Scotch-Irish and Ulster Scots Family Research
|
|||
|
|
How to Get Started with ResearchThe focus of these pages is pre 1820 research, largely in Ireland -- or how to get to that point. For 1820 and later, you use standard US methods. You have at that point censuses and ship lists. But before 1820 both are in short supply. Usually you must locate the place of origin in the USA or country to which the family emigrated. You must do that because, with a few exceptions, there are no emigration or ship lists of people who left Ireland. Yes, there's enough to fill some webpages, but if you think that they identify all immigrants-- you are naive. It is also good to bear in mind that the experts say more Irish people left from Liverpool than from Irish ports. So a search focused on Irish ports, statistically speaking, isn't wise. Also you must gather as much information as possible about the person and family to assist you in your Irish research. Ship Records Generally speaking, ship records are not helpful for those researching the Scotch Irish (who came between 1718 and 1800) because it was not until 1820 that the USA required that ships identify all incoming passengers. However you can find almost all mentions of arriving passengers in published format. The most important source is Filby. Follow the link for more information. In some cases we are not sure what country our ancestor came from. He may have come from Scotland by way of England. He may have been an Ulsterman or an Irishman who was waylaid in England and sent off. He may have arrived as an indentured servant or a criminal. Benjamin Franklin estimated that a third of all American colonists had arrived as "immigrants in chains". The fondness of the British government for dumping criminals on American shores was one of the colonial governments' grievances. Many people in Ireland and Scotland were kidnapped off the streets and shipped off. The merchants of Aberdeen had a fine business going selling children into what amounted to slavery in the Virginias. and some entepreneurs were permitted to round up homeless vagrants from London streets and transport them into exile for the crime of being homeless. Due to the shortage of women in Barbados, Irish women in particular were waylaid and sent off to service. Many of the names of these criminals and unlucky individuals are in British government and merchant records. Lucky for us, they have been published in the series of books mentioned on the Nara webpages. In addition to the resources listed by NARA for locating NARA films, LDS has them. They are in Salt Lake and most are also in the Santa Monica LDS in Los Angeles. You can order them at your local LDS center. Here are three basic immigration guides: They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins by Loretto D. Szucs They Came in Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Ship by John Philip Colletta American Passenger Arrival Records by Michael Tepper. Find them at Ancestry or a local library. THE book for understanding the conditions under which the Scotch Irish emigrated to America is Ulster Emigration to Colonial America, 1718-75 ; Dickson, R J (Ulster Historical Foundation). You can purchase it from the Foundation or from an internet bookstore. Research on CD The latest trend has been to burn these resources into CD. This makes searching very much easier and faster. Here are CD's for sell by Family Tree Maker at www.familytreemaker.com:
Publishers of books and CDsA major publisher of genealogical material, search here for cds and books. Genealogical.com . PresbyteriansBefore 1850 most Ulster Scots/Scotch-Irish were Presbyterians, but of course not all. It's not understood that Presbyterianism is a form of church government and that there are several churches of Presbyterian form. Dissenting Presbyterians are particularly important in Scotch-Irish research. They may not deposit in the Presbyterian Historical Society. For more info see the links section. Here's a couple additional suggestions. Presbyterian
Church (USA) Department of History (Montreat) 318 Georgia
Presbyterian Historical Society 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 215-627-1852. The society cannot do genealogical searches for patrons. They do assist visiting researchers and refer inquirers to people familiar with the records who will search for a fee. Listmember John Carpenter says: The historical center for the Presbyterian Church (USA) has two repositories, one in Philadelphia, and one in Montreat NC. The Philadelphia one came from the northern church and now acts as repository for churches from the northern part of the US and that in Montreat belonged to the southern church. They now represent north and south, regardless of which branch the congregation belonged to. For instance, Ft. Davis, Alpine, and Marfa TX all had northern churches established by the same minister, but now their records (at least what if anything they've sent in)will be at Montreat. The addresses are:Presbyterian Historical Society (Department of History and Records Management Services) 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia PA 19147-1516 The Montreat address is just Montreat NC 28757. Since Montreat is basically a Presbyterian center, all you need for it is the town and zip. They have some things from every branch of the Presbyterian church, but the primary center for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is in Memphis. |
||
| © 2008 Linda Merle. Do not duplicate without the written consent of the author. | |||
 |
|
|
|