[Wallace T.]

Ulster Scots, also known as the Scots-Irish, are the descendants of 18th and early 19th Century immigrants from Northern Ireland. They were not of "Old Irish" stock, but were of British origin, a majority of them Lowland Scots, but with some Highland Scots and northern English as well, plus some French Hugenots. In contrast with the Catholic, Gaelic speaking, and mostly Celtic "Old Irish", they were Protestant (mostly Presbyterian), English (or Lowland Scots) speaking, and partially Germanic (Anglian). The British monarchy settled them into Northern Ireland in an attempt to expand the area of loyal subjects in a subdued, but hostile population.

However, the Anglo-Irish elite based in Dublin required these Presbyterians to tithe to the (Anglican) Church of Ireland, refused to recognize Presbyterian marriages and baptisms, and limited their right to vote. While not treated as harshly as the Irish Catholics, the Scots-Irish were very disaffected by this discrimination. Large numbers of them emigrated to the United States, and are the most important population element in Appalachia and other areas such as the Ohio Valley and the Ozarks. They are an important element in Texas and Oklahoma as well.

They are a population distinct from both the Irish Catholics of the Northeast and Upper Midwest and the mostly English settlers of the Deep South and the Puritan descendants of greater New England.

[petitfour]

I've never considered the population of the Deep South to be "mostly English." But maybe I just hang out with the wrong crowd, Scots-Irish descendants.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

For those interested in more along these lines, Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America is a fantastic book.

[truth_seeker]

"Large numbers of them emigrated to the United States, and are the most important population element in Appalachia and other areas such as the Ohio Valley and the Ozarks. They are an important element in Texas and Oklahoma as well."

The first group came in five ships in 1718, arriving at Boston. They dispersed, and some settled a town in New Hampshire called Londonderry.

My Ulster Scot ancestors then moved to Falmouth, Maine. This family later misgrated to Canada, Minnesota, and the pacific northwest, among other places.

[Defiant]

If you want to delve deeper into this topic, a book that is much better than Webb's (and probably where he stole his ideas), is "Albion's Seed". Get it off of Amazon, read it and then you will know a lot more about America than you did before. It is about all the cultural groups that came to American and formed its character, not just the Scots Irish.

The character of the Scots Irish was not just formed in northern Ireland after Cromwell sent them there, but during the 600 or so years of constant war in the border regions between northern England and southern Scotland from the Norman invasion to the formation of the United Kingdom. One of the things I find fascinating is that you can trace the restlessness of these people, and their habit of living a lifestyle that is mobile, can be traced back in a direct line, from trailer parks to shanties, to log cabins, to the kinds of homes that they preferred 1000 years ago. The sense of honor, the aggressiveness, the independence, the way children are raised, the way women are treated, the educational attitudes, all trace back.