You've run into the age-old dilemna of Scots-Irish continuing to call themselves Scots regardless of their being born in Ireland. My gggrandfatherf was born in Ireland to a Scots father according to oral family history; however, even when he settled in Upper Canada, he and others in the area referred to themselves as "Scots". Good luck on this one. Cliff. Johnston "May the best you've ever seen, Be the worst you'll ever see;" from A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay ----- Original Message ----- From: "kentner wilson" <kentnerwilson@gmail.com> To: <COTYRONEIRELAND@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 5:59 PM Subject: [CoTyIre] 1816 Wilsons > In regard to the Wilson that came to the USA in 1816-- is there a reason > they would have used Co. Tyrone if they really were from Scotland? One > side > of the family says they were from Scotland. > > ------------- > Our community web-site: > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cotyroneireland > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > COTYRONEIRELAND-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hello Cliff. I think it's helpful to think of it as being the difference between one's citizenship and one's ancestral origins. Genealogists generally are looking for the latter. I am an American citizen, as were several generations of my ancestors, but my ancestral roots are German, Scottish, Irish, English and Welsh. My grandfather knew only that his great-grandfather came from Ulster. Anyone in that situation who refuses to consider that their ancestors were anything more than simply Irish will not learn much about his or her family tree. At the same time, of course, some of my Scottish ancestors in Ulster very likely married Irish. It is a puzzle. By the way, my husband's paternal grandmother was a Johnston; and I like Ramsay's toast. Loretta -----Original Message----- From: cotyroneireland-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:cotyroneireland-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Cliff. Johnston Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 07:09 PM To: kentner wilson; COTYRONEIRELAND@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [CoTyIre] 1816 Wilsons You've run into the age-old dilemna of Scots-Irish continuing to call themselves Scots regardless of their being born in Ireland. My gggrandfatherf was born in Ireland to a Scots father according to oral family history; however, even when he settled in Upper Canada, he and others in the area referred to themselves as "Scots". Good luck on this one. Cliff. Johnston "May the best you've ever seen, Be the worst you'll ever see;" from A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay