Scots-Irish – Page 2

Kidnapped to Quebec

Often in tracing Colonial New England Scots-Irish families, you find the unexpected. What you find is these Presbyterians living in Quebec as Roman Catholics, married to Indians, and having both an Indian and French name. What the heck?

It turns out that with a little historical research into the “French and Indian Wars,” it all makes sense. Many Scots-Irish families were kidnapped by Indians and traded in what is now Quebec. The obvious implication is that who you thought were French Catholics or even mixed-bloods from the First Nations were originally Scots-Irish Presbyterians from New England and Ulster with a totally different name!

They are documented in two works: Emma Lewis Coleman’s New England Captives Carried to Canada Between 1677 and 1760 During the French and Indian Wars (1925); and C. Alice Baker’s True Stories of New England Captives Carried to Canada During the Old French and Indian Wars (1897). These can be found online, and don’t forget to look for online indexes.

Now for the historical background. These series of wars can be divided up and named. In the United States the war was named after the ruling English Monarch at the time. In Canada, either the larger European conflict or the term “Intercontential War” is used.

1688-1697: King William’s War (1^st Intercolonial War (Quebec))

1702-1713: Queen Ann’s War (2^nd Intercolonial War)

1744-1748: King George’s War and War of Jenkins’ Ear (3^rd Intercolonial War)

1754-1763: The French and Indian War (4^th Intercolonial War and 6^th Indian War)

These wars were tied to the larger European conflicts as they played out in North America. These wars pitted England/UK, its colonies and Indian allies against France, its colonies and Indian allies. The causes of the wars were the desire of both nations to control the interior of North America, and the region around the Hudson Bay. The winner would dominant the fur trade. The French were effective in mobilizing the Indians, who raided the English colonies, and brought captives back to Quebec. New Hampshire, and its Scots-Irish population, were particularily ravaged during the last two wars.

In tomorrow’s blog, I want to continue the other side of this native theme by exploring people who willingly were trying to claim Native American heritage, whether they were or not.

The Dust Bowl

8 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

The aftermath of an American migration of epic portions can now be studied alongside the 1940 Census. I am referring to the Dust Bowl (1930-1936), with Oklahoma being the center. While affecting blacks, it’s mainly thought of in terms of poor whites and Native Americans. That brings us to why this topic is important for an Irish blog. Scores of these Oklahoma residents were of Scots-Irish descent.

This period of history is sometimes referred to as the “Dirty Thirties.” Severe dust storms, called “Black Blizzards,” and “Black Rollers,” literally made visibility a couple of feet. The storms were intensified by the poor farming methods of the time. It blew away the middle part of the country. It was centered in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas; destroying the crops, cattle, farms, and the sharecropping way of life.

This caused such upheaval, there is no shortage of books and websites dedicated to this period. The derogatory term “Okie” was popularized for the massive migration of the poor white migrant workers from Oklahoma who went to find work in California. Some estimates are that 15% of the state left for California during the Dust Bowl. Their plight was popularized in the American imagination by the classic novel by John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1940).

They are the hidden part of the Depression Era national tragedy that took people with little and left them with nothing. The Dust Bowl exodus constituted the largest mass migration of Americans in the shortest time with 2.5 million people on the move, and at least 200,000 of those headed for California.

A good place to start with learning more about the Dust Bowl is the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture article on the “Dust Bowl” http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/D/DU011.html Ken Burns PBS documentary “The Dust Bowl” premieres on November 18^th and 19^th www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl so mark your calendars.

The Scots-Irish and Cherokee Connection (Part 3)

19 Oct By Dwight Leave a Comment

My third blog will focus on early Cherokee land and agency records. These are extracted on various websites, published or in manscript form on microfilm. These are good sources for mixed-blood research.

There is no one resource on early Cherokee land records covering the entire nation prior to removal. One example of land records is David Keith Hampton’s Cherokee Reservees (1979), which provides details of land given to the Cherokees in Hamilton County, Tennessee. This book gives the names of the applicants who settled their claims with the U.S. Government in 1817.

Following the treaty of 1817, the U.S. Secretary of War deeded land to each of the Cherokee chiefs who had signed the treaty. Each tract was either in newly ceded lands or in older lands ceded through earlier treaties, and each chief was given 640 acres (one square mile) of land. Robert Armstrong was the surveyor of this land in Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee. The surveyor’s records for land in Georgia have not survived. Each survey and the accompanying plat have been published in James L. Douthat’s Robert Armstrong’s Survey Book of Cherokee Lands: Lands Granted from Treaty of 27 February 1819 (1993).

The Cherokee Agency in Tennessee was in operation until 1835. The agency records have been transcribed in Marybelle W. Chase’s Records of the Cherokee Agency in Tennessee, 1801-1835 (1990). The records contain much genealogical information, such as lists of widows and orphans. It also has an 1819 listing of those who had originally enrolled for emigration but misunderstood the treaty and wanted to remain.

When families, who had received their reserves, decided to move and sell their land, the transactions would be recorded in the local county land books. At that point they moved to Indian Territory or westward along with other Americans. This helped spread Cherokee rooted families across North America.

The Scots-Irish and Cherokee Connection (Part 2)

18 Oct By Dwight Leave a Comment

In this second Cherokee blog I will focus on the censuses known as rolls. These rolls include removal records (both voluntary and forced), muster rolls, rations and censuses. Most can be found online or published:

Cherokee Emigration Rolls (1817-1838): Cherokee who voluntarily removed westward.

Census of Cherokee (1835): Known as the Henderson Roll. A census of Cherokee living in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, and is the main source for documenting Cherokee who were forcibly removed.

Ration Books (1836-38): Ration books from camps located in New Echota, Georgia and Camp Clanwaugh (near Chattanooga, Tennessee) prior to the removal process.

Cherokee Muster Rolls (1838): This muster roll was a forced removal record, accompanying the Henderson Roll.

Mullay Roll (1848): Eastern Cherokee who remained in North Carolina. It set aside money for emigration to Indian Territory.

Drennen Roll (1851): Also called the Immigrant Roll, it lists Eastern Cherokee who settled in Indian Territory after 1835, removing later on their own.

Siler Roll (1851): Eastern Cherokee living in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Chapman Roll (1852): Eastern Cherokee roll listed per capita payment made to those named on the Siler Roll.

Tompkins Roll (1867): Cherokees residing in Indian Territory listed by district.

Swetland Roll (1869): Eastern Cherokee in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Hester Roll (1883): Eastern Cherokee who resided in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and elsewhere.

Dawes Commission (1896, 1898-1914): The final roll of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory. Indexed on Ancestry: www.ancestry.com

Guion Miller Roll (1909): Applications for determining the final roll for the Eastern Cherokee. This is one of the most important sources for documenting mixed-blood families who did not remove. The index is at the National Archives website: www.archives.gov/research/arc/native-americans-guion-miller.html

The next blog will focus on the early Cherokee land and agency records.

The Scots-Irish and Cherokee Connection (Part 1)

17 Oct By Dwight Leave a Comment

From the 1770s, a strong connection existed between the Cherokees and the Scots-Irish. As waves of Scots-Irish settled on the frontier, they lived, traded, fought and married the Cherokee. Millions of North Americans have Cherokee heritage because many mixed-bloods “passed for white” or blended into African American families.

By the time of removal in 1838, the Cherokee had thoroughly adopted white ways. They became Christians, developed an alphabet, printed a newspaper, held slaves, lived in towns, owned farms, and discarded the clan system. This created records.

Due to the interest in the tribe, there is a wealth of published genealogical material and how-to books. Three major works include: Myra Vanderpool Gormley’s Cherokee Connections (1995, 2002); Tony Mack McClure, Cherokee Proud: A Guide for Tracing and Honoring Your Cherokee Ancestors (2^nd ed. 1999); and Tom Mooney, Exploring Your Cherokee Ancestry: A Basic Genealogical Research Guide (1990). An excellent general work for the pre-removal period is Rachal Mills Lennon’s Tracing Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes (2002).

Geography is the key to researching mixed-blood Cherokee genealogy. By terms of the Treaty of New Echota (1835) they relinquished their lands in the modern-day counties:

Alabama: Blount, Cherokee, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Marshall

Georgia: Cass, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, Dade, Dawson, Fannin, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Lumpkin, Murray, Paulding, Pickins, Polk, Towns, Union, Walker, Whitfield

North Carolina: Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon,Swain

Tennessee: Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, Polk

A remaining mixed-blood family often was recorded in the U.S. Census as white, black, mulatto or Indian. There are particular surnames associated with the pre-removal period. The surname may be your first clue to mixed-blood heritage. Another clue are terms “Black Dutch” and “Black Irish.” These were used by families to hide their ethnicity.

Also refer to my previous blog on August 27-28, 2012 “What Does “Cherokee” Mean?” which brings this topic into the modern arena. The next blogs will focus on Cherokee records.

The Five Finger Exercise

10 Oct By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement was founded on the frontiers of the USA during the Second Great Awakening. Its origins lay in frontier reformers who were dissatisfied with Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterian teachings, and by 1832 they had united. The movement in many ways represents the story of dissent within Ulster and Scottish Presbyterianism as it played out on the American frontier.

The core message was to restore non-denominational Christianity to the planet bypassing all forms of Christianity back to the very beginnings. In their eyes, they were planting the same church described in the New Testament. It was their ability to preach that message to the common frontier folk, through the “Five Finger Exercise,” which helped create a potent cultural force still felt today in the Mid-West and South.

The “Five Finger Exercise” acted as a visual, using the five fingers on one hand, while preaching. It began in Ohio in 1827-30, and became a standard by which frontier folk and children could intellectually understand complex concepts and pass that knowledge orally. This simple visual was intended to answer the question, “What must I do to be saved?” The formula, still in use today, is as follows:

faith
repentence
baptism
remission of sins
gift of the Holy Ghost and eternal life

This simple and rational approach to salvation was appealing as it respected the human mind to make decisions. It spoke to those who could not accept an emotional conversation experience. The message was clear, humans were rational beings, the Bible was a rational book, and could be understood by the common person.

Some congregations would call themselves Christian Church, others Disciples of Christ, others Churches of Christ. Some would wear all three at the same time. Although the Restoration Movement was considered heretical by many evangelical preachers, the message of a restored church and Christian unity would spread like wildfire. By 1860, some have estimated that it was the fourth largest church in the USA, with some 200,000 members.

To further understand Restoration thought, I would suggest the following theological books from the three branches of the movement: Leroy Brownlow, Why I am a Member of the Church of Christ (1945), Position: non-instrumental Church of Christ; Jack Cottrell, The Faith Once for All: Bible Doctrine for Today (2002), Position: Christian Church/Churches of Christ; Peter Goodwin, ed. Chalice Introduction to Disciples Theology (2008), Position: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Ronald E. Osborn, The Faith We Affirm: Basic Beliefs of Disciples of Christ (1979), Position: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Rex A. Turner, Sr. and Don Shackelford, ed. Biblical Theology: Fundamentals of the Faith (2010), Position: non-instrumental Church of Christ.

Presbyterian Identity

13 Sep By Dwight Leave a Comment

The beliefs explaining the core identity of the Scots-Irish Presbyterians, helps us to understand what drove this community of believers with such zeal. It also helps us to understand many of the records they left behind. In this worldview, the Reformation is always reforming itself, with true reform never really being finished. This blog is best read with my “What is T.U.L.I.P.?” posted on 26 August 2012. Historic Presbyterian identity markers are:

Scripture. The Bible provides a perspective from which every question in life could be viewed. Historically, Presbyterians would view the Bible as verbally inspired and inerrant. In contemporary Presbyterianism, tensions exist over whether the Bible is verbally inspired, being the very autography of God; or thought inspired, conveying the meaning and not the words of God.

Divine Sovereignty. God continues to be supreme and rules the creation in an active manner; termed Providence. It is tied to election and predestination. Both the Sovereignty of God and the Providence of God are key Calvinist principles.

The Covenant. The Bible is viewed as a whole, with Old and New Testaments revealing God’s unified plan. This is the Covenant of Grace, with a chosen people, and God has an active relationship with them. Key themes such as salvation by grace alone, the necessity of blood atonement, and the church as a gathering of redeemed people (including children) are all Old Testament concepts brought forward in the work of Christ. Most Calvinist distinctives hinge on Covenant Theology.

The Law of God. The Law of God is revealed in the 10 Commandments. Believers are active participants in the political and social arena as the application of the Law of God is beneficial to everybody, believers and non-believers, in building a just society. This has prompted Presbyterians to be active participants in the political and social arena in many countries.

The Church. The church is in both the Old and New Testament; a living body, with Christ as its head. There are two sacraments; baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is an initiation into the community of believers, and the whole family, including children, becomes part of a Covenant community. Communion or the Lord’s Supper is a means of spiritual renewal.

Rpcnabanner — Reformed Presbyterian Church. Taken from www.wikipedia.org

The Kingdom of God. God will come to earth to reverse sins’ effects so that justice and righteousness prevail. Christ established the Kingdom on earth in the form of the church. However, the fullness of the Kingdom is when Christ comes again. The Christian must not retreat from it, but to engage it with actions, helping to bring peace and reconciliation to the world.

In depth studies of these principles can be found in: Joel R. Beeke, Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism (2008); James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith: A Comprehensive and Readable Theology (1986); Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (2011); Dr. Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith 2^nd ed. (1998).

Scots-Irish and Muscogee (Creek) Connection

11 Sep By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Scots-Irish came into Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and intermarried. The tribe removed beginning in 1836. Tribal headquarters are in Okmulgee, Oklahoma: www.muscogeenation-nsn.gov Smaller recognized tribes are in Alabama and Georgia.

When considering mixed-blood genealogy for Ulster roots, records often list a Muscogee by their tribal name. This was a matriarchal society so property was passed through the mother. If a family was trying to “pass for white” they would have associated with the father’s family.

Muscogee records can be found at the National Archives: www.archives.gov; Family History Library: www.familysearch.org; Oklahoma Historical Society: www.okhistory.org; and the Alabama Archives: www.archives.state.al.us

Three books written in the nineteenth century can provide some insights found nowhere else: George Stiggins’ Creek Indian History: A Historical Narrative of the Genealogy, Traditions and Downfall of the Ispocoga or Creek Indian Tribe of Indians, edited by Virginia Pounds Brown (1989); Thomas Woodward’s, Woodward’s Reminiscences of the Creek, or Muscogee Indians, Contained in Letters to Friends in Georgia and Alabama) (1859, 1939); and Benjamin Hawkins’ A Sketch of the Creek Country, in the Years 1798 and 1799, and Letters of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796-1806 (1974).

By treaty (1832) the Muscogee ceded their lands to the U.S. which allotted parcels to individuals. They could sell, remove westward, or stay and be absorbed into the white community. For background information see; Mary Elizabeth Young’s Redskins Ruffleshirts and Rednecks: Indian Allotments in Alabama and Mississippi, 1830-1860 (1961). The names of Muscogee can be found in the Bureau of Land Management: www.glorecords.blm.govdatabase.

U.S. Government Rolls have been extracted on various websites. These include: Abbott and Parsons (1832); Lower Creek Census (1832); Old Settler Roll (1857); Dunn Roll of Citizens (1867); and Stidham Roll (1886).

If you have a legend of an Indian ancestor, then it’s worth your time to explore Muscogee records. You might be surprised to find your Scots-Irish ancestors mentioned.

What is T.U.L.I.P.?

26 Aug By Dwight Leave a Comment

Presbyterians are part of the Calvinist branch of Protestantism. Calvinist teachings have been summed up in the T.U.L.I.P formula; also termed “The Five Points of Calvinism.” To firmly grasp T.U.L.I.P. is to address why the Scots-Irish viewed themselves as a Covenant People elected by God with a destiny. In American religious history, it came to define the differences between Presbyterians and Methodists.

Below is a brief explanation of T.U.L.I.P. theology. Be aware that emphasis varies depending on how liberal, moderate or conservative a theological viewpoint:

Total Depravity: Humanity is corrupt, perverse and sinful due to inborn corruption. There is nothing humans can do pertaining to their own salvation.

Unconditional Election: God elected certain individuals for salvation from before the world was created. None deserve God’s favor, and only those whom God has elected will be saved. Election is not salvation. It only marks out certain individuals for salvation. The elect must still be saved through their faith in Jesus.

Limited Atonement: God’s elect are given to the Son to be redeemed. Because of Christ’s atonement, the redeemed are counted righteous before God; freed from guilt and condemnation.

Irresistible Grace: The Holy Spirit never fails to bring to salvation elect sinners. The elect respond to the Holy Spirit’s “special inward call.” This will allow the elect sinners to understand and believe spiritual truth.

Perseverance of the Saints: Termed “once saved, always saved,” or “Eternal Security,” the elect are redeemed by Christ, and kept in faith by the power of God. They cannot lose their salvation.

More details can be found in Michael Horton’s, The Christian Faith (2011); Robert L. Reymond’s, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (1998); David N. Steel, Curtis C. Thomas and S. Lance Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism (2004).

Scottish Naming Patterns

9 Aug By Dwight Leave a Comment

Scots-Irish research is affected by the traditional Scottish Naming Patterns. By the latter part of the nineteenth century, the patterns began to break down, so you have to be careful. The traditional formula and their variations are as follows:

1^st son named after the father’s father (variation is after the mother’s father)

2^nd son is named after the mother’s father (variation is the father’s father)

3^rd son is named after the father

4^th son is named after the father’s oldest brother (variation is after the father’s paternal grandfather)

5^th son is named after the mother’s oldest brother (variation is after the mother’s paternal grandfather)

1^st daughter named after the mother’s mother (variation is after the father’s mother)

2^nd daughter named after the father’s mother

3^rd daughter named after the mother

4^th daughter named after the mother’s oldest sister (variation is after the mother’s maternal grandmother)

5^th daughter named after the father’s oldest sister (variation is after the father’s maternal grandmother)

The formula looks good on paper, but there are factors to take into consideration. Foremost is the typical Presbyterian register in Ireland only begins in the 1820s or 1830s, so you miss so older children to even know what the first child may have been named. Another factor is the gaps within the existing registers, so you don’t always know if you have full list of the children. It’s complicated further if you add in renaming children the same thing at the death of an older child. Then again, there are those families who didn’t care one way or another about a naming pattern, as a child could have been named after the popular local minister!

My rule of thumb is the Scottish naming pattern is real, but you still have to remain careful and not set anything in stone.

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