thanks for the reply!
I guess the migration of the Scots-Irish to the south explains a lot, since I am also a southern girl.
I heard Ian Paisley preach on a Web site a week ago. His speech pattern was neither typically British or Irish, and had more than a hint of Appalachia in it. Hard "r"'s, dipthongs, and other hints of the Eastern mountains of the United States. OTOH, Dolly Parton has expressed her feelings of kinship with the Ulster folks.