The Scotch-Irish

Please join us for a program on one of America’s greatest early immigrant groups, the Scotch-Irish. The program will be held at the Cowan Center for the Arts on December 13th at 5:00 PM and presented by Steve Pearson of the Franklin County Historical Society.

Millions of Americans have Scotch-Irish ancestors. The Scotch-Irish started immigrating to the colonies in significant numbers starting in 1717. There were actually five great immigration periods between 1717 and 1775. These people went almost immediately to the western end of the colonies of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas. After the Proclamation of 1763, the Scotch-Irish began to move even further west into Tennessee and Kentucky. In this expansion the Scotch-Irish were among the vanguard of pioneers to cross the Appalachians. At the time of the Revolutionary War, one out of every ten Colonists was Scotch-Irish.

After the Revolution, Americans expanded even further west to the Mississippi River (then the western boundary of the United States) and south into southern Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. This movement created significant Indian troubles. Many of the early settlers of Franklin County could trace their ancestry to the Scotch-Irish, but who were these people, where exactly did they come from, how did they get their name, what were their customs, and what made them such fierce protectors of their families and property? Please come and join us, at no charge, for a look at these adventuresome, industrious people. 

Refreshments and hot dogs will be served.