GEORGIA’S “OTHER” IRISH – THE ULSTER-SCOTS

Who were the first settlers who came to Georgia? English, Scots and German settlers were among the first settlers of coastal Georgia. Adding to this were the Scotch-Irish, or Ulster Scots. More than 100,000 immigrants from Ulster came to America in the 18^th century because of religious and economic persecution. They were mostly Presbyterians who sought freedom on the enormous American frontier, especially in Western Pennsylvania. They then spread south along the “Great Wagon Road” into the valleys of backcountry Virginia and the Carolinas. Settlement of the upper part of Georgia was blocked until after the Cherokee Indian removal in the 1830s. Nevertheless, after the American Revolution, Scots-Irish families flocked into Georgia, mainly through Augusta, where the Great Wagon Road ended, and fanning out into the Piedmont and southwest Georgia.  Settlers who came to America from Northern Ireland (Ulster) are most often called the Scots-Irish in the US, while in Northern Ireland they are known as Ulster-Scots. Many of the Ulster-American immigrants had  migrated earlier from the lowlands of Scotland and northern England over to Ulster in the 1600s. 

Many famous Americans are descended from Ulster immigrants.  New studies suggest that perhaps half of the south’s population was Scots-Irish before the Civil War in the 1860s. Presidents Andrew Jackson, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, as well as entertainers like Elvis Presley and popular heroes like Davy Crockett are descendents of Scots-Irish families.  Even Scarlett O’Hara of Gone with the Wind came from a fictional Irish family. Scarlett’s creator (Margaret Mitchell) was from a Scots-Irish family on one side and an Irish Catholic family on the other, so there are many references to Ireland in her famous novel.”  

While their role in winning our war for independence is well known, they are sometimes described as hillbillies and moon shiners.  Often, the Scots-Irish have a dark side to their reputation. But these are just stereotypes and, like most stereotypes, are intentional slurs coming from other ethnic groups. Behind these stereotypes is the rich cultural legacy of a people with their own unique language and a proud tradition of patriotism who have made an enormous contribution to political leadership in the US. As a whole, Americans are much more familiar with the great contributions that Irish Catholics have made to our country. This is because, at least among some students of the subject, the Scots-Irish are the mainstream of America, the silent majority and the patriotic core of America's population.

The Scots, the Irish and the Scots-Irish are all Celtic people and there seems to be a good bit of crossover culture, at least among Americans. Here the Highland Scots traditions, more familiar to Americans, are borrowed and draped over the Scots-Irish who were mostly border dwellers along the lowland English-Scottish border before moving to Ireland. Other Ulster-Americans seem to prefer to ignore the religious differences and are quite content to celebrate being culturally Irish.   

The Scots-Irish are numerically strong in the South and the Appalachians are often thought of as the last stronghold of Scots-Irish culture in the US. To some extent, this is because of the enduring isolation of much of Appalachia. Its mountain music and independent attitudes strike a familiar cord in many Americans There are a number of agencies and organizations that foster the Scots-Irish connection, including the Ulster-Scots Society of America (U-SSA). For more information, contact them at www.ulsterscotssociety.com.

Author Billy Kennedy has visited the Funk Heritage Center to give lectures on the subject of the Ulster-Scots. Several of his books are available in the museum store.

For more information

7300 Reinhardt College Circle
Waleska, GA 30183-2981
(770) 720-5970 - fax (770) 720-5965
Email: heritagecenter@reinhardt.edu    

Georgia's Official Frontier and Southeastern Indian Interpretive Center