Now you raise an interesting issue. I know that my ancestor left for America from Liverpool (which is odd to start with - should have been Glasgow, I'm told), so I assumed that he arrived in NYCity. However, I've never found him on any of the passenger lists of the day for NYC. I didn't look at the lists for anywhere else because I thought they were too far away for Del Co to be the destination of choice. However, I suppose he could have gone to Boston. I don't think there's a major port in CT - is there? Kitti Michalowicz ---- Gabrielle Pierce <gbpierce@frontiernet.net> wrote: ============= Legend has it that they landed in Delaware county because it so resembled their mother land. There was somewhat of a beaten path from Connecticut, etc., where they'd landed by ship, to come here to settle. ~~Gabrielle Pierce, former Town of Hamden Historian ----- Original Message ----- From: "Valerie Brown" <vwbrown08@yahoo.com> To: <nydelawa@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 8:09 AM Subject: [NYDELAWA] For the Scots, why Delaware County? > My ancestors came to Delaware county about 1842 and > 1851 from Roxburgshire, Scotland. There are about 33 > hits for "Roxburg" or "Roxburghsire" on the Delaware > county web-site. Can anyone tell me what the big > attraction was to Delaware county, especially Bovina, > over other counties in NY state that drew so many > people from one county in Scotland? > Thank you. > ~Valerie > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, > news, photos & more. > http://mobile.yahoo.com/go?refer=1GNXIC > To contact list administrator send email to nydelawa-admin@rootsweb.com > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NYDELAWA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > To contact list administrator send email to nydelawa-admin@rootsweb.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NYDELAWA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
> ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Valerie Brown" <vwbrown08@yahoo.com> > To: <nydelawa@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 8:09 AM > Subject: [NYDELAWA] For the Scots, why Delaware County? > > >> My ancestors came to Delaware county about 1842 and >> 1851 from Roxburgshire, Scotland. There are about 33 >> hits for "Roxburg" or "Roxburghsire" on the Delaware >> county web-site. Can anyone tell me what the big >> attraction was to Delaware county, especially Bovina, >> over other counties in NY state that drew so many >> people from one county in Scotland? Hi Valerie and All, There are probably as many reasons for people settling in Delaware County as there are families who came here. Firstly, I think it's a good idea to learn why they might have chosen (or were forced) to leave Scotland. If you go to http://www.genuki.org.uk/ you can find out a lot about the places where your ancestors lived. Of particular interest are the gazetteers of various parishes. Go to http://heritage.scotsman.com and click on "Timeline", and especially note info on the Clearances, which were responsible for so many Scots leaving their homeland. The wealthy landowners, who had allowed tenants to farm for years, found it more profitable to let sheep graze on those lands and agriculture suffered, as well as those farmers who owned nothing and had nowhere to go. Some landowners were sympathetic and provided transportation and more for their former tenants, such as the Earl of Selkirk who actually founded settlements in Canada to which displaced Scots could emigrate. In many places notices were placed extolling the benefits of living in the Colonies. Many, no doubt, followed family members who had gone before and perhaps claimed that the land made them think of "home". Landowners here were also interested in clearing the land, as well as collecting rent from those who would lease and work the land, or selling to those who could afford it. Just a few ideas for consideration.... Two of my ancestors came here in 1817 and settled in Bovina. Their widowed mother, sister and younger brother followed later that year, after, presumably, positive reviews from the older boys. I have never found a date or place of death for their father and have often wondered if he might have been conscripted into the militia in Scotland and fought here in the War of 1812? One of the most informative sites for Delaware County, NY information is.... http://www.dcnyhistory.org/ While there check out "Books Online" and this exerpt from "Centennial History of Delaware County, New York : 1797-1897"...... "Andes received a large contingent of Scotch immigrants. These were not however the first settlers, who were of Dutch ancestry and came from the Hudson river counties. But a large number of Scotch families came in at various times and settled the Cabin Hill region and some of the valleys towards Bovina. It was this same movement which led many of the same nationality to invade the rough regions of Bovina. They had been preceded in this movement by Elisha B. Maynard a New Englander, who was the first settler, in 1792. But the hardy Scotch crowded into the lands on the headwaters of the Little Delaware, and made the little town, when it was organized in 1820, almost their own. The town of Delhi in like manner contains many families who by ancestry are Scotch. This is especially true of the mountainous region rising from the Little Delaware on the southwest. The section is still called the Scotch mountains from the fact that the greater part of it was settled by Scotch families. It will be observed that in all these settlements of the Scotch, they have chosen the hills and uplands in preference to the fertile valleys. This was partly owing to the fact that they came into the county at a later date when the richer lands along the rivers had been already taken up. But, besides this, and besides their general poverty which led them to select cheap lands, we must attribute their choice of hilly lands to their predilections founded upon the clear mountains from which they came, and for which they retained such fond memories." Hope this helps a bit, Jeanne (Raitt Flye)
Jeannie, thanks for your reply. I had read, "Centennial History of Delaware County, New York : 1797-1897", which was very helpful. And, for my family the highland clearances are a plausible start for the idea of migrating because my family was in Fife at that time, tho' the wife was born in the Selkirk area. I have thought my ancestor may have been in the Scottish military and drafted from The Lowlands to serve in the Highlands because there were many references made to soldiers of lightfoot in the OPR where my ancestor and his siblings were born. (Jeannie, was your Raitt family born in Creich Parish, Fife? My family lived with the John Raitt family.) Many folks who have written accounts on the Delaware County Web-site and on this list-serve mention the War of 1812 as a reason to know Delaware County, return to Scotland, and return w/ families. They say they can't substantiate their claims. 'tho. And still, this doesn't explain all the references to Roxburgshire on the Delaware county Web-site. The War of 1812, makes the fathers of our ancestors arriving in Delaware county in the 1850s era a possible reason for migrating here. To all: As far as the war of 1812, is there a place or web-site to learn who from Scotland, or from where in Scotland our ancestors were drafted, served, and where they did serve in North America? ~Valerie --- JEANNIE FLYE <jflye@verizon.net> wrote: > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Valerie Brown" <vwbrown08@yahoo.com> > > To: <nydelawa@rootsweb.com> > > Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 8:09 AM > > Subject: [NYDELAWA] For the Scots, why Delaware > County? > > > > > >> My ancestors came to Delaware county about 1842 > and > >> 1851 from Roxburgshire, Scotland. There are about > 33 > >> hits for "Roxburg" or "Roxburghsire" on the > Delaware > >> county web-site. Can anyone tell me what the big > >> attraction was to Delaware county, especially > Bovina, > >> over other counties in NY state that drew so many > >> people from one county in Scotland? > > Hi Valerie and All, > > There are probably as many reasons for people > settling in Delaware > County as there are families who came here. > Firstly, I think it's a good > idea to learn why they might have chosen (or were > forced) to leave Scotland. > If you go to http://www.genuki.org.uk/ you can find > out a lot about the > places where your ancestors lived. Of particular > interest are the > gazetteers of various parishes. Go to > http://heritage.scotsman.com and > click on "Timeline", and especially note info on the > Clearances, which were > responsible for so many Scots leaving their > homeland. The wealthy > landowners, who had allowed tenants to farm for > years, found it more > profitable to let sheep graze on those lands and > agriculture suffered, as > well as those farmers who owned nothing and had > nowhere to go. Some > landowners were sympathetic and provided > transportation and more for their > former tenants, such as the Earl of Selkirk who > actually founded settlements > in Canada to which displaced Scots could emigrate. > In many places notices > were placed extolling the benefits of living in the > Colonies. Many, no > doubt, followed family members who had gone before > and perhaps claimed that > the land made them think of "home". Landowners here > were also interested in > clearing the land, as well as collecting rent from > those who would lease and > work the land, or selling to those who could afford > it. Just a few ideas > for consideration.... > > Two of my ancestors came here in 1817 and > settled in Bovina. Their > widowed mother, sister and younger brother followed > later that year, after, > presumably, positive reviews from the older boys. I > have never found a date > or place of death for their father and have often > wondered if he might have > been conscripted into the militia in Scotland and > fought here in the War of > 1812? > > One of the most informative sites for Delaware > County, NY information > is.... http://www.dcnyhistory.org/ > While there check out "Books Online" and this exerpt > from "Centennial > History of Delaware County, New York : > 1797-1897"...... > > "Andes received a large contingent of Scotch > immigrants. These were not > however the first settlers, who were of Dutch > ancestry and came from the > Hudson river counties. But a large number of Scotch > families came in at > various times and settled the Cabin Hill region and > some of the valleys > towards Bovina. It was this same movement which led > many of the same > nationality to invade the rough regions of Bovina. > They had been preceded in > this movement by Elisha B. Maynard a New Englander, > who was the first > settler, in 1792. But the hardy Scotch crowded into > the lands on the > headwaters of the Little Delaware, and made the > little town, when it was > organized in 1820, almost their own. The town of > Delhi in like manner > contains many families who by ancestry are Scotch. > This is especially true > of the mountainous region rising from the Little > Delaware on the southwest. > The section is still called the Scotch mountains > from the fact that the > greater part of it was settled by Scotch families. > It will be observed that > in all these settlements of the Scotch, they have > chosen the hills and > uplands in preference to the fertile valleys. This > was partly owing to the > fact that they came into the county at a later date > when the richer lands > along the rivers had been already taken up. But, > besides this, and besides > their general poverty which led them to select cheap > lands, we must > attribute their choice of hilly lands to their > predilections founded upon > the clear mountains from which they came, and for > which they retained such > fond memories." > > Hope this helps a bit, > > Jeanne (Raitt Flye) > > > > > To contact list administrator send email to > nydelawa-admin@rootsweb.com > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email > to NYDELAWA-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/
----- Original Message ----- From: "Valerie Brown" <vwbrown08@yahoo.com> To: <nydelawa@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 3:04 PM Subject: Re: [NYDELAWA] For the Scots, why Delaware County? > (Jeannie, was your Raitt family born in Creich Parish, > Fife? My family lived with the John Raitt family.) Valerie....No, my Raitts came from Alyth and Glenisla in Perthshire and Angushire. There are a lot of Rait(t)s in and around Dundee, and Creich is not far from there. (By chance are you the Valerie researching Curries that I put in touch with Margie about 6 years ago?) > Many folks who have written accounts on the Delaware > County Web-site and on this list-serve mention the War > of 1812 as a reason to know Delaware County, return to > Scotland, and return w/ families. They say they can't > substantiate their claims. 'tho. And still, this > doesn't explain all the references to Roxburgshire on > the Delaware county Web-site. I agree with you. I have a copy of a booklet of some of the families who were buried in the Old Flats Cemetery located in Delhi. By far the majority of those whose place of immigration was known seemed to come from Roxburghshire. Certainly word of mouth plays some part, but many are not related to one another. What about the involvement of the Church of Scotland and the Disruption of 1843 http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0844106.html on the lives of the parishoners? Unlike today, religion played a large role, not just in a person's religious life, but also his social life. Ministers who provided letters of introduction for their departing parishoners would likely know where they were going and could pass that information along to others. Another thought....most of our ancestors came up the Hudson to Kingston and I'm wondering if there might be land "brokers" in Kingston that were trying to find buyers and/or tenants for the land in Delaware Co.? > To all: As far as the war of 1812, is there a place or > web-site to learn who from Scotland, or from where in > Scotland our ancestors were drafted, served, and where > they did serve in North America? > ~Valerie I would also be interested in knowing this, or at least the opinions of others. Jeanne (Raitt Flye)