Facts about Appalachia...where I lived and taught for quite a while, where my husband's family came..in the 1700's and established towns, (literally), and where I have been pretty well acclimated and accepted in. The Appalachia region was settled by two major groups..Germans (came through PA and down through the Cumberland Gap into East TN and Western N.C, and western VA, and SW KY)..their names changed from Weber to Weaver (have the proof)..they were not necessarily poor..but were not accepted in the areas they came into in PA. The second group..came in from the coast..many had been indentured servants..many of whom left indentured status before the period was up, and went outside the 'civilized' areas and headed into the mountains. Many have Bibles which show where they come from..and many did come from Northern Ireland and were Presbyterian. But their names were the Scottish spellings not the Irish, yet a number came through northern Ireland. There were also a large number of Irish Quakers...who came into PA, and also into the coastal areas of NC..and moved to central NC and then on into East TN (the State of Franklin) which was originally a part of VA. They settled in and established Quaker communities such as Quakers' Knob and established schools which are now public schools. They are not included in what is known as the Scotch-Irish community. The Scotch-Irish community which isolated itself from the Germans and the Quakers, remained in the hollows, the back areas where they could stay hidden and maintain their lives without being bothered...and many still do today. Many times I had trouble understanding the English of a number of the students..because they spoke an older form of English which has been maintained. Many of these people, much as I hate to say it, harbor today a distrust of Catholics..and call them non-Christian (along with the Episcopalians) stating they 'worship Mary'. I heard far too many of them say this. They can trace their ancestry back to Northern Ireland and Scotland. They brought with them the techniques of making damn good whisky..including how to age it properly..I know..I have had it! They were the ones who shipped their corn to market in 'barrels' not in bushels..because they floated the barrels on rafts. My husband's 4th great was a trader who knew where to get the 'finest' whiskey in the world outside of Scotland and Ireland, and floated it down river each spring when the rivers rose with the melting snow. My husband is considered 'one of them' and we safely go in areas where most don't go. His family left the area of Cocke County in the early 1800's but he is still considered family (and was related to about half his students). We have learned where to look for information in that area. My one side of my family was basically chased out of Northern Ireland..Irish Presbyterian minister..removed from Ireland...and I have a lot of those records. BTW, the reasons so many wound up in the Smokies..first..much like 'home' to them as to land and subsistence farming. Second, they could stay 'under cover' so to speak. They were tough survivors, could deal with harsher conditions, isolation, education was not important to many of them. Many just suddenly appear and unless you know them, you will find they just suddenly appear in the 1700's in that region with no hints as to where they had been or came from. Donna