Randy - I have no wish to bring down the wrath of both sides of the debate upon my head. However, the Scottish, Irish question was discussed by John K. Johnston in Clan Kilgore and can be also looked up in the encyclopedia. He says the name Kilgour was an ancient parish in Fifeshire, Scotland, which means to me that the origin of "Kilgore" is Scottish. He says hundreds of Scotchmen were transplanted by James I from 1606 to 1610 and later by Cromwell, "who adopted this menthod of colonizing the Emerald Isle with Protestants, in order to keep Catholic Ireland in subjection." Many of the Irish landowners had fled the country and these lands were populated with Scots who held themselves above the Irish, did not intermarry, and no matter how many generations were born in Ireland, did not consider themselves Irish. This is the root of the "troubles" in Ulster to this day. Johnston further says, "The term "Scotch-Irish" seems to have come into general use since our Revolution, having been first taken as a race-name by many individuals of a very large class of people in the United States, descendants of emigrants of Scottish blood from the north of Ireland." Around 1720 when the tides of politics in Ireland turned against these Protestant settlers, they left Ireland in tremendous numbers and came to America. My neighbor when I was growing up was a from northern Ireland. He considered himself an Orangeman (from William of Orange, don't ask me about that, look it up) and was scornful of the Catholic Irish who wore green. I have many quarrels with Johnston, but it seems this is pretty good history. Rita >From: Rkkcak@aol.com >Reply-To: KILGORE-L@rootsweb.com >To: KILGORE-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: [KILGORE] Genealogy Debate: Scottish, Irish or both? >Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 09:56:34 EST > >Dear Kilgore gang, > >All my life I've lived under the banner of an Irish heritage, boldly >celebrating St. Patrick's Day as boisterously as I celebrate the Fourth of >July. I've railed in letters, speeches and columns about the cowardly, >violent acts of the Irish on both sides of "the Troubles", thinking I was >speaking as a distant insider. > >Unfortunately, if I understand this board correctly, I've been living a >delusional life (okay, stop your chuckling!). > >So, with a particularly earnest request to Vicki and Jerry to weigh in, >will >somebody tell me if I should be spending this Friday sliding down a rainbow >hunting for that pesky leprechaun, or donning my kilt and pulling out the >clubs for a bonny run at the local links? > >Said humorously, but with sincere interest. Are we Scottish, Irish or both? > >"Top O' The Mornin' To Ya'" >Randy > OR > >"FORE!" >Randy > > >==== KILGORE Mailing List ==== >ANY COMPLAINTS email to KILGORE-admin@rootsweb.com, NOT to list. > _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.