TIP #546 A THISTLE AND A BAGPIPE I recently attended an annual event in Glasgow KY that I look forward to each year; the Glasgow Highland Games. The games here just celebrated their 20th anniversary and the festivities, music, competitions and accommodations are wonderful. Whether one has Scottish blood running through their veins or not, during the Highland Games, everyone feels welcome. This got me thinking of the Scot-Irish influence in America and most especially in Kentucky as I am a daughter of Scotland. America opened it's arms to immigrants from Scotland as early as the 1600's with various peaks in the arrivals to our shores. Many came during the Cromwellian Civil War in Britain; others during the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745. The immigrants were commonly referred to as "Scotch-Irish". Between the years of 1715 and 1776 more than 250,000 arrived, settling in the Chesapeake Bay area, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolinas with later groups moving on to Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and Kentucky. In the late 1800's other large groups came and we can be thankful; included in this later arrival sprang Andrew Carnegie and Alexander Graham Bell. Approximately 1.5 million Scots have immigrated to America -- they have been settling here since the earliest Colonial days. The number of Americans who have some Scottish heritage is huge. The 1790 census indicated that 6% of the American population of 260,000 were of Scottish/Scots-Irish origin. Most of the Scottish settlers coming to America before the mid 1850's came from Glasgow, Lanark, Renfrew, and Ayr with some coming from Edinburgh , Lothians, Inverness, Southwest, and Perth (1) There are two divisions of Scotland: the east and south parts of Scotland are known as the Lowlands and their ancestry dates back to a people partly of Teutonic origin; the Highlands - the center and west part of Scotland were Celtic and had come from Ireland back in the 6th century. The Highlanders settled primarily first in the Cape Fear River area North Carolina; and also in South Carolina and Georgia. Others settled originally in the Mohawk Valley of New York. By the 1790 census Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina had the highest proportion of Scottish stock among their inhabitants. What lured these Scotts-Irish to America? Some were sent here against their will - it was prison in Scotland or execution. These included the political prisoners involved in various rebellions, paupers who were considered a liability and some small-time criminals. Others came because they were living in poverty in their home land and had heard tales of the opportunities in America. Many arrived as bonded servants. They were given their passage to America by funds donated by the person who brought them over. The individual would have to work off their passage when they arrived which could last up to seven years. Once the contract was fulfilled; they were free to make a life for themselves. The English and Germans already in America did not think much of Scots, as did the Dutch. They rather looked down their noses assuming that the Scots were less civilized and didn't want to work. But when it came to protecting the frontiers against Indian raids, these same Scots-Irish were sent to the front lines because of their fighting abilities. Over time the stigma lessened as they provided much to the development of America. The names Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, John K Polk, James Monroe, James Buchanan … all signers of the Declaration of Independence, all of Scot descent. Many of the Scots who settled in Pennsylvania came to Kentucky; many were here before Kentucky became a state in 1792. They worked at the same jobs as other pioneers; farmers, blacksmiths, timbermen and always the brave-hearted soldier in any battle threatening the United States. According to Billy Kennedy "The Scots-Irish were prominent in the first flow of pioneer settlers who headed for Kentucky from the years immediately after the Civil War. They came along the Wilderness Road via the Ohio River and over the Cumberland Mountains to a region that many considered too dangerous to encounter." (2). A disputed fact is that Daniel Boone was of Scottish descent. He also states that Fort Harrodsburg were said to be almost all Scots-Irish. Their presence changed the face of America. Those who settled in the Appalachian area gave birth to what we call bluegrass music. Many traders or merchants and moved with their business. Later in the late 18th and 19th centuries one could find Scottish immigrants doing higher-skilled jobs such as jewelers, miners, clerks, portrait painters, printers, wigmakers and many other crafts. The Scotts were normally highly educated and contributed much to our literature over the years. The Scotts also left their imprint on religion in America. If they came in the 18th Century, they were normally Presbyterian; though some of the Highlanders were Roman Catholics and some Scottish Episcopal clergy came to America. But, they also expanded into new religious groups such as the Glassites, Sandemanians. Other noted names in Kentucky's history that came from Scotland included: John Adair, eighth Governor of Kentucky; Gabriel Slaughter and Beriah Magoffin; all reported to be Ulster born. General George Rogers Clark was descended from Ulster-Scott heritage. Benjamin and John Logan who were prominent in early Kentucky were the sons of Ulster-born parents. The McAfees, Binghams, Warnock's, McGary's, Whites, Blairs, Meek's, Paogues, Stewarts, Allen's, Kennedy's and Johns(t)on's are all named by Kennedy as Scotland born. Does your heart stir at the sound of a lonely bagpiper playing "Amazing Grace"? Or do you thrill to the marching bands in kilt? Maybe you have some Scottish blood too! (1) Migration Patterns of Our Scottish Ancestors, Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG, Copyright 2000 Myra Vanderpool Gormley. Reprinted from American Genealogy Magazine, Vol. 4, No. (2) Kennedy, Billy, The Scots-Irish in Pennsylvania & Kentucky, Ambassador Productions Ltd., Belfast, © Sept 1998. © Copyright 23 June 2005, Sandra K. Gorin Sandi's Puzzlers: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gensoup/gorin/puz.html SCKY Links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html