mountain practice. I have often been offered jars of the stuff on my travels into the heavily forested Appalachian backcountry, but always politely declined the generous hospitality. The working title of the History Channel show is Appalachia: America's First Frontier and producer Jenette Restivo, of Moore-Huntley Productions, confirms it will segment a wide range of the lives and times of the hardy Scots-Irish, who were among the first white Americans and who created a civilisation out of a barren wilderness. Among the American contributors to the documentary will be United States Republican senator and former governor of Tennessee Lamar Alexander, who can trace his Alexander and Rankin family roots back to Londonderry, and US Democratic senator from Virginia James Webb, who is also from a Scots-Irish background and the author of the best-selling 2004 book Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America. The producers have also lined up several American historians for interview, as well as a reputed "moonshiner" from the Maggie Valley district in Western North Carolina, and a spokesman for the highly lucrative NASCAR sport, which was founded in the Southern states by Scots-Irish "Good Ole Boys" during the prohibition years of the 1920s and 1930s. The trailer for the documentary explains vividly and colourfully the psyche of these unique people who left Ulster in such large numbers to escape religious persecution and deprivation and to stake for land, freedom and democracy in the New World. "The southern Appalachian mountains, America's first frontier! "It was these rugged hills and valleys that absorbed waves of tough, restless Scots-Irish immigrants in the 1700s, chewed them up with a series of epic tests of survival, and spat out a true-blue American original; the mountain people, aka mountaineers, Appies, Arkies, Okies, rednecks or as they're often labelled, hillbillies. "Fiercely independent and resourceful, these strangers in a strange land produced a new American culture, they created their own armies, alcohol, music, religious faiths and their own sport; the now fabulously popular and multi-million dollar stock car racing (the NASCAR). In fact, without them, there would be no United States of America at all! "Their contributions from the very heart of our national identity: rabble-rousing, freedom-loving, God-fearing people willing to die for a just cause or defend their way of life. They are the heart and soul of working-class America," runs the trailer. Certainly, this trailer accurately capsules a dogged determined people, who were undeterred by the enormous dangers that they faced on the American frontier. Jenette Rostivo adds: "The documentary, now being finalised, will cover the 17th century Ulster Plantation, the 18th century movement to America by essentially the Presbyterian people, the history up to and including the Revolutionary War, western frontier migration (to territories like Tennessee, Kentucky, the Shenandoah Valley, south-western Virginia and Western North Carolina), religion, music, the development of the railroad to Appalachia, coal mining, moonshine, stock car racing and stereotypes." History Channel programmes are extremely popular on both sides of the Atlantic and this documentary will be screened to millions of people around the world in the autumn. Filming has already taken place in Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and West Virginia and my contribution, which I am privileged to make, will cover all day Saturday. Now that one of our members is gone (which I did not read all of this bickering) maybe someone can look for the show when it does come on and if they would please let me know at cviescas@uia.net. This whole last couple of days has really gotten me upset and I am not involved at all. Why must people include so many other people when they do not agree. I would appreciate knowing when the show may come on. I am not sure if I will post the information if I find it after all of this upset. If anyone wants to argue with me please take it off of the site. Chris Viescas Problems, contact the list administrator gail dot kilgore at gmail dot com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ALEXANDER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ________________________________________________________________________ Email and AIM finally together. 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