Are You Scot-Irish or Scotch-Irish?

Do you have Irish ancestors? How about Scottish ancestors? Maybe you have a combination; you have heard that you are Scot-Irish or Scotch-Irish. Well guess what, there isn't such a group. The Americans are the ones that came up with this title. Many people believe when they hear the words Scot-Irish, then you must have Scottish and Irish blood. This is just not true!

If you are a historian and/or genealogist, as I, we prefer the title of Ulster Scots, which is the proper title of this group of people. These are the people that were from the Lowlands of Scotland, Presbyterians who were brought to Ireland to settle in Ulster in the 17th century. These are the people who emigrated to America and were nick-named Scot-Irish.

In order to track your ancestors you have to study history. You have to learn about the cultures and migration patterns of people. Everyone has heard of the Lowland Scots and Highland Scots from history lessons in school when we studied Great Britain but never went into details. Researching genealogy you have to brush up on history in order to determine when your Scottish families emigrated by learning their migration patterns.

Did you know that about 1 out of every 30 people declare themselves Scotch-Irish or Ulster Scots with no documentation to back this claim up? It is probably true that you are part Scottish and Irish because the Ulster Scots lived in Ireland for 4 or more generations before migration began. Even though the Scots that were living in Ulster tried to retain there way of life there was the ones that married in to the Irish culture so then you do have Scot-Irish blood. But you have to determine if your Scottish forebears were from the Highland or Lowland Scots because these are two very different groups of people. Even these two different groups didn't like each other at times and clans clashed in wars.

Here are 2 facts between the two:
1. Lowland Scots have many bloodlines: Britons, Norse, Normans, Flemish, Gaels, Romans and Scots, who were Celtics from Ireland.
2. Highland Scots wore kilts and spoke Gaelic. If you have seen the movie Braveheart then you got a taste of the Highland Scots.

When James I of Great Britain was crowned king in 1603. England and Scotland became one. James I supported the Anglican Church, that is the Church of England, and lowered the boom on the Roman Catholic nobles of Ireland and Scotland. He gave Protestant Scots and the English land in Ireland called the Plantation of Ulster in 1611. If you suspect your ancestors went to Ulster, Ireland during this time period then you are Lowland Scots.

During the 18th century, many families came to America basically to get away from one thing in particular and that was, rent. The rent due was the value of the property, when the tenant would improve the property, the value would raise so the landlord would raise the rent to equal the value. Sounds familiar, right?

Now as far as clans, everyone has heard of clans of Scotland, and by the way, there is no such thing as Irish clans, well not every Scotchman belong to a clan. The Highland Scots clans had a chieftain of the whole clan. This chieftain of the clan owned the land which you lived on. Many individuals adopted the Highland chiefs name by marriage, some had no relation at all to the chieftain. Others that kept their own name were called septs of the clan. For example my Mills surname was a sept of the Gordon clan of Scotland. They kept there surname and never changed it.

There is one thing to keep in mind and that is not all surnames are the root of the beginning. Many Irish families were uprooted from their homes, English and Scottish settlers came in and took over. Even today you can find families that have lived in Ireland for centuries and their names are from England and/or Scotland.

There is a very good site to start with to get the general history of the country of Scotland and what better way of doing this is to use a travel site. This site tells you what a particular place is like now and what it was like. It doesn't go into details as if you were reading a history book but it will wet your appetite; you can even inter a surname and it will give you general information and location. The site is called Ancestral Scotland and is located at: www.ancestralscotland.com

Remember, in order to locate ancestors from anywhere in the world, you have to read the history of that particular county and this will bring you one step closer to your beginning!