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THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA
Proceedings of the Scotch-Irish Congress
AT
COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE
MAY 8-11, 1889
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF
THE SCOTCH-IRISH SOCIETY OF AMERICA
T NASHVILLE, TENN. :
? PUBLISHING HOUSE OF THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH.
BAKBEE & SMITH, AGENTS.
1890.
COPYRIGHT, 1890.
SCOTCH-IRISH SOCIETY OF AMERICA.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
'> Introduction, by Mr. Robert Bonner 1
^ The Scotch-Irish Congress 3
Officers and Committees of the Local Organization 10
2 Contributors to Expense Fund. 12
if* Letters 13
> Minutes, and Short Addresses 24
tjs Officers and Committees of the Scotch-Irish Society of America 66
{yfl
3 Action of Committees 69
in
CM
PART II.
The Harp of Tom Moore 70
ADDRESSES BT
Ex-Governor Proctor Knott 72
Prof. George Macloskie 90
g Rev. John Hall, D. D n 102
^ Hon. William Wirt Henry 110
o Rev. D. C. Kelley, D. D.... .132
a
uj Colonel A. K. McClure 178
Hon. Benton McMillin 187
Rev. John S. Macintosh, D.D 191
Hon. W. S. Fleming 202
(iii)
449000
To THE MEMBERS OF THE SCOTCH-IRISH SOCIETY OF AMERICA -.
In offering this compilation to the Society, and the gen
eral public, we do not pretend that it is a complete history
of the Scotch-Irish people. That will require the systematic
effort of years. As the initial volume of distinctive Scotch-
Irish records, however, we believe that it will prove inter
esting and satisfactory. In the selection and arrangement
of the matter contained, we have acted with the advice of
the Executive Committee. For the convenience of the
reader, the formal addresses, bearing directly upon the race,
have been taken from their regular order in the minutes
and arranged separately in Part Second.
The addresses are published as they were delivered, and
we do not assume any responsibility for the views of the
speakers. We bespeak for the volume kindly reception and
consideration. A. C. FLOYD,
Lucius FRIERSON,
ROBERT PILLOW,
Publishing Committee.
THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA,
INTRODUCTION".
BY ROBERT BONNER.
To Mr. Thomas T. Wright, a prominent citizen of Florida, be
longs the credit of having suggested the formation of an organi
zation to preserve the history and perpetuate the achievements
of the Scotch-Irish race in America. Owing to the efforts of Mr.
Wright, who was ably assisted by Mr. A. C. Floyd and other gen
tlemen, the movement was started which resulted in the grand and
successful meeting of the Scotch-Irish Congress at Columbia, Tennes
see, in May last, and which led to the permanent organization of the
Scotch-Irish Society of America.
It does not come within the purpose, scope or object of this
Society to cultivate or in any way encourage sectarian feeling, for
people of all denominations are eligible to membership ; nor is it the
purpose of the Society to stimulate undue pride of race, although it
is impossible to ignore the historical fact, so eloquently stated by
William Wirt Henry, ESQ., a grandson of the great revolutionary
orator, that the Scotch-Irish in America have given five Presidents to
the United States.
I have been requested to write an introduction to this volume,
which gives a carefully prepared report of the action of the late Con-
(1)
2 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
gress; but it appears to me that a formal or lengthy introduction
would be superfluous. The eloquent speeches made during the session
of the Congress, and the other proceedings of that body, tell their own
story. They exhibit the cordial good will, the patriotic fervor, the
indomitable spirit, the tenacity of purpose, and the stern integrity
which have always characterized the Scotch-Irish ; and it is to be hoped
that the Society so auspiciously inaugurated at Columbia will develop,
as the years go on, into an organization of the highest usefulness.
THE SCOTCH-IKLsU CONGRESS.
THE SCOTCH-IRISH CONGRESS, ITS OBJECTS
AND RESULTS.
BY A. C. FLOYD.
The Scotch-Irish people have been second to none in their influ
ence upon modern civilization. Their impress upon American institu
tions has been especially strong. They have been leaders in every
sphere of life, both public and private. They were the first to declare
independence from Great Britain, and foremost in the revolutionary
struggle ; leaders in the formation and adoption of the Constitution,
and its most powerful defenders; most active in the extension of our
national domain, and the hardiest pioneers in its development.
The associations suggested by a few of the illustrious men of the
the stock are sufficient to outline the extent of their influence.
Among them were Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Wither-
spoon, John Paul Jones, James Madison, John Marshall, Andrew
Jackson, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, and
Ulysses S. Grant.
That they have been no less conspicuous in the material develop
ment and intellectual progress of the country, is evidenced by the
names of Robert Fulton, Horace Greeley, Robert Bouuer, and the
McCormicks.
These men are but types of the Scotch-Irish, and their achieve
ments are but examples of the numberless illustrious deeds of the
race; and yet no distinct and connected history of this people has
ever been written. Their marked and distinctive impress upon the
country and their proverbial race pride renders this passing strange,
especially in this history-writing age, when the Puritan, the Huguenot,
the Dutch, and every other class and nationality composing our popu
lation, have recorded their deeds with minutest care. In this, they
have done nothing more than perform their duty, for it is the duty of
all to study great examples and hold their virtues up for the emulation
of on-coming generations. Thus is patriotism cultivated and every
noble endeavor stimulated. Thoughtful men, indeed, knew the
wealth of Scotch-Irish achievement and keenly felt the poverty of its
recognition. Where else could nobler types of manhood be found?
The hand of the historian, brushing away the dust of time, was alone
4 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
needed to reveal the grandest figures of the world. The greatness of
the fathers still lingered in the traditions of the children, but the de
lay of a few more years would consign them to an oblivion from
which they could never be recovered.
If the work was ever to be done, it was necessary that it should
be commenced without further delay. These facts were recognized
and discussed, but the demand resulted in nothing definite until it
took form in the Scotch-Irish Congress held at Columbia, Tennessee,
last May.
The objects to be attained were not new ; but the Congress,
as a means of their accomplishment, was altogether original. The
projectors of this gathering fully realized the extent of the work they
had undertaken, and desired that it should be done in the most
thorough and comprehensive manner possible. A convention com
posed of representative members of the race from all quarters of the
country commended itself to them as the best means of beginning the
work.
The addresses of the distinguished speakers, the historical papers
submitted, and the reminiscences recounted would form a nucleus for
the complete collection of data which it was hoped to accumulate in
the course of time. Important as this meeting was expected to be,
however, its promoters realized that it could only begin the great
work. A permanent organization was necessary to continue it. Be
sides, a Scotch-Irish association was desirable for social as well as his
torical purposes. In this, as in the matter of history writing, they
were behind all others. Every other people in Amerrca had banded
themselves together for purposes of mutual pleasure and assistance.
When properly directed, these societies had accomplished much good.
Why should not the Scotch-Irish organize in a similar manner? Why
should not their proverbial and well warranted race pride serve to
focus their great energies upon purposes of common good ? Among
the many great objects to which this organized power could be applied
was the collection of the desired historical data and the promotion of
social intercourse.
The one would contribute in the highest degree to the cultivation
of patriotism ; the other would promote the warmest fraternal feeling.
A better acquaintance between the northern and southern members of
the race would bring a better understanding and a broader sympathy,
binding the two sections together in the strong and enduring bonds of
real friendship. To effect such an organization was the second great
object of the Congress.
Among all the states of the Union, none could have been more
THE SCOTCH-IRISH CONGRESS. 5
appropriate for the gathering than Tennessee, both on account of her
geographical position and the blood of her people. Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Virginia, and North and South Carolina received the
first great accessions of Ulster immigration ; but swarms from these
parent hives, moving westward since colonial days, now make Tennes
see about the center of the blood in the United States. Besides, her
intermediate position between the extreme North and the extreme
South makes her people freer from sectional prejudice than either of
these quarters, and, therefore, better fitted to promote the fraternal
spirit which the convention was intended to foster. In no other state
is the Scotch-Irish blood purer. They were the earliest and most nu
merous of her pioneers. On the banks of the Watauga, they made
the first American settlement west of the Alleghanies, and it was they
who led the vanguard in the march of civilization westward through
her territory. They filled the armies that subdued the savages of the
West and South-west. It was their stern, unalterable courage and
determination which prevented Great Britain and Spain from confin
ing the Americans to the Atlantic slope, and secured the Mississippi
valley to the Union. Their numbers and valor in every war in which
the country has been engaged has won for Tennessee the proud title
of "The Volunteer State." They stamped their predominant charac
teristics upon their descendants, and gave the prevailing type to the
character of the whole people. It was but natural that a convention
called to do them honor should meet with warmest approval.
Columbia, the place chosen for the first Congress, lies in the very
center of Tennessee, and her Scotch-Irish population, surrounded by
a country widely known as " the garden spot of Tennessee" a country
unsurpassed for salubrity of climate, richness and variety of products,
and advantages of geographical position. This heart of the Middle
Tennessee Basin, now carpeted with a rich growth of blue grass, was
originally covered by luxuriant cane-brakes, the infallible sign of a
fat soil. It is not strange that the Scotch-Irish should have occupied
it first. Always in the foremost ranks of the pioneers, the richest
lands became theirs by right of discovery and first occupation, while
the poorer country was left to the more timid people, who followed at
a later and safer period. The advantages thus acquired, and the
characteristic tenacity with which they have been held, go far to explain
why the race has ever since been the wealthiest and most influential
of the people in the countries first settled by them. The strength of
their influence in Maury county is illustrated in Judge Fleming's
sketch of Zion Church, and Dr. Kelly's address, published in this
Among the distinguished men of this stock whom Maury
6 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
county has produced was James K. Polk, who went from Columbia to
the President's chair.
Another thing that recommended Columbia was her railway fa
cilities. These roads, running north, south, east, and west, make her
easily accessible from every quarter of the country. Arrived here,
visitors, especially those from the North, occupy an excellent vantage
point from which to visit and study the best parts of the South.
Within short reach by rail are some of the most famous battle-fields of
the late war Franklin, Nashville, Murfreesboro, Shiloh, and others,
In easy communication, also, are Florence, Sheffield, Birmingham, and
other manufacturing cities of the celebrated coal and iron fields of the
South, affording the finest illustrations of the marvelous industrial
progress which this section is "now making. These advantages and
associations rendered Columbia a peculiarly appropriate place for the
gathering.
Having decided that the Congress should be held, and that
Columbia was the place to hold it, the initial steps in the arrange
ments for it were taken in October, 1888. This action was prompted
by Colonel T. T. Wright, now of Nashville, Tennessee. To him be
longs the honor of having originated this, as well as many other great
ideas, which have resulted in much public benefit. He not only
originated the idea and inspired the first action for carrying it into
effect, but gave the movement, at every stage, the invaluable aid of
his advice, time, and means.
The date fixed for the beginning of the Congress was May 8,
1889, the most perfect season of the year in Tennessee. Arrange
ments for the Congress were vigorously and systematically pushed
from the beginning. Some of the most distinguished men of the race
accepted invitations to deliver addresses and to prepare historical
papers. A thousand leading newspapers published the general invita
tion to the race issued by Governor Taylor and the Secretary ; also,
the reports sent them from time to time, as events developed, together
with extensive and favorable editorial mention.
GOVERNOR TAYLOR'S INVITATION.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE, NASHVILLE, TENN.
To the Scotch-Irish Race :
Recognizing the Scotch-Irish Congress, to be assembled at Colum
bia, in this state, on the 8th of May next, as an event of international
interest, Tennessee will welcome to it representatives of that lineage
from all parts of the world. No political or sectarian significance at
taches to the Congress. Its object is to revive memories of the race,
THE SCOTCH-IRISH CONGRESS. 7
and to collect materials for compiling a history showing their impress
upon modern civilization, especially upon American institutions. It
promises to be one of the most notable meetings ever held in Ten
nessee. ROBERT L. TAYLOR,
Governor.
Private invitations were sent to every representative man of the
blood whose name could be ascertained. So unique and manifestly
desirable was the gathering, that it met with hearty commendation
from all to whose attention it was brought. Extensive correspondence
was developed, and the interest became wide-spread. The latent pride
of the race was at last stirred, and the enthusiasm which the call in
spired evidenced its strength when once aroused. Reduced railroad
fare was secured, and a large sum of money was readily and gener
ously subscribed by the people of Columbia to defray the expenses of
the occasion. The hospitable people vied with each other in their
preparations for entertaining visitors.
When the day arrived, every detail of the arrangements was
complete. The doors of every house stood wide open with welcome.
The town was gaily decorated and thronged with visitors, representing
every section of the Union. The weather was perfect throughout,
and all the exercises were held in a great tent stretched in the oak-
canopied, grass-carpeted grove of the Columbia Athenaeum, kindly
offered the management by Captain R. D. Smith, president of this
fine old institution for young ladies. The Rogers Band, of Goshen,
Indiana, rendered delightful music, consisting largely of Scotch and
Irish airs, prepared especially for the occasion.
The initial proceedings were thus described by the Nashville
American:
"The large canopy was beautifully decorated with flags and
bunting of all kinds. Long streamers extended from the central post
to the various points of the outer circumference, producing a most
harmonious and beautiful effect. A large stage, thirty feet by twenty,
and capable of comfortably seating fifty persons, had been erected
under the south side of the tent. Arches spanned its front, and fes
toons of lovely flowers, from the rose to the evergreen, graced the
arches in handsome designs. Vases of flowers were also conspicuously
displayed.
" Upon the stage were placed a large painting of Jas. K. Polk
and an old and historic "Harp of Erin," the hereditary property of
Mrs. Emma McKinney, of the Athenaeum.
"It was not long before the spacious audience-room, so to speak,
8 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
was filled with a crowded mass of humanity. The personnel of the
audience and of the visitors in general was especially good, and free
from all the rougher elements. Then the visitors, the descendants of
the Scotch-Irish, who had assembled to engage in the events of the
day, lent great dignity and intellectuality to the meeting.
" The procession formed at the head-quarters on Garden street and
in front of the Bethell House on Seventh street. It was led by the
Goshen Band, of Goshen, Indiana, followed by the Witt Rifles, of
Columbia, in full dress uniform ; then the carriages containing the
visitors and members of the Reception Committee, and at last a
large concourse. In one of the front carriages was the harp of
Tom Moore, in charge of Captain J. T. Craik, Major William Polk,
and Colonel H. G. Evans.
"The large tent had already been crowded, even as to standing-
room, and when the -procession arrived, its proportions amounted to
anywhere between 6,000 and 10,000 people."
There were two sessions of the Congress each day, morning and
night. The tent was filled to its utmost capacity at every session by
cultured and appreciative audiences. In the afternoons, many of the
visitors repaired to the Fair Grounds at South Side Park, where they
were entertained with exhibitions of speed by Tennessee's fastest
horses, and by the display of other blooded stock, in which this
country stands unexcelled. Others enjoyed driving over the numer
ous fine pikes which radiate in every direction from Columbia like
spokes from awheel, leading to the great farms and points of historical
interest in the country.
Representatives of the race from every section of the country
met in freest and most cordial social intercourse. Old friendships
were renewed and new ones formed. Rich stores of tradition were
brought to light and valuable historical reminiscences were recalled.
Memories of the past were revived, thoughts of the present inter-
changed, and hopes of the future discussed. Among the attendants
were many old Federal and ex-Confederate soldiers, attracted hither
by the reunion of the blue and the gray, and a desire to revisit the
surrounding battle-fields of the late civil strife. Upon these fields,
but a few years ago, these veterans had met each other in deadliest
conflict. Now they met with hearty hand-shake and the warm regard
felt by men who have proved each other's true manhood in the severest
ordeals.
The Congress was a complete success in every particular, but its
crowning result was the organization of the Scotch-Irish Society of
THE SCOTCH-IRISH CONGRESS. 9
America, which will take up and carry on in a systematic way the
work so auspiciously begun.
The principal objects of the Society have already been outlined.
Its purposes are social and historical. Through its members, sketches
of the families represented and of the race in general, together with
interesting relics connected with their history, will be collected.
Princeton College, New Jersey, has kindly offered to become cus
todian of this data for the present, but in the course of time the So
ciety will have a permanent home for its reception.
The data thus obtained will be properly acknowledged, and the
manuscripts filed in the archives of the Society for reference, or for use
in the annual publications hereafter to be issued.
No partisan or sectarian significance attaches to the Society.
Composed of a race thoroughly identified with all that has been most
patriotic in our country, it is purely an American institution, and does
not propose to concern itself with foreign affairs.
.The social features of the organization promise large results.
The Congress at Columbia gave earnest of the good fellowship which
may be expected from the annual gatherings hereafter. The publica
tions of the Society, and the development and extension of its organ
ization, will promote correspondence among its members, increase their
knowledge of one another, and draw them into closer relations of
friendship and sympathy.
Though but a short time has elapsed since the conditions of
membership were definitely settled, it has already reached grati
fying proportions. Numerous applications for enrollment have been
received from all parts of the country, from men occupying the
highest positions in every sphere of life. Systematic plans are
in operation, by which every member who joins becomes instrumental
in bringing others into the Society. The membership is advancing
by geometrical progression, and the present plans continued will in
no great length of time bring a knowledge of the Society to every
person of Scotch-Irish descent in America. There is practically no
limit to its possible power and usefulness.
10 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
OFFICERS OF THE LOCAL ORGANIZATION
OF THE SCOTCH-IRISH CONGRESS.
President.
COLONEL E. C. MCDOWELL,
Vice-President.
HON. J. H. FUSSELL.
Secretary,
A. C. FLOYD.
Treasurer.
Lucius FRIERSON.
Executive Committee.
HON. W. J. WHITTHORNE, Chairman.
HON. J H. FUSSELL, T. B. KELLY,
E. E. ERWIN, A. C. FLOYD.
Advisory Board.
COLONEL T. T. WRIGHT, Chairman.
CHAIRMEN OF OTHER COMMITTEES.
Finance Committee.
GEO. L. THOMAS, Chairman.
JAS. ANDREWS, S. D. F. McEwEN,
A. BARR, JOHN MOORE, JR.,
COLONEL H. A. BROWN, B. S. THOMAS.
OFFICERS OF THE LOCAL ORGANIZATION. 11
Military Committee.
HON. J. H. FUSSELL, Chairman.
COLONEL H. G. EVANS, CAPTAIN H. P. SEAVY.
Transportation Committee.
COLONEL H. G. EVANS, Chairman.
DR. T. B. RAINS, CAPTAIN H. P. SEAVY.
Committee on Music.
CAPTAIN J. T. CRAIK, Chairman.
DR. W. C. SHEPPARD, CAPTAIN H, P. SEAVY.
Reception Committee.
CAPTAIN H. P. SEAVY, Chairman.
W. J. HINE, JOHN C. DEXTER,
Entertainment Committee.
MAYOR ROBERT PILLOW, Chairman.
8. D. F. McEwEN, W. C. TAYLOR.
Decoration Committee.
Miss GOBY DUNNINGTON.
MRS. J. H. FUSSELL, MRS. W. J. HINE,
MRS. JOE HENDLEY, MRS. E. W. GAMBLE.
Badges and Mail.
Miss FLORENCE IRVINE.
12
THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THE SCOTCH-IRISH
CONGRESS EXPENSE FUND.
GEO. L. THOMAS,
JOHN MOORE, JR.,
A. N. DALE,
JAMES ANDREWS,
E. W. GAMBLE,
BAILEY & MOORE,
A. N. AKIN,
FRIERSON & TITCOMB,
HOLDING & COCHRAN,
MRS. E. JONES,
REV. GEO. BECKETT,
E. E. ERWIN,
W. P. INGRAM,
MAJOR WILL. POLK,
T. N., C. T., and W. C. JONES,
S. T. COOK,
DR. J. H. WILKES,
NICHOLS & FARISS,
A. D. FRIERSON,
W. J. HOWARD,
W. F. EMBRY,
STREET, EMBRY & Co.,
C. C. GROSS,
LAMB & SMITH,
J. D. WRIGHT,
J. T. CRAIK,
E. H. HATCHER,
H. A. McL/EMORE & BRO.,
HENRY GROSS,
A. MAXVILLE,
A. G. ADAMS, of
H. A. BROWN,
Lucius FRIERSON,
MA YES & WALKEB,
R. P. RUSSELL,
McEwEN & DALE,
A. BARR,
BETHELL HOUSE,
DOBBINS & EWING,
CAPERTON & TAYLOR,
F. J. HENDLEY,
FIGURES & PADGETT,
GEO. N. SARVEN,
W. J. WEBSTER,
JOHN B. ASHTON,
GEO. CHILDRESS,
H. G. EVANS,
JOSEPH TOWLER,
CHAFFIN BROS.,
RAINS & SON,
DR. ROBERT PILLOW,
J. P. McGAW, JR.,
JAMES BROS.,
EDGAR JAMES,
SATTERFIELD & CHURCH,
W. C. SHEPPARD,
MRS. ELLEN MAYES,
G. T. HUGHES,
ANDREWS & MCGREGOR,
G. P. FRIERSON,
I. M. SULIVAN,
Nashville.
LETTERS. 13
LETTERS.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, April 1, 1889.
A. C. FLOYD, ESQ.,
COLUMBIA, TENN.
MY DEAR SIR:
I am in receipt of your letter of the 20th inst.,
inviting me to be present at the Scotch-Irish Congress at Columbia,
Tenn., on the 8th of May next. I regret that my engagements will
prevent my acceptance; but beg you will accept for yourself, and
convey to the members of the Association, my sincere appreciation of
your courtesy, and my best wishes for the success of your meeting.
Very truly yours,
BENJAMIN HARRISON.
NEW YORK, April 13, 1889.
A. C. FLOYD, ESQ.,
Secretary, etc
DEAR SIR :
I desire to acknowledge, with thanks, the cordial
invitation I have received to attend the Scotch-Irish Congress, to be
held at Columbia, Tennessee, on the 8th of May next.
I regret that prior engagements will prevent my acceptance of
your courteous invitation.
Yours, very truly,
GROVER CLEVELAND.
NEW YORK, May 3, 1889.
MR. A. C. FLOYD,
Sec'y Scotch-Irish Congress,
COLUMBIA, TENN.
DEAR SIR:
Upon my return from an extended trip through
the South, I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your favor,
dated April 25th.
14 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
I regret exceedingly that business engagements, already made, so
engross my time at the date of your Congress, that I shall not be able
to give myself the satisfaction of attendance. I cordially appreciate
your earnest invitation, though unable to accept it, and, as my best
alternative, have taken pleasure in providing a car for the Rev. Dr.
John Hall, Mr. Robert Bonner, and several other gentlemen, who
will doubtless be at the meeting.
Regretting that circumstances forbid my being with you, I re
main, Very sincerely, yours,
JOHN H. INMAN.
WAR OFFICE, LONDON, February 1, 1889.
SIR:
I have received, with much gratification, your
Excellency's letter of the ult., inviting me to attend the Scotch-
Irish Congress, to be assembled at Columbia, Tennessee, on the 8th
of May next.
I regret very much that the pressure of my official duties pre
cludes the possibility of my proceeding to the United States at that
season of the f year. I am compelled" to decline the honor of the flat
tering invitation which your Excellency has conveyed to me in such
courteous terms.
1 have the honor to be, sir,
Your Excellency's obedient servant,
WOLSELEY.
His EXCELLENCY, R. L. TAYLOR,
Governor of the State of Tennessee.
PHILADELPHIA, February 21, 1889.
MR. A. C. FLOYD,
Secretary.
DEAK SIR:
I thank you for the invitation of February 16lK.
to attend the Scotch-Irish Congress to assemble at Columbia, Tenn.,
on the 8th of May next. I should greatly enjoy meeting the men
and women whom your invitation will doubtless draw to yout- beauti
ful city, but regret that my engagements will not permit me to be
present.
LETTERS. 15
No racial element has had more important, and, I think I may
say, healthful influence, in shaping the destinies of our Republic than
the Scotch-Irish. This is especially true of the great belt of middle
and border states. The very backbone of these commonwealths has
been drawn from the heathered hills of Scotland and the green slopes
of Ulster. The thistle and the shamrock have found the free Repub
lic of the West a congenial environment, and have flourished here
most vigorously.
I trust that, in the future, those chief characteristics, grace and
grit, which have made them so valuable a force in the formation of
our young commonwealths, may continue without enervation or
waste.
I trace my lineage on my mother's side to a New England family
of early settlement; but my paternal name and blood are drawn
from a Scotch-Irishman of Ulster, who, with a Scotch wife, emigrated
to America in the ninth decade of the last century. As such, I feel
proud of my ancestral descent, and extend to you hearty sympathy,
and through you to all whom you represent, in your effort to commem
orate the worth, works, and imperishable influence of our Scotch-Irish
ancestors. Very truly, yours,
HENRY C. McCOOK.
MEMPHIS, TENN., May 7, 1889.
MR. THOMAS T. WRIGHT.
DEAR SIR :
I regret very much that I can not attend the
Scotch-Irish Congress at Columbia. Business engagements of an im
perative character detain me in Memphis, and will keep me here dur
ing the days when it will be in session.
I am quite alive to the value of such a gathering from a historical
point of view, and as a means of vindicating the high position in use
fulness of the Scotch-Irish almost ever since the foundation of the
American colonies. They came first into history as a result of the
settlement of Scotch immigrants in Ireland during the reign of the
first James, and from that hour to this have been distinguished, above
all things, for the courage of their convictions. They have always
been tenacious as Protestants and lovers of individual liberty. Even
in the church organizations, as Presbyterians, while adhering to " the
faith once delivered to the saints," they have, on occasions, openly de-
16 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
clared dissent, and in a spirit that even the British government in
dealing with them has always recognized, have been ready to maintain
it to the death. Thus founded in protest against what they believed
were " errors of faith and practice," contending for the right of private
judgment, and asserting their opposition to prelacy, and, therefore,
kingly government, they were practically republicans. King James
himself acknowledged this when, in a moment of anger, excited by
the demands of the Presbyterian divines, he said, " No bishop, no
king." The Scotch-Irish, therefore, came to this country the ready
servants of republican liberty. Hence, when revolution impended,
they, on the 20th of May, 1775, at Mecklenburg, North Carolina,
made the first and most daring declaration of independence.
In heart and conscience they had always been independent, and
they valued liberty above life. The names of the delegates present at
the convention that adopted that declaration are nearly all of them
Scotch-Irish. Polk, Alexander, Barry, Downs, Graham, Irwin,
Morrison, McClure, Wilson, and Patton, are all Scotch-Irish names.
Thus, the race whose deeds are to be celebrated at Columbia by
the Congress held this week, were first in the race for liberty on this
continent, and their subsequent bearing during and after the Revolu
tionary war has proven that they have been worthy of that liberty.
The men of Mecklenburg were influential in the settlement of this
state were, indeed, its founders, and in celebrating the Scotch-Irish
race, we also celebrate the men who established the government of the
Watauga Association and made the Volunteer State. They fought
under Sevier, were the companions and comrades of James Robinson
in the Mero district, fought the Indians under Jackson from the Ten
nessee river to the Florida everglades, defeated the British at New
Orleans, and compelled the Spaniards to give up Florida, thus ending
forever the claims of Spain to the Mississippi river. They were sub
sequently conspicuous in the Texas revolution and in the Mexican
war; and in the civil war, now fast becoming but a memory, they
were among the first for gallantry, as the names of -John C. Brown,
Porter, Bates, McNeil, and others, attest.
Blended and fused with the great mass of a population whose
power of assimilation is a marvel of our time, the Scotch-Irish are
losing their distinctiveuess on this continent. It is, therefore, well
that their history should be recovered and eliminated from all other
histories, and thus be held sacred by their descendants, for there is
much of incentive in example. And what nobler example of high
moral qualities, of courage and endurance, can be found anywhere
than with the Scotch-Irish, who, believing in the right of private
LETTERS. 17
judgment, have always contended for a government resting on a
basis of consent.
Very respectfully,
M. KEATING.
LIVERPOOL, March 30, 1889.
A. C. FLOYD, ESQ.,
Secretary to the Scotch-Irish Congress,
COLUMBIA, TENN., U. S. A.
DEAK SIR:
I am in receipt of your invitation to attend the
Scotch-Irish Congress in your city on the 8th of May next, and I very
much regret I can not avail myself of it, as I am about to start for a
trip to Australia, India, China, and Japan, and do not expect to
reach America till next spring.
I am, dear sir,
Very truly yours,
A. MCDOWELL.
"BATTLE HlLL,"
JACKSON, Miss., March 2, 1889.
MR. A. C. FLOYD,
Secretary.
DEAR SIR :
I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the
23d last, extending invitation to the Scotch-Irish Congress, to meet in
Columbia in May.
I am glad to see that such an organization is effected, and I am
sure it will be of great use in keeping our esprit de corps among the
members of a race which is exceeded by no other in the number of
distinguished men in all lines 'who have made our country illustrious.
The characteristics of the race are of the best. Steadfast, stal
wart, true to conviction, tough brained but tender hearted, the men
have always been who are called " Scotch-Irish."
I have to say what I said in a published speech in Derry last
summer: "I have always been proud to call myself an Ulsterman,
2
18 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
proud that I am a born Derryman, a son of the men that starved and
prayed and fought, but never surrendered."
I deeply regret the appointments for my work are such that I am
unable to accept your invitation for this year. Meanwhile, I hope, at
another meeting to come up with the tribes.
Very truly, yours,
HUGH MILLER THOMPSON,
Bishop of Mississippi.
UNITED STATES SENATE,
WASHINGTON, D. C., December 28, 1888.
MR. A. C. FLOYD,
Secretary,
COLUMBIA, TENN.
DEAK SIR :
Your letter, inviting me to deliver an address
before the Scotch-Irish Congress on the 15th of next May, has been
received. I am greatly pleased with the suggestion of this Congress
and its purposes, and am honored by your invitation to address it.
The political situation forbids my making any positive engagement so
far ahead, but it is my intention to accept your invitation, should the
calls of duty here not prevent.
When this session of Congress shall have expired, and I can see
what the next year promises, I shall communicate with you again.
Very respectfully and
Truly yours,
Z. B. VANCE.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
WASHINGTON, D. C., April 6, 1889.
A. C. FLOYD, ESQ.,
Secretary,
COLUMBIA, TENN.
DEAR SIR :
I thank you for your cordial invitation to be
present at the Scotch-Irish Congress, to be held at your city on the
8th of May next. It would afford me real pleasure to honor the
memory of the Scotch-Irish emigrants who came to this country and
COL. THOMAS T. WRIGH
LETTERS. 1&
did so much to elevate and strengthen the character of our people.
In my remarks in the House of Representatives, February 2, 1886,
on the death of Vice-President Thomas A. Hendricks, I referred to
his father, and to his uncle, who was governor of Indiana and senator
from that state in the U. S. Congress in 1822 to 1825 and in 1837:
" They were Scotch-Irish pioneers, belonging to a race of men of
splendid physical form, courage, and endurance, and renowned for
their mental vigor and strength of character. These pioneers were
the ancestors of many distinguished families of the South and West.
Wherever these brave men fixed their abode, the land brought forth
abundance and the people prospered."
It is, therefore, with regret I am constrained to deny myself the
pleasure of being with you on that occasion.
I hope you will have a successful meeting, and that its results
may be beneficial to the welfare and glory of our common country.
Yours truly,
SAM. J. RANDALL.
BROOKLYN, March 19, 1889.
A. C. FLOYD, ESQ.,
Secretary Scotch-Irish Congress.
DEAR SIR :
Only previous engagements could hinder me
from accepting your kind invitation, for which I thank you. Had
the invitation come a little earlier, I could have accepted it, but now
I am harnessed for other service. Most appropriate is it that the peo
ple come together and celebrate the achievements of that wondrous
and magnificent race, the Scotch-Irish.
Again thanking you for the courtesy of your letter, I am,
Yours, etc.,
T. DE WITT TALMAGE.
GERMAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY,
DUBUQUE, IA., April 6, 1889.
MR. A. C. FLOYD,
Secretary of Scotch-Irish Congress.
DEAR SIR :
I find it impossible to avail myself of the honor
and pleasure of attendance at the Scotch-Irish Congress, to convene
20 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
on the third prox., to which your favor of February 16th so cour
teously and cordially invited me.
At first, I had hoped to so arrange former engagements as to be
able to attend, but I find this impossible. Few things would have
given me such true and permanent pleasure as this first organization
of a much-needed association. All classes and races have their racial
organizations; but in this country, the greatest and most energetic
race in the land has hitherto contented itself with the preservation of
its identity and unifying power, which pertain to great achievements,
in peaceful arts, the discoveries of science, moral leadership, and he
roic deeds at the formative epochs of national history.
The Scotch-Irish race is, indeed, sui generis, if not altogether
unique ; for, while possessed of strongly marked individuality, it nev
ertheless freely coalesces with all who seek whatsoever things are true,
honest, just, lovely, and of good report. This race has the strong
will, religiosity, and shrewdness of the Hebrew, the philosophic pro
fundity of the German, the political sagacity and conservatism of the
English, and withal, when needs be, the audacity of the French.
What wonder that such a race has occupied so large a place in the his
tory of our country ? When, in this land, were not the ablest of di
vines, the bravest of generals, the wisest of statesmen, not found
among the well-trained families of this race? Surely, it is time that
the sons of such a race confederate themselves in closer ties of
visible kinship. With such an ancestry and history, justice to the
storied dead, and self-respect of the living, demand such an organiza
tion of the Scotch-Irish race in these United States as your letter
indicates.
That the forthcoming convention may prove worthy of the great
occasion and of the thoughtful hospitality that invites it, is the
sincere wish of
Yours, with much respect,
A. MCCLELLAND.
PUBLIC LEDGER BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA.
MR. A. C. FLOYD,
Secretary Scotch-Irish Congress,
COLUMBIA, TENN.
DEAR SIR :
When I wrote you in March, it was under the
impression that the date fixed for the assembling at Columbia, Ten-
LETTERS. 21
nessee, of the " Scotch-Irish " Congress, was May 15th inst., as printed
on the official letter-head. Finding subsequently that the actual date
is May 8th, I am obliged to forego the pleasure of accepting your wel
come invitation, which I very much regret.
The occasion is one of exceeding interest in many states ; but
great as that interest is elsewhere, it can hardly equal that of the peo
ple of Pennsylvania, where the pioneers of the "Scotch-Irish" im
migrants found their first resting-places in their adventurous move
ment, which led them later on to Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky,
Ohio, and Tennessee, as well as into the then almost unbroken wastes
of Southern and Western Pennsylvania. Every-where along that
southern line of our state, especially west of the Susquehauna and
throughout the Cumberland, Juniata, and Ligonier valleys, they have
left the indelible characteristic marks of their early presence, just as
they have among the eminent families of Kentucky and Virginia,
Tennessee and North Carolina. Their course as pioneers is traceable
by a track across that broad expanse of territory almost as distinct, in
an ethnological point of view, as are the rock strata that mark the
coal and iron bearing veins across a geological horizon.
The characteristics referred to are well understood by all students
of the course of migration into the wild forest lands of America by
the streams of colonists colonists of the widely varying sects and
races from European countries in the early days of our history. Dis
tinct as the Puritan, or the Pilgrim, or the Cavalier, or the Catholic,
or the Quaker, or the German Lutheran and Moravian, or the Hugue
not, were the " Scotch-Irish," or, as I would prefer to put it, the Irish
and the Scots, who carne into Pennsylvania to help to populate it and
the adjacent provinces (now states) to the south and west. They
were high-spirited people, moved by lofty motives not so much
proselytism in their particular religious faith, as by the purpose to find
a region in the new world where they could assert their right to decide
what form of government they would live under the right to choose
for themselves their own rulers, whether for their political security or
the welfare of their souls. They were, to an uncommonly large de
gree, men and women, too with a robust vigor of intellect, in full
keeping with the stalwart muscular development which was the phys
ical characteristic of a large proportion of them. They were earnest
and brave people, full of energy, of self-assertion of their own right
to free thought and free action, and full of the energy and high pur
pose that make patriots ; yet comparatively exempt from the fierce
fanaticism of the mere propagandist. They were born pioneers of the
22 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
wilderness and leaders of other men. In all of the five or six contig
uous states south and west of the middle line of Pennsylvania, the
names of these Irish and Scotch pioneers and of their descendants
shine with luster in histories and annals as among their noblest patri
ots, statesmen, soldiers, scholars, and men of renown.
It would be to make a catalogue of leading family names in
broad regions of those states to attempt to individualize, for it could
not fail to be invidious if only some were named. Their history and
their work and their enduring influence should be written in a large
way; and if this should be an outcome of the Columbia " Scotch -
Irish Congress," it will be a valuable result, and a most instructive
history to the whole country.
I do not know, of course, what other reason there was than the
promise of the most genial weather, that decided the choice of May
8th for the date of the assembling of the Congress ; but either by in
tent or by happy coincidence, your committees have come close to a
notable anniversary in the annals of the pioneers of the Scotch-Irish
immigrants into the American colonies. It was on the ninth (9th) of
May, 1729, that the good ship " George and Ann" set sail from Ire
land to bring to Philadelphia the McDowells, the Irvines, the Camp
bells, the O'Neills, the McElroys, the Mitchells, and their compatriots,
who penetrated to interior Pennsylvania, and thence went west and
south. With these were the high-bred and brave Margaret O'Neill
and Margaret Lynn. I am not so sure of the ship that brought the
Breckinridge company, whether the one just named, or the "John
of Dublin," or some other; but I find recorded that, on the 22d of
May, 1740, fourteen heads of families went to Orange Court House,
Virginia, under the leadership of Alexander Breckinridge; that
Breckinridge there made oath that he "had imported himself from
Ireland to Philadelphia," together with John, George, Robert, Smith,
and Letitia Breckinridge; and thence to this colony (Virginia).
Among these heads of families "imported from Ireland to Philadel
phia" were John Trimble, David Logan, James Caldwell, and, I
think, John Preston. In fact, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania fur
nished the gateway, the first resting place, and the course of " Scotch-
Irish " adventure and enterprise, as they moved west and south.
We of Pennsylvania may, therefore, fairly ask the Columbia
Congress to bear that fact affectionately in mind ; and that, while you
are celebrating the merits and virtues of distinguished and eminent
western and southern families, that Philadelphia has her annals richly
illustrated with Meades and Moylans, Breckinridges and Barrys,
LETTERS. 23
Waynes and St. Clairs, Allisons, Armstrongs, and Fultons, McKeans,
McClures, McKibbens, and McCooks; with Thomas Fitzgibbons,
James Mease, Sharp Delaney, and stout old Blair McClenaghen, with
others of the leaders of the "Friendly Sons of St. Patrick," renowned
among Philadelphia merchants and patriots of the revolutionary days.
With great respect,
GEORGE W. CHILDS.
BRITISH EMBASSY,
ROME, February 13, 1889.
MY DEAR MR. WRIGHT:
I am very much gratified by the kind invitation
which you have sent me to attend the forthcoming Congress ; but as I
am now on my way home, after four years' absence from England, it
would, I regret, be out of my power to cross the Atlantic.
With renewed thanks for the honor you have done me, believe
me, my dear Mr. Wright,
Yours sincerely,
DUFFERIN AND AVA.
24 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
MINUTES.
COLUMBIA, TENN., May 8, 1889.
MOKNING SESSION.
The Congress was called to order at 11 o'clock by Colonel E. C.
McDowell, President of the Local Organization.
Rev. Dr. John Hall, of New York, led in prayer, as follows :
O, God Almighty, our Heavenly Father : We are gathered to
gether in unusual circumstances. We pray that we may have the
help of the Holy Spirit ; that with reverence and devoutness we may
come together to speak unto thee. May thy divine spirit enlighten
the understanding of each of us; may it guide our thoughts; may it
raise our affections to heavenly things ; may it be to us at this moment
a spirit of grace and supplication.
We worship thee, O God ; we magnify thy great and holy name.
Thou art the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. Thou dost de
termine the lives of individuals ; thou dost control the fate of nations ;
all things are present to thy holy eye ; thou art from everlasting and to
everlasting ; thou hast been the God of our fathers, and our prayer is
that thou wilt be the God of our children. May the way in which
thou didst lift them from thralldom, and the blessings vouchsafed unto
them, be ever a source of thanks and praises to thee. We pray
thee that thou wilt continue thy goodness ; that thou wilt maintain in
the hearts of thy children regard for thy truth, deference to thine au
thority, and the spirit of a true and real brotherly love.
O Lord Jesus, the Savior whom we worship and adore, whom we
hold as King in Zion, let thy presence be with us and help us to walk
as becometh disciples. We invoke thy blessings and pray for thy
favor in this Congress ; direct its officers ; bless all its exercises. Let
the issue be the bringing of heart to heart, the tendering and expand
ing of sympathy, the continuance of brotherly love, the promotion of
Christian education, the good of the people of this state and of neigh
boring states. God Almighty, bless those who are gathered together
in this city at this time, and as they partake of the hospitality of its
MINUTES. 25
people, may they be enabled to seek what will be for the good of the
people, for the welfare of the state, for the stability of the nation.
Bless our nation, and the President of the United States; bless the
governors of the states and territories ; bless the judges of the land ;
bless and guide all those of our fellow citizens who have been called
to places of trust; give them skill, wisdom, unselfishness, zeal, and
fidelity ; and, O God, establish in the hearts of the people reverence
to their law and their constituted authority. Continue thy favor to
these United States, and let the whole land be in subjection to thee
through Christ Jesus. And, our Divine Father, we come to thee one
by one ; we beg the forgiveness of our sins, the continuation of thy
holy spirit, the guidance of thy providence, and an entrance finally
into thy heavenly kingdom and glory, through Jesus Christ. And to
the Father, the Son, and the Divine Spirit, the God of our salvation,
be glory and majesty, dominion and power, world without end.
Amen.
Opening address, by Colonel E. C. McDowell :
The migration of the Scots, it is believed, was through North
eastern Europe, by way of Belgium and the north of France, to Ire-
laud. .There they certainly lived in the third century, and there they
first received the light of Christianity.
In the sixth century, a colony of these Irish-Scots migrated to
Northern Britain, and settling in what is now the county of Argyle,
established a kingdom, subjugated the Pictish tribes that were before
them, and ancient Caledonia was thenceforward the land of the Scots,
and Scotland it remains to-day.
When James the First came to the throne of Great Britain, for
reasons of state, he determined to discountenance the Roman Catholic
religion in Ireland. Some of the nobles of the north of Ireland re
sented this, and conspired against the government. Their lands were
confiscated and reverted to the crown. James peopled these confis
cated estates with Scotch and English colonists. The Scotch settlers
greatly predominated. Thus, after a lapse of one thousand years, the
Scots whom Ireland had given to Caledonia of old, came back to their
ancient homes, aud the Irish-Scotch, as they were called in the sixth
century, became the Scotch-Irish of the seventeenth century.
These first Scotch colonists were soon followed by other Scots,
until the descendants of these Scots are largely in the majority in the
north of Ireland, especially in the province of Ulster. The Scotch-
Irish race was prolific of colonists to America. Prior to 1707, they
26 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
migrated to America to better their condition. The historical events
of 1707 gave a great impetus to the immigration of Irish Presby
terians. Then they began to see that an Irishman had not equal
rights with other British subjects. The idea of equality and freedom
which afterward took form of expression in the Mecklenburg Decla
ration of Independence, was so strong in them that they could not re
main in Ireland.
These emigrants settled principally in Pennsylvania, Virginia,
and the Carolinas. Their descendants spread into Kentucky, Tennes
see, and tht, whole South-west. Tennessee was selected as the place
for holding this Congress as the state most central to this population
in the United States.
This race of people was of a different origin, and had many race
characteristics differing from the New England Puritans. The New
England Puritans were of Anglo-Saxon origin, unmixed with the Nor
man. The New England Puritan idea is to get the greatest aggregate
good in the community. The individual and the family are subordin
ate to the community. With them, the state is the people, and the
people belong to and are made for the state. With the Scotch-Irish,
the people are the state, and the state is made by and for the people.
Individualism and familyism seem to be at the foundation of the
Scotch-Irish philosophy of life. They hold that the community or
state, and its laws, are made by the individuals living in the state or
community, and the individuals are not made for, or to be governed
for the good of the state or community; but the state and its laws are
the creation of the individuals for their benefit. Having to live in
the community, they claim the right to make the laws of the com
munity, and select those put in authority to enforce these laws. They
surrender to the community only so much of their individual freedom
as may be necessary for the protection of their property, life, and lib
erty, while living in the community. With the Puritans, individual
good and freedom is merged in and lost sight of in the good of the
community.
The New England Puritans have in a large part written the his
tory of the United States. They did not act the principal history of
the United States. Although in the popular histories of the United
States, individuals of the Scotch-Irish race have received due notice
and full praise, yet the influence of the Scotch-Irish as a people in ob
taining our independence, forming our institutions, and maintaining
them, has never been properly recognized in written American history.
The Scotch-Irish are a peculiar people in many respects. They
have always been doers, rather than talkers or writers holding that
MINUTES. 27
there are only two things worthy of mau's ambition : one to write
what is worthy of being done, and the other is to do what is worthy
of being written, and the greater of these two is the doing. Our
Puritan brethren have written as well as done. It is time we were
putting on the pages of written history the impress of our race on the
institutions of our country.
The proceedings of this congress will begin the written history of
the Scotch-Irish race.
It was expected that the governor of Tennessee would be present
to deliver an address of welcome. A special session of the state legis
lature convened yesterday, rendering it impossible for him to be pres
ent on this occasion. In his place, and in the name of Tennessee, I
welcome you all. On behalf of the large Scotch-Irish population of
this county, I welcome you. In the name of Columbia, I bid you
thrice welcome.
For the purpose of organizing, I move that Joseph F. Johnston,
of Birmingham, Alabama, be elected temporary chairman of the
Congress.
Motion carried, and Colonel Johnston introduced to the audience
by Colonel McDowell.
Colonel Johnston's address :
I can not be unmindful of the fact that the distinguished honor
of presiding temporarily over this convention has not been conferred
upon me on account of any personal merit of ray own, especially when I
look around me and see so many gentlemen distinguished in peace and
in war, in the paths of theology, science, literature, and art, who are
present. But I accept this great honor as a compliment to the young
men of the South, whose humble representative I am on this occa
sion these young men who, not forgetting the past, not putting aside
the ancient landmarks, are now engaged in erecting upon the founda
tion of the tradition and memories of their fathers a civilization and
an empire that will be the pride and the glory of all who come after
us in all this great and magnificent land of ours.
I take it, my fellow-citizens, as an auspicious circumstance that
the first Congress of the Scotch-Irish of the United States is assembled
here in this beautiful city " in this most lovely land" rescued by our
fatluTs from savage beast and more savage man, and made one of the
garden-spots of Civilization, of virtue and refinement, of all the
country ; and I congratulate you, my brethren of the Scotch-Irish
28 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
race, wherever you come from, that upon this occasion, and in this
presence, should any one inquire where are the jewels of the race, we
can point to the fair women, whose virtues are only equalled by their
beauty, and say, these are our jewels. (Applause.)
If there is any one characteristic that I think distinguishes more
clearly than any other the Scotch-Irish race, it is their disregard of odds
of power and influence in the pursuit of liberty and of right. It was
this sentiment that led the Scotch-Irish of Charlotte, in the county
of Mecklenburg, N. C., in this month, in the year 1775, regardless
of whether their brethren would join them in the cause, to declare
that they "were of right, and ought to be, free and independent
people."
It is a fact, in regard to the Scotch-Irish race of the South, that,
while many of them believed in the inherent right of secession, few
believed in the exercise of that right. They were greatly attached to
the Union which their fathers had liberally contributed to establish and
develop by their blood and treasure. They wanted to see it yet more
powerful and great, and in Tennessee, Kentucky and North Caro
lina, where they were most formidable in numbers and influence, they
were largely instrumental in delaying hasty action. But when the
issue was joined, when "wild war's loud alarm had sounded," when
the gods of war had loosed their fiercest dogs, they united with their
brethren in the unequal struggle. They believed it to be an unequal
struggle ; they doubted the policy and the result ; but when it came
for men to suffer and bleed and die, they answered every roll-call. It
was supposed that, when this great contest was inaugurated, the cava
liers of Virginia and South Carolina would lead all the rest, and right
nobly did they discharge their duties. Their sons have a proud herit
age, and history has to some extent given them this prominence.
But recently, a distinguished soldier of the Federal army, Colonel
Wm. F. Fox, of New York, has published, in a remarkable book,
statistics showing the results of the war; and I propose to cite a few
facts from that book. The fighting population of North Carolina in
1861 was 115,000, yet she furnished to the Confederate army 125,000
men. North Carolina led all the southern states in the number of
men that died in this great struggle. There were killed of her sons
on the field of battle fourteen thousand, five hundred and twenty-two
men (14,522). The number of her sons that died from wounds in
flicted on the field of battle was 20,602, while the great commonwealth
of Virginia lost a little over 12,000 in killed and died of wounds
about one-third. South Carolina had 9,187 men t killed. On the
other side, the great state of Pennsylvania led all her sisters in the
MINUTES. 29
splendor of her achievements, and she suffered the greatest loss of any
northern state in the great battles between giants.
The greatest loss suffered by any one regiment during the war was
inflicted upon the Twenty-sixth North Carolina at Gettysburg, which
went into battle 800 strong, and lost in killed and wounded on the
field over 580 men ; and this great loss was sustained in fighting the
One Hundred and Fifty-first Pennsylvania and Cooper's Battery.
The Light Brigade at Balaklava lost 31 per cent of its men and offi
cers, and they were immortalized in prose and poetry. The Twenty-
sixth North Carolina at Gettysburg lost over 70 per cent of its men
and officers, and was scarcely distinguished from the regiments that
surrounded it.
I am not speaking of the war with any desire to recall any thing
that every citizen of the United States can not recall with pride and
pleasure, no matter where he hails from, because I take it that the
prowess, the courage, and the heroic valor of any soldier, whether he
hails from Maine or Alabama, is the proud heritage of every citizen
of the United States. (Applause.) But I state these astounding sta
tistics to show you that, in the great contest between the states, the
two most largely populated by the Scotch-Irish race were the two that
led all the rest in the splendor of their achievements (Applause) ; and
that the greatest losses were inflicted when the iron soldiers of North
Carolina and Pennsylvania, descendants of the same race and stock,
met on the field of battle and locked arms in the embrace of death.
It was the dogged obstinacy, the tenacity, the unconquerable will of
the Scotch-Irish, that deluged these fields with blood and immortalized
Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
I am here in response to your selection, to return to you my
thanks for the honor you have conferred upon the young men of the
South, and to discharge the duties you have assigned me; and I an
nounce that this convention is now ready for further proceedings.
Mr. A. C. Floyd, of Columbia, was unanimously elected tempo
rary Secretary of the Congress.
A motion by Colonel E. C. McDowell, that a committee on per
manent organization, and one on constitution and by-laws, be appointed,
was carried.
Mrs. Robert D. Smith recited a poem on " The Harp of Tom
Moore," written for the occasion by the poet, Wallace Bruce, of New
York. The harp had been kindly loaned the Congress by Mr. Geo.
30 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
W. Childs, of Philadelphia, and during all the exercises occupied a
pedestal upon the platform.
(See Part II, page 71.)
A song, " Here's to Thee, Tom Moore," was sung by the young
ladies of the Athenaeum School, accompanied by Mrs. Emma McKin-
ney on the harp and Hal Seavy on the violin.
The following resolution was introduced by E. C. McDowell, and
unanimously adopted :
Resolved, That the thanks of the Scotch-Irish of the United
States are due and are hereby tendered Hon. T. T. Wright, for orig
inating this gathering and contributing to the successful organization
of this convention.
Chairman Johnston :
It is my pleasing duty, in obedience to the resolution just adopted,
to extend the hearty thanks of the convention to the Hon. T. T.
Wright, whose merit is only equalled by his modesty. It is said that
Ney fought a hundred battles for France and not one against her; the
Hon. T. T. Wright has fought a hundred battles for the prosperity
and advancement of his country, and not one for himself. A great
man once stated that it was better to be right than President. Had
our friend lived in that day, we would know that he was the Wright
referred to.
The first speaker of the day was Hon. Proctor Knott, of Ken
tucky, who was introduced by the Chairman as follows :
I announce and introduce a gentleman who is known from Penn
sylvania avenue to Duluth. His fame has extended beyond the con
fines of this country as one of the proudest sons of this great race,
whose deeds we are met here to commemorate upon this occasion a
gentleman whose fame has not only placed him in the front ranks of
Americans of this century, but whose name, when conferred upon a
horse, makes the latter worth $30.000. I take great pleasure in intro
ducing to you the Hon. Proctor Knott, of Kentucky.
(See Part II, page 73.)
MINUTES. 31
Chairman Johnston read the following telegram from Hon. Sen
ator John MacDonald, of Canada :
TORONTO, ONT., May 8th.
HON. THOS. T. WRIGHT,
COLUMBIA, TENN.
Kindly accept congratulations and assurances of
abiding friendship and good will on the part of Canadians for the
peace and prosperity of your great nation.
JOHN MACDONALD.
The Congress adjurned to 7:30 o'clock p. M.
NIGHT SESSION.
The Congress was called to order at 8 o'clock.
The Chairman announced the following committees :
On Permanent Organization E. C. MacDowell, Tennessee ; Dr.
John Hall, New York; T. T. Wright, Florida; Judge J. M. Scott,
Illinois ; Lucius Frierson, Tennessee.
On Constitution and By-Laws Proctor Knott, Kentucky ; Robert
Bonner, New York ; W. O. MacDowell, New Jersey ; A. C. Floyd,
Tennessee ; A. S. Colyar, Tennessee.
The Chairman then announced that Rev. Dr. Wilson Phraner
was requested to favor the Congress with an address.
Dr. Phraner's address :
I think this is unfair. I was asked if, some time during the
meeting, I would say a word, and 1 consented to do so ; but I had no
idea that I would be called upon at this moment. Hence, I am con
fused, and hardly kuow whether I am here or not.
I am neither an Englishman nor an Irishman ; only a plain
American citizen. You see at once I have not the brogue. I find
the Scotch and the Irish so much at a premium, that I hardly know
whether I can take my place among them or not. I am reminded of
a little story that I may tell in this connection. It was of three Irish
men in London. One of them remarked : " What a strange thing
32 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
occurred to me the other morning. In Hyde Park, a gentleman
came up to me and addressed me as Gladstone." "Oh," said another
of the three, " that was certainly a compliment; but I have something
a little better than that. I was the other day walking through one
of the streets of London, and a gentleman addressed me as Lord
Salisbury, the Premier." The third one said : " That is surprising, but
I can beat that. I was passing through the Strand, and a fellow ran
up to me and said, 'Holy Moses, is that you?'"
In my opinion, Moses outranks both Mr. Gladstone and Mr.
Salisbury. I am, however, not likely to be taken for either of the
three ; but I have come down here at the kind invitation of Dr. Hall ;
and now I am glad to see this assemblage of Scotch-Irishmen. We
are glad that you are here in this country to help do something that
needs to be done.
One of the objects to be accomplished is to unify this nation. We
have a great many elements entering into our national life, and we all
know the consequences when a man takes in more food than he can
digest. But this country never has any trouble in digesting Scotch-
Irishmen and true Scotchmen. They agree with us perfectly. There
are some others not so easily digested and disposed of; but these are
at home here, and we rejoice that they are here to help in unifying
this nation, which is one of the great problems before us.
There is a second thing to be done : to educate this nation. The
Scotchmen come here as educators. You will hear from one of them
to-night. The Scotch-Irishmen come ofttimes in the same way as did
Dr. McCosh, of Princeton. When we want a president for one of our
leading colleges, we send to Belfast for him. Through the country
they are known as educators, and there is a great work to be done iu
elevating and uplifting the nation through genuine education of the
people.
My attention has been called to another matter. There may be
some poor relations of the Scotch and Scotch-Irish that would very
properly receive a little attention. They are not to be overlooked.
Some of them I have heard of in Tennessee, Kentucky, and North
Carolina. There are some who might be helped in that direction, and
I hope one of the things to come out of this organization will be to
look possibly after some of our poor relations.
I will say one other thing. The value of this element that comes
into our national life from Scotland is that they have brought Chris
tianity with them in their hearts. What makes them so welcome to
my mind is, that they have brought Presbyterianism with them to this
land. We can stand all that ; the more of it the better. Look at
MINUTES.
the condition of things in New York. A leading man in our pulpit is
a Scotch-Irishman. When one of the oldest churches, and the one in
which I was brought up, wanted a minister, it sent to Dublin for him.
We have him here to-night one of the biggest men iu the land. You
have heard a good many things said in these recent times about long
haul and short haul, but one of the biggest hauls the Presbyterian
Church ever made was when it got John Hall. (Laughter and ap
plause.)
A very important church in Philadelphia became vacant, and
nothing would do but they must have a Macintosh, and they sent to
Belfast for him. So it is, all over the country ; and we need this
help to unify, to educate, and to evangelize this nation.
Alexander De Tocqueville never made a wiser remark than
when he said a nation never so needs to be theocratic as when it be
comes democratic.
A few minutes ago, I had no idea of making a speech. I am in
sympathy with this meeting, though I can not claim to be either an
Irishman or Scotchman, but only a simple, plain American citizen,
speaking the English language. (Applause.)
Chairman Johnston:
I think the audience will agree with me, that the Chair has
shown great discrimination in calling on Mr. Phrauer " unbeknownst"
to him; because, if he had been given an opportunity to prepare a
speech this evening, he would have left few good things for the dis
tinguished gentleman who is to follow him.
I am now going to have the pleasure of introducing to you one
of the most distinguished men of this country, a citizen of New York,
who has kindly consented to say a few words to you Mr. Robert
Bonner. (Applause.)
Mr. Bonner:
I am not in the habit of addressing the public or of making pub
lic speeches. Any little reputation that I may have acquired has been
achieved by the pen. But I will say a few words.
I have very pleasant recollections of a former visit to Columbia.
On that occasion, when our party left New York, I was known simply
as Robert Bonner, without any title or handle to my name ; but in
passing through Pennsylvania, I was saluted by one of the railway
officials as Captain Bonner; further on, when we crossed over the
3
34 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
Ohio river into Kentucky, I was called by the title of Colonel ; and
when I reached this place, I was addressed by one of your prominent
citizens as General. Do you wonder that, after such rapid promotion,
I have pleasant recollections of that visit?
When you take half a century out of the middle of a man's life,
you make a pretty big gap in it. It was just fifty years ago, the sec
ond of this month, that I sailed from Londonderry, Ireland, for New
York. I came from the old town of Ramelton, in the county of
Donegal. I hold in my hand the report of an address delivered by
the Rev. Matthew Wilson, in March, 1839, in the Second Presby
terian church of that town, an extract from which I shall read, and
which, I think, will be of some historical interest on such an occasion
as this. The manuscript, as you can see, is somewhat faded, but that
is not to be wondered at, as it is over fifty years since I copied the ad
dress from the Londonderry Standard. Mr. Wilson, after stating that
there were spirit-stirring recollections connected with Ramelton, said :
"But it is far more agreeable to listen to the artless tale of a
rustic Presbyterian, as he tells of the treasure of truth and of salva
tion which a Presbyterian minister from Ramelton carried across the
Atlantic and planted in a foreign soil small in the beginning as a
grain of mustard seed, but since it has leavened all the land. Yes, sir,
it was a Makemie, himself a treasure, but bearing with him the far
more excellent treasure, even the incorruptible riches of Christ, who,
in company with a few expatriated ministers from the Synod of Ulster,
formed the first Presbytery, raised the first Presbyterian standard, and
planted the germ of the Presbyterian church in America a church
which has been blessed with extraordinary increase, and can now
boast of nearly three thousand congregations."
In the printed slip which your Secretary kindly sent me a few
weeks ago, it was stated that one of the attractions here would be an
exhibition of Tennessee's fine blooded stock. Clergymen often tell us
that we can not reason from the finite to the infinite ; but I think we
can get a lesson from the lower animals that will lead us up to a true
appreciation of the Scotch-Irish. It is well known that a change of
clime has great influence in improving the speed and endurance of
horses. For example, from stock sent from New York to Kentucky,
the swiftest trotting horse that the world has yet seen was raised in
the famous blue grass region. Now, I think it can be shown by a
single illustration that, when the Scotch went over to Ireland, a sim
ilar improvement in the stamina and endurance of the race took place.
Sixty years ago, the Rev. Dr. McCartee was the most popular
Presbyterian clergyman in New York City. The old gentleman once
MINUTES. 35
told me that, in his younger days, he had two prominent members of
his church who were not on speaking terms. One was Scotch and the
other Scotch-Irish. They had quarreled about some trivial matter,
and the feeling became very bitter. The Doctor labored for a long
time to recoucile them, but neither could be moved. At last, after a
serious talk, the Scotchman consented to meet his Scotch-Irish fellow-
member in a friendly way, and let by-goues be by-gones. The doctor
then went to the Scotch-Irishman, but he was as firm as ever ; he did
not want to have any thing to do with "that man." Finally, the
doctor bore down on him pretty hard, urging upon him his duty as a
Christian, and asking him: "How can yon expect to be forgiven, if
you will not forgive?" when the Scotch-Irishman, with great emotiou,
while trying to conquer his feelings, exclaimed: "Yes, yes; I'll for
give him, but I want to get one good crack at him first." (Laughter.)
Gentlemen, this is the reason why I think a change of clime has in
creased the stamina and endurance of the race to which I belong.
(Applause and laughter.)
Chairman Johnston then introduced Prof. McCloskie, of Prince
ton, as one of the most distinguished educators of this country.
(See Part II, page 90.)
After the conclusion of Prof. McCloskie's address, Chairman
Johnston read the following telegram :
CARLISLE, PENN., May 8, 1889.
A. C. FLOYD,
Scotch-Irish Congress.
Accept congratulations and best wishes.
J. A. MURRAY.
The Secretary then submitted to the Congress the following :
HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.
T. R. Kornick, Sr., Knoxville, Teun.: "The Scotch-Irish in the
United States. Some of their Characteristics, and an Approximate
Estimate of their Number in the Thirteen Colonies. September,
1774."
Hon. W. S. Fleming, Columbia, Tennessee : " Scotch-Irish
Settlers in South Carolina, and their Descendants in Maury County,
Tennessee."
36 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
Mr. Geo. Edwards, Worcester, Mass.: " The Early Scotch-Irish
Settlers in New England."
Samuel Evans, Columbia, Penn.: " The Scotch-Irish of Donegal,
Penn., with Interesting Historical Relics."
Miss Sara A. Leitch, Pittsburg, Penn.: " The Sharon Tragedy ;
An Incident of the Irish Rebellion in 1798."
Mr. Alex. H. H. Stewart, Staunton, Va.: "The Descendants
of Archibald Stewart, of Virginia."
Rev. A. W. Miller, D.D., LL.D., Charlotte, N. C.: A pamphlet,
"The Presbyterian Origin of American Independence."
Rev. J. G. Craighead, D.D., LL.D., Howard University, Wash
ington, D. C.: " Scotch and Irish Seeds on American Soil." A
bound volume.
The Congress then adjourned until 11 o'clock, Thursday morning.
Thursday, May 9th.
MORNING SESSION.
The Congress was called to order at 11 o'clock.
The Goshen Band played a musical selection, entitled " Robert
Bruce Melodies."
Rev. Geo. Beckett, of the Columbia Institute, made the opening
prayer.
Chairman Johnston:
Before announcing the regular proceedings as arranged for to-day,
I wish to say, in behalf of the committee here, that this gathering of
the Scotch-Irish of the United States is a gathering without reference
to creed or politics or sect of any kind. This gathering is greater than
any thing of that kind. (Applause.) Whilst, as we all know, the
great majority of the Scotch-Irish of this country are Presbyterians,
no man is excluded from this association, whether he be Catholic, or
Presbyterian, or of any other denomination. It is as broad as our
great country is. (Applause.) And, in fact, our distinguished
friend, Bishop McCloskie, of New Jersey he ought to be a bishop,
if he is not has told us that St. Patrick was the first Bishop of the
MINUTES. 37
Presbyterian Church, and the Emperor of China a ruling elder.
There never was a better church, though I don't have the happiness
to be a member of it myself. But I wanted to caution our friends
here to dismiss the idea that there is any thing local or sectarian or
political about this great gathering of the Scotch-Irish of the United
States of America.
Rev. Dr. John Hall, of New York, was introduced, and deliv
ered an address. (See Part II, p. 102.)
Dr. Hall's address was followed by a song from the young ladies
of the Athenaeum.
Hon. Proctor Knott, Chairman of the Committee on Constitution
and By-Laws, submitted the following report, which was adopted :
CONSTITUTION.
Article I. The name of this association shall be The Scotch-
Irish Society of America.
Art. II. The purposes of this society are the preservation of
Scotch-Irish history, the keeping alive the esprit de corps of the race,
and the promotion of social intercourse and fraternal feeling among its
members, now and hereafter.
Art. III. Any male above the age of twenty-one years, and who
has Scotch-Irish blood in his veins, shall be eligible for membership in
the association.
Art. IV. The officers of the society shall be a President, two
Vice-Presidents at Large, a Vice-President in each state, territory,
and the District of Columbia, in the United States, and each of the
provinces in the Dominion of Canada ; a Secretary, Treasurer, Regis
trar and Historian.
Art. V. There shall be an Executive Council, composed of the
President, Vice-Presidents, and other officers mentioned in the last
foregoing article.
Art. VI. The annual convention of the society shall be held at
such time and place in May as may be determined by the Executive
Committee.
Art. VII. The officers of the society shall be elected at the con
ventions by ballot; provided, however, that Vice-Presidents not
elected at the present meeting shall be appointed by the President.
Art. VIII. This constitution may be altered, amended, or re
pealed only by a majority vote of the members of the association
449000
38 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMEKICA.
present at the annual convention, or at a special meeting called foi
that purpose after thirty days' notice in writing to the members.
Art. IX. The Executive Council shall have authority to estab
lish by-laws, rules, and regulations for the government of the society.
Colonel E. C. McDowell, Chairman, offered the following report
of the Committee on Organization, which was unanimously adopted :
For Permanent President Robert Bonner, of New York.
Secretary A. C. Floyd, of Tennessee.
Vice-Presidents at Large J. F. Johnston, of Alabama ; E. C.
McDowell, of Tennessee ; and Thomas Kerr, of Toronto, Canada.
Vice-Presidents for States Kentucky, Dr. Hervey McDowell ;
New York, Dr. John Hall; Illinois, Judge J. M. Scott; North Caro
lina, S. B. Alexander; Pennsylvania, A. K. McClure; New Jersey,
Wm. O. McDowell ; Louisiana, Wm. Preston Johnston ; Florida, T.
T. Wright; Virginia, Wm. Wirt Henry; Tennessee, A. G. Adams;
Montana, Rev. J. C. Quinn, Helena-; Andrew T. Wood, Hamilton,
Ontario.
Treasurer Lucius Frierson, of Tennessee.
Historian and Registrar Thos. M. Green, of Kentucky.
Mr. Johnston stated that he would turn over the position of
Chairman to Mr. Bonner, who was introduced, and said:
Ladies and Gentlemen: This is an unexpected honor. I think
there are much abler and better qualified men here that you could
have selected for this position. But I accept the office with thanks,
and shall endeavor to fill it to the best of my ability.
This afternoon, our party is obliged to leave for New York, and,
as Colonel Johnston has presided so ably, I shall request him to con
tinue to keep the chair during this meeting.
Mr. Johnston said he would not disobey the orders of a superior
officer, and read from the poem recited the preceding day the fol
lowing :
" Manhattan and Plymouth and Jamestown
Can boast of their heritage true,
But Mecklenburg's fame is immortal
When we number the stars in the blue
The Scotch-Irish-Puritan fathers
First drafted the words of the free,
And the speech of Virginia's Henry
Is the crown of our liberty's plea."
MINUTES. 39
I now have the pleasure of introducing to you the grandson of
this illustrious hero, Hon. Wm. Wirt Henry, of Virginia.
Mr. Henry was greeted with great applause. He spoke as follows :
(See Part II, p. 110.)
At the conclusion of Mr. Henry's address, Mr. Johnston ad
journed the meeting to 8 o'clock, as follows:
There was an old Englishman whose name was Johnson the
only place he did not take his tea was in his name and he said to a
Scotchman, that the Scotch fed their men on what the English fed
their horses ; and the Scotchman replied, that that was the reason the
English had the best horses, and the Scotch the best men in the world.
It is about time to feed the convention on a little oat-meal porridge,
and a motion to adjourn is in order.
NIGHT SESSION.
The Congress was called to order at 8 o'clock by Chairman John
ston, who introduced the first speaker, as follows :
We shall have the pleasure of hearing a few remarks from a
Scotch-Irishman of Illinois; a gentleman who has attained the highest
rank in that state as a judge, having been several years on the Supreme
Bench of Illinois ; a gentleman who has endeared himself to those
who have met him since he has been among us Judge J. M. Scott.
Judge Scott said :
I come to visit you in this beautiful little city by the kind invita
tion of the committee having this Congress in charge. I come for the
purpose of meeting with those whom I know, and those whose ances
tors have added much to the civilization of our country. I come to
you from one of the great states carved out of the North-west Terri
tory, the State of Illinois. Although one of the younger states of the
North-west Territory, it is now a great commonwealth, of which her
sons are justly proud. The Illinois country itself has a history that is
more than two centuries old. It was the seat of French dominion in
40 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
the valley of the Mississippi, where it was the purpose of France to
establish a government to control the richest portions of this country.
Kaskaskia, which was then founded, and which is a most beautiful
village, is nearly as old as Philadelphia. But the civilization the
French attempted to establish in the Mississippi valley and elsewhere
on this continent was not suited to this country, and was destined to
have a brief but brilliant existence. After the treaty of Paris, in
1763, the North-west Territory came under the control of the English
government, and remained there until 1778, when that bold, daring,
and chivalrous band of men under George Rogers Clarke, organized
and commissioned by the illustrious Patrick Henry, as governor of
Virginia, conquered it, and held it as the rightful possession of that
great commonwealth. In that little band of fearless and determined
men, there were included a number of Scotch-Irishmen. Every
where any thing great was to be done, there was to be found Scotch-
Irishmen, or some of their American descendants. I do not know
that there ever was a large percentage of Scotch-Irishmen in Illinois
as a state, but during the time of its territorial existence there was.
They came mostly from Western Virginia with the earliest colonists.
No people of any race have left more of the impress of their character
upon the institutions of Illinois, both religious and civil, than did that
indomitable race of men and women. They taught there the first
schools. They aided in establishing law and order, and they were
among the first judges to administer the law they had ordained. In
fact, the history of Illinois, in that respect, is the same as that of
Virginia, of Tennessee, of the Carolinas, and of all the southern
states, except, perhaps, Louisiana.
It would. not be proper, were I prepared to do so, to speak of the
general history of the people designated as the Scotch-Irish. That
has been done, and well done, by the distinguished gentlemen who
have prepared papers and submitted them upon this occasion. But
there are some things that we all know concerning them. We all
know, as we heard from Dr. Hall this morning, that these Scotch-Irish
were a frugal and industrious people. It may be, as was stated by the
distinguished orator, that they think a dollar five times as large as it
is ; but when a Scotch-Irishman got a dollar, it was the wages of so
much honest labor, or something given of equal value in exchange.
(Applause.) He had earned it by the sweat of his brow, and as it
was wholly his own, he could regard it, if he chose, as large as a mill
stone. I venture to say, here to-night, that there are fewer Scotch-
Irish in the charitable institutions of this country than any other race
or people that dwell among us. I never knew myself of a Scotch-
MINUTES. 41
Irishman who was the inmate of a county poor-house. I venture
another remark, and that is, that there are more of this race in high
places, legislative, executive, judicial, ecclesiastical, and educational,
than of any other race iu our country. They have taught the sciences
and literature in our common schools, in our colleges and universities.
They have preached our religion ; they have fought our battles; they
have commanded our armies; they have written our literature, both
in poetry and iu prose ; they have led public thought in the direction
of liberty, right, and justice; and they have impressed our habits and
customs and manners in our home life, as well as in public. They
have administered and declared our laws. It can be truthfully said,
that our common country is freer, stronger, better, and more enduring
because of the Scotch-Irish element in our people.
My friend?, I have said all that I intended to say on this occasion ;
but I beg to be indulged in one single remark further, and that is, that
if all the Scotch-Irish in our country are as hospitable as those found
in Columbia, they are the most hospitable people found on the face of
this round earth. (Applause.) One remark more : If the Scotch-
Irish women are all like those of Columbia, they are the peers in
beauty and loveliness of the best women of our country, and, in all
that is true and good and pure, are excelled by no women on the face
of this earth, of any race or nationality. (Applause.,)
Miss Stoddard, of the Athenaeum, sang " Kathleen Mavourneen,"
accompanied by Mrs. Emma McKinney, on the harp. After an
encore, she sang " I Canua Leave the Old Folk Now."
Chairman Johnston then said :
In introducing to you the next speaker, I feel as an adopted son
would in introducing a father to his own family. I don't refer to the
age of my distinguished friend, for he is old only in wisdom and ex
perience. He is young in heart, in energy, in zeal and affections. I
refer to Colonel Colyar, of Nashville.
Colonel Colyar:
Ladies and Gentlemen: That I should be placed upon this plat
form, in the presence of so many distinguished men from abroad, is
one of the things that I don't understand. I suppose somebody
wants a plea for Tennessee put in. In regard to the claims of the
Scotch-Irish, Tennessee may well be heard. If I were to give you the
42 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
history of the Scotch -Irish iu Tennessee, I would give you substan
tially the history of the state. Briefly, the early settlement or settle
ments in this state were made by Scotch-Irishmen. Of the four men
who so distinguished the early history of Tennessee, two were Scotch-
Imh, one a Welshman, and the other a descendant of the Huguenots.
I mean Colonel Campbell, Colonel McDowell, John Sevier, and Isaac
Shelby. It is not exactly true, as was stated by one of the speakers
to-day, that all who fought the battle of King's Mountain were Scotch-
Irish. Sevier descended from the Huguenots, and Shelby was a Welsh
man. If I had the time and ability to properly present it to you,
you would be interested in the early history of Tennessee. These
four men, and, in some respects, one more important than any of them,
James Robinson, also a Scotch-Irishman, settled on the Watauga.
And in referring to this matter, I wish to speak a word in regard to
what I consider the most remarkable instance of chivalry and courage
in modern history. A few men had settled west of the Alleghauy
mountains. Boone, it is said, was the first person that ever settled
west of the Alleghany mountains, except the French and the Spanish.
James Robinson built the second cabin on Tennessee soil west of the
Alleghanies. These settlers built forts in which to protect their
women and children from the Indians, until quite a large settlement
was formed. The British war came up. During the darkest period
of the revolution, when Washington had passed through the winter at
Valley Forge, when Gates had surrendered South Carolina, and when
Cornwallis, with Tarleton on his right wing and Ferguson on his left,
removed from South Carolina into North Carolina, Washington wrote to
Baron Steuben, saying: "'This is a dark hour; I don't know what is
to become of us." At that hour, Ferguson sent word into East Ten
nessee, that, if the people did not cease fighting the Indians and stop
the war, he would come to their country and destroy them. What
did these seven hundred men do? When they received this intelli
gence, two young men, about thirty and twenty-six, respectively, sat
down on a log and said : " What shall we do? General Ferguson has
an army of two thousand men, many of them trained British soldiers,
and he says they will come and destroy us." What I regard as re
markable is, that these two young men did not say they would stand
in the mountain fastnesses and fight back. Nobody knows whether
John Sevier or Isaac Shelby made the suggestion, but, in accordance
with their decision, they called in their troops from the surrounding
country, and in four days they were on the march, with their squirrel
rifles, tor Campbell and McDowell, in Virginia. When united, the
entire force amounted to 1,900 men. Ferguson pursued them, but
MINUTES. 43
was defeated at King's Mountain, in the most successful battle, except
that at New Orleans, that was ever fought by the United States
armies. With one-half his force, they killed Ferguson and 180 of his
men, and took every other man prisoner. According to Mr. Jefferson,
General Washington, and all the other great men of that day, this
battle was the turning-point in the war. From that day, the clouds
were lifted away, and the cause of Washington became brighter and
brighter, until Cornwallis finally surrendered.
But that is a little tedious. I do not propose to pursue that his
tory. I wish to say a practical word or two. I say, nearly the whole
of that army was Scotch-Irish. Doak was the Presbyterian preacher
in the early settlement, and preached all the sermons and married all
the people. Of the one hundred and forty of these early settlers who
signed a petition to the legislature of North Carolina, all except two
signed their names in clear, strong hands, indicating that they were
men of ^intelligence. It was the courage and chivalry that accom
plished what was accomplished at King's Mountain, and in defending
the women and children nineteen or twenty years from the Indians,
that gave to Tennessee the name of the Volunteer State. Jackson
came 10 Tennessee a few years afterward, and settled among the peo
ple that had fought the battle of King's Mountain. Sam Houston
came near the same time, and was educated among the people. Has
Tennessee since done any thing to merit the title of the Volunteer
State? She gave to the country a Jackson, who, considering his force
and losses, fought at New Orleans the most successful battle ever
fought by any general ; Tennessee has given to this country the im
mortal John Sevier, who fought thirty-five battles and never lost one ;
Tennessee has given to the country that Wizard of the Woods, Davy
Crockett, who, with every man of his command, fell at the Alamo;
Tennessee has given Sam Houston, who, after he had risen to the po
sition of Governor of Tennessee, went west, and gained from Santa
Anna and the Mexican army that vast territory, worthy of an empire,
.and laid it down at the feet of the United States in the great State of
Texas ; Tennessee has given to the country a Polk, who, during his
administration as the nation's chief executive, brought into our
bounds all that territory comprised in New Mexico; Tennessee has
given to this country another distinguished statesman and President,
in the person of Johnson, whom many of you revere.
Now, a practical word : I want to say to this vast crowd of
young men here to-night, that I would be glad if I had it in my
power to introduce something new into our homes and .our schools.
As I heard a distinguished man say in New York City last week, " We
44 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
are doing a good deal in the way of educating our young men ; we
are educating them intellectually, in charity, and in Christianity;
but are we educating them in patriotism?" (Applause.) Are we
training them in the love of country? I want to say here to you men
who served with me in the Confederate Congress, who fought the bat
tle of Franklin on the Confederate side, and the battle of Murfrees-
boro on the other, there is no hope for this country except in true
patriotism, which is love of the country and love of the flag. (Ap
plause.) Let me say to you young men here, when you take down
these flags which now decorate the city, take them into your homes
and your school-rooms, and let them aid in the efforts we should make
to educate the young men, and the young women, too, in patriotism
and love of country.
I have detained you longer than I ought to have done. I have
spoken truthfully, earnestly, and, I trust, about the facts. I feel
deeply upon the question that I have last spoken about. I read and
hear constantly the statement that we are carrying elections with
money. I hear it stated that the two great political parties in the
last campaign spent $4,000,000. This is a sad picture, if true ; and
I am rejoiced to see every-where true men rising up and saying:
"This has to be stopped. We can't afford to carry elections with
money." Let such an idea become engrafted in the minds of our
people, and this country is gone. It can not live except through a
love of country, and that don't mean carrying elections with money.
The next speaker was introduced as follows :
Our next speaker is also from the great State of Illinois. I don't
know whether he found Judge Scott or Judge Scott found him, but
we are glad that both were found and both are here. I introduce to
you Rev. Dr. Dinsmore, of Bloomington, 111.
Mr. Dinsmore said :
Mr. President and Ladies and Gentlemen: The Scotch-Irishman at
last has got his voice. That we have heard. He has modestly and
quietly been doing his work, and carrying out his great career in the
progress of this country, until the meeting of this Congress. More
has been said during yesterday and to-day in just praise of his achieve
ments than I have ever heard or read before. I suppose the charac
teristic word of the proceedings of this assembly is brag, as mentioned
by Dr. McCloskie last night; but after expressing sympathy with this
MINUTES. 45
drift of things, if any man is a Scotch-Irishman, I am more. I have
some doubts about the blood of some of the gentlemen on the stage.
Judge Scott is an Irishman he has the blarney, and has it bad. He
spoke so gracefully and so appropriately, I think of the ladies of
this brilliant assembly, that a gentleman said on my left: "Is he
married?" I suspect that inquiry arose in the minds of many persons
present. I am bound, as a truthful man, to say that Judge Scott has
a remarkably beautiful and a remarkably healthy wife. That is not
so amusing as some things that have been said before. I am exceed
ingly gratified that I qame here at this time. I do not know when I
have so richly enjoyed myself in many ways as I have during my
stay here. I have been across this state from Cincinnati to Chatta
nooga, and also over the M. & O. Railroad, but never through this
section before. I may as well honestly confess that my impression of
the country of Tennessee was not the most flattering. I was im
pressed that a great deal of the land was poor, and that her prosperity
was not so great as has been reported. But I am delighted that I
have seen what I have seen during the last two days in regard to this
magnificent country in the midst of which we are now assembled.
This is certainly a garden picturesque, fertile, highly cultivated in
every way one of the most beautiful and interesting parts of the
country, and I have seen nearly all of them.
I am glad for another reason that I have come here. I do not
know what Mr. Seavy's purpose was, and I have no grudge against
him, in suggesting that I should accept the courtesy and hospitality
of my most excellent newly found friends, Captain and Mrs. Smith k
at the Athenaeum. I have thought myself peculiarly fortunate in
this respect, and have suspected that some of our confreres have been
a little green-eyed about it. I have been surrounded by a bevy of
beautiful and interesting young ladies. My head, however, is gray,
and there is nothing in that ; but at the same time it has been pecu
liarly delightful to me, and has made me feel twenty years younger,
to be in the-same dining-room with them. I think all of us who are
here from abroad must have been impressed with the importance of
this splendid and venerable institution, in whose grounds we have had
this meeting. Where can we find anywhere more noble trees, more
beautiful grounds, more interesting associations? And is it not a
great pleasure to all of us who love our country and rejoice in its
prosperity, and especially in its educational- growth, that we have in
this handsome city of Columbia, itself so beautiful, such a work and
such a school, with so large a gathering of pupils? It shall be ray
pleasure to speak of this hereafter, whenever I have the opportunity,
46 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
and to point out this institution as one possessing great attractions to
those who have daughters to educate in a place where the surround
ings will be the most happy and delightful, and where all the helps
and influences are of the highest order. I am glad because I have
had my temporary home in the Athenaeum. I am glad that I am here
f ' r another reason. There is no class of men in this country that I
am so interested in meeting, and in whose faces I look with more
pleasure, than the Confederate soldiers. I say that with perfect hon
esty aud real feeling. I have, however, seen the time when a meeting
with them was not so enjoyable. Although I am a radical Republican,
and have been ever since I kuew any thing, as well as my father before
me, at the same, time, I would be ashamed for the American who
could not appreciate aud rejoice in the valor of those heroic men who
lie in nameless graves all over this southland. I have not been so
thrilled during this assembly as I was by the remarks of Colonel
Colyar. I am in full sympathy, as you all are, with the suggestion
that the thing we need most is a genuine and all-pervasive patriotism ;
and I have sometimes thought that it would almost be a blessing if
some foreign war might come though I do not press that, as a Chris
tian man in which the bugle might sound, and these old men in the
fire and mettle of youth might stand at their country's call shoulder
to shoulder and side by side in the ranks, as they would do, and their
sons after them.
I will not go into the history of the Scotch-Irish, for that has
been dwelt upon. In all the ramifications of my family for genera
tions, no other blood has appeared. I profoundly sympathize with
this movement, and most earnestly hope that it may result in some
thing permanent and useful, and that it may foster, not a clannish or
narrow spirit, but self-conscious and aggressive power, and fraternal
feeling of a great and noble race, which, in my judgment, has done
more /or civilization, in proportion to its numbers, than any other peo
ple that has lived since the Christian era began.
Miss Rosa Barnett sang " Lass with Bonny Blue Een," being in
troduced by Dr. D. C. Kelley, as follows:
I have the pleasure of introducing to the audience one in whose
gentle blood flows the fiery torrent that once pulsed in the veins of
Knox; in whose blood mingles the inspiration of the calm, determined
voice that uttered for the first time on the American continent the
tones of independence, in reading from the court-house door to the
assembled country the declaration of independence of Mecklenburg ;
MINUTES. 47
in whose veins mingle, also, the same flow of blood that coursed
through the veins of James Knox Polk, concerning whom a recent
historian has said : " The most brilliant presidential career that Amer
ica has ever had was that of the man who gave the Pacific slope to
answer back to the calls of the Atlantic waves." In her gentle veins
are their Scotch-Irish blood, and we do reverence to their patriotism
as we listen to her.
Chairman Johnston:
The next address that will be made will be by our friend, Mr. W.
O. McDowell, of New Jersey. We have them from Tennessee, Ken
tucky, and North Carolina, and this gentleman is from New Jersev.
He is not very high, but he is all wool and a yard wide.
Mr. McDowell:
Ladies and Gentlemen: As we have been listening for the last
two days to the grand story of the Scotch-Irish, as told by a Kuott, a
Henry, a McCloskie, and other gentlemen, you and I doubtless, have
been asking the question : What on earth have the rest of creation
been doing for the last eighteen hundred years? (Laughter.) It has
been suggested to me that, if the Scotch-Irish mau had been around on
creation day, he would have been able to make a good many valuable
suggestions.
I have been inquiring around this town to-day for a little infor
mation. I want to know how it is possible that such a display of
womanly beauty could be placed before an audience like this. I was
speaking to two native Scotch-Irishmen, and they explained it to me.
One of them said that the very industrious committee had been at
work sending all the poor horses a hundred miles from Columbia, and
had been gathering the beautiful women of this country and Ken
tucky and bringing them to the front seats in this audience, and had
locked up all the homely ones. The other said : " Don't you know
that there is not a poor horse or a homely woman in all the State of
Tennessee ?"
My friends, I feel peculiarly glad to be with you here at this time.
At 9 o'clock in the morning of the 30th of April, I had the distin
guished honor to stand in the room where, after the close of the revo
lutionary struggle, George Washington said good-bye to the soldiers
of his army. Surrounding me were delegates from twenty-two states
of this Union. We had met in this sacred place and hour at the call
48 THE SCOTCH IRISH IN AMERICA.
of our President, to formulate and organize the national Society of
Sons of the American Revolution. We could not understand how it
was possible that the sons of the soldiers of the revolution could have
rested quietly a hundred years, leaving its memories to be celebrated
only by the Order of the Cincinnati. That perpetuates on American
soil the principles of primogeniture, against which our ancestors
fought. Our meeting gave birth to the Democratic Society of Sons
of the Revolution. Our officers were elected, and as vice-president of'
the society for France, we elected a descendant of that famous French
man without whom even our Scotch-Irish ancestors might have been
unsuccessful, La Fayette. The various states represented nominated
their vice-presidents. We had felt that there was a patriotic society
that could be born on American soil that was not sectional, with no
North and no South, but with one common glorious country.
The Scotch-Irish were immigrants to America before the day of
the revolution, and when you gather them around you, you gather a
society of the sons- of the American revolution. When the Scotch-
Irishman comes here to-day, you see him in peace, and his influence
will be one of peace all along the line. Just as I left New York, a
document was placed in my hands, that I did not have an opportunity
to examine until I reached Columbia. It was the message sent to
the soldiers of the revolution immediately after the inauguration of
George Washington, congratulating the great chief. This I will read,
together with his response. . . .
One hundred years have gone by since those messages were ex
changed and sent out to the country, and it reads almost like divinity's
production. A little while ago, I was brought into contact with some
of the most intelligent men of China, and I asked them what they
thought of a government like ours. The man to whom the question
was directed gathered himself up, looked down to me, and said :
" From the stand-point of our four thousand years of written history,
we look upon your government as a mere experiment." I want to say
to the young men and the young women that are listening to my voice,
that the responsibility of government for the people, of the people,
and by the people, rests as strongly upon our shoulders to-day as it
did upon the men of the revolution. We should be far from sitting
down with the idea that nothing remains for us to do but to enjoy the
luxuries that our fathers secured to us. On last election day, I stood
at the polls within fifty miles of the city of New York, and saw the
employes of a large manufacturing establishment brought to the polls,
where the roll was called, and each man was given a certain ticket to de
posit in the ballot-box. The northern papers tell you that things of that
MINUTES. 49
sort occur in the South ; I tell you of something that I saw with my
own eyes. If a man touches human life, he must pay the penalty of
the law. But there is something in this country beyond human life,
and that is the sanctity of the ballot-box. If we would see this gov
ernment continue, we must see that no ballot goes into the box that is
bought or forced. (Applause.) Washington, in the worst day of his
experience at Valley Forge, said : " Put none but Americans on duty
to-night." I want to see Americans on duty now, seeing that the laws
of the land shall protect the ballot-box. Kentucky, Massachusetts,
and other states have passed the law which the best judgment of men
has declared most efficient the Australian system of voting. I am
told that Tennessee has passed it; thank God for that.
Another thing : When these Scotch-Irish got into differences in
this country, and all the rest of you took up. those differences, the flag
of the Union stood second on the waters of the ocean. England soon
swept it by diplomacy and chicanery from the sea, and beat us again
by the same means in the Geneva conference. It is the duty of our
young men especially to see to it that the position we once held upon the
bcean is regained. Whatever England does, let us beat her at it, un
til our flag again leads upon the sea. Our educational institutions are
the very foundation-stone of liberty. During the last few years, legal
provisions have been made, whereby each school district, each locality,
each city, can take upon itself special taxes to establish free public
libraries to aid the public schools, and I hope to see the time when the
social center shall be, not the rum shop, but the free public library.
A short while ago, I was in a company where a distinguished
German made an able defense of the English side of the home rule
question. In that audience was another gentleman, who sprang to his
feet and said : " When you speak of art, science, literature, theology,
the whole world can bow in respect before the German character; but
when you speak of human liberty, the German should bend in the
dust, for where in the world has the call been made for liberty that
the Scotch-Irish did not respond all along the line?" My brother who
has just spoken has expressed the wish that a foreign war might come
to secure unity among our people. I want to say, that peace has its
victories even greater than those of war. If you want to make
thrones tremble, make this government so successful that the benefits
of freedom shall be known throughout all the world. I believe in the
evolution of governments, and in the survival of the fittest. I believe
there are two forms of government that naturally conflict a govern
ment of the people for the people, and the government of the people
4
50 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
for a few. That conflict will continue until the world is again enslaved
or is free. If you want the institutions you love so well spared this
fate, make this government so successful and its benefits so pronounced
that it will shake every tyrant from a human throne.
Chairman Johnston introduced the next speaker, as follows:
Our friend, Dr. Hall, said there was one citizen of the United
States that had come over here expressly to be born. We will now
have the pleasure of hearing from this gentleman, Dr. John S. Macin
tosh, of Philadelphia.
Dr. Macintosh :
There was a Quaker once, who came across the sea and found a
pleasant place for a city that is known as the City of Brotherly Love.
When he had got it fairly well under way, the Scotch-Irishmen found that
it was a very satisfactory place to live in, and on the universal principle
of Scotchmen that Scotland is a good place to be born in and an ex
cellent place to come from, they took possession of the Quaker City ;
and from the time that the Scotch-Irishman came there, it began to
grow, until now it throws its arms from shore to shore. I come here
to-night, not to make any particular address, but to convey to the
Scotch-Irish Congress, to our most excellent chairman, who has con
ducted all the affairs of this convention with a facility that I have
rarely seen equaled and never seen surpassed ; to the Committee of
Arrangements, who will permit a Philadelphian knowing a little about
the arrangement and management of conventions, to say that I wonder
how they have gathered together so remarkable a band of men, every
man knowing his place, every man knowing his own work, never getting
in his neighbor's way, but doing every thing so well that a glorious
unity is the result ; and to convey to the people of this remarkably
beautiful and attractive city, the salutations of a very large body of
Scotchmen and of Scotch-Irishmen who could not possibly be here on
this occasion. I have been charged to present the salutations of a man
who stands easily at the head of that profession which is so honorable
and in many respects so sacred, which so closely concerns the Master's
work, healing the sick and the suffering Dr. Hayes Aguew, whose
name is well known over this continent. I am charged to present to
the Scotch-Irish Congress, not only his congratulations, but his hearty
love ; and if you knew, as some of us know, that heart of his, you
would appreciate the expression of a man who carries with him the
MINUTES. 51
confidence of every man and every woman who knows him, and whose
pain he has ever touched in suffering. A nobler and grander speci
men of the Scotch-Irishman than he is I know not from pole to pole.
(Applause.)
I am further charged to express and convey to you on behalf of
my session and I can do this with some degree of historic propriety,
iu view of the objects of this gathering the hearty and earnest salu
tation of the mother church of the mother synod of Philadelphia,
whose name stands high on that flaming roll of glory of those wh.i
took so wondrous a part in working out the great achievements that
have received the admiration of the world, as having had no little part
in formulating that marvelous document, which the greatest master
of international law and statesmanlike thought, \Vm. E. Gladstone,
has declared to be among the highest monuments of man's genius and
governmental achievement. I come to convey the salutation of that
old church that keeps within its historic archives and its most precious
treasures the picture of Tennant, one of those great men who moved
the hearts of the world, and discerned, as the great object of Scotch-
Irish chivalry and heroism, christianized patriotism and patriotic
Christianity. I come to convey, on behalf of a large body of lawyers
and physicians, engineers and conductors, all over the county of Phila
delphia, and all over the proud Keystone State, our hearty cougratu*
lations. One of them, bearing the historic name of Rogan, said to
me : " See to it that, if there shall be any organization established,
that my name shall be among the first enrolled, as my ancestors were
among the earliest of those that struggled for the independence of this
country."
I come charged, also, with the salutations of a man who, in one
department of our great national work, has, perhaps, done more than
any other man that I know a Scotch-Irishman, a friend of Scotch-
Irishmen ; a man whose generous heart and whose characteristic
Christian patriotism showed itself at a hundred points along the line;
a man who cared for the wounded and the suffering, wherever they
were found ; a man who has been the friend of all those who were
distressed; a man who. has continually watched and added to the
progress of this country. I refer to my old Sabbath-school superin
tendent, Geo. H. Stewart. Now would be the time for me to present
to this association the letter of my honored friend and revered teacher:
May 1, 1889.
Thanks for your thoughtful kindness in inviting me to the Con
gress at Columbia, which invitation I hasten to acknowledge. As to
52 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA..
the nature of the approaching meeting, I am not fully informed, but
I feel sure it is for some good purpose. The Scotch-Irish blood that
flows in my own veins would enthuse with new life in joining hands
with my brethren in their heart-felt and soul-stirring utterances, which
are sure to characterize this gathering. The very title of the confer
ence and the historic memories evolved guarantee that it will not be
lacking in Scotch heart or Scotch warmth ; and would God bless the
Scotch-Irish Congress in drawing to itself the wise and the good from
all parts of our common country, and in still further cementing the
ties that bind us in mutual love and Christian fellowship. I would
gladly be with you, but I have been a great invalid for over a year,
and spend most of iny time at Clayton Springs, to which I expect
soon to return. GEO. H. STEWART.
There is another friend of mine, whose only deficiency is, I
think, the deficiency of friend Phrauer ; that is to say, he made the
mistake of not going to Ireland or the South of Scotland to be born.
If that had been the case, he would be a man that would almost make
me doubt my catechism ; but I think that was just left out to
make it evident that no man is born absolutely perfect, for other
wise he claims a good share along this line. This is my friend, John
Wanamaker. I hold in my hand the following letter :
WASHINGTON, D. C., May 2, 1889.
DEAR SIR :
I am greatly obliged for your kind letter of invitation, and wish
I were free to make the visit you propose, and renew our old-time
friendship. I can not express the pleasure it would give me in join
ing with you in commemorating the deeds of the Scotch-Irish race,
and the influences that have exalted our American institutions and
given growth to universal brotherhood and Jove. I would also visit
the favored section of the South in which the exercises of the Congress
are to be held. I regret exceedingly that my duties at present are of
stfch a nature that I can not leave again for some time, as the recent
centennial celebration in New York took what little time I could
spare from the work of this department.
Yours truly,
JOHN WA.NAMAKER.
This will show you the feelings of the old Keystone State, and
how this meeting has awakened the interest and enthusiasm of the
race.
MINUTES. 53
I want to say one other word in concluding ray quite extempora-
neous remarks. It is to me a personal matter of the greatest possible
gratification that, in spite of the hundred forces that have threatened
to become insurmountable obstacles in my way of getting here, that I
have been able almost to complete a chain of personal investigation
that has been for me one of the delights of years. Beginning away
back in those early days of plastic and expansive boyhood, when the
heart of the chivalrous lad will respond like the harp that we have
listened to this evening to the almost divine touch of a mother's finger,
I have heard of the deeds of Scottish ancestors and Scotch and
Scotch-Irish ancestresses ; I have listened to the old tales of St. An
drews; I have heard of Edinburgh and Glasgow; I have, in imagina
tion, walked along the spur of the cloud, and passed and repassed over
that battle-ground of the old border territory ; I have sat and won
dered what these marvelous places must be like, and have wondered,
when first I listened to these names and saw in fancy's eye these won
drous pictures, if the time would ever come that my own feet should
tread these spots and my own eye should see those scenes that had
grown hallowed by the thoughts of the covenanting dead and the
early struggles in the plantation of Ulster. But the time came when
the Philadelphia boy must pass across the sea; and from the time
that sea was passed, home after home, hamlet after hamlet, county
after county, church after church, college after college, has been vis
ited by me, until I have traced in Scotland and in Ulster those mag
nificent springs of glorious light and consecrated blood out of which
first flowed the streams that have converged upon our own shore and
rolled into that great river of power that has carried on its breast
God's truth and human liberty ; and I have followed, in coming to
this meeting, with a strange thrill of affectionate recollection, the
stream along which came those of the Scotch and Scotch-Irish race, as
they passed from my own dear native state along the Cumberland
stretch, over the little rise into the pleasant valley of Virginia, down
along the states east and west, down the Blue Ridge and the Smoky,
until they came into the clear and pleasant regions of Carolina and
Alabama. Then, strangely enough, I have discovered that, winding
around at Decatur, I have come right up in the valley of this great
old State of Tennessee. As along this path I have traveled with the
speed of the iron horse, I have thought of the days of toil, weary day
after weary day, of those great pioneer souls, who were made of God
the breakers of the way, in opening the pathway through the track
less wilderness, and planted the garrison spots for the defense of the
country in its most critical hours. It has been to me a moment of
54 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
most gracious opportunity to see thus the old homes that I have known
so well on the other side appear iu wondrous resurrection on this west
ern shore ; and to know that in the land of ray birth my ancestors and
my ancestresses live again in their mighty sons and their God-fearing,
noble, consecrated daughters. (Applause.)
Miss Minnie Holding, accompanied on the piano by Miss Camile
Herndon, sang " Comin' thro' the Eye," and, as an encore, " I Know a
Maiden Fair to See."
Colonel A. S. Colyar paid a compliment to the Committee of Ar
rangements which had prepared the Congress, and said that he desired
to offer a resolution thanking Mr. A. C. Floyd for the prominent part
in the work which he had taken.
Colonel Colyar said :
Such great assemblies and such perfection of arrangements are
the results of no ordinary effort or ability. Behind it all, oft times
unknown, is always some thoughtful mind which devises plans, and
some skillful hand which executes them. The moving and directing
spirit on this occasion is a quiet but forceful gentleman, whose worth
and efforts should command the recognition and the unqualified thanks
of the whole Scotch-Irish race. I therefore move the resolution, that
to Mr. A. C. Floyd, more than to any one else, is due the success of
this Congress, and that we tender him our thanks for the work he has
done.
The resolution was seconded by Mr. McDowell, of New Jersey,
who remarked that Mr. Floyd, in doing this work, had builded wiser
than he knew.
The resolution was unanimously adopted, after which the meeting
adjourned.
Friday, May 10th.
MOKNING SESSION.
The Congress was called to order at 11 o'clock by Chairman
Johnston.
Dr. John S. Macintosh led in prayer.
MINUTES. 55
Chairman Johnston introduced the first speaker of the morning,
as follows :
The first speaker this morning is a gentleman who rightly ac
quired fame in the service of the gods of war ; and after the war
ceased, he took up the sword in behalf of the God of Peace Dr. D.
C. Kelley.
(See Part II, for the historical address on " The Scotch-Irish in
Tennessee.")
Upon the conclusion of his regular address, Dr. Kelley, who had
been a colonel of cavalry in the C. S. A., at the request of the com
mittee, spoke for the southern soldiers in the reunion of the Blue and
the Gray, General John C. Brown, who was to have represented them,
being kept away by grave illness.
The following is a synopsis of his warm and impressive words :
Already, in the course of what I have had to say, allusions have
been made to many men of Scotch-Irish birth, who, as Tennesseeans,
became foremost in the late war. Bishop and General Leonidas Polk,
high in sanctity, learning, and patriotism, showed a courage surpassed
by no soldier of the war. Lieutenant-General N. B. Forrest, the
genius of war, and Alex. Stewart, the genius of discipline, with Major-
General Jno. C. Brown and Brigadier-General Alex. Campbell,
knights of untarnished honor, supported and illustrated the soldierly
virtues of the race. To these, allow me, as we stand near the spot in
Tennessee which was for a time glorified by the temporary grave of
Pat. Claiborne, the loving and the brave, to add him, as a star of the
first magnitude, to our galaxy, at whose zenith glows the name of
Stonewall Jackson. If we turn to the other side and judge by name
and places of birth, we have a right to claim Lieutenant-Generals
Scott, McClellau, Smith, Wallace, and a score of other illustrious sol
diers, conspicuous in the Union ranks. If you will allow us to add
another criterion to name and place of birth, viz., the great size and
tenderness of his heart, then, by every token, we would write at the
top of all these the name of Abraham Lincoln. He could love as
tenderly as an Irishman, and hold by principle with the tenacity of a
Scotchman ; no more can be said for man, while yet mortal. His
birth in Kentucky, and name, link him with the race. As we found in
Douglass and Bell, at the beginning of the political contest out of
which the war came, Scotch-Irish representatives of love of the Union
56 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
and conservative statesmanship, so, from beginning to end of the strife,
until the autonomy of the states had been restored, we find this stick-
to-rights race foremost in all that ennobled these years of bitterness
and conflict.
Many of us of the South did not believe in the doctrine of states
rights to the extreme of secession ; many of us longed for the day
when the negro and the white man would be freed from the curse of
slavery. We did not believe in the methods adopted by the North to
test the one doctrine or to accomplish the other fact ; so, when driven
by the call to arms to decide for the one side or the other, we stood "by
our people; we saw no other star of duty, so followed our hearts,
which clove to our people and to the weaker side in its appeal to our
courage. On both sides, men did what they believed right, and died
in testimony of their faith. With reverent memory and uncovered
heads, we hold forever as our equal heritage the sense of duty and the
deeds of sacrifice and courage which illumined the years of strife.
The southern poet will, in the glad day to come, tune his harp to
a major key, as he shall celebrate the courage, tenderness, and truth
of the northern soldier, and historians from the granite hills will do
justice to the statesmen and soldiers of the South. All shall thank
God that we are one people.
Will our northern friends be patient while we work out our race
problem in love to the Union, with tenderness for our brother, and
faith in God's providence ?
We bear no hatred to the negro ; he has none for us. Time is
the only solvent of our difficult problem. Give us time, your confi
dence, and your prayers, and in the end you will say of us, well done.
To Columbia, the heart of old Maury, which is God's paradise,
the home of the Scotch-Irish, this convention bids me offer one word
of good-bye. These days we have spent here, this gathering of the
fairest women and the knightliest men, this first hand-shaking of kin
dred blood as we think of you in connection with it, the memory
will be treasured in the same heart chambers with the first kiss of our
sweethearts and the last kiss of our mothers.
At the conclusion of Dr. Kelley's remarks, he was presented with
a handsome bouquet of flowers, with the following remark by the
Chairman :
I am requested to present to you these northern daisies, from a
northern lady. You captured northern soldiers during the war; you
MINUTES. 57
are capturing northern daisies now ; and I hope you will keep them
longer than you did the soldiers.
Dr. Kelley accepted the flowers with the following words:
These daisies bear the name of my first-born daughter, who is
now a missionary in Japan. I accept them for a token of northern
love, and treasure them for the name they bear.
The next speaker was introduced by the Chairman as follows:
We are now going to enjoy the pleasure of hearing a representa
tive northern soldier, who has kindly come a long distance to speak to
you upon this occasion. His is a very English name. I don't know
where he got his . Scotch-Irish blood, but it is supposed from his
mother; and as we get the best of every thing we have from our
mothers, he got it in the right place. There has been a suspicion
somewhat general throughout the country, that our distinguished
friend, the Corporal, has a tendency to be a little prodigal with the
people's money in certain lines. I know that the whole country will
be deeply gratified to find that he has some Scotch-Irish blood run
ning through his veins, which will tend to make him a little parsimo
nious in that line.
Mr. Tanner was received with applause. His first sentence se
cured the sympathy of the audience, which, with attentive ear and
great applause, followed him through his amusing allusions, his
forcible and eloquently expressed ideas, and his references of friend
ship, respect, and honor for the South and her people. His address
was a fine effort.
Prefacing his remarks with some allusions to the many incidents
that American history affords of the magnificent manner in which, on
American soil, the representatives of the Scotch-Irish race have upheld
the reputation of their nationality, and pointing out the fact that they
were notably conspicuous on both sides in the late war, both for num
bers and prowess, Mr. Tanner spoke as follows :
Friends and Countrymen : We thank God and congratulate our
selves as we assemble here to-day, that there is so much in our posses
sion, and so much in prospect for us in common as citizens of this
great republic. And without regard to the boundaries of any particu-
58 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
lar state which we designate as our own, we look back over a hundred
years that are passed and gone, and \ve see much of struggle, much of
creation, much of bitter sectionalism, and all too much, we will all
agree, in the last quarter of a century, of bloody strife. Thank God
we can contemplate it as of the past, and we firmly believe, forever
past. Standing to-day upon the shining uplands of prosperity and
peace, we sweep the world with our gaze, and contemplate with pride
the fact that the American nation stands secure ; its position unchal
lenged in the face of the civilized world, the glory of its citizenship
respected and honored in the four quarters of the earth. But a pecu
liar combination of circumstances encompass while they do not em
barrass me to-day, and seem to indicate that there are some lines of
thought and speech to which my mind should fitly turn.
Within the time of those of us who are now of middle or elder
age, this country has been shaken from center to circumference by the
rude shock of bloody war ; of war in its most horrible form ; a death
struggle between brethren of the same household. We stand to-day
on ground that for a long time was debatable, and we have gathered
here to-day, representatives of both of those mighty armies that met
in the shock of battle, to testify by our presence, by the greeting
given, by the sentiments felt and expressed, that, however high the
hopes of the past, however dear the ambitions which were swept aside
in the smoke of battle, to-day we are proud above all other things, of
the fact that we are citizens of the United States of America, that in
our common possession lies the domain of this mighty republic, and
the prestige of its citizenship wherever in foreign clime our paths may
lead, that before us in our common destiny for weal or woe, and that
we are one people, and that over our heads there floats to-day
one flag.
Search all the history of the nations of the past, and among
them you can find no such exhibitions of the unification of a people
so recently and apparently permanently rent asunder and engaged in
such a mighty and sanguinary strife.
Here to-day are assembled many men who, in the struggle of 1861
to 1865, contested on the one side for the disruption, and on the other
for the preservation of the Union. If there be any fitness in my ap
pearance on this platform to-day, it rises from the fact that in the days
of that struggle I stood in the ranks of that mighty column of blue.
If there are any words to which my tongue can most appropriately
turn to give utterance to-day, they should formulate themselves into a
message which I feel I can honestly, conscientiously and consistently
Ving from my comrades of the North, who in the years of our strife,
MINUTES. 59
in answer to the defiance of the old-time and never-to-be-forgotten rebel
yell sent ringing back to the extent of our lung power the Yankee
hurrah. If there be any class of citizens over the whole country with
whose sentiments I am familiar above that of any other class, it is the
veterans of the Union armies, who, from 1861 to 1865, when health
was in their faces, and vigor in their steps, belted the country across
with a line of blue, and beat back the mighty hosts of the South; and
I am proud of the fact that I can bring from my comrades of the
Northland a sentiment in perfect harmony with the peace and pleas
antry and good feeling which is such an adjunct on this occasion to-day.
If I may be pardoned a personal reference, then permit me to say that
I am proud of the fact that the sentiments of my heart are, and for
long, long years have been, entirely in accord with the unification and
homogeneity of the exercises of this hour.
Very many years ago I stated, have repeated it many times since
then, meant it every time I repeated it, and mean it to-day no less
than ever, that if there should walk into my office the very " Johnnie"
who pulled the lanyard of the gun which sent the shell which crippled
me for life, and I was satisfied that he stood with us to-day, for the
honor of our common institutions and the glory of our common flag,
this right hand would reach way out across the so-called bloody chasm,
and I would say, "Put it there, Johnnie, you and I will go out and
take dinner together, and talk over old times."
The sentiment of no one class of men in this country has been
more thoroughly misunderstood, or, if understood, more misrepresented
by the citizens at large than the sentiments existing in the two columns
that were led by Grant and Lee. The fact of the business is that when
JLee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, no two classes of men were
more nearly together, not only physically but mentally, than the two
lines of men who stood there dressed in gray and dressed in blue.
They had met in the shock of battle ; they had fought it out man
fashion, and I call every soldier here present as witness, no matter on
which side he fought, to this fact, that if at the time of the surrender,
the settlement of the questions at difference between the two great
sections of the country could have been left to those two lines of blue
and gray, those questions would have been settled honorably, amicably
aud lastingly, aud the politicians would have been out of business dur
ing the whole of the reconstruction period.
Grant epitomized the whole idea, when in the hour of his mighty
triumph he turned to the leader of the " lost cause" and said to him :
" General, tell your men to take their horses home with them. They
will need them to do the spring's plowing with." Did you ever let
60 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
your thoughts run out in contemplation of the beauty of that senti
ment, springing from the heart of that man ? He had been vilified
and wickedly misrepresented in all the civilized sections of the globe ;
he had been pictured as one who delighted simply in scenes of carnage ;
who had no love for his fellow men ; no regard except for his own am
bitions, and yet in that hour instinctively his heart, as did the hearts
of the veterans he had led to victory, welled up with the desire that
the wasted and devasted places of the South might be made to bloom
and blossom again in the shortest possible space of time. It was not
so strange a thing when you come to think of it. All true men know
this, that no matter how earnestly you may fight a man, no matter
how utterly you may condemn the principles for which he contends,
when you find that man so terribly in earnest that he offers his life in
behalf of the principles for which he combats, a respect grows up for
that mighty earnestness in spite of our utmost antagonism to the prin
ciples he contends for.
Borne out by my own experience 1 in the years of peace which
have followed the close of the struggle, I declare it to be a thoroughly
enjoyable time when a lot of old comrades get together and live again
in the memories of the past calling to mind the rich associations of
the days gone by ; but when the feast of reason and flow of soul is to
soar to its utmost altitude, then mix them up the blue and the gray
and then as we gently remind one another of the days of the past
when with the varying fortunes of the strife we could have
played checkers upon each other's coat-tails, then time flies un
heeded by.
You will bear in mind I am speaking of the men who fought. I
am not speaking of those men of whom we. have all too many, who
never fronted the shock of war, and did not get mad until all oppor
tunity to do battle had passed away, who were the invisibles of war,
and are the iuvincibles of peace. I presume you have them here and
farther South, among those who claimed to support the fortunes of the
Confederacy. We have plenty of them in the North. They are the
fellows who yelled themselves into an advanced stage of bronchitis, in
quiring, " Why don't the army move," who were such superlative mili
tary tacticians that they could lay out more plans of campaigns in a night
than the generals on both sides would see fit to fight in a year, but who,
notwithstanding all the art and science of war, no sooner heard the
cry for three hundred thousand more, than they at once came to a po
sition of " rest," with a draft-list in one hand and a time-table of the
nearest route to Canada in the other, ready to skip across the border
if their names showed up in the list of those who were called. The
MINUTES. 61
man who stood before me on the other side and gave me, in relation
to him, what he had in relation to myself the chance of life for life
stands a thousand degrees higher in rny estimation than the snapping,
snarling and yelping curs and whelps who did not have courage
enough to be soldiers in the time of war, and who can not turn their
foul tongues to any thing venomous enough to say of veterans in
time of peace.
I congratulate you, and I congratulate myself no less that in
these piping days of peace we have reached this high altitude where,
from the uplands of long continued, and I trust never to be interrupted
prosperity, we can gaze back, as though we were recalling a hideous
dream, upon that bloody past.
God speed the day when in the hearts of all the people, North and
South, there may come that same splendid feeling which permeates the
breast of every one here assembled, and who in the olden days, with
unflinching heart and undaunted mein, marched and met and fought
as bitter foes, and who to-day and for the days to come are friends,
and will be until those better days, when the call shall be sounded for
the last assembly on that further shore, where all our services will be
in the ranks commanded by the Prince of Peace.
When he had finished his remarks, Mr. Tanner was presented
with flowers by Mr. Johnston, as follows:
I am requested to present to you, as a representative northern
soldier, these southern roses, from a southern lady ; and notwithstand
ing you are in the heart of Tennessee, you need have no apprehension
that the soldiers of Jackson or Forrest will attempt to recapture this
trophy.
The meeting adjourned to 8 o'clock.
NIGHT SESSION.
The meeting was called to order at 8 o'clock.
The Chairman introduced Mr. John Moore, of Columbia, who
delivered a short, humorous address.
62 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
Colonel Johnston announced that he would be compelled to leave
the city on the night train, having come with the intention of staying
only one day. He said he wanted to come and meet with his Scotch-Irish
friends from all parts of the country, but had met with so much kind
ness and courtesy, and had formed so many pleasing acquaintances,
not only in the fair city of Columbia, but among the distinguished
visitors, that he had been detained longer than he had contemplated.
He said he wanted to return his thanks to the people of Columbia,
and to the Congress, for the uniform kindness which had been shown
him on this visit, which he should treasure as one of the happiest of
his life.
Colonel E. C. McDowell took the chair.
Mayor Robert Pillow offered the following resolution :
Resolved, That the thanks of the Scotch-Irish Congress are hereby
tendered to the Hon. J. F. Johnston, for the perfect manner in which
he has presided over our deliberations, and that we, the citizens, as
well as those who belong to the Congress, do esteem it a privilege
thus publicly to express our appreciation of the very valuable services
rendered.
The resolution was unanimously passed.
The next speaker was introduced by Colonel Colyar, as follows :
Ladies and Gentlemen : I don't know when I have had a more
agreeable task to perform than in introducing to you to-night the dis
tinguished speaker. There is something peculiarly agreeable to me in
introducing him to a southern audience, and I will in a very few words
tell you why. We have had in the South a long, hard struggle ;
our great effort for the last twenty years has been to build up our in
dustrial interests, and develop our great resources. I don't say that we
have had but few friends in the North. Many men in the North have
stood by us warmly, energetically, and have given us the right hand
of fellowship on all occasions ; but one man above all others has been
the friend of the South in all our efforts, and that man is Colonel A.
K. McClure, of Philadelphia. Wherever I have met him in the last
fifteen years, whether in the South or in his home in Philadelphia, I
have found him talking about the South and the southern people,
sympathizing with them in their misfortunes, and using his great
MINUTES. 63
paper, read by all the better people of the northern states, in helping
us along, and holding up our hands, and giving us a word of encour
agement. Again I take pleasure in introducing to you ray distin-
tinguished friend, Colonel McClure.
(For Colonel McClure's address, see Part II, page 178.)
Colonel Colyar made a statement concerning the exercises of the
Tennessee Chatauqua, and the Mineral and Metallic Exposition, to be
held in Nashville, in 1890, and said he would like to have Colonel
McClure open the proceedings of the latter.
The Congress adjourned.
Saturday, May, llth.
The Congress was called to order at 11 o'clock by Chairman
McDowell.
Dr. Jerry Witherspoon led in prayer.
The audience joined in repeating the Lord's Prayer.
The first speaker of the day was introduced by Chairman McDow
ell, as follows :
Hon. Benton McMillin has consented to deliver a short address.
His remarks will be almost ex tempore. To Teunesseeans it is almost
unnecessary for me to say who Mr. McMillin is ; to our guests I will
say that he is a member from Tennessee to the United States Congress.
(See Part II, page 187.)
At the conclusion of his address, Mr. McMillin was presented
with a bouquet of flowers.
The next speaker was introduced by the Chairman, as follows:
Your long-delayed desires are about to be satisfied. We reserved
Dr. Macintosh's address for the last, because it is one of the best. I
now have the pleasure of introducing to you Dr. John S. Macintosh,
of Philadelphia.
(See Part II, p. 191.)
64 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
Mr. McDowell said it seemed to him that this address had been
an inspiration, and one sent through the heart of a pure soul. From
this day forward, the Scotch-Irish race will no longer be without a writ
ten history. A hundred years from now, or sooner, when the princi
ples of that people and a belief in a government of the people, for the
people, and by the people, shall be the fundamental principle of every
civilized government, we will still be mindful of that race which gave
to the world the principle that man has the right to govern himself,
subject alone to the Almighty God. (Applause.)
Mr. Floyd read the following resolution, which he said had been
left with him the previous night by Chairman Johnston just before he
left:
Resolved, That the thanks of this Congress are eminently due, and
are hereby tendered, Dr. Robert Pillow, for his constant attention
upon, and his uniform courtesy and kindness to, every visiting mem
ber of the Congress.
Dr. Macintosh seconded the resolution, as follows :
I want, oil the part of myself and my wife, and all of us here, to
second that motion. I don't know what would have become of us if
it had not been for the considerate magisterial government of our hon
orable Mayor.
The resolution was adopted, and Dr. Pillow responded, as
follows :
Ladies and Gentlemen : As you well know, I am no speaker, but
I express my thanks for this resolution, and say that it has been my
pleasure to contribute to the advancement of this cause, in which
I have had my whole soul.
Mr. Floyd said, on behalf of the several committees, that the
people of Columbia felt proud that they had such a flattering attend
ance upon the proceedings, and that they had had the honor to enter
tain so distinguished a body of visitors.
Mr. W. O. McDowell said that, as the representative of one of
the most distant points represented in the meeting, he wanted to
MINUTES. 65
move a vote of thanks to the citizens of Columbia for the magnificent
way in which they had received the visitors. He said :
There is only one fault that I have to find, the warmth of
your hearts has even affected the atmosphere. Would that my tongue
was as gifted as that of a Henry ; would that I had the eloquence of
the Scotch-Irish race, that I might put in words our appreciation of
your elegant entertainment. I must say, in addition, that never on
American soil, or throughout the world, has there been held outside oi
official halls, a meeting more important in the progress of the human
race than is this gathering after a hundred years of experience on
American soil of the Scotch-Irish race.
Dr. D. C. Kelley said :
We desire to offer old Maury, the center of physical beauty, and
to Columbia, the center of Maury, our voice of thanks, our words of
joy, and the promise to keep in our memory these days as we would
treasure the first kiss of our sweetheart, the last of our mother.
The audience united in singing "Auld Lang Syne," after which
the Congress adjourned sine die.
5
66 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
OFFICERS OF THE SCOTCH-IRISH SOCIETY
OF AMERICA.
President.
ROBERT BONNER, New York.
First Vice- President at Large.
JOSEPH F. JOHNSTON, Birmingham, Ala.
Second Vice- President at Large.
E. C. MCDOWELL, Nashville, Tenn.
Vice-President at Large for British America,
MR. THOMAS KERR, Toronto, Canada.
Secretary.
A. C. FLOYD, Columbia, Tenn.
i
Treasurer.
Lucius FRIERSON, Columbia, Tenn.
Historian and Registrar.
THOMAS M. GREEN, Maysville, Ky.
Vice-Presidents of States and Territories.
REV. Dr. JOHN HALL, New York.
COLONEL A. K. McCLURE, Pennsylvania Philadelphia.
HON. WM. O. MCDOWELL, New Jersey Newark.
MR. MATTHEW ADDY, Ohio Cincinnati.
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY. 67
JUDGE JOHN M. SCOTT, Illinois Bloom ington.
HON. WM. WIRT HENRY, Virginia Richmond.
HON. S. B. ALEXANDER, North Carolina Charlotte.
COLONEL T. T. WRIGHT, Florida Pensacola.
HON. WM. PRESTON JOHNSTON, Louisiana New Orleans.
MR. A. G. ADAMS, Tennessee Nashville.
DR. HERVEY C. MCDOWELL, Kentucky.
*HoN. A. T. WOOD, Ontario, Canada Hamilton.
REV. J. C. QUINN, Montana Helena.
* A Vice-President for each of the remaining states and territories of the
Union, and each province of Canada, will be appointed by the President as
fast as selections can be made.
68 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
ROBERT BONNER, Chairman, New York.
A. C. FLOYD, Secretary, Columbia, Tenn.
Lucius FRIERSON, Columbia, Tenn.
HON. J. F. JOHNSTON, Birmingham, Ala.
COLONEL T. T. WRIGHT, Nashville, Tenn.
REV. DR. JOHN S. MACINTOSH, Philadelphia.
PROF. GEO. MCCLOSKIE, Princeton College, New Jersey.
DR. ROBERT PILLOW, Columbia, Tenu.
COLONEL H. G. EVANS, Columbia, Tenn.
ACTION OF COMMITTEES SINCE THE CONGRESS. 69
ACTION OF COMMITTEES SINCE THE CON
GRESS.
At a meeting of the Executive Council, in New York City, on
the llth of July last, requisites for membership was one of the mat
ters considered.
Article III of the Constitution is as follows :
"Any male above the age of twenty-one years, who has Scotch-
Irish blood in his veins, shall be eligible for membership in the Asso
ciation."
In addition to this, it was decided that each member should be
required to pay annual dues of $2.00 upon entering the Society.
The payment of his dues entitles each member to a copy of this
volume, in paper covers ; thirty-five cents additional being required
for a cloth-bouud copy.
An Executive Committee of nine members was appointed, and
to them were delegated all the powers not exercised by the Council.
At a meeting of the Executive Committee, in New York City, on
the following day, A. C. Floyd, Lucius Frierson, and Robert Pillow
were appointed a Committee on Publication. The name of this vol
ume was chosen, and plans for its publication discussed.
The Secretary was instructed to accept the cordial invitation of
the Scotch-Irish of Pittsburg to hold the next annual Congress of the
Society in that city.
II.
THE HARP OF TOM MOORE.
AT THE SCOTCH-IRISH CONGRESS, MAY, 1889, COLUMBIA, TENN.
BY WALLACE BBUCE.
The top of the morning to Ireland
And the Scotch-Irish Congress to-day !
All hearts respond to the banquet
When the Harp of Tom Moore leads the way.
The bells of the Shandon are ringing
Their music from over the sea,
But sweeter the Harp of her poet
In the mountains of old Tennessee.
The sons of the Shamrock and Thistle
Still cherish the visions of yore,
And the Harp of old Tara awakens
Again to the voice of Tom Moore :
Each string, with memories sacred,
Is tuned to Liberty's key ;
And the songs that float down the ages
Are always the songs of the free.
It sings of the " Exile of Erin,"
But her exiles are exiles no more,
For the Isle of old Erin has drifted
Close under Columbia's shore.
" Where Liberty is, is my country,"
Has guided her over the way,
And Columbia holds in her borders
The heart of old Ireland to-day.
(70)
THE HARP OF TOM MOORE. 71
Manhattan and Plymouth and Jamestown
Can boast of their heritage true,
But Mecklenburg's fame is immortal
When we number the stars in the blue;
The Scotch-Irish-Puritan-Fathers
First drafted the words of the free,
And the speech of Virginia's Henry
Is the crown of Our Liberty's plea.
The sons and the grandsons of heroes
Who fought for freedom and right
With joy hail the dawn of the morning >
" Mavourneen !" Awake to the light!
The maidens of Lome and Killarney
Are swelling the chorus to-day,
For the castles of Oban and Blarney
Are only just over the way.
Then welcome, a thrice hearty welcome,
To legendry, lyric, and lore,
With a pledge and " Guid Hielan' welcome"
To the voice and the Harp of Tom Moore;
A toast to the Shamrock and Thistle,
And sunshine both sides of the sea,
As Erin clasps hands o'er the ocean
With Columbia in fair Tennessee.
72 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
ADDRESS DELIVERED BY EX-GOVERNOR
PROCTOR KNOTT, OF KENTUCKY.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen: As we are assembled to
honor the memories of our Scotch-Irish ancestry, and to devise, if
possible, some means of gathering up, and crystallizing into the more
enduring form of written history, the legendary memorials of their
deeds, it has occurred to me that the proceedings of the present Con
gress might be appropriately prefaced by a brief inquiry into their
origin, the characteristics which distinguished them from other people,
and what they did to entitle them to the respectful recollection of
coming generations. That office I will, therefore, attempt to dis
charge; and, in undertaking it, I will endeavor to do precisely as I
think they would have me do, if they could come to me to-day from
their consecrated graves and dictate the present utterances of my
tongue speak of them as they were ; tell the truth, as I understand
it, of their frailties, as of their virtues ;
" Nothing extenuate,
Nor set down aught in malice."
When Agricola marshaled his legions on the north bank of the
Firth of Solway, eighteen hundred years ago, he looked out upon a coun
try lying beyond the parallel of latitude which forms the southernmost
boundary of Alaska, and embracing about thirty thousand, five hun
dred square miles of territory, as cheerless, perhaps, in all its aspects,
as any that ever provoked the ambition or tempted the cupidity of a
Roman conqueror.
Directly in his front, and as far as the site of the present city of
Dumfries, stretched a tangled labyrinth of swampy woods, interlaced
by a matted network of creeping undergrowth. To the westward, as
far as St. Patrick's Channel, lay a rugged and almost inaccessible dis
trict of roughly wooded, rocky hill lands, trenched by turbulent
streams, and abounding in lovely lakes. Northward, beyond the
present limits of Dumfries, to the narrow isthmus of low lands lying
between the Firths of Clyde and Forth, and eastward to St. Abb's
Head, extended a similarly broken region, covered with a growth of
scrubby timber, interrupted here and there by barren ridges and
ADDRESS OP HON. PROCTOR KNOTT. 73
dreary moorlands. What are now the fertile aud flourishing counties
of Ayr and Renfrew, was then a sterile aud uninviting waste, while
the unbroken umbrage of a primeval forest shut out the sunlight from
the rich plains of Berwick.
North of the isthmus of Clyde and Forth, lay the vast sea-girt
wilderness of Celyddon, the Caledonia of the Romans, extending
away to the wave-washed rocks of Cape Wrath and John o' Groats
a bleak, inhospitable region, with its craggy shores fretted by firths
and lochs, and its surface corrugated by an ''nterminable maze of misty
mountain ranges, with their, barren crests and towering cliffs, inter
spersed with rushing torrents and roaring lynns, lonely tarns and soli
tary glens, desolate corries and densely wooded straths, while its east
ern boundary, from the mouth of the Tay to Moray Firth, was a suc
cession of extensive marshes and sterile hills, made more forbidding
by the icy blasts which swept over them from the northern ocean.
Yet some of the remote ancestry of many of the courteous and
cultured audience before me, as well as some of my own, had made
their cheerless homes in this rude and repulsive region for centuries
before the foot of the Roman invader first pressed its indigenous
heather; while others of them might have been found, perhaps, in
the wandering clans which went over from the northern part of Ireland
in the earlier centuries of our era, as allies of their Caledonian kin
dred in their predatory inroads upon their southern neighbors, and
finally settled along the western coast, from Cantyre to Sutherland.
They were not as elegant in manners, nor as elevated in morals, how
ever, as might possibly be inferred from the intelligence and refinement
of many of their descendants of the present period. On the contrary,
they were as savage as their surroundings were wild and inhospitable,
and were regarded by their neighbors not only with a well grounded
terror, but with far more disgust and abhorrence than we do our
thieves aud tramps. The very names, indeed, by which their nation
ality has been designated in history were never assumed by themselves,
but were mere terms of reproach applied to them by the victims of
their rapacity, .who, out of revenge for the manifold injuries they had
suffered from their predacious hands, denounced the fierce and trucu
lent tribes who occupied the eastern, as well as the greater portion of
the interior and southern sections of the territory, as picticfi or pehts,
while they called the roving bauds who went over from the north of
Ireland scuite, signifying, respectively, in the vernacular of the early
Briton, robbers aud vagabonds, the two terms being subsequently
latinized by the Romans into Picti aud Scotti.
Nor was the country occupied by them known by its present
74 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
name for many generations after their first appearance in authentic
history ; not, in fact, for over two hundred years after the nominal
union of the Scots and Picts under Kenneth McAlpine in 843, when
the centuries of sanguinary strife between those two branches of the
Celtic race in North Britain finally terminated in their complete coali
tion, and the united kingdom was called Scotland, after the dominant
power. And even then, its inhabitants, notwithstanding the introduc
tion of Christianity among them as far back as the middle of the sixth
century, were still as barbarous in many respects as their fierce fore
fathers, who, more than thirty generations before, in a heroic struggle
for their wild independence, met hand to hand the trained legionaries
of imperial Rome upon the bloody slopes of the Grampian Hills.
Their lack of progress was not so much their fault, however, as
their misfortune. Their history during that long period, as it was for
centuries after and had been for generations before, was that of a con
stant, unremitting, and perilous contest for sheer existence. Com
pelled to supplement their meager domestic resources with the preca
rious spoils of the chase, they were obliged, in order to eke out their
scanty means of subsistence, not only to encounter the dangers of a
capricious and tempestuous climate, but to pursue their quarry fre
quently through hostile territory, across mountain torrents, through
guarded passes, and along the treacherous brinks of precipitous cliffs
hundreds of feet in height. Besides, they were in a perpetual state
of war, when pillage and arson went hand in hand with slaughter, and
the sword of the victor knew neither age nor sex. Harried by san
guinary feuds with neighboring clans, which hereditary hate or a mu
tual desire for plunder or revenge frequently kept alive from genera
tion to generation, and almost constantly engaged in defending them
selves from the cruel incursions of the powerful and rapacious nations
around them, they had no time for intellectual culture or moral im
provement.
Under such circumstances, their advancement in the scale of
social being was necessarily retarded to the lowest possible degree. It
is a marvel, indeed, that even the lowest grade of civilization could
have existed among them at all, for without some settled assurance of
the permanency and peaceful enjoyment of the acquisitions of indi
vidual industry, popular progress is an impossibility. With no feel
ing of certainty, on leaving his home in the morning for the perilous
avocations of the day, that he would not return in the evening to res
cue the charred remains of his butchered family from the smoldering
ashes of his ruined dwelling, the savage Celt had neither the incentive
nor the opportunity to accumulate more than was necessary for a
ADDRESS OF HON. PROCTOR KNOTT. 75
squalid subsistence from day to day, or, at most, a beggarly account
of portable chattels, which might be readily removed ou the approach
of danger. Wealth was, consequently, a thing unknown among
them, and commerce, the great evangelist of civilization, a stranger in
their midst. For centuries, they knew of but two methods by which
property might be transferred robbery and barter approving as well
as practicing the principle that
" He may take who has the power,
And he may hold who can."
While of any thing like a standard of value or medium of exchange,
they were so utterly ignorant that there was not so much as a word in
their language signifying money, until they had learned the names, as
well as the uses, of current coins from the Anglo-Saxon. And it is a
singular fact that, even down to the present generation, many of their
descendants seem to have acquired no true conception of the value of
a dollar, as we rarely meet with one of them who does not appear to
think it is worth about five times as much as it really is.
To such apparently inauspicious surroundings, however, may be
plainly traced the development of those peculiar characteristics which
have distinguished the Scottish race from all other people, and which,
though modified in many respects by the intermingling of other blood,
as well as by a more enlightened intelligence and a broader civiliza
tion, are still discernible, to a greater or less degree, in their descend
ants of the present day.
The constant exposure of the hardy Gael to privation and peril
of every description, naturally tended to develop his physical courage
to the highest pitch of savage heroism, as well as the habit of self-
reliance, under the most trying exigencies, whether in the chase, amid
the dangers of his native solitudes, or steel to steel with his dearest
foe upon the battle-field. These as naturally inspired him with a con
fident pride in his own manhood, and an indomitable spirit of personal
independence, which impelled him to the instant resistance of any en
croachment upon his individual rights, and rendered him peculiarly
impatient of all governmental restraint imposed upon him without his
own consent. Nemo me impune lacessit, became the controlling senti
ment of his being, and the guiding principle of his conduct, as it has
since become, with singular propriety, the motto on his national coat-
of-arms. While he may have been taught that royalty was hereditary
in the blood, he nevertheless had a vague sort of notion, even in the
hazy twilight of barbarism, that the ultimate repository of political power
was in the people, as is clearly evident in the ancient Celtic custom of
76 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMEK1CA.
meeting in popular assembly upon the death of the ruler and electing
his successor from among his sons, or some collateral branch of his
family, as the public interest might seem to require.
As the legitimate outrr.>wth <>f these stronglv developed traits,
we find that there has always been less respect for self-assumed author
ity, and, consequently, more frequent rebellion against the hered
itary claims of kingly power among the Scotch, than any other people
on the face of the globe, as well as the still more striking fact that
throughout their hundreds and hundreds of years of sanguinary war
fare, they were never completely conquered. A clan might be ex
terminated, but it fought until the stiffening hand of its last expiring
warrior was not able to strike for freedom or revenge. Overrun they
might be, as they often were by the superior force of an invading foe,
but upon the slightest removal of the immediate pressure, they were
in arms again, reasserting their wild traditional liberties.
But the same causes which made them brave and self-reliant, also
made them cautious, cunning, suspicious, and selfish, while the cruelties
they so often suffered themselves, not only rendered them indifferent
to the sufferings of others, with whom they had no connection by
blood or affinity, but stimulated a disposition to revenge which fre
quently manifested itself in acts of the most cold-blooded and brutal
atrocity. Nevertheless they were human, and felt the same yearning
for society and sympathy-, which universally pervades the human
breast, however savage or depraved.
For the gratification of that sentiment, whether influenced by
their own inclination or not, they were compelled by the circumstances
surrounding them to resort mainly to their own hearthstones. There
the mother and children, under an ever-present sense of their depend
ence upon his protection and counsel, gathered around the husband
and father, as their hero and their oracle, with mingled emotions of
love, gratitude, veneration, and pride; while he, in return, regarded
the proteges of his prowess with those feelings of tenderness natural
to the sacred relation he sustained toward them, deepened and intensi
fied by a realization of their absolute dependence upon his strength
and their confidence in his courage.
O
The strong feeling of domestic affection thus naturally engendered,
strengthened by time and the constant necessity of mutual assistance,
ripened, at length, into a degree of filial and fraternal attachment
rarely witnessed outside of the ancient Gaelic household. Cherished
by each member of the family through life, and sedulously inculcated
around the fireside of each offshoot from the parent stem, to be again
transmitted under similar surroundings to a still remoter generation,
ADDRESS OF HON. PROCTOR KNOT1. 77
these ties of consanguinity eventually became the common bond of the
clan, whose chieftaiii exercised his prerogatives by common consent, as
the lineal representative of the original stock, or was chosen, if occa
sion required, from the worthiest of their blood.
In the light of such circumstances, it is easy to see how that pe
culiar sentiment of clannish ness, which bound the ancient Celt to his
kindred of the remotest degree, and which has brought us together to
day, became hereditary in our blood. Nor is it more difficult for us
to explain that apparent paradox in the character of our earlier an
cestry, namely, the passionate fealty of the clansman who esteemed it a
privilege to die for his chief, while his lax allegiance to royalty suggested
nothing improper In the murder of his king. His chieftain was of his
own tribe and kindred, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh ; the embod
iment of the dignity of his family, and the defender of its honor ; the
cheerful companion of his hardships, and the grateful partaker of his
humble hospitality ; the friend whose dirk was at his service in his
private feud, and the leader whose flashing claymore was his beacon
in the red storm of battle ever first at the rendezvous and the fore
most in the foray.
The king, on the other hand, was frequently a stranger to his
blood, the descendant, perhaps, of some hereditary foe to his house,
claiming authority over him without his consent, and by a title contrary
to the traditions of his race or repugnant to his own sense of right.
He consequently entertained a much higher regard for the sovereign
of any other nation, who would let him alone, than for the ruling
monarch of his own, whose reign was generally turbulent and disas
trous, frequently terminating in the tragic death of the prince himself
at the hands of his rebellious subjects. It has been indignantly asserted,
indeed, by an English writer, though with evident exaggeration, that
the Scotch had barbarously murdered forty of their kings, while half
as many more had made away with themselves to escape the pains of
torture or perished miserably in strait imprisonment. But however
that may have been, it is quite safe to assert that, whenever they es
poused the cause of one of their princes, a large majority of his fol
lowers were generally influenced by other motives than loyalty to his
person or partiality to his government.
When, by whom, or in what manner, feudalism, with its various
ranks of nobility, was introduced among the Scottish people, is a mat
ter about which there has been considerable controversy among histo
rians, but the weight of authority seems to support the opinion that it
was inaugurated in the latter part of the eleventh century by Malcolm
Canmore, when, with the aid of Edward the Confessor, he recovered
78 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
the scepter of his father immortalized as " the gracious Duncan " in
the sublimest pages of dramatic literature and extended from time
to time by his successors, as opportunity presented, until it became
finally established throughout the entire kingdom. But whatever may
be the facts in that regard, it is quite certain that, while the introduc
tion of the feudal system produced many and marked changes in the
political constitution of Scotland, the power exercised by the nobility
in the administration of public affairs was never due so much to their
legal rank as to the influence of the strong feeling of clannishness
among the masses of the people with whom they were immediately
connected by the ties of blood or marriage, and which, from repeated
inculcation and long heredity, had become inherent in their very
natures.
But while their politics if we except their unvarying fidelity to
the leader of the clan seems to have set as loosely upon them as their
tartan plaids, their religion appears to have been ingrained with every
fiber and tissue of their being ; and their singular veneration for ec
clesiastical authority, when compared with their lack of reverence for
political power, especially when disassociated from the ever dominant
influence of the family tie, has frequently been regarded as a striking
inconsistency in their character. A little reflection, however, should
satisfy us that an inconsistency in national characteristics is, in the
very nature of things, an impossibility ; and it is by no means difficult
to see ho\v this peculiarity sprung naturally from the same surround
ing? which developed the traits I have already mentioned.
Compelled by the necessities of their condition to be much alone
amid the solitudes of their native hills, where the dark and lonely
dells around them, and the craggy cliffs towering away into the far
blue lift above them, with their fantastic shadows mirrored in the deep,
still tarn below them, constantly conspired to incite in them the pro-
foundest feelings of superstitious awe ; their rude imaginations became
impressed by the viewless presence of a vast, invisible, intangible,
mysterious being, whose character they invested with the same savage
attributes as their own. They saw his terrible chariot in the black
mass of whirling clouds, and heard his angry voice in the roaring
storm. They caught the gleam of his vengeful weapon in the light
ning's bolt that shivered the gnarled oak, and saw the outpouring of
his omnipotent rage in the rushing torrent that dashed the granite
buttress of the mountain from its base ; and when the wintry night
wind shrieked its wailing dirge around their lonely hovels, they told
their children, in the subdued tones of ignorant awe, of his wrath
which they could not appease, and his power which they could not with-
ADDRESS OF HON. PKOCTOi: KXOTT. 79
stand. It is not at all wonderful, therefore, that when St. Col 11 tuba
came to them with the priceless truths of Christianity, they should
hail him with joy as the messenger of peace from their fierce, myste
rious deity, nor that they should seize with savage avidity upon the
promises of the Gospel, while understanding little or nothing of its
doctrines.
Nor is it any more remarkable that the Culdees, who embraced
the earliest ecclesiastics among the converts of St. Columba, speedily
spread throughout the whole of Caledonia, where tl.ey maintained an
unquestioned supremacy in all matters of religious faith and practice,
and, perhaps, preserved many of the traditionary customs and articles
of belief common to an earlier period of the Roman Church until
centuries later, when they were reformed or suppressed in a more ad
vanced state of civil and ecclesiastical government. For it should be
observed that these rude ministers of religion were not a body of for
eign clergy thrust upon the people against their will and contrary to
their prejudices, but were of their own kith and kin, often as actively
engaged in the secular affairs of the clan as in the offices of their more
sacred calling, the functions of chieftain and abbot of a monastery
being not infrequently united in the same person.
Described as a kind of presbyters, who lived in small communi
ties, elected and ordained their own rectors or bishops, and traveled
over the adjacent country preaching and administering the sacraments
of their religion, some claim to have discovered in their crude system
of ecclesiastic polity the protoplasm from which the Presbyterian
Church of Scotland was ultimately evolved. But be that as it may,
being educated at home, understanding no language but their own,
and having but a limited intercourse with other nations, they retained
not only the traits and prejudices peculiar to their own race, but much
of the plainness and simplicity of the primitive ages in their forms of
worship, mingled, no doubt, with much of their former superstitions.
They consequently obtained an unbounded influence over the minds
of their savage parishioners, who were not only bound to them by the
ties of blood and familiar association, but who confidently expected,
through their ministration, to secure the never-ending pleasures of a
blissful paradise, from which their less deserving enemies would, for
tunately, be forever excluded.
It should be carefully borne in mind, however, that the race to
which the later ancestry of many of us belonged was a composite one
a race in which the blood of the rude Caledonian was mingled with
that of the sturdy Saxon and the turbulent Norman. Early in the
seventh century, the Northumbrians, under King Edwin, pushed their
80 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
conquests on Scottish soil to the estuary of the Forth, where they
erected the fortress which gave its name to the present metropolis of
North Britain ; but in consequence of their disastrous defeat at Dun-
Nechtan, sixty-eight years later, the dominion of the invaders shrank
again within the waters of the Tweed, never to be re-asserted beyond
its northern bank. Nevertheless, the lost territory continued to be
occupied by its Anglo-Saxon population, which was subsequently aug
mented from time to time by slight accessions from Northumberland
and its adjacent counties in the north of England, whose inhabitants,
from somewhat similar circumstances, had acquired many of the moral
traits and social customs of their more northern neighbors. In addi
tion to this, the tide of immigration which followed the marriage of
Malcolm Canmore with the Saxon Princess Margaret, and continued
with increasing activity through the succeeding reigns of their sous,
Edgar, Alexander, and David, not only changed the civil and ecclesi
astical institutions of Scotland, but carried with it, among thousands
of lesser note, the founders of many of those illustrious houses which
have figured so conspicuously in its subsequent annals.
It must not be supposed, however, that the hereditary peculiari
ties of the original Celt disappeared with his traditionary customs, upon
the introduction of Anglo-Norman jurisprudence, with its accompany
ing civilization, from the South. On the contrary, until the twelfth
century, the only language spoken north of the two friths was the an
cient Gaelic, while throughout the Lothians and the districts further
south, it was heard as frequently as the Anglo-Saxon ; and as a large
majority of trie immigrants were mere military adventurers employed
in the service of the Scottish kings, they no doubt intermarried with the
daughters of the laud, as the soldiers of Cromwell afterward did in Ire
land. Thus the blood of the Sassenach, in process of time, became largely
transfused with that of their Celtic predecessors, transmitting the lead
ing characteristics of each of the confluent races, mutually modified
by each other, as an inheritance to the common posterity of both.
Consequently, he who chooses to thread the intricate mazes of
their history back to the period when that transfusion became gen
eral, will invariably find in the mixed race of Middle and Southern
Scotland, side by side with the rugged common sense, plainness of
speech, frugality, and thrift of the Anglo-Saxon, and the aggressive
self-assertion of the imperious Norman, the predominant traits of their
Caledonian ancestry centuries before; the same impetuous courage,
often amounting to an utter recklessness of personal peril ; the same
self-appreciation, impelling them to resent the slightest aggression
upon their private concerns; the same relentless disposition, frequently
ADDRESS OF HON. PROCTOR KNOTT. 81
exhibiting itself in acts of remorseless cruelty or implacable revenge ;
the same impatience of all restraint inconsistent with their own sense
of right, drawing them into repeated and bloody rebellion ; the same
romantic reverence for the family tie, influencing, to a greater or less
degree, all their relations to church or state ; the same stubborn adhe
sion to a religion, whether under prelatic or Presbyterian auspices,
recognizing the immediate interposition of an omnipotent providence
in all their temporal concerns, and frequently inspired more by a dread
of his vengeance than an appreciation of his mercies, and the same
unquestioning confidence in the guidance of their spiritual leaders,
especially when bound to them by the ties of kindred.
The thoughtful student will observe, moreover, that in the great
revolt against the parent church, in the sixteenth century, the over
throw of its supremacy among such a people could lead to but one re
sult, so far as their ecclesiastical relations were concerned, and that
was the ultimate establishment of precisely such a system of church
polity as took place upon the triumph of the Reformation in Scotland.
How much the lust of power and the jealousies of ambition may have
had to do in bringing about that result, it is needless now to inquire.
Without pausing, therefore, to consider the intricate and controverted
details of that long and angry contest between the crown, assisted by
the magnates of the established church on the one side, and the nobil
ity, aided by the spirit of clanship which pervaded their multitudes of
retainers, and the active influence of numbers of the native clergy,
who felt the same potent spell of family names and associations, on the
other, which culminated in the downfall of the papal hierarchy in
Scotland, it is sufficient to say that, when the moment for the final
catastrophe arrived, the man for the hour had also come ; one who,
with a single blow of his stalwart arm, hurled the venerable but tot
tering fabric from its base, and proceeded at once to rear upon its ruins
a superstructure better suited to the genius of his race.
That man, I scarcely need say, was Knox the living, breathing
incarnation of the highest virtues of his people, though not wholly
exempt from many of their no less striking vices. Familiar with all
their peculiar characteristics, passionately devoted to their interests
and their honor, the impersonation of a lofty and intrepid zeal, tem
pered by a deliberate and self-reliant judgment, with a commanding in
tellect, profoundly versed in all the learning of the age and thoroughly
in sympathy with its quickening progress, inspired by an ardent love
of religious freedom, and burning with a bitter scorn for all forms of
self-assumed authority, he seemed almost to have been specially de-
6
82 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
signed for the great work of ecclesiastical reconstruction of which he
was, by common consent, the acknowledged architect.
Detestiog prelacy and papacy alike, he conceived a scheme some
what after the design of Calvin, with whose views he was deeply ; tn-
bued, which, though not fully executed in his lifetime, resulted in the
development of a system of church government based upou the fun
damental principles of representative democracy a system in which
no minister br other ecclesiastical functionary could be foisted upon a
congregation without its own consent, nor its humblest member be de
prived of any right within the cognizance of the church, without the
privilege of appealing to the highest tribunal known to its jurisdiction,
a tribunal composed, like the lowest court in the system, of representa--
tives chosen by the free suffrages of the people constituting the con
gregations respectively. In short, a popular government in ecclesi
astical affairs, in which the will of the majority, regularly expressed
through its legally constituted agencies, was the supreme controlling
power.
I will not pretend to say that the people, under this form of
church government, were more pious or orderly in their daily walk, or
that their ministers were any more correct in their religious teaching,
or more faithful in their sacred calling, than they had been under the
system which they had just demolished ; but it can be safely asserted
that its effects upon the destinies of the English speaking people, if
not ultimately upon those of the general mass of mankind, are beyond
the possibility of adequate conception.
We may admit, if you please, that its laity for generations were
left to grovel in the lowest depths of ignorance, superstition and vice,
while its clergy were narrow-minded, grasping, tyrannical, insolent,
intolerant and cruel. We may concede all that its most malignant
enemy has said in denunciation of the Presbyterian Church of Scot
land for more than a century after its establishment, and even agree
that the colors in which the repulsive picture has been drawn should
have been ten-fold darker. Yet its influence in promoting the spirit
of democracy, which lingered in the Scottish heart from the rudest
ages of its savage independence, will entitle it to the highest meed of
gratitude and admiration as long as human liberty has a votary among
men. We not only find in it the germ of our own free institutions
and the original type of our own magnificent form of civil govern
ment, but the sacred flame from which the beacon fires of freedom
have been kindled every-where. It spurned with bitter contempt the
impious pretensions of princes, and taught the true dignity of man.
Its very existence was a perpetual rebuke to every claim of hereditary
ADDRESS OF HON. PROCTOR KNOTT. 83
power, and a constant illustration of the great truth that men are ca
pable of governing themselves. The choice of its official agencies by
the free suffrage of the congregation was a practical assertion of the
vital principle underlying all republican institutions, that " govern
ments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed,"
while its presbyteries and assemblies demonstrated the fact that the
will of popular majorities can be conveniently and safely exercised
through their own chosen representatives.
But if mankind is thus deeply indebted to the mere passive example
of the Scottish church, how much more is due to the intrepid zeal and
tireless vigilance of its clergymen in the darkest period of its history.
To show this, I have but to use the words of a distinguished English
writer, who delighted to excoriate their faults with the burning lash
of indignant denunciation: "Much they did to excite our strongest
aversion ; but one thing they achieved which should make us honor
their memory and repute them the benefactors of their species. At a
most hazardous moment they kept alive the spirit of national liberty.
What the nobles and the crown had put in peril, that did the clergy
save. By their care the dying spark was kindled into a blaze. When
the light grew dim and flickered on the altar, their hands trimmed the
lamp and fed the sacred flame. This is their real glory, and on this
they may well repose. They were the guardians of Scotch freedom,
and they stood to their posts. Where danger was they were foremost.
By their sermons, by their conduct, both public aud private, by the
proceedings of their assemblies, by their bold and frequent attacks
upon persons, without regard to their rank, nay, even by the very in
solence with which they treated their superiors, they stirred up the
minds of men, woke them from their lethargy, formed them to habits
of discussion, and excited that inquisitive and democratic spirit which
is the only effectual guaranty the people can possess against the tyranny
of those who are set over them. This was the work of the Scotch
clergy, and all hail to them who did it. It was they who taught their
countrymen to scrutinize with a fearless eye the policy of their rulers.
It was they who pointed the finger of scorn at kings and nobles, and
laid bare the hollowness of their pretensions. They ridiculed their
claims and jeered at their mysteries. They tore the veil and exposed
the tricks of the scene which lay behind. The great ones of the
earth they covered with contempt, and those who were above them they
cast down. Herein they did a deed which should compensate for all
their nilenses, even were their offenses ten times as great. By discoun
tenancing that pernicious aud degrading respect which meu are apt to
pay to those whom accident, aud not merit, has raised above them,
84 THE SCOTCH- IRISH IN AMERICA.
they facilitated the growth of a proud and sturdy independence, which
was sure to do good service at a time of need."
The seeds thus sown from the pulpits and assemblies of the Scotch
church in the latter part of the sixteenth century not only produced an
ample harvest from the rugged but congenial soil upon which they fell,
but were cherished in the bosoms of the Scottish people, who carried
them to other lands, where they brought forth abundant fruits,
to the dismay and ultimate overthrow of those who threatened their
liberties.
Soon after his accession to the English crown, King James I., true
to the instincts of the most perfidious family that ever disgraced the
throne of a civilized people, having secured the flight and outlawry of
the earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel upon a cunningly devised pretext
of some treasonable conspiracy between them, seized upon their vast
estates, comprising nearly eight hundred thousand acres in the fertile
province of Ulster, in the north of Ireland, upon which he commenced
the plantation of a Scotch and English colony in the year 1609.
The fertility of the soil, the favorable terms upon which it was
proposed tc be let to immigrants, and the advantages offered to them
by a variety of other circumstances, soon lured a number of his
countrymen to this promising plantation, whither they were followed
from time to time by others of their kindred until they became event
ually the predominant element throughout the province. Thus were
the descendants of the ancient Scots brought back to the identical
scenes from which their savage ancestry had emigrated nearly two
thousand years before ; and thus originated the name Scotch-Irish.
But notwithstanding the suffix to their national patronymic, the
irreconcilable difference in religion between them and the native in
habitants, together with other prejudices naturally resulting from their
peculiar relations to each other, presented such an obstacle in the way
of a coalition of the two races that the colonists and their descendants
for generations, if, indeed, they have not to the present time, remained
thoroughly Scotch in all their leading characteristics. They carried
with them to their new homes not only the personal traits peculiar to
their race, but its political and religious prejudices as well as its ecclesi
astical polity. They built their churches, organized their presbyteries,
established their schools, and pursued their respective callings with a
thrifty industry which soon transformed the province of Ulster from
the wildest and most disorderly to the best cultivated and most pros
perous portion of Ireland.
It must not be supposed, however, that they were permitted to
enjoy any very protracted period of repose during the century and a
ADDRESS OF HON. PROCTOR KNCTT. 85
half immediately following their advent into Ulster. Whether the en
forced flight of Tyrone and Tyrconnel, and the subsequent confiscation
of their estates were justifiable or not, such circumstances were natu
rally calculated to incite the deepest indignation of their neighbors, re
tainers, kindred, and friends, even granting them to have been less
passionate and turbulent than we have reason to believe they were at
that period of Irish civilization. We, ourselves, with all our moral
culture and Christian refinement, could but feel an insuperable repug
nance to a colony of strangers, differing from us in politics and re
ligion, thrust by the government into our midst against our wills, and
placed in possession of the property of our leading citizens, forced to
flee from their homes to save their lives, upon a charge which we be
lieve to be riot only unjust, but unfounded. It is not surprising, there
fore, that the animosity of the native inhabitants toward their new
neighbors should manifest itself in repeated and bloody deeds of vio
lence.
But little more than five years had elapsed, indeed, before a con
spiracy was detected, which is said to have had for its object the seiz
ure of the British fortresses and the extirpation of the foreign settlers
in the province. And in less than three decades later, the jealousies
and enmities growing out of the plantation of the colony showed
themselves in one of the most sanguinary tragedies that ever stained
the annals of a civilized land, in which the Scots in Ulster were treated
with the most diabolical cruelty, which, in turn, was retaliated by a
fearful and ferocious revenge.
They fared but little worse, if any, at the hands of their hostile
neighbors, however, than at those of the government, under whose
patronage they had settled in their new homes. Presbyterian and
Papist alike were disfranchised by its infamous test oaths, which
neither could conscientiously take, and both were punished with the
same relentless rigor for non-conformity. Their houses of worship were
repeatedly closed, their congregations dispersed, their members perse
cuted, and th,e people, irrespective of age or sex, tendered an oath re
pugnant alike to their judgments and their consciences. Yet the
young and more intrepid leaders of the Scottish church assembled
their flocks at noon-day in the open fields, and in secluded chambers
in the small hours of the night, in vast crowds, and in little groups,
every-where denouncing the tyranny under which they languished,
and exciting their hearers to a more enthusiastic pitch of sectarian
zeal. It is true, there were periods in which, by special indulgence or
through official indifference, they were permitted to worship in their
own chosen way ; yet it is easy to see how even an occasional interfer-
86 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
ence with that cherished privilege increased their attachment to their
church, while it fed their hereditary hatred to the English crown, and
made them hail with supreme satisfaction the downfall of the detesta-
We dynasty of the Stuarts.
Among the scenes which closed the ignoble career of the last of
that disreputable house, there was one which not only exhibited the
leading traits of the Scotch-Irish character in the strongest possible
light, but which will challenge the admiration of mankind as long as
our language shall be spoken, or the memory of heroic deeds cherished
among the children of men. On the second day after his arrival in
the city of Dublin, with a body of foreign mercenaries at his heels,
the cowardly fugitive from the British throne signalized his return to
the territory of his lost dominion by issuing a proclamation to his
former subjects of the Catholic faith, gratefully acknowledging their
vigilance and fidelity, and enjoining such of them as had not already
taken up arms in his service, to hold them in readiness until it should
be found necessary to use them to his advantage, and by conferring
the ducal rank upon Tyrconnel, who had disarmed the Protestants
throughout a large portion of Ireland, and assembled an army of
thirty thousand foot and eight thousand horse for the assistance of his
fallen master.
These, with other circumstances, gave rise to wild and exciting
rumors, which rapidly spread throughout the province of Ulster, to
the effect that it was the intention of the desperate Stuart to extirpate
the Protestant religion, and re-establish the authority of the Roman
church by fire and sword. The effect, especially among the Scottish
population, may be easily imagined. Their ministers were every-where
heard exhorting the people, in words of rude but burning eloquence,
to arise in defense of their faith and their firesides ; while their women
adjured them, by all ths sacred associations of the family tie, to defend
themselves and their homes with the last drop of their blood.
The grim courage and determined self-reliance of their race were
thoroughly aroused, their religious enthusiasm excited, and their un
dying animosity to papal power inflamed to the highest pitch of frenzy.
Betrayed by their governor, abandoned by the commanders of the
small force which had been sent by the government for their protec
tion, with no military experience themselves, and but a limited supply
of the munitions of war, they improvised an army of seven thousand
men, with one of their preachers, assisted by a couple of faithful and
courageous officers of the king's service, at its head, and hastily en
trenched themselves behind the fortifications of Londonderry, where,
for one hundred and five days, they withstood a siege in which they
ADDRESS OF HON. PROCTOR KNOTT. 87
exhibited a sublimity of courage and fortitude without a parallel in
human history since the fall of Jerusalem before the conquering arms
of Titus Vespasian.
After more than three months of continuous battle, aggravated
by the horrors of disease and famine, during which their heroic
women, often with weapons in their hands, stood side by side with
their brave defenders in every scene of danger and distress, the mem
orable contest around the walls of Londonderry was brought to a close
with eight thousand of its besiegers slain and more than half its de
voted garrison in their graves. But George Walker, the faithful pas
tor of Donaghmore, whose pious eloquence inspired the spiritual
fervor of his brethren from the pulpit, and whose genius and courage
directed their perilous duties on the ramparts and in the sortie, sur
vived the siege, and, bidding adieu to the shattered fragment of his
command, now worn by disease and wasted by famine, followed the
fortunes of William of Orange to the bloody banks of the Boyne,
where he fell, side by side with the Duke of Schomberg and Caille-
mote, the heroic Huguenot.
But the Scottish Presbyterians, whose deeds in the heroic defense
of Londonderry resemble more the fabled exploits of Homeric fiction
than the transactions of modern warfare, fared but little better at the
hands of the new government than the Irish Catholics who besieged
it. So far from having any of the restrictions upon their freedom of
religion removed, they were left almost as completely under the ban
of those fatuous and despotic enactments in derogation of religious
liberty, which so long disgraced the jurisprudence of Great Britain,
as their neighbors of the Roman faith, who had been so recently in re
bellion against the crown. They still remained under the denuncia
tion of the penal laws against non-conformity, without even a legal
toleration, until 1720, while they were excluded from all offices of
honor, profit, or trust under the government, by the rigorous require
ments of the oath of supremacy, and the still more obnoxious provis
ions of the Test Act, until 1780.
In addition to these irritating circumstances, they were subjected
to a variety of vexatious burdens, which influenced large numbers of
them to quit the provjnce of Ulster, and seek more peaceful and pro
pitious homes in the colonies of America, whither they brought with
them an undying hatred to the British crown, and a burning desire
for some suitable opportunity for its gratification. That opportunity
was soon presented, and if any of them failed to avail himself of it
with promptness and pleasure, it was not from any lack of in
88 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
clination, but because he was prevented by circumstances beyond his
control.
They came often in groups of families, neighbors, perhaps, in the
homes they had left in Ulster, and located themselves, generally, in
the colonies of Pennsylvania,, Virginia, and the Carolinas, where, as
their fathers had done in Ireland, they organized their congregations,
set up their neighborhood schools, and by a sedulous attention to their
own affairs, set an example of industry, economy and morality, the in
fluence of which is still visible in the intelligence, thrift, refinement
and orderly deportment which distinguish the communities in which
they settled.
The part played by this remarkable race in preparing the popular
mind of their adopted country for independence, as well as in the
bloody contest which terminated in that glorious result, it would be
difficult, if not impossible, to overestimate. Whether the Mecklen
burg declaration was really the work of Ephraim Brevard and his asso
ciates, or only the clever after thought of some obscure person whose
name history has failed to record, it embodied the cherished sentiments
of every genuine Scotch-Irishman in America. The tide of immigra
tion which brought them to our shores set in near the beginning of the
century, reached its flood near the period when Washington and many of
his illustrious compatriots were b>)rn, and continued without retiring ebb
until the final break between the colonies and the mother country.
Wherever they went, they repeated, with feelings of bitter hate, the
story of their wrongs, and taught by precept and by example, in sea
son and out of season, the sublime doctrine of civil and religious free
dom which had been burned into their very souls by generations of
cruelty and oppressions. Wherever they went they transfused the
community around them with their own deathless spirit of democracy ;
and when the tocsin sounded for the mighty struggle, they sprang to
the front and offered their blood as a joyous oblation to the God of
battles upon the altars of their faith. They craved none of the Dead
Sea fruit of a selfish ambition ; they sought none of the barren laurels
of an empty fame. They were plain, earnest, determined men, who
wanted results results which would secure to their children and their
children's children, the priceless patrimony of freedom and for that
they rushed to the fiery front of battle, reckless as to who might lead
them so he led to victory or to death.
Would you know their names ? In every walk of private useful
ness and public honor ; in every avenue of active enterprise and popu
lar progress; in every department of literature, and in every branch
of science ; in every theater of honorable ambition ; in the pulpit and
ADDRESS OF HON. PROCTER KNOTT. 89
at the bar ; on the field and in the cabinet, on the bench and in the
halls of legislation ; in the chambers of our highest courts, and in the
presidential chair, they and their sons have written them in imperish
able characters upon the brightest pages of our country's history. Go
read them there.
The children of the race are now scattered throughout all this
broad continent, mingling like drops of water in the mighty ocean,
with a vast and wondrous people gathered from many lands; but
wherever they may be, they and their descendants will cherish with
affectionate veneration the honor of their ancient sires, and keep the
sacred fires of family love brightly burning on their domestic altars as
long as a drop of the old Scotch-Irish blood shall trickle through their
veins; and should the grasping hand of consolidated wealth, the wild
fury of communism, or the insolence of foreign power ever menace the
fair fabric of constitutional liberty erected by their fathers, they will
rush to its defense, with the same intrepid devotion with which their
rude ancestors followed the slogan of the clan.
90 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
WHAT THE SCOTCH-IRISH HAVE DONE
FOR EDUCATION.
BY Q. MACLOSKIE, D.SC., LL.D., PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY IN PRINCETON COLLEGE.
The close alliance of Scotland and Ireland dates from the time
of St. Patrick, who died in A. D. 465. He appears to have been edu
cated in the southern part of Scotland, and he preached the Gospel
and established religious houses in Ireland. His monasteries were not
the homes of lazy monks, but seats of learning and centers of mission
ary effort. They resembled the schools of the prophets of the Old
Testament, and were repeated in the last century in the log colleges
of America. The early Irish monks, many of them married men,
were zealous students and copyists of Scripture, and enthusiastic itin
erant preachers. An old tradition says that one of them, St. Brendin,
discovered the new world, and, after returning to Ireland to report his
discovery, he set sail a second time (in the year 545), to preach the
Gospel to the natives of the newly discovered land. He was never
heard of again, but his name is immortalized by a bay on the west of
Ireland, from which he is said to have sailed. Another tradition asso
ciates colonists from the north of Ireland with Scandinavians as the
first settlers of Iceland, which became a home of learning.
Two men from Ulster, both bearing the name of Columba, be
came missionaries of learning and religion, one in the Highlands of
Scotland, the other in continental Europe. One of them Columba, or
Columbkille, from County Donegal, in west Ulster, established the re
ligious house at lona, an island west of Scotland, and himself and his dis
ciples carried the Gospel over Scotland and into the north of England.
Hence arose the Culdees, or worshipers of God, who cherished the
Gospel in the homes of Scotland even in the dark ages ; and their de
scendants quickly responded to John Knox when, at a later age, like
Columbkille resurrected, he preached Christ to his beloved Scotla-ud.
Lindisfarne, in the north of England, was a fruit of the work of the
Culdees; and it has been lately found that the Lindisfarue Illuminated
Gospel, kept in the British Museum, and long supposed to be a gem
of Anglo-Saxon learning, is an Irish work, probably penned by some
English student in one of the celebrated Irish schools.
The other Columba came from a school in County Down, on the
WHAT THE SCOTCH-IRISH HAVE DONE FOK EDUCATION. 91
eastern coast of Ulster, and went as a missionary to Eastern France
and Switzerland, where he is better known by the name of Columbanus.
His biography has been recently discovered in the civic archives of
Schaffhausen, in Switzerland, written in the pure ancient Celtic lan
guage, and has given an impetus to the study of that language. One
of the cantons of Switzerland commemorates by its name (St. Gallen,
Irish county} these old Irish missionaries, members of the genuine
Clan-na-Gael. Boniface, the apostle of Germany (A. D. 738), be
longed to them ; and he and other Scotch-Irish missionaries established
religious houses, among them the monastery of Erfurt, where Luther,
at a later date, found the Reformation in a Latin Testament. Thus,
by easy steps, we go from St. Patrick to loua and the Culdees and
Knox in Scotland, and to Switzerland, with its Zwingle and Geneva,
and to Germany and Luther. Germany, which now leads the world
in scholarship, was content to receive its first schools from humble
Scotch-Irish itinerants.
The quality of the teaching of those times may be estimated from
the Confession of St. Patrick, from the love generally shown for the
Scriptures, and from the Commentary on Scripture of Sedulius, abbot
of Kildare, in Ireland, ninth century. Pure Gospel is found in these
writings, without any hint of a pope, and Sedulius praises Paul for his
censure of Peter, and gives an evangelical interpretation of the Lord's
Supper. A traveling Irish-Scot, named Ferghil (or Virgil) taught
that the world is globular, and that the further side is probably inhab
ited. He was summoned before the pope for such teaching, but es
caped the fate of heretics. Johannes Scotus Erigeua (which name
may be interpreted as Scotch-Irish John) gave the celebrated repartee
to Charles the Bald, who asked him across the table, "John, what is
the difference between a Scot and a sot?" and was promptly answered,
" Nothing whatever, please your majesty, except the table."
Another tradition awards to St. Comgall's school, at Bangor, in
County Down, the alma mater of Columbanus, the additional honor of
supplying Alfred the Great with the first batch of professors for Oxford
University, in England, as, at a later date, Scotland gave its first pro
fessors to Dublin University, in Ireland, and as many of our American
colleges have been started by Scotch-Irish ministers.
The twelfth century brought in the age of darkness to Ireland.
In 1110, the Irish Synod of Rathbreasil sold their religious independ
ence to an Italian pontiff, and, within the same century, the Italian
pontiff bargained away its civil independence to a dissolute English
monarch, in return for a promise of payment of Peter's pence. Thus
a double servitude, both spiritual and temporal, was imposed on the
92 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
country, the ecclesiastical and civil potentates sometimes quarreling,
sometimes courting each other, but always oppressing the people. In
1315, Edward Bruce, the brother of Scotland's hero, endeavored to
free Ireland from the English ; but the church excommunicated him,
and he lost his life in the struggle. During the dark ages, schools dis
appeared from Ireland, and the only men who perpetuated its reputa
tion for learning were such as spent their days abroad at the courts of
F-uropean monarchs. Ireland then became a good country to leave.
So low had it sunk, that the Reformation, which stirred other nations,
was scarcely felt there. Even the Bible had become forgotten ; yet,
when the Roman Catholic Archbishop of York presented two fine
copies of the Scriptures to the two cathedrals of Dublin, the people
welcomed the gifts and eagerly studied the books.
The Reformation in Scotland was the outcome chiefly of university
scholarship. Men with the training and spirit of Columbkille such
mi'u as Patrick Hamilton, George Wishart, John Knox, and Andrew
Melville revived the times of the Culdees, and Scotland, the poorest
of the nations, soon took a leading position for scholarship and piety.
Early in the seventeenth century, the north of Ireland was va
cated by turbulent chiefs, and Scotchmen were invited to enter and
lend a helping hand in its civilization. That was an age of religious
persecution, even among Protestants. It was the time at which pious
Non-conformists were driven from England, first to Holland, and
afterward, in the Mayflower, to America, in quest of liberty to pray
to God. At first, the king of England encouraged Scots to migrate
to Ireland with a prospect of religious liberty. This " plantation of
Ulster" was the counterpart, in some measure, of the emigration of
the Pilgrim Fathers; but the Scotch took nearly a century in moving
from Scotland by way of Ireland to America, and they had to pass
through a hot fire in the transit, and to come out, not as Scots, but as
Scotch-Irish, with new experiences and new characteristics.
Though the "plantation of Ulster" by Scotch immigrants was
numerically a small affair, only a million of acres being open to colo
nization, and not half of these falling to the newcomers, yet a com
plete change of habits and mode of cultivation ensued, and the entiie
province felt the benefit of the change. The men who came from
Scotland were many of them the " floaters," of bad principles and a
coarse type, and they intermingled with semi-savage natives. There
came over, however, along with them, the religious and educational
methods of Scotland. John Kuox had established a system of schools,
so that every minister had a hand in teaching during some part of his
career, and every boy, however poor, had before him the opportunity
WHAT THE SCOTCH-IRISH HAVE DONE FOR EDUCATION. 93
of gaining education up to his ability. The church and the school
went together, as both of the people and for the people. James Mel
ville (nephew of Andrew) informs us that, at one of these schools, in
Montrose, Scotland, he was instructed by a Christian minister, who
was "a guid, kind, learned man," in the three important subjects of
a boy's education, (1) book learning, (2) religion, (3) athletics. He
learned Latin and French ; also, archery, swimming, fencing, and
jumping; and his piety grew with the discipline of the school. In
Scotland, this educational system culminated in the great universities,
that of Edinburgh being itself a child of the Reformation.
The religious history of Ulster begins with the ministrations of a
few immigrant Scottish ministers, some of them men of noble
blood, who had to flee from persecution, and who were for a time per
mitted to occupy the churches in Ulster. In 1636, a great religious
awakening took place, which spread among all classes, Roman Catho
lics as well as Protestants, and transformed the province. There was
hope of times of blessing coming to all Ireland, when, as usual, the
English government stepped in to interrupt the work by persecuting
the ministers and people for non-conformity. What is known in his
tory as the Black Oath was enforced in Ulster, people being fined and
imprisoned for failing to swear obedience to the king in all things, and
ministers being silenced or banished. Thereafter followed a long
series of religious oppressions in Ireland ; and these persecutions sub
sequently followed the Scotch-Irish to America.
The colonization of Ulster from Scotland brought over schools
fashioned after the Scottish model, but without the civil encourage
ment which had been secured by Knox for "his people. The Irish
schools were private schools, often of an humble character. Tho.se
which have persisted even till our memory were conducted by pictur
esque, poor, but ofteu enthusiastic teachers, who were remunerated by
sods of peat, dishes of potatoes; fresh eggs and butter, and occasionally
by a fat goose at one of the great festivals. The scholars would go
barefoot, with arms out at the elbows, carrying the peat under one
arm, and a copy of an old arithmetic or Ovid's Metamorphosis under
the other. No Irish colleges welcomed these boys, as the only Irish
university, though at first it was started under Scottish teachers, was
soon closed against their characteristic faith. The Scotch-Irish lads,
after their school training was completed, had to go on foot to the sea
side, whence they embarked on a packet for Scotland, and again wi-nt
afoot in groups to Glasgow or Edinburgh University, whence they
were sent back, in the course of a few years, with the university
diploma. On returning, they were trained in theology under the su-
94 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
pervision of the presbytery. Francis Makemie, the father of Amer
ican Presbyterianism, gives us an account of his own education in the
latter half of the seventeenth century. At a school in County Don
egal, he experienced, as he says, " a work of grace and conversion in
my heart at fifteen years of age, by and from the pains of a godly
schoolmaster, who used no small diligence in gaining tender souls to
God's service and fear." His theological training was faithfully super
intended by the presbytery, though it was not permitted to hold pub
lic meetings, some of its members having been imprisoned and fined
for holding a session of presbytery. Soon afterward, Non-conformists
were forbidden to teach school. Moreover, the Scottish colonists of
Ulster came to experience extortions by landlords, and to be denied
the rights of freemen in the country for which they had done so much.
In Ireland, as in America, a three-fold struggle for liberty had to be
carried on: (1) for liberty to be educated; (2) for religious liberty;
(3) for civil liberty.
We will not follow the struggle as it went on in Ulster. Suffice
it to say, that the men who saved England by closing the gates of
Perry, were robbed of the honor of their services, were afterward de
clared unfit to hold office in the citv which they had defended,
or anywhere under the British crown ; and laws were passed to
destroy their woolen trade, to make their marriages null and their
children bastards, and to deprive them of Christian burial ; nor
were they relieved of their disabilities until the rebellion of the
American colonies taught England to deal gently with the op
pressed at home. Step by step, Ulster has fought its way to political
equality, to protection for its tenant farmers, to religious freedom, and
to high educational rank. Belfast, at present, holds the third place in
Great Britain as a seaport, being surpassed in the tonnage of its ship
ping only by London and Liverpool. Ulster is i-emarkably free from
crime, and has few police, as compared with the rest of Ireland, or
even England. And men who have gone from Ulster, with the edu
cation and principles of the' Scotch-Irish, occupy the highest positions as
teachers or statesmen in England, India, China, Australia, and America.
The advent of the Scotch-Irish to America dates from the time
when oppressions became unbearable at home; especially from the time
of James II. It was about 1683 that Francis Makemie. arrived, the
first Scotch-Irish clergyman whose history is known to us. He was put
in jail in New York city for the crime of preaching the gospel in a
private house ; and he defended the cause of religious liberty with he
roic courage and legal ability, being helped by a Scottish lawyer from
Philadelphia (who was silenced for his courage), and being ultimately
WHAT THE SCOTCH-IRISH HAVE DONE FOR EDUCATION. 95
acquitted by a brave New York jury. Thus was begun the great
struggle for religious liberty in America.
Some of the immigrants established colonies in New England, as
in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. In 1718 a large com
pany arrived in five ships at Boston, introducing four characteristic
Scotch-Irish institutions: (1) potatoes, (2) a spinning-wheel, (3) a
school to teach even the Bostonians how to spin, (4) a Presbyterian
minister ready at once to form them into an organized church. This
last was Rev. John Moorehead, for long time the representative of the
cause in Boston. Other churches were established, as at Andover,
Londonderry, N. H., and in Maine.
The influx of this class into Pennsylvania soon changed the char
acter of the middle colonies. The governor of Pennsylvania, during
fifty years (1699 to 1749), was a Scotch-Irish Quaker, James Logan, a
native of county Armagh, Ireland, an able judge, a patron of learn
ing, a friend of the Indians, but not fond of his own countrymen when
they were not Quakers. He feared that ere long they would turn
matters their own way. " It looks as if Ireland were to send all her
inhabitants hither," was his complaint in 1725; " if they will con
tinue to come, they will make themselves proprietors of the province;"
and he condemned the bad taste of people who were forcing them
selves where their presence was not desired. We may estimate the
rate of the invasion from the rise of the population of Pennsylvania
from 20,000 in 1701, to 250,000 in 1749. Shortly before the revolu
tionary war, a new outbreak of oppression in Ireland sent a larger
stream, chiefly of farmers and manufacturers. Most of these men
were Presbyterians, of a sturdy spirit ; they sailed in search of liberty,
and they were the earliest and most persevering of our people in our
struggle for civil liberty. John Stark, who had fought for England
against the French, rushed, when the great struggle came, to fight for
America against British tyranny, his pious Irish wife, by her letters,
encouraging him in what she said was God's cause. Richard Mont
gomery, who fell at Quebec, was Scotch Irish, as was the other Mont
gomery, who presided over the first meeting of the Scotch-Irish in
Cumberland Valley, where resolutions were passed for independence,
and money was raised, and a regiment of soldiers soon despatched to
aid Washington at Boston. This regiment was under the command
of Colonel Chambers, a Scotch-Irish elder. Thomas McKean, another
of them, was one of the fourteen of the race who signed the Declara
tion of Independence, and was governor of Pennsylvania during the
great struggle. A Scotch-Irishman wrote, another publicly read, a
third first printed the Declaration of Independence. Joseph Reed,
96 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA,
son of an Irish father, himself a graduate of Princeton college, was the
trusted secretary of Washington, though he died young. It was he that
replied to king George's officers : "I am not worth bribing, but such as
I am, Britain is not rich enough to buy me." Charles Thomson, from
Maghera, Ireland, was then secretary of Congress, " the man of
truth; "as the proverb ran, "as true as if Charles Thomson's name
were to it." Henry Kuox, the Scotch -Irish bookseller of Boston, was
Washington's efficient chief of ordnance, from Ticonderoga to York-
town. The Scotch Irish of Philadelphia and of Boston, came forward
in times of financial embarrassment, to help the popular cause by their
contributions. Scotch Irish pastors were foremost in their patriotism.
Rev. John Murray, of Maine, and David Caldwell, of North Caro
lina, were honored by the British offering rewards for the capture of
either of them. Dr. George Duffield, an excellent cross between the
Scotch-Irish and the Huguenot, said from the pulpit that he was sorry
to see so many able-bodied men at church, when their country needed
their services at Valley Forge. In those days it was an offense calling
for discipline before the New England and Pennsylvania presbyteries,
if a minister did any thing that might excite suspicion of disloyalty to
his country's cause. ;
The military services of the race, at first against the French and
Indians, and afterward on behalf of independence against the British,
were merely an incident in their history. Their greatest achievements
were in peace, with the axe, the plow, and the loom, clearing the
forest, subduing the land, and developing mechanical arts and trade.
Above all other public institutions, they loved the church and the
school. With them religion and education were inseparable ; no re
ligion without the training of the intelligence ; no education divorced
from piety. The school was always planted near the church, the
schoolmaster was often the pastor, or a candidate for the ministry, or
one of the pillars of the church. An attempt was made, early in the
eighteenth century, to exclude non-conformists from the office of teach
ing; nobody was to teach in New York (at least of the English-
speaking people), unless provided with a certificate from the bishop of
London. But in Pennsylvania and southward, greater liberty was al
lowed, at least as to common schools. The present condition of the
middle states bears testimony to the use made of this liberty. Whilst
New England was colonized by the cream of old England's puritauism,
and Pennsylvania only a century later by the outcasts of the poor
province of Ulster, yet the progress of the Keystone State may compare
with the vaunted achievements of the Plymouth colony.
The man to whom, above all others, our country is indebted for
WHAT THE SCOTCH-IRISH HAVE DONE FOR EDUCATION. 97
his influence on its education, is the Rev. William Tennent, founder
of the log college at Nesharniuy, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He
was a native of county Armagh, Ireland, at first an Episcopalian,
probably a graduate of Trinity college, Dublin. His wife, Catherine
Kennedy, was the worthy daughter of an Irish Presbyterian minister,
who had suffered persecution for his faith. They came to America
with their young family, in 1716, and ten years later he was ordained
and settled as pastor at Neshaminy. There he started a school which
aimed to be a college, in order to prepare young men for the Christian
ministry. It seems to have been a hybrid between the hedge schools
of Ulster and Dublin university, with poor equipment as to finances
or buildings, called in derision a " log college," but claiming to impart
sound classical, philosophical, and theological education. This insti
tution was established in order to provide a home supply of ministers,
and t'ie men who issued from it were the most zealous and successful
that have been given to our country. It was opposed by worthy
clergymen, who demanded that all candidates for the ministry should
produce a degree from one of the older universities, that is, either
trom Yale or Harvard, in New England, or from Scotland. But the
New England colleges were hostile to evangelical religion. Yale had
expelled David Brainerd, really, as was believed, because he attended
prayer-meeting, and formally complained because after its censure,
this best of missionaries was ordained by a presbytery. It was pro
nounced in its hostility to revivals of religion. Harvard placed itself
on record, by a manifesto signed by its president and professors,
against George Whitefield, the gravamen of his sin being that he
preached without paper. And Governor Belcher, himself a graduate
of Harvard, wrote that Arminiauism, Arianism, and Socinianism were
being propagated in the New England colleges. Thus the hope of se
curing a supply of godly ministers from New England was futile.
Nor was there any better prospect from abroad. Some good men did
come over, as Francis Makemie and William Tennent. But in
answer to the entreaties of our presbyteries that the British churches
should send them out pastors, most of those who came were " crooked
sticks." One was sent back after being convicted of plagiarism, and
a complaint was made to the synod of Ulster, for imposing on the
Americans by sending bad men. Others were narrow and quarrel*
some; not a few were intemperate. The best of the im migrants was.
a man who had fled from a charge before an Irish presbytery of forging
his credentials, who was afterward deposed from the ministry on the
same charge by the presbytery of Philadelphia, who went to Maine,
where he was irregularly restored to the ministry by a congregation,
7
98 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
and who filled a long and devoted ministry, under this charge, which
he never dared to meet.
In such circumstances it was suicidal to depend on a foreign sup
ply of ministers, and in fact the Presbyterian churches of New Eng
land, by continuing in a dependent condition, prepared the way for
their extermination. Nor could the Presbyterians hope for a college
of their own ; on the contrary, they were informed that no college
charter would be granted to dissenters; and it was not till the success
of the log colleges was assured, that a charter was given, in an irregu
lar way, to the more moderate section of the denomination, for Prince
ton college.
The attempt to train young men for the ministry in the Log Col
lege, and their ordination without the degree of a chartered university,
though sometimes condemned by historians, seems to us to have been
the Declaration of Independence by the church for the right to train
its own ministry. The charge recently made, that Tennent and his
friends took a low view of education for ministers, may be met by the
facts that they gave the best education they could command, that so
soon as Princeton college was established, they rallied to its support
and its further development, and that the alumni of the log colleges
were deemed good enough in scholarship to be appointed professors or
presidents of the high-class colleges which were at length established.
The Log College preachers have also been condemned for venturing to
preach within the precincts of ministers who opposed revival methods,
but their conduct in this respect would be justified with us, on the
ground that ministers may not interpose to prevent the preach
ing of salvation to sinners, even though the sinners are of their
own flocks.
Like the monasteries of St. Patrick, 'Tennent's Log College be
came a home of learning and a center of missionary movements. Be
sides William Tenneut, senior, and Mrs. Tennent, it was blessed by
worthy disciples, including four sons of its founder. One of these,
Gilbert Tennent, may be named along with George Whitefield and (at
a later date) Bishop Asbury, as the three men who were, above all
others, used of God for the development of spiritual religion in the
New World. Besides these, there were Samuel Finlay, Samuel and
John Blair, John Robinson, John Rowland, and Charles Beatty. The
last named was an Irish peddler, who offered his wares in elegant Latin
at the Log College, was invited in, educated, and became a faithful
preacher. He was the ancestor of devoted men, the last of whom,
Charles Beatty, of Steubenville, 0., died a few years ago, after a long
WHAT THE SCOTCH-IRISH HAVE DONE FOR EDUCATION. 99
service as missionary, educator, and benefactor of the Western Theo
logical Seminary, and of Washington and Jefferson College.
The example of the Tenuents was followed by other Scotch-Irish
pastors in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southward. Thus a number
of high-class schools were established, bringing education to the doors
of tlie people, independently of government. The office of teacher
was not highly esteemed in England (it was apologized for, on behalf
of John Eliot, that he was in early life a teacher), but it was always
appreciated among the Scotch-Irish; and the teachers often gave their
services without pay, so that the poorest boy might be educated up to
his capacity. As examples of these institutions, may be named one
at Fagg's Manor (New London, Chester county, Pennsylvania), estab
lished in 1790 by Samuel Blair, one of Tennent's pupils; subsequently,
under Francis Allison, who was encouraged in his work by the Synod.
Allison afterward removed to Philadelphia, where he was preacher
and teacher, and at length professor, when the University was started.
Nottingham Academy, in Maryland, was established by Dr. Samuel
Finlay, in 1744, who was descended from John Finlay, one of the
early martyrs burnt at the stake in Scotland, and was himself, like
nearly all the other founders of these schools, a native of Ireland. This
academy of Nottingham produced some of our greatest men, as Gov
ernor Martin, of North Carolina, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Colonel Bayanl,
and preachers Waddell, McWhorter, etc. Pequea School, in Lancas
ter county, Pennsylvania, was established by Robert Smith, one of
Teuuent's disciples, himself Irish, and blessed with an Irish wife (who
was sister of Robert Blair). His son, Samuel Stanhope Smith, was
another great educationist, president of Hampden Sydney, and after
ward of Princeton College ; remarkable for his services in developing
the higher studies in college. His brother, John Blair Smith, was
successively president of Hampden Sydney and of Schenectady Col
lege. A school was established at Newville, in the Cumberland valley,
Pennsylvania, by John Blair, brother of Robert; another at West
Canococheague, by John King. Rev. David Caldwell, in North Caro
lina, had at once an academy, college, and theological seminary, and
was also a red-hot patriot. John McMillan went out to the wilds of
West Pennsylvania, where he established a church and a log college.
Thaddeus Dod followed his example at Red Stone, in South-western
Pennsylvania, and John Smith started another school. These western
institutions afterward developed into Washington and Jefferson Col
lege.
The humble academies gave a completion to our education before
we were blessed with colleges, and they prepared the way for chartered
100 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
institutions, so soon as these could be obtained. Immediately on the
establishment of Princeton College, the Tenneuts gave up their school
at Neshaminy, and bestowed all their great influence toward the ad
vancement of the new institution. We find that, in 1748, the roll of
trustees of Princeton College included, with others, Gilbert Tennent,
William Tennent (the younger, his father having died), Richard Treat,
Samuel Blair, all these being pupils of the Log College and earnest
preachers; and we find Whitefield, Lady Huntington, and others col
lecting money for Princeton as a seat of learning and piety. In 1756,
the year in which Wesley's friends were banished from Oxford for
holding prayer-meetings, Whitefield was invited to preach in Princeton,
and he informs us of a revival in which many of the students were
converted. Other colleges were soon founded after the same pattern.
In this way was evolved our American type of college, as seen espe
cially in our middle and western states, homes of scholarship and relig
ion, independent of state control, yet producing patriotic citizens as
well as ardent students and Christian heroes, bringing education near
to the people, and raising the poor to a par with the rich in respect of
scholarship. We cordially respect the achievements of the great New
England colleges, but we plead that, under special disabilities, the
Scotch-Irish of the middle states have fought their way to the same
results, with the important addition that, with equal zeal for learning,
a warmer religious tone has been manifested in its pursuit. Our col
leges have received the significant encomium of James Bryce in his
"American Commonwealth." He remarks that, in America, we de
sire to have our business men furnished with college education, and
adds that this is a result of the dispersion of colleges, of their accessi
bility, and the cheapness of education ; that nearly all the eminent
men of the last forty years, including several Presidents of the United
States, have taught school in some part of their earlier years ; and that
our American universities are at this moment making the swiftest
progress and have the brightest promise for the future. This praise
comes from a Scotch-Irishman, the first Presbyterian, we believe, who
was admitted to the honors of Oxford without selling his conscience,
who afterward became a professor in that university, and is now com
ing to the front as one of England's greatest statesmen.
Such colleges are now rapidly extending "over our own .land.
Even to the golden gate of California, they have been established by
Scotch-Irish founders. They are often objects of benevolence with the
pious, and themselves nurseries of piety. They are overflowing into
other lands : Roberts College, at Constantinople, is giving trouble to
Russian as well as Turkish despotism ; Beyrout College is becoming
WHAT TfTE SCOTCH-IRISH HAVE DONE FOR EDUCATION. 101
the light of Western Asia; and in Pekin, Canton, and Tokio, similar
lights appear. The Imperial University of Pekin is now under control
of Dr. Martin, one of our American missionaries, with the aid of an
international faculty of educators, so that the whole educational sys
tem of the empire is being changed. Sir Robert Hart, controller of
the customs system of China, is Scotch-Irish, son of a mill-worker iu
Belfast, and educated under Dr. McCosh ; and John McLeavy Brown,
his coadjutor, is the same. We hope, ere long, to see another of these
colleges in Brazil.
We can not venture into the personnel of Scotch-Irish educators and
inventors of recent times, as in theology the Alexanders and Hodges ;
in science, Fulton of the steam-engine, McCormick of the threshing
machine, Joseph Henry of the telegraph and electro-magnet. In bi
ology, the chief place iu Cambridge, England, and in Johns Hopkins,
of America; in political science, the chief place in Princeton College,
and in the University of Pennsylvania are held by the race, as are a
host of positions of varying importance over the whole country, such
as the superintendents of public schools and many of our most suc
cessful workers in the higher schools. The present generation of the
race remember their traditions as devotees of learning ; lovers of the
country that shelters them, and true to their God ; and they find in
these traditions a stimulus to their enthusiasm. There is a continuity
in the record of their history, as there is a community between the
kinsmen who are now serving as educators over all the continent.
And hereby are we taught not to seek for ourselves phenomenal ac
cumulations of wealth, which can not raise us to a higher plane, but
to cultivate the attainments which have already proved a blessing to
our race, and which have made them a wholesome factor in human
society.
102 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
SCOTCH-IRISH CHARACTERISTICS.
BY REV. JOHN HALL, D.D., OF NEW YORK,
My Fellow Citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen'.- -I can not give expres
sion to the pleasure that I feel in beiug permitted to come and speak
to so many of you, and in the circumstances in which we are gathered
together.
I shall explain to you, in a word or two, the purpose that is before
my mind. Many months ago, I received a communication from your
friends who organized this society, asking me to come and take part in
its proceedings. It appeared to me extremely improbable at the time
that I could accept the invitation ; and I took the liberty of naming
an alternate, in the person of Dr. Macintosh, of Philadelphia. Ac
cordingly, it was arranged that he should come, and, properly speak
ing, my address will be delivered by Dr. Macintosh, at such time as
the committee may select.
It is said of a countryman of mine who settled in America, that
he liked it so well that he resolved to make it his native land. You
smile audibly at this statement, but, in point of fact, it is the very
thing that Dr. Macintosh did. He came over to Pennsylvania to be
born, then went back to Great Britain to be educated, and finally
came back to America, and has done nothing but honor to it ever
since. (Applause.)
I do not propose, ladies and gentlemen, to go into the field of his
tory that has been traversed already, and that will be traversed again,
with so great ability. It is the story of a marked race. We all
know how voluminous the authors of Germany are. One of them pro
posed to write a history of the world, and he set about the task. He
completed three full volumes before he reached the creation. (Laughter.)
I do not want to set out on that line, but rather to talk to you, in the
simplest and most informal manner, about my observations among the
people in the land from which the Scotch-Irish came. I belong to
their race. I am of the sixth generation that moved over from Scot
land into Ireland. They continued to live upon the same land, and I
have the happiness of being the eldest son of the family, and of hav
ing the land upon which my ancestors dwelt for the six generations;
and if ever you hear any thing spoken in the way of calling out sym
pathy for the tenants of Ireland, I hope you will extend a part of your
SCOTCH-IRISH CHARACTERISTICS. 103
sympathy to me, for I belong to that category. It is two and twenty
years since I left Ireland and became a resident of these United States.
Speaking of this date reminds me of a circumstance that may interest
some of you. One of our most prominent ministers, Rev. Dr. Beatty,
made a visit to Belfast years ago, and a reception was tendered him
and his associates by the town. When he was called upon to speak,
as I am doiug now, he came upon the platform and said : " It gives
me great pleasure to be back here among my people. I left Ulster
one hundred and thirty years ago." They opened their eyes widely, for
they could not take in the thought that he was one hundred and thirty
years old ; but he explained that that was the time when his fore
fathers left the land and came to reside in America. It has been
twenty-two years since I left that land, and, though I can say that I
have in me the spirit of a true American citizen, I have not lost a
particle of the love and affection that I cherish, and will ever cherish,
for the people of my own native Ulster. (Applause.)
When I was in Cincinnati, in 1867, being sent over as a delegate
to this country to the meeting of the general assembly, I went into a
church. A gentleman was sitting by me in the audience, and was
volunteering information to me about things that were going on around.
My eye rested upon a man in the audience, and I said : "Is his name
McKee ? " My friend said : " Yes, he is McKee, of Louisville ; a famous
preacher there, I believe." A day or two afterward, I was introduced
to the same gentleman ; his face was so like that of the McKees in Ulster
that I identified him at once. A few days after our introduction, he told
me he came from Ulster, and that he heard there were several persons
of his name in the ministry over there. I say to you, as I looked over
the faces of the people here yesterday, I could hardly keep the tears
from my eyes, as they rested upon so many heads and faces and figures
like those with which I had been familiar in Ulster. The changes of
a physical kind are far less than one would at first suppose ; and I wish
for nothing better than that you may keep pure the moral characteris
tics and the habits of private life that made the Scotch-Irish what, by
the grace of God, they have been made.
I will say a few words as to the characteristics of the people as I
lived among them. In the first place, I think it is true to say, that
they are remarkably industrious as a people, and they succeeded in se
curing a degree of comfort in their homes, and respectability in dress
and appearance, that would hardly be expected from their limited
means. I remember that four or five or six acres of laud was enough
for a family. They raised crops upon it for the support of the family,
and by means of weaving at other times, the men and the women
104 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
were accustomed to supplement the produce of the little farm, and se
cure a certain degree of independence and respectability. Those in
dustrious traits are propagated still, and I hope they will continue to
be. Just as soon as machinery came into use, the people of the north
of Ireland availed themselves of it. They adapted themselves to the
new conditions and circumstances, and its effect is visible at the present
time. The one manufacturing region in Ireland you will find in
Ulster. The only thing that has succeeded in money making in the
way of manufacturing in the three other provinces are two forms of
enterprise known as distilling and brewing; but in Ulster it is the
other way. Many people in Ulster feel apprehensive in regard to con
templated legislation, for they say that, if a high rate of taxation
should be put upon the provinces, the amount which would fall upon
Ulster would be out of proportion to that upon the other provinces,
and would tend to embarrass its industries.
We should do the best that we can to propagate these habits of
hard working and industry among the people with whom we come in
contact. I will mention an incident that occurred in Ulster during
the terrible famine in 1844-5-6. Owing to the complete failure of
the potato crop in Connaught, the suffering there was very intense.
Many contributions from America and elsewhere were sent in. Chris
tian ladies resolved to make the people in Ireland self-sustaining.
They corresponded with the people mostly in Ulster, and asked that
teachers be sent out to give instruction in sewed muslin work. The
result was, that female teachers, mostly the daughters of farmers in
Ulster, capable and educated, were sent into Connaught, where the
people were starving ; and the result was the in trod notion, not only of
a high moral training, but a teaching of industry, and habits of self-
support and self-reliance, which is still visible in their condition to
this day.
The second thiug I have to notice, in connection with these Ulster
people, is a certain unwillingness on their part to be the recipients of
charity. There were various forms of charity scattered over the
country, governmental and ecclesiastical. The Scotch-Irish, as a
class, were usually the last to avail themselves of these opportunities.
It is a governmental regulation in the old world that in the poor-
houses there should be chaplains of the respective denominations.
Presbyterian ministers used to smile over the fact that it was difficult
to get their people into the poor-house. They had a small constituency
in there. For nine years, I was chaplain of the Presbyterian order to
the female convict establishment in Dublin, which represented all the
female convicts of the country. My salary was not particularly ex-
SCOTCH-IRISH CHARACTERISTICS. 105
travagant, but I used to feel compunction in taking it. We had in
the establishment seven hundred female convicts. Usually, there
would be about sixty-five that were Protestants of any kind, and fifteen
of these were as many as usually fell to my lot, although the Protestant
people represented a fourth of the population of the country. This
unwillingness to be dependent upon charity is characteristic of the
people. I am sorry to say, that there are some of my fellow-country
men who do not inherit this self-respect. I remember a man that,
some time ago, made application to me for aid on the ground that he
was a Presbyterian " like 1 was," and therefore thought it best to apply
to me. There was a certain brogue in his voice that put me a little in
doubt. "Well," I said, "I know nearly every man that is in the
congregation I serve, and I don't remember seeing you there." He
convicted himself when he said, " Well, I am always there at
vespers." The American way of describing it is, that he gave himself
away without knowing it.
Let us cultivate in America this proud spirit of self-reliance.
Where is there a land with the resources that this country has ? I
was taken out yesterday eight or nine miles to the old historic church,
and as I gazed at the fertile land, the beautiful fields, the growing crops,
the magnificent trees, the treasures of the southland, I could not but
think what responsibility rests upon the people of these regions ; how
much God has given them, for which they should magnify, glorify,
and honor him I
The third thing I would like to mention in connection with these
Scotch-Irish people, is that they are very strict and conscientious in
the matter of their religious observances. My memory goes back to
the scenes that made the greatest impression upon me, I mean the
communion seasons in the country congregations. There was a solemn
assemblage of the people on Wednesday or Thursday, when the people
were expected to be in church. There was another service on Satur
day, the ministers generally getting some of their brethren to assist
them in the exercises. The services of the communion Sabbath would
last three, four, and five hours, and yet there did not seem to be any
weariness on the part of the people.
I remember how, before the elders gave the cup, the people sang :
"I'll of salvation take the cup,
And on God'8 name will call;
I'll pay my vows now to the Lord
Before His people all."
They would take a seat at the table, then communion serv
ices would follow, and thanksgiving would be raised for the bless
ings they enjoyed, and then the visiting minister would take
charge. The impression made by those services I will carry to my
dying day, and I could wish nothing better for the Scotch-Irish race
106 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
than that, reasonably dependent upon new conditions, we should retain
the same loyal attachment to God's truth, the same high appreciation
of Christian privileges, and the same spirit of consecration to him
whom we call the God of our salvation, and before whom we rejoice
as the God of our fathers. I remember the first time I was taken to
Sunday-school. Two girls, relations of mine, told me that they would
call for me. I can remember the picture that was then presented to
me. They had on their Sunday dresses, of course, nice, clean, with a
pocket handkerchief wrapped reverently around a little Bible, a flower
stuck in the end of the Bible. The girls carried this in their hands in
a decent, quiet way, and they brought me thus to school. At that time
we had no international lesson system, and no modern methods of
teaching. We boys, after school, would compare notes and say :
''How many chapters did you read? We have read thirteen." The
reply would be, "Oh, we did better than that; we read fourteen."
The work consisted mainly in the children being grouped together and
reading verse after verse. The teacher confined his instruction mainly
to correcting errors in pronunciation, and keeping the boys in good
order. An immense change has taken place to-day, and you would
not find in Christendom better organized Sunday-schools and better
teachers than there are in Ulster at the present time. Let us continue
the same methods over this laud, without partisanship, but in the true
spirit of patriotism. You and I will agree in the declaration that if
we would have the righteousness that exalteth a nation, and keep
away the sin that disgraces a people, we must get the word of the
Lord into the hearts of the. people, we must educate the conscience
and keep it educated, and then men will fear God, and work righteous
ness.
One other thing characteristic of the people as I knew them :
that is, the great interest they felt in education. This is a fruitful
theme, but I will not dwell long upon it. I will only mention that for
generations, in the province of Ulster, an educated ministry was always
sought and obtained; but that these men might be educated had given
the greatest trouble and difficulty. No college would admit them.
Trinity college was founded upon a broad basis, and the two first fel
lows were Presbyterians and Scotchmen. But this was taken away,
and the boys had then to go to Scotland. They walked fifty or sixty
miles with a package on their shoulders. They stopped at the farm
houses, and they never were refused hospitality. They would land at
Glasgow and walk to Edinburgh, and accept hospitality from the peo
ple. Dr. Henry Cook, one of the greatest men that Ireland ever pro
duced, made his way thus to a Scottish university. The process of
SCOTCH-IRISH CHARACTERISTICS. 107
conflict, of self-denial, of constrained ingenuity that these youug men
were compelled to go through in order to obtain an education, made
them in :i high degree strong men, capable men, business men, effect
ive men in doing the work that was given them as leaders of the peo
ple, and instructors in the interests of good. Some of the best in
structors that the people call Scotch-Irish were found in the persons of
ministers. A minister would set up a classical school to which boys
would come to get an education that was necessary to fit them for en
tering college. Many came who did not want to learn the classics.
All paid school fees regularly, and maintained their independence. In
this connection I think of the Rev. Mr. Blakely, minister in Mouo-
han, where there are hundreds of men, and not a few upon this conti
nent to-day, who will tell you that they owe every thing in life to the
teaching of that faithful minister, who did the duties of his charge at
the same time he was giving this instruction. Another specimen was
Dr. McKee, a kinsman of the man to whom I have alluded.
It is my misfortune that I arn tall. I am a high churchman by
nature. I was tall as a boy, but Mr. McKee was taller, six feet,
seven, and perfectly straight. I remember to-day with pride that lie
laid his hand upon my head and gave me a pleasant word. I was a
student then, but I never forgot it. He had a fine school and a large
congregation. He was a farmer, and managed his farm with skill and
ability. He had a good horse, and like Mr. Boimer here, he was very
proud of horses, but he never touched any thing like betting or
gambling on races. He was driving through his parish one afternoon
on one of his extremely good horses. It was a day like this, with a
strong sun. There was a poor man working in a field by the roadside,
with his coat off, and his shirt badly torn. The consequence was that
the sun had reddened that portion of his skin which was exposed, as
if it would blister it. McKee looked at the man and pitied him. He
dismounted, and having long legs, stepped over the fence. "My
friend, come here," and McKee took off his waistcoat and shirt, and
made the man put on the shirt, and then buttoning up the coat,
said, " Nobody will miss my shirt before I get home," and he
left it there. He was the only Presbyterian minister in Ireland
that was invited to go and to speak in a Roman Catholic Church.
The people regarded him as an honest, God-fearing man, and they
said : " Whatever he says we must do." He passed away, but
left a son behind who was my successor in the large church in Dub
lin. He was minister in the north of Ireland before being brought
to Dublin. I heard a circumstance concerning him that I will repeat
now. " You ought to have a better salary," said some of his deacons
108 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
to him. " Why ? " said he. " Well, you have to go to more expense
than we," they said. "You have to wear better clothing, and keep
up better style." " Clothing," said he, and he turned around and laid
his hand upon the head of one of his elders who was near, and said :
" He is a better man than I ; why should I have a better coat than
he?" That was the style of the man; unselfish, noble, heroic, living
for the truth ; and when his health broke down, and he had to go to
Australia with the hope of improving it. It was proposed by and by,
in the course of time, that there should be established a national
system of education. All united secular education was fought by the
Catholics. The Presbyterians first took their stand in the support
of that system. The time was when my poor countrymen who came
here from the other provinces of Ireland could neither read nor write,
and came as navvies, porters, and railroad hands. The corresponding
class coming to this country to-day does not come to be porters and rail
road workers, but present themselves at the dry-goods stores and other
such occupations, because they have an education that can sustain
them. There have been established in Ireland colleges three Queen's
colleges and two other institutions under the control of the General As
sembly, and the best educational facilities are enjoyed by the people;
and it is with great satisfaction that I notice from time to time in the
contests in the three kingdoms, that the male and female students from
these Irish institutions take their places among the foremost. Ulster
is keeping its ground in the forefront in the education of the country.
I am unwilling to take up too much of your time, but will say a
single word in relation to things denominational there at this time. A
very intelligent man said to me a short while ago: " I am glad to see
you, and to shake hands with you. When an Irishman becomes a
Presbyterian, he is sure to be a good one." That gentleman had in
his mind the idea that all Irishmen in their native land were other
than Protestant. That is a mistake. I might say in rough numbers
that one-fourth of the people of Ireland are Protestant, and nearly
one-half of these retain the Scotch Presbyterian type. The other
half is the Protestant Episcopal church, which is strongest in Ulster,
but is to some extent spread over the kingdom. I accordingly say to
the gentlemen who are round about me, that when you are trying to
form an estimate of proposed legislation for Ireland, of which we read
so much, take into consideration the historic claims of this portion of
Ireland, and its peculiar position ; for, unless we do so, we can not
rightly judge of the situation. The Irish General Assembly does
not contain many rich people. They are found mostly in Belfast
and the manufacturing centers, but although these people were
SCOTCH-IRISH CHARACTERISTICS. 109
poor they founded colonial missions; preachers were sent to Canada
and Australia, avid these reflected gratitude to the feeble Presby
terian church of Ireland by establishing kindred institutions in
those two dominions. The General Assembly now has missions in
India, and in China, and in Spain. It has six hundred congregations
as many ministers, and I might say that to-day there can not be found
in Christendom a more determined body of ministers. And I am also
glad to speak a word on behalf of the Protestant Episcopal church,
which has working members and ministers. The disestablishment
which took place, it was supposed by many, would destroy that institu
tion, the state and church being so intimately connected. But the crisis
was passed, and the members of the church found a responsibility rest
ing upon them which they did not feel before, and though there have
been a few local troubles, the Protestant Episcopal church in Ireland
is stronger and better than before the disestablishment. This is one
more illustration of the way in which the United States is setting the
example to the nations and the countries of the world, of breaking
down prejudice and making friends.
This meeting is the beginning of a series, the commencement of
an organization that I think may do great good over this laud. Let
us know one another, and have sympathy with one another. Let it be
intelligent sympathy. Let us try to understand the historical inci
dents of the country, and of the people to which we belong. Let us
know how God led them. I can but think that the eye of America is
seeing more distinctly than it once did, the way in which its life was
shaped. There were Huguenots who suffered temptations and learned
the trials of freedom. The Puritan passed through the same experi
ence. He knew the blessing of free conscience, free worship, free
legislation ; and there are Scotch-Irish well fitted to be their com
panions, their comrades, their fellow soldiers, and fellow workers in
the building up of a great nation, where God on the one hand shall
have his rights, and his creatures on the other hand shall have their
rights that he intended them to enjoy, and with which He blessed the
community. Let us know one another, care for one another, love
one another; let us help one another, and feel that it is a dignity that
God has put upon us when he permits us to co-operate with these,
our brethren, without sectionalism, partisanship or political feeling, iu
developing our great nation. On higher grounds let us come together
and co-operate in building up and perpetuating the power of this
great and glorious country : and then we, the children of the Scotch-
Irish, will be moving upon the lines along which our fathers have
gone in the generations that preceded us.
110 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OF THE SOUTH.
BY HON. \VM. WIRT HENRY, LL.D., OF VIRGINIA.
Mr. President, Members of the Congress, Ladies and Gentlemen: In
obeying the call to take part in this celebration, I recognize the com
pliment paid the state from which I come, a state so rich in historic
memories, and whose history has been so interwoven with that of the
people in whose honor we have met, that her greatness may be said to
have been the outgrowth of their sterling qualities, rather than of any
other portion of her population.
In the name of Virginia, the mother of states and of statesmen,
I salute you, and bid you God-speed in gathering up and preserving
the records and traditions of the noble race which has ever been fore
most in the march of Christian civilization.
The history of the human race in its progress along the path of
civilization is filled with the migrations of the more vigorous races or
nations, who have left their native lands to seize and occupy the
countries possessed by inferior or degenerate populations. Sometimes,
these migrations have been of nations, as was that of the Israelites,
but generally they have been simply colonies, which have preserved
for a longer or shorter time their connection with or dependence upon
the mother countries. Among the nations of antiquity, the Greeks
and Romans were most distinguished for their spirit of colonization,
and to this was due, in great measure, the wonderful influence they
severally exerted. But of all the race movements, that which has
most affected the history of the world has been the colonization and
subsequent occupation of North America by the English-speaking
people, and, among these, none can claim just precedence over the
Scotch-Irish, whom we are met this day to honor.
The vain efforts of the civil power to exterminate early Christian
ity by fire and sword were followed by its embrace, under the Emperor
Constautine, in the fourth century. The adulterous union which en
sued was more disastrous to the pure religion of Christ than persecu
tion. The one purified, but the other corrupted it. From it followed
a debasement of both church and state, and a long reign of civil and
religious tyranny. The face of the divine author of civil and religious
liberty seemed veiled, and the dark ages of the world followed, in
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OF THE SOUTH. Ill
which human rights seemed hopelessly enchained by priest and king.
But liberty, like truth
"Though crushed to earth, will rise again,
The eternal years of God are hers."
Finally, after a thousand years of darkness, the light of the ap
proaching day began to empurple the horizon. The fifteenth century
witnessed the preparation for the coming reformation in the invention
of movable type, the revival of letters, and the discovery of America,
destined to be the great field for the development of civil and religious
liberty, and the asylum of the oppressed.
The sixteenth century was resplendent with the light of reformed
Christianity, but, as at the first, it derived much of its brilliancy from
the sparks struck by the rough hand of persecution.
The claim of Spain to America was based upon its discovery by
Columbus, and the grant of Pope Alexander VI. These so-called
muniments of title were fortified by explorations and settlements.
From these last Spain derived immense riches, and became the most
powerful nation of Europe. But her wealth was devoted to the de
struction of the reformed faith, which, kindled in Germany by Luther,
was spreading rapidly over the continent. But God, who restrains the
wrath of man and makes the remainder thereof to praise him, brought
good out of the evil designed.
The refusal of the pope to divorce the Spanish wife of Henry
VIII. of England, caused that royal Blue Beard to separate his king
dom from the domination of the Catholic see, and to encourage its
tendency to embrace the principles of the Reformation. The effort
of the papacy to crush out the Reformation in France and the Nether
lands led to the implantation in America of the Protestant English
race.
Among the English who volunteered, in 1569, for the defense of
the Protestant religion on the continent, was a youth of seventeen,
who left Oxford and his studies to learn the art of war under Admiral
Coligny and William the Silent. While thus engaged, he conceived
a mortal hatred to Spain, and perceiving that her strength lay in her
American possessions, he conceived the idea of wresting the New
World from her by English colonization. This youth became the
celebrated soldier, statesman, courtier, poet, historian, and philosopher,
Sir Walter Raleigh. When, by his courage, he had won military re
nown, and by his address had won the favor of his great sovereign,
Elizabeth, and wealth came with honor, he devoted it to the realiza
tion of his great design. His colony at Roanoke Island, planted in
112 THE SCOTCH IRISH IN AMERICA.
1584, perished, indeed, because he was forced to neglect it to aid in
the defense of England against the great Spanish Armada, designed
to crush out Protestantism in that kingdom. But the inspiration of
his genius did not die. The pusillanimous James, who succeeded his
heroic mistress on the throne, cast him into the Tower, after the mock
ery of a trial for treason, and finally beheaded him, at the behest of
the Spanish king. But if Catholic Spain compassed his death, it was
not till he had struck that power a mortal blow, at Cadiz, on 21st
June, 1596, in the destruction of her fleet and the capture of the city,
a blow which marks the beginning of her decadence as a great power.
Nor was he put to death till he had seen the beginning of the fulfill
ment of his prediction, that he should " live to see America an English
nation." In his prison walls, he heard of, if he could not see, the de
parture of the little fleet which carried the English colony to James
town, in 1607; and before his execution, in 1618, Virginia had he-
come a vigorous colony under the London Company, which had suc
ceeded to his charter rights.
The planting of that colony marks a most important era in the
history of the world. It was the beginning of the system of English
colonization, which has belted the earth, and has made the inhabitants
of the little British Isles the greatest power in the world. From that
feeble germ, preserved from destruction by an Indian maiden, has
been developed an English nation which controls the continent of
North America, and, within three hundred years, has become one
among the foremost nations of the earth. Had not Pocahontas
thrown herself between the heroic Smith and the uplifted club raised
for his execution, the feeble colony would have lost its protecting
genius, .and would, doubtless, have perished. Had it perished, the
Latin nations, with imperialism in church and state, would, doubtless,
have possessed the continent they already so largely occupied. What
would have been the result we may see by looking upon Mexico, with
her degenerate people and unstable government, permanent in nothing
but in oppression and misrule.
But in the councils of heaven it had been determined that the
tree of liberty should be planted in America, and should so flourish in
its genial soil that it should fill the land and cast its benign influences
over all the earth. For this great trust, but one people was fitted
the liberty-loving, the liberty-preserving Anglo-Saxon race. They
came with English Protestantism, and English constitutional law, de
veloped under Magna Charta by free Parliaments. In the keeping
of that handful of men who landed at Jamestown in 1607, was the
hope of America for free institutions.
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OP THE SOUTH. 113
But, as has been the history of liberty in all ages, its preservation
here has cost a continuous struggle. Not only on American soil, but
on European fields, the possession of America was the bone of conten
tion between Catholic and Protestant powers for a century and a half.
Finally, in 1763, Protestant England was left in possession of the con
tinent east of the Mississippi, except the Floridas bordering the Gulf
of Mexico. The hand of Providence had thus prepared the way for
the great republic, soon to succeed the British power in all of its ter
ritory south of the lakes. In this preparation, as we look back at it
now in the light of history, nothing is more striking than the training
of the peoples for their great work of establishing free institutions in
America. In the school of tyranny, they learned to value liberty.
The history of the English, the Dutch, and the French settlers,
who united to found the United States, is of the deepest interest, ex
hibiting, as it does, the dealings of God in preparing a suitable popu
lation for this great republic. But on this occasion, our thoughts are
turned to but one of the peoples to whom the world is indebted for the
America of to-day, with all of its grand achievements in the past and
its power for incalculable good in the future.
The kingdom of Scotland, first known as "Scotia Minor," wag
settled by the ancient race of Celts, who came over from Ireland, then
known as " Scotia Major." But, in the course of time, this rude peo
ple were almost entirely supplanted by, when not commingled with,
the sturdy race from the south of the Tweed, the admixture of the
Norman and Saxon, with a slight infus r ju of Danish blood. Says
Macaulay : " The population of Scotland, with the exception of the
Celtic tribes, which were thinly scattered over the Hebrides and ovei
the northern parts of the mountainous shires, was of the same blood
with the population of England, and spoke a tongue which did not
differ from the purest English more than the dialects of Somersetshire
and Lancashire difter from each other."
The air and food north of the Tweed, and the Celtic infusion, as
years rolled around, gave the distinguishing characteristics of the
Scotch people, and intensified in them the noble traits of the English
stern integrity, high sense of duty, hatred of tyranny, and devotion
to God.
Presbyterianism, after a long and bloody struggle with Roman
ism, was at last established on its soil, in the sixteenth century, under
the leadership of that great man " who never feared the face of clay,"
the brave John Knox, who laid the foundations of a free and well-
ordered church so broad and deep that Scotland has ever since re-
8
114 THE 8COTCH-IETSH IN AMERICA.
mained Presbyterian to the core. When asked by Queen Mary,
"Think you that subjects, having power, may resist their princes ?"
his memorable reply was, " If princes exceed their bounds, madam,
no doubt they may be resisted even by power." This Froude styles
" the creed of republics in its first hard form." It contained the germ
of American liberty. His mantle fell on a worthy successor, Andrew
Melville, who, in his noble rebuke to King James, proclaimed that
principle of religious freedom which has ever been characteristic
of the Scotch church, and which developed into the complete divorce
of church and state in America.
Said he: "There are two kings and two kingdoms in Scotland.
There is King James, the head of this commonwealth, and there is
Christ Jesus, the king of the church, whose subject James the Sixth
is, and of whose kingdom he is not a king, nor a lord, nor a head, but
a member. We will yield to your place, and give you all due obedi
ence. But again I say, you are not the head of the church."
Under the influence of general education and a pure Christianity,
the Scotch character developed to the greatest excellency yet attained
by civilization. Nothing has ever surpassed the peasant life described
by Burns in " The Cotter's Saturday Night," or the Scottish lords and
ladies pictured by the pen of Sir Walter Scott.
The effort of Catholic Spain, in the sixteenth century, to wrest
the Emerald Isle from Great Britain, stimulated a series of rebellions,
which were finally quelled toward the close of the reign of Elizabeth.
Upon her successor was laid the task of pacifying the island. In
September, 1607, four months after the settlement at Jamestown, the
earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel, the great leaders in the Catholic
rebellions, sailed from the beautiful Lough S willy, on the northwest
coast of Ireland, followed by thousands of their old companions in
arms, and sought a new home on the continent. The day of their de
parture dates a new era in Irish history. They left large tracts of
laud in north Ireland unoccupied and forfeited to the crown, and these
were parceled out among a body of Scotch and English, brought over
for the purpose. The far greater number of these plantations were
from the lower part of Scotland, and became known as " Scotch-
Irish." Thus a new population was given to the north of Ireland, which
has changed its history. The province of Ulster, with fewer natural
advantages than either Munster, Leinster, or Connaught, became the
most prosperous, industrious, and law-abiding of all Ireland. ludeed,
the difference between Scotland and Spain is not greater than between
Ulster and her sister counties, even to this day.
But the Protestant population thus transplanted to the north of
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OF THE SOUTH. 115
Ireland was destined to suffer many and bloody persecutions, cul
minating in the world -renowned siege of Londonderry, in the reign of
James II., the unparalleled defense of whic,h saved Protestantism in
the island, and enabled William of Orange to secure his throne.
Tempered by these, the iron in the Scotch character became finest
steel. During the reign of William they had rest, but the accession
of Anne, "the good Queen Anne," as she is often called, was the oc
casion of the renewal of the persecution of the Presbyterians. In
1704, the test-oath was imposed, by which every one in public em
ployment was required to profess English prelacy. It was intended
to suppress Popery, but was used by the Episcopal bishops to check
Presbyterian ism. To this was added burdensome restraints on their
commerce, and extortionate rents from their landlords, resulting in
what is known as the Antrim evictions. There had been occasional
emigrations from the north ; of Ireland from the plantation of the
Scotch, and one of the ministers sent over in 1683, Francis Makemie,
had organized on the eastern shore of 'Maryland and in the adjoining
counties of Virginia the first Presbyterian churches in America. But
in the early part of the eighteenth century the great movement began
which transported so large a portion of the Scotch-Irish into the
American colonies, and, through their influence, shaped in a great
measure the destinies of America. Says the historian Froude : " In
the two years which followed the Antrim evictions, thirty thousand
Protestants left Ulster for a land where there was "no legal robbery,
and where those who sowed the seed could reap the harvest." Alarmed
by the depletion of the Protestant population, the Toleration Act was
passed, and by it, and further promises of relief, the tide of emigra
tion was checked for a brief period. In 1728, however, it began
anew, and from 1729 to 1750, it was estimated that " about twelve
thousand came annually from Ulster to America." So many had set
tled in Pennsylvania before 1729 that James Logan, the Quaker
president of that colony, expressed his fear that they would become
proprietors of the province.
These emigrants brought with them and retained in their new
homes distinctive characteristics. These may be summed up as
follows :
1. They were Presbyterians in their religion and church govern
ment.
2. They were loyal to the conceded authority of the king ; but
they considered him bound, as well as themselves, by the engage
ments of " the Solemn League and Covenant," entered into in 1643
by the Westminster Assembly and Parliament on the one side and
116 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
the Scottish nation on the other, and adopted by the Presbyterians of
Ireland in 1644, pledging the support of the reformation and of the
liberties of the kingdoms.
3. They claimed the right to choose their own ministers, untram-
meled by the civil powers.
4. They practiced strict discipline in morals, and gave full in-
struction to their youth in common schools and academies, and in
teaching them the Bible, and that wonderful summary of its doctrine
contained in the Westminster Assembly's Catechism.
5. They combined, in a remarkable degree, acuteness of intel
lect, firmness of purpose, and conscientious devotion to duty.
It has been well said of them by one who had watched their de
velopment in spite of opposition : "Man might as well attempt to
lay his interdict upon the coming forth of vegetation, when the powers
of nature are warmed and refreshed by genial influences from above,
as to arrest the progress of such a people in knowledge and improve
ment."
/This bold stream of emigrants struck the American continent
mainly on the eastern border of Pennylvania, and was, in great meas
ure, turned southward through Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina,
and South Carolina, reaching and crossing the Savannah river. It
was met at various points by counter streams of the same race, which
had entered the continent through the seaports of the Carolinas and
Georgia. Turning westward, the combined flood overflowed the
mountains and covered the rich valley of the Mississippi beyond. As
the Puritans or Round-heads of the south, but freed from fanaticism,
they gave tone to its people and direction to its history.
It is of these that it is my privilege to speak to-day.
Leaving Pennsylvania, southward, the first colony into which this
race entered was Maryland. Their settlements were principally in
the narrow slip which constitutes the western portion, but we find them
in every part of the colony. It was due to them that Maryland was
among the foremost of the colonies in the Indian wars and in the
Revolution. Of this blood was her great Revolutionary leader,
Charles Carroll, and that model soldier, John Eager Howard. He
seized the critical moment with his brave Maryland line at the battle
of Cowpens, and turned the fortunes of the day, and was equally de
serving of success, but less fortunate, at Guilford and Eutaw. Of
him General Greene wrote, introducing him to a friend : "This will
be handed to you by Colonel Howard, as good an officer as the world
affords. He has great ability and the best disposition to promote the
service. My own obligations to him are great the public's still more
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OF THE SOUTH. 117
so. He deserves a statue of gold no less than the Roman and Grecian
heroes."
It was to this population, and to the Puritans driven from Vir
ginia to Maryland, that Protestantism is indebted for the rescue of
the colony from the Romish faith ; and in all that has made. the state
so conspicuous on the page of American history, we find traces of the
Scotch-Irish.
Proceeding southward, we next enter the great colony of Vir
ginia, and here we can more clearly discover the effect of this people
upon her destiny.
Traces of the Scotch-Irish were found in Virginia east of the
Blue Ridge in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and early in
the eighteenth they were found in Albemarle, Nelson, Campbell,
Prince Edward, and Charlotte counties, and along the great valley
west of the Blue Ridge. But it was after the year 1738 that they en
tered that valley in great numbers, and, with the exception of some
German settlements near its lower end, completely possessed it from
the Pennsylvania to the North Carolina line. In that year the Synod
of Philadelphia (upon the application of John Caldwell, a Scotch-
Irish elder, afterward settled at Cub creek, in Charlotte county, Va.,
and the grandfather of the great statesman, John Caldwell Calhoun),
sent a commissioner to the governor of Virginia with a proposal to
people the valley with Presbyterians, who should hold the western
frontier against the Indians and thus protect the colony, upon one
condition only, " that they be allowed the liberty of their consciences
and of worshiping God in a way agreeable to the principles of their
education." To this Governor Gooch, himself a Scotchman, returned
a gracious answer and a promise of the protection afforded by the
Act of Toleration.
With this agreement the territory west of the Blue Ridge was
soon filled with a Scotch-Irish population, who were glad to defend
the cavaliers of the colony from the implacable savage as the price of
civil and religious liberty. Living in continual danger from the
treacherous foe, their faithful rifles were their constant companions,
and were seen even in the school-houses and the churches which in
variably marked their settlements. In the pulpit the trusty rifle was
as convenient to the preacher as the Bible. With such a training,
no wonder that this noble race soon demonstrated their right to con
trol the destinies of their colony, in peace as well as in war. As
the country filled up, new counties were set off, and the delegates
from these and from the Piedmont counties of kindred blood, together
known as back or upper counties, began to control the House of Bur-
118 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
gesses. In the wars \vhich preceded the Revolution, the soldiers of
Virginia were mainly drawn from this section. They suffered defeat
with "Washington at the Meadows, and with Braddock at Fort Du-
quesne, and, by their firmness, saved the remnant of that rash gener
al's army. They won the signal victory at Point Pleasant, in 1774,
which struck terror into the Indian tribes across the Ohio, and was the
prelude to the War of Independence, for which the officers engaged
in that battle at once offered their swords.
In 1765, when England, having driven the French from North
America, began her oppressive measures against her own colonies,
and, regardless of their chartered rights and the English constitution,
imposed a stamp tax upon them through a Parliament in which they
had no representation, it was the youthful son' of a Scotchman who in
troduced the resolutions into the Virginia House of Burgesses denying
the validity of the act, which aroused the continent and " set in motion
the ball of the Revolution." And it was Scotch-Irish votes that se
cured their passage, against the combined efforts of the old leaders of
the House. In the long struggle which followed, iu which, step by
step, Virginia led her sister colonies along the path to independence,
it was the same bold leader, with his Scotch-Irish cohorts, that directed
her steps. Says Mr. Jefferson, speaking of Mr. Henry to Daniel
Webster: " He was far before us all in maintaining the spirit of the
Revolution. His influence was most extensive with the members from
the upper counties, and his boldness and their votes overawed and
controlled the more cool or the more timid aristocratic gentlemen of
the lower part of the state. After all, it must be allowed that he was
our leader in the measures of the Revolution in Virginia."
At the first call of Congress for soldiers to defend the town of
Boston, Daniel Morgan, of Scotch-Irish blood, at once raised a com
pany of riflemen among his people in the lower valley of Virginia,
and, by a forced march of six hundred miles, reached the beleaguered
town in three weeks. His company was but the advance of a steady
supply of soldiers from the same hardy race, which, whether in the
continental line or the militia ranks, made glorious the name of Vir
ginia in the seven years' struggle which ensued. To the soldiers of
this blood, it was given to turn the tide of war at more than one crit
ical period in the desperate struggle of our fathers for freedom. It is
proper, on this occasion, to recall some of these instances. Morgan,
after distinguishing himself in the ill-fated expedition against Canada,
was taken prisoner before Quebec. Upon his exchange, he returned
to the valley of Virginia, and raised a corps of riflemen from among
its Scotch-Irish people. Joining Washington, he was sent by him to
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OF THE SOUTH. 119
aid Gates in meeting the British invasion from Canada under Bur
goyne. The battle of Saratoga, 7th October, 1777, which followed,
is included, with reason, by Creasy, in his volume entitled "The Fif
teen Decisive Battles of the World," each one of which changed the
current of human history. Before that great victory, neither in Eng
land nor on the continent was it believed that the American patriots
would be able to maintain the struggle upon which they had entered.
France, the hereditary enemy of England, was anxious to assist the
revolted colonies, but only in case that they showed themselves capable
of continuing the conflict, which they had not yet done. The British
campaign for 1777 was well laid. It consisted of a movement from
Canada under Burgoyne, to be met by a strong force from New York
under Clinton, and the combined army to isolate and conquer New
England. The American army, under Gates, was between Burgoyne
and Clinton, and must needs engage and overcome Burgoyne before
the arrival of Clinton, or be itself crushed between the two approaching
armies.
On the memorable 7th October, the forces of Gates and Burgoyne
met, the right wing of the British, and the flower of the army, being
led by the brave Scotchman, General Simon Frazer, the idol of the
army. On the American left, was the equally brave Scotch-Irishman,
Colonel Morgan, with his regiment of sharpshooters, every one of
whom was a marksman. In the desperate battle which followed,
Morgan noticed that a British officer, mounted on an iron-gray charger,
was most active in the fight, and that wherever he rode he turned
the tide of battle. It was the gallant Frazer. Morgan called to
Timothy Murphy, one of the best shots in his regiment, and pointing
to the British officer on the iron-gray horse, he said, " Bring him
down." At the crack of the faithful rifle, the British officer reeled in
his saddle and fell. The forces he was leading at once became con
fused, and soon fell back. ' The crisis was passed, and the battle, upon
which hung the fate of America, was won. In a few days, Burgoyne
was forced to surrender his whole army. When introduced to Morgan,
he grasped his hand and said : " Sir, you command the finest regiment
in the world." The news of the victory produced an entire change in
European policy. France at once acknowledged the independence of
the American states, and entered into a treaty of alliance with them.
War between her and England followed, and soon Spain and Holland
joined in the conflict. With their aid, the American, patriots were
enabled to maintain the struggle four years longer, till finally England
gave up the contest.
But during that four years, another critical period arrived, in
120 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
which the stalwart Scotch-Irish soldiery, by one memorable battle,
changed the face of the war.
Despairing of conquering the northern states with Washington to
defend them, the British determined to attack from the sea, of which
they were the masters, the southern states, and to subdue them in de
tail, striking first at Georgia, the weakest of them all. This work was
committed to the celebrated Earl Cornwallis, and no one was more
capable of executing the plan. He soon overran Georgia and South
Carolina, having destroyed two American armies sent to check him
the first under General Howe, and the second under General Gates.
He at once pushed northward, before another army could be organized
to meet him, intending to overrun North Carolina and Virginia in
rapid succession. Indeed, General Leslie was already in Virginia,
ready to join him on his arrival, and, in the meantime, was to keep
that state, if possible, from sending aid to her southern sisters.
In his movement northward, Cornwallis divided his army, and
sent a portion of it, under Colonel Patrick Ferguson, an accomplished
Scotch officer, along the route which bordered the mountains of Caro
lina. His force threatened the Scotch-Irish settlements west of the
mountains of North Carolina and in the south-west portion of Virginia.
These rapidly organized a volunteer force, under Colonels Sevier,
Shelby, McDowell, and Campbell, which rendezvoused at the "Watauga
settlement, in what is now East Tennessee. These were afterward
joined by some of their race from the Caroliuas, under Colonels Will
iams and Cleaveland. The veteran Colonel William Campbell, from
Virginia, was chosen as commander, and crossing the mountains rap
idly, they threw themselves in the path of Ferguson. The battle of
King's Mountain followed, on the 7th October, 1880, in which the en
tire British force was killed or captured. Cornwallis was forced to
come to a halt, fall back, and wait for reinforcements, which were
drawn from the British force in Virginia. Before he recovered from
the blow, General Greene, who had been sent by Washington to or
ganize and lead another army against the invaders, was able to accom
plish the task, and afterward, by his masterly movements, to so cripple
the British general that he was forced to abandon his conquests and
betake himself by another route to Virginia, there to be captured by
the combined American and French armies. Every subsequent event
which led in logical succession to the surrender of the British army at
Yorktown an4 the close of the Revolution, may be traced to that
memorable battle at King's Mountain, won by an army composed
almost entirely of Scotch-Irish volunteers, who had not waited for the
call of their government, but, upon the rumored approach of danger,
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OF THE SOUTH. 121
had sprung to arras and hastened to meet it. In the subsequent bat
tles of Cowpens and Guilford, we find the same Scotch-Irish element
following up the work so gloriously begun at King's Mountain.
But not alone in these and other battles of the Revolution did
the Scotch-Irish of Virginia lay their country under never-ending
obligations. To them is due the magnificent domain over which the
original thirteen states have stretched in their expansion westward.
By the treaty of Paris, in 1763, the western boundary of the
American colonies was fixed at the Mississippi river. England after
ward extended the Canadian government over the territory west of
the Ohio and south of the lakes, and established a chain of forts
reaching from the lakes to the Mississippi, above the mouth of the
Ohio. This territory was embraced in the charter of Virginia, and
she distinctly claimed it in 1776, on assuming state sovereignty. But
it was held by British troops, who at the same time continually in
stigated the Indians to murderous raids on the white settlements
south and east of the Ohio. Early in 1778, Governor Henry com
missioned Colonel George Rogers Clark to lead a secret expedition
against these north-western forts, with a view of occupying, with Vir
ginia troops, the territory she claimed. Clark collected his men from
the Scotch-Irish inhabitants west of the Blue Ridge, in what was then
Augusta county, and from the district of Kentucky, then beginning
to be peopled by the same race. In a campaign which John Ran
dolph has aptly compared to that of Hannibal in Italy, he possessed
himself of the British posts south of the lakes, capturing Hamilton,
the British governor, and securing to Virginia the entire north
west.
This campaign, unsurpassed in daring, and unequaled in results
by any recorded in history, was conducted with less than two hun
dred Virginia militia. The noble commonwealth, which had taken
the .first steps looking to Union, finding that some of the states were
reluctant to sign the confederation while Virginia held so large a ter
ritory, with unequaled generosity and patriotism ceded her entire con
quest to the United States, and thus secured the Union. "When
England and Spain in succession attempted to deprive the American
states of this magnificent domain during the negotiations for peace,
the American commissioners, under direction of Congress, relied on
the conquest of Clark and subsequent occupation of Virginia.
The rule of uti possidetis prevailed,' and independence was
acknowledged by Great Britain, with the Mississippi as our western
border. Our extension to the Pacific has been only the logical result.
Had not that Scotch-Irish band of heroes wrested from the British
122 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
Lion his western prey, the Alleghanies or the Ohio would have been
our western border, and the original thirteen states skirting the At
lantic would, in all probability, have been our territorial limits
to-day.
No one knew better than Washington the sterling qualities of this
race, and he paid it the highest compliment ever paid to any people
when, in the darkest moment of the Revolution, he said, that if all
others failed him, he would plant his standard on the Blue Ridge of
Virginia, rally around him the people of the valley, and make his
last stand for the liberties of America.
Nor has the virtue in the blood lost its power of making heroes
to this day. It was from this people that the immortal Stonewall
Jackson sprang, and from them he drew the troops that followed him,
and excited for themselves and for their great commander the admira
tion of the world.
But, however glorious in war, this race in Virginia have won
triumphs in the peaceful halls of legislation no less beneficial to hu
manity than any won on battle-fields. It was Scotch-Irish blood that
moved the pen that wrote the Declaration of Independence, the first
draft of the United States Constitution, and the divorce between
church and state. The influence of these upon the history of the
race is incalculable. The last has been justly described as the con
tribution of America to the science of government. Though claimed
by the founder of Christianity and his early followers, religious
liberty was never accorded to the Christian Church. The state
claimed the right to control the religious beliefs of her citizens, and
the claim was not relinquished when the Christian Church formed its
unholy alliance with the state. The Reformers of the fifteenth century
did not undertake to deny this power of the state over the church, but
in their creeds appealed to the state to enforce the penalties pronounced
by church courts. In Virginia we have seen there was a church
establishment, and toleration was all that the Scotch-Irish could' ob
tain in repayment for their protection of the western border.
In 1774, we find their Presbytery petitioning the House of Bur
gesses for as much freedom in religious matters as the British con
stitution afforded in secular matters. When two years afterward,
the Virginia convention, after taking up independence for herself, and
ordering it to be moved in Congress for America, engaged in forming,
as a basis of government, a declaration of the rights of man, the
greatest state paper ever written, the same voice that stirred the conti
nent to resist the Stamp Act, moved to insert as one of the inalien
able rights of man his right to worship his God according to the
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OF THE SOUTH. 123
dictates of his conscience. Adopted into the Virginia Bill of Rights,
it has been copied into every constitution in America. At the very
next session of the Assembly, the same Presbytery, controlled by
Scotch-Irish voices, sent a memorial written by a Scotch-Irish pen,
held by Caleb Wallace, enlarging upon the great principle embodied
in the Bill of Rights, and showing its guarantee of perfect religious
liberty. It was following in their wake that Jefferson afterward wrote
his celebrated act for the establishment of religious liberty, which has
effected the divorce of church and state, not only in Virginia, but
throughout the Union, and whose principles seem destined to unfetter
the Christian conscience throughout the world. Thus there was com
pleted by the Scotch-Irish of Virginia, in 1776, the reformation com
menced by Luther two hundred and fifty years before.
To this people Virginia is indebted also for her earliest educa
tional institutions of high grade, except the royal college of William
and Mary; and one of their number, Thomas Jefferson, was the
founder of the State University.
In the year 1736, Henry McCullock, from the province of Ulster,
obtained a grant of 64,000 acres in the present county of Duplin,
North Carolina, and introduced upon it between three and four
thousand of his Scotch-Irish countrymen from the north of Ireland.
About the same time the Scotch began to occupy the lower Cape
Fear, and after the defeat of the Pretender, at Cullodeu, in 1746,
great numbers of Scotch Highlanders, who had adhered to his for
tunes, emigrated to North Carolina, taking up their residence in the
counties of Bladeu, Cumberland, Robeson, Moore, Richmond, Harnett,
Chatham, and Ansom, and giving the Scotch the ascendancy in the
upper Cape Fear region. In the meantime, the current of emigration
to America from Ulster had become a bold stream, entering the con
tinent mainly at Philadelphia and flowing westward. Braddock's de
feat rendering border life dangerous, many of the new-comers turned
southward, moving parallel to tbe Blue Ridge through Virginia and
North Carolina until they met the other stream of their countrymen
which was moving upward from Charleston along the banks of the
Santee, Wateree, Broad, Pacolet, Ennoree, and Saluda, and this emi
gration to North Carolina continued for forty years, till checked by
the Revolution.
It is not known with certainty when the Scotch-Irish were first
introduced into the country between the Dan and the Catawba, but
they were found in the counties of Granville, Orange, Rowan, and
Mecklenburg previous to 1750. So great was the proportion of this
race in North Carolina before the Revolution that they may be said
124 TELE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
to have given direction to her history. With their advent begins the
educational history of the state, and during the eighteenth century
that history is inseparably connected with the Presbyterian Church.
One name stands out pre-eminent in this history. It is that of the
Scotch-Irish minister, David Caldwell, whose classical school, estab
lished in 1767 near Greensborough, was the Eton of the south. But
besides classical schools they established academies and colleges.
Queen's College, located in the town of Charlotte, in Mecklenburg
county, was chartered in 1770, but its charter was repealed by George
III., of whom it was said that "no compliments to his queen could
render Whigs in politics and Presbyterians in religion acceptable to
him." It continued, however, to flourish under the royal frown, and
was incorporated in 1777 as " Liberty Hall." But the Revolution
closed its doors, and Cornwallis first desecrated it by quartering his
troops within it, and afterward burned the buildings. Davidson Col
lege, in the northern part of Mecklenburg county, established by the
Presbyterians long after the war, may be considered the successor of
this venerable institution, which was sacrificed upon the altar of
patriotism.
It was to the Scotch-Irish delegates that is due the credit of in
serting in the first constitution of the state the provision for a state
university, which has proved such a blessing to the state and to the
South.
In North Carolina, as in Virginia, this race was earliest in claim
ing the rights of freemen against British oppression. Indeed, four
years before the battle of Lexington, Scotch-Irish blood was shed in
North Carolina by a royal governor, simply because the people dared
ask redress for tyrannous abuses. Governor Tryon, instigated by one
of the worst of men, David Fanning, first caused the complainants to
be indicted by a packed grand jury, and then marched against them
with an army, and, treating them as outlaws, shot down and hung
some thirty of them. It is known in history as the War of the Regu
lators. Says Bancroft concerning it: " The blood of rebels against
oppression was first shed among the settlers on the branches of the
Cape Fear river." Says Alexander, speaking of this engagement on
the Alamance, 16th May, 1771: "These Regulators were not adven
turers, but the sturdy, patriotic members of three Presbyterian con
gregations, all of them having as their pastors graduates of Princeton.
Mr. Caldwell was one of them, and, on the morning of the battle, was
on the ground, going from one side to the other, endeavoring to pre
vent the catastrophe."
As a result of this merciless attack upon a patriotic people, they
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OF THE SOUTH. 125
left their homes, crossed the mountains to the west, and laid the
foundation on the Watauga of the State of Tennessee.
While the Scotch, who had emigrated to North Carolina after the
battle of Culloden, considered themselves bound by their oath of alle
giance to side with the king in the American Revolution, and were
generally Tories, the Scotch-Irish of that colony were among the fore
most of the patriots. In no locality was their zeal more conspicuous
than in the counties of Mecklenburg and Rowan. Tarleton, in his
memoirs, bears testimony to the fact that those counties were the mo.-t
rebellious in America, and Coruwallis designated Mecklenburg county
as " the hornet's nest of the Revolution."
When the people of this county heard of the battle of Lexington,
they did not wait for others to move with them, but at once assumed
the powers of government.
It is due to her Scotch-Irish people, also, that North Carolina is
entitled to the honor of being the first colony that authorized her dele
gates in Congress to -vote for independence.
Dr. David Ramsey, the historian of South Carolina, after giving
the various sources of the population of that colony from its first set
tlement, and according full prominence to the Huguenots, adds: " Be
sides foreign Protestants, several persons from England and Scotland
resorted to Carolina after the peace of 1763. But of all other coun
tries, none has furnished the province with so many inhabitants as Ire
land. Scarce a ship sailed from any of its ports for Charleston that
was not crowded with men, women, and children." . . . t "About
this time, above a thousand families from the northward (Pennsylvania
and Virginia), with their effects, in the space of one year, resorted to
South Carolina, driving their cattle, hogs, and horses overland before
them. Lands were allotted them in its western woods, which soon
became the most populous parts of the province."
These were Scotch-Irish, and it is to them he refers later when he
says: " The Scotch and the Dutch were the most useful emigrants.
They both brought with them, and generally retained in an eminent
degree, the virtues of industry and economy, so peculiarly nece>s;iry
in a new country. To the former, South Carolina is indebted for
much of its early literature. A great proportion of its physicians,
clergymen, lawyers, and schoolmasters were from North Britain."
These settlers in the western part of the colony were long without
the protection of law administered through judicial tribunals, and, < f
necessity, were forced to band themselves together to punish crime, of
which the most frequent and irritating was horse-stealing. Against
them, the royal governor, Montague, sent a man named Scouil, in
126 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
1764, with an army, and with great difficulty a civil war was averted.
Fortunately, the establishment of courts, in 1769, pacified the country.
The division thus created was not obliterated, but reappeared in 1775,
on the breaking out of the Revolution, when the Regulators, as they
were called, became Whigs, and the Scouilites, as the other party had
been called, became Tories. Before and during the Revolution, the
Scotch-Irish in Western South Carolina, as in North Carolina, Vir
ginia, and Pennsylvania, were the defenders of the border against the
hostile Indian tribes beyond.
But this did not relieve them of the duty of fighting the British
coming from the Atlantic seaboard.
In the terrible fate that overtook South Carolina during that
struggle, when Cornwallis rode rough-shod over the devoted state, it
was to her noblest son, Governor John Rutledge, a Scotch-Irishman, that
the destinies of the state were committed. Unable to meet the haughty
invader in the open field, the little bands of patriots who survived the
trying ordeal, gathered in the east around the standard of Marion, and
in the north and west around the standards of Sumter and Pickens.
These devoted men kept alive the flame of liberty in the swamps of
South Carolina, while the British tyrant was stamping it out where-
ever its flicker could be discovered. When the brutal oppressor be
lieved it was entirely extinguished, it burst forth in electric flashes,
striking and withering the proud invader.
Through the veins of these incomparable leaders and their brave
troops Scotch-Irish blood coursed, and gave nerve L to the arms which
struck for liberty.
Of the famous Andrew Pickens we have a pen-picture by his
brilliant companion in arms, Light-horse Harry Lee, which is so
typical of a Scotch-Irishman, that it may be well reproduced here.
" He was a sincere believer in the Christian religion, and a de
vout observer of the Presbyterian form of worship. His frame was
sinewy and active ; his habits were simple, temperate, and industrious.
His characteristics were taciturnity and truth, prudence and decision,
modesty and courage, disinterestedness and public spirit."
In South Carolina, as elsewhere, this people provided schools
and churches for their communities, and have been foremost in ad
vancing the interests of the state.
Georgia was the youngest of the old thirteen colonies, but, like
those north of her, she was indebted to this race for some of her best
population. As early as 1735 a colony from the Highlands of Scot
land were conducted to the mouth of the Savannah river, and thence
southward to New Inverness, on the Alatamaha river. When told on
THE SCOTCH IRISH OF THE SOUTH 127
the way that the Spaniards would shoot them from (heir fort near by
their new home, they replied, " Why, then, we will beat them out of
their fort, and shall have houses ready built to live in." This valiant
spirit never flagged in the subsequent war with Spain and the Revolu
tion , and it is hard to estimate the services to Georgia rendered by the
McKays and Macintoshes who came from this settlement.
Before the Revolution, however, emigration from the Carolinas
set in toward North Georgia, bringing many Scotch-Irish families.
Governor Gilmer, in 1855, describes the community they formed, with
till the privations and simple enjoyments of their life, and his descrip
tion is applicable to all their new settlements. Among other things,
he says: "The pretty girls were dressed in striped and checked cot
ton cloth, spun and woven with their own hands, and their sweet
hearts in sumach and walnut dyed stuff, made by their mothers. Court
ing was done when riding to meeting on Sunday, and walking to the
spring when there. Newly married couples went to see the old folks on
Saturday, and carried home on Sunday evening what they could spare.
There was no ennui among the women for want of something to do.
If there had been leisure to read, there were but few books for the in
dulgence. Hollow trees supplied cradles for babies. The fine voices
which are now heard in the pulpit and at the bar from the first na
tive Georgians began their practice by crying when infants for want
of good nursing."
These settlers were of the kindred of Andrew JacKson and
Thomas H. Benton.
Besides these, the Scotch-Irish who had followed the Alleghanies
had not ceased their southward movements until, crossing the Savan
nah river, they had entered the northern portion of Georgia.
Later, and after the Revolution, some of the Virginians who had
served in Georgia, notably General George Mathews, induced a
colony from Albemarle and the valley of Virginia to move to the
north of Georgia, and they settled along the Broad river. Among
these were, of course, a strong infusion of Scotch-Irish blood.
The subsequent prosperity of Georgia is attributed in large
measure to these people and their descendants by Governor Gilmer.
From them, he tells us, the blood was scattered throughout the south
ern and southwestern states.
A race which so completely filled the western side of the old
colonies was naturally that which would soonest occupy the country
still further westward, extending to the Mississippi.
This came to pass. As the Scotch-Irish increased, they pressed
upon the Indians, driving them westward until, early in the nine-
128 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
teenth century, but few of the native tribes were left east of the great
river. Only a short notice of these new states in the southern valley
of the Mississippi need be given.
Kentucky was settled by the Scotch-Irish of Virginia and North
Carolina. Thomas Walker, of Virginia, first explored it in 1747 ; John
Finley, of North Carolina, followed in 1767 ; and afterward, in 1769,
he, with Daniel Boone, John Stewart, and three others, all from the
same colony, penetrated to the Kentucky river. By the year 1773,
the whites began to take up lands, and afterward there was a steady
stream of emigrants, almost entirely from the valley and southwest
Virginia, and, of course, of Scotch-Irish blood. A roll of the Pres
bytery in 1802 shows a list of forty-three names, nearly every one of
which is Scotch-Irish, and the families that first constituted the county
of Kentucky can nearly every one be found in a history of the Vir
ginia valley. Often the transplanting gave additional vigor to the
scions, and the Clarks, the Browns, the Breckenridges, the Campbells,
the Bullitts, the Wallaces, the Robertsons, the Prestons, the Todds,
the Rices, the McKees, and others, rose to greater eminence in Kentucky
than had ever been attained in Virginia.
The Indian name, Can-tuck-kee, meaning "the dark and bloody
ground," was given to it by the savages, because it was the hunting-
ground on which the northern and southern tribes met in constant
conflict. The whites found it well deserved the name, as the Indians
ceased to fight each other in their common hostility to the settlers,
against whom they waged continuous war. The prediction of the
Cherokee chief to Boone at the treaty at Watauga, ceding the terri
tory to Henderson and his associates, was fully verified. " Brother,"
said he, " we have given you a fine land, but I believe you will have
much trouble in settling it." Any other race would probably have
abandoned the effort, or rather never undertaken it. No border an
nals teem with more thrilling incidents or heroic exploits than those
of the Kentucky hunters, whose very name at length struck terror
into the heart of the stoutest savage. The people developed in the
midst of constant danger into a bold, independent, and magnanimous
community.
So thoroughly was Kentucky settled by this race that it may be
called a Scotch-Irish state.
The state of Tennessee was the daughter of North Carolina, and
was first settled by the Scotch-Irish driven over the mountains by the
cruel war of the Regulators, as we have seen. Upon no field has this
remarkable race shown to greater advantage than upon the soil of
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OF THE SOUTH. 129
Tennessee, but as they have been assigned to the special care of one
more competent than myself for the task, I will not trench upon his
domain.
Mississippi and Alabama, which were cleared of the dominion of
the warlike Creeks early in the century by Andrew Jackson and his
band of Tennesseans and Georgians, were filled up by settlers from
the adjacent states, and these were necessarily largely Scotch-Irish in
their descent. And so after the Louisiana purchase in 1803, Louis
iana, Missouri, and Arkansas were successively brought into the
Union, with a population drawn in great measure from the nearest
Scotch-Irish communities. Florida also, when acquired from the
Spaniards, received her quota of this people. But among all these
new states a strong infusion is found of Virginia blood, drawn in large
measure from Scotch-Irish veins.
The last and the largest of the southern states which entered the
Union was Texas, and we are indebted to a Scotch-Irishman from the
Virginia valley for this principality.
Samuel Houston, a native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, saved
Texas from Mexican dominion by his celebrated victory over Santa
Anna at the battle of San Jacinto, 21st April, 1836. He became the
first president of the independent State of Texas on 22d October fol
lowing, and, during his term, took the first step toward its annexation
to the United States, which was accomplished in 1845. In the mean
time, a large and constantly increasing population from the southern
states was pouring into its borders, which, of course, was largely
Scotch-Irish in its origin.
In the wars which succeeded the Revolution, the United States
have been greatly indebted to the Scotch-Irish of the South for their
renown in arms.
It was with troops of this blood that the Scotch-Irish General
Andrew Jackson, in 1814, broke the power of the Creek Indians in
Alabama, drove the British from Florida, and defeated Wellington's
soldiers, under his brother-in-law, Sir Edward Packenham, at New
Orleans. In the war with Mexico, no fighting was surpassed by that
of southern volunteers, under the leadership of the Scotch-Irishman,
Zachary Taylor.
In the war between the states, time would fail me to even men
tion the Scotch-Irish heroes who followed the Confederate flag.
I have thus hastily glanced at the diffusion of the Scotch-Irish
over the southern states, and, in doing so, it has become apparent that
a history of this race would be a history of the southern states.
9
130 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
Certainly, as to the South, they are bone of its bone and flesh of its
flesh.
The task would be almost endless to simply call the names of this
people in the South who have distinguished themselves in the annals
of their country. Yet some rise before me, whose names demand ut
terance in any mention of their people names which the world will
not willingly let die.
Among the statesmen they have given to the world are Jefferson,
Madison, Calhoun, Benton.
Among the orators, Henry, Rutledge, Preston, McDuffie, Yancy.
Among the poets, the peerless Poe.
Among the jurists, Marshall, Campbell, Robertson.
Among the divines, Waddell, the Alexanders, Breckinridge,
Robinson, Plummet, Hoge, Hawks, Fuller, McKendree.
Among the physicians, McDowell, Sims, McGuire.
Among the inventors, McCormick.
Among the soldiers, Lee, the Jacksons, the Johnstons, Stuart.
Among the sailors, Paul Jones, Buchanan.
Presidents from the South, seven Jefferson, Madison, Monroe,
Jackson, Taylor, Polk, Johnson.
Great as this race has been in victorious war and prosperity, it
has been greater in defeat and adversity. Struck down at Appomattox,
the South lay helpless at the feet of the conqueror, pale from loss of
her best blood, impoverished by the hand of the despoiler, and held
in the embrace of an inferior race. Her prostrate form seemed to be
in the grasp of death. It was then I heard the clear voice of one of
her greatest orators repeating over her the impassioned words of Romeo
over the body of Juliet
" Death that hath sucked the honey of thy breath,
Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.
Thou art not conquered ; beauty's ensign yet
Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,
And death's pale flag is not advanced there."
It was as the voice of prophecy recalling her to consciousness. The
indomitable Scotch-Irish blood still coursed in her veins. She arose,
not like Juliet, to suicidal despair, but to renewed hope and a new life,
with fresh strength drawn from the embrace of mother earth. With
head erect and her eyes fixed on God, she commenced a new career.
A quarter of a century has not passed, and we see her to-day, her
pallor replaced by the crimson tide of life, and her every motion in-
THE SCOTCH-IRISH OF THE SOUTH. 131
stinct with the genius of progress. Generous nature whispers her
secrets, decks her with richest treasures, and points her the way to
prosperity. With unswerving faith in the God of her fathers, and
unfaltering steps, she presses onward and upward, her right hand lift
ing to the kiss of heaven her spotless banner, displaying the emblazoned
legend, Sic itur ad astra.
132 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE.
BY REV. D. C. KELLEY, D.D.
In this honorable presence, it is well to express, in the beginning
of what I shall attempt to say, my regret that the task assigned me
had not fallen into far moro competent hands.
I had little dreamed, when I began the inadequate study I have
had time and opportunity to make, of the richness of the mine into
which I was to strike my pick. My childhood had been amused, my
wonder aroused, and my ambition for a virtuous life kindled around
the fireside where tales of a Scotch-Irish ancestry were the theme of
the winter evening talk. When the true magnitude of the work be
fore me began to appear, I should have quickly withdrawn my prom
ise to speak for the Scotch-Irish of Tennessee, had it not been for a
sense of obligation to those teachers of my childhood. The traditions
of childhood mingling with ancestral blood bade me do what the race
has ever done " my simple duty as best I could." As my best apol
ogy, however, for standing here, allow me to make good my right by
blood. Perhaps few of the race have claims of earlier date. My pa
ternal blood speaks for itself, going back to the early Irish chiefs, to
which is added the Thompson blood of North Ireland. My maternal
claims are as follows :
Before the work of royal plantations in Ireland had begun, as early
as 1584, " a thousand Scotch Highlanders, called Redshanks, of the
septs and families of the Campbells, Macdonnells, and Magalanes, led
by Surleboy, a Scottish chieftain, invaded Ulster. These invaders in
time intermarried with the Irish, and became the most formidable ene
mies of Englaud in her designs of settlement. It was ostensibly to
root out this Scottish colony that Elizabeth sent Essex to Ireland ; but
his failure only fixed them more firmly in their place."
But a more singular settlement than this of the Scotch Red
shanks was one effected by private speculation, namely, that of the
Montgomeries in the Ardes of Down.* The head of this new and im
portant settlement in the Ardes was Hugh Montgomery, the sixth laird
(esquire) of Braidstane, in Scotland ; his father had married the daugh
ter of Montgomery, laird of Haislhead, an ancient family descended
of the earls of Eglintown. The first laird of the name, Robert Mont
gomery, was second son of Alexander Montgomery, earl of Eglintown.
* Montgomery Papers.
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 133
Hugh, the leader of the Moutgomeries into Ireland, was thus a well
descended adventurer, and iu addition to his good birth he possessed
spirit and talent. The circumstances which led to his settlement in
Down are these : In 1603, an affray took place in Belfast, between a
party of soldiers and some servants of Conn O'Neill, who had been
sent with runlets to bring wine from that town to their master, " then in
great debauch at Castlereagh with his brothers, friends, and follow
ers." The servants came back with more blood than wine, having got
into a melee with some soldiers, who captured the servants and sent
home the messengers with a severe handling. They confessed to
Conn that they were more numerous than the soldiers, on which, " in
rage, he swore by his father, and by all his noble ancestors' souls, that
none of them should ever serve him or his family if they went not
back forthwith and did not revenge the affront done to him and them
selves by those few Baddagh Sassenach." The result was a violent affray,
and some of the soldiers were killed. An office of inquest was held
upon Conn and his followers, and a number of them were found
guilty of levying war on the queen. O'Neill was sent to prison to
Carrickfergus, and Elizabeth in the meantime dying, the Laird Mont
gomery, who knew these matters well, with thrift speed which became
his country, made his humble application to the new Scotch monarch
for half Conn's estates, leaving the remainder to Conn himself. But
the modest proposal was not accepted, and he hit upon a happier ex
pedient, which was to obtain a grant from Conn O'Neill himself of
half his lands on the condition of effecting his escape and giving him
a shelter. The grant was obtained. Some change was subsequently
made in these letters, by the intervention of a courtier of the name
of Sir James Fullerton, one of " the busiest bodies iu all the world in
other men's matters which may profit themselves," who having an eye
for a friend, Mr. James Hamilton, and anxious to obtain for him a
share of Conn's lands, represented, in a courtier's way, that the two
moieties granted were too large for two men, forgetting or omitting
the small circumstance that they were their own by right, and pre
vailed on the king to make a fresh division. " But the king, sending
first for Sir Hugh, told him (respecting the reasons aforesaid) for what
loss he mijrht receive in not getting the full half of Conn's estate, by
that defalcation, he would compensate him out of the Abbey lands
and impropriations, which iu a few months he was to grant in fee,
they being already granted in lease for twenty-one years, and that he
would also abstract, out of Conn's half, the whole great Ardes for his
and Mr. James Hamilton's behoof, and throw it into their two shares ;
that the sea-coasts might be possessed by Scottish men, who would be
134 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
traders proper for his majesty's future advantage, the residue to be
laid off about Castlereagh (which Conn had desired), being too great
a favor for such an Irishman."
Whether the Campbells, Montgomery's, and Hamiltons were
known to each other in Ireland, tradition does not tell. We find
from these Campbells Duncan Campbell, whose son, John Campbell,
came from Donegal, Ireland, and settled in Donegal township, Lan
caster county, Pensylvania. His descendants passed down the val
ley of the Shenandoah to South-western Virginia, where we find
among the branches on an old family tree, revived and added to
from time to time, General William Campbell, of King's Mountain
fame, and his grandson, Win. C. Preston ; the brothers, Colonel Ar
thur and Captain John Campbell, of Virginia (the latter of whom was
the father of Governor David Campbell, of Virginia) ; Judge David,
of the State of Franklin, afterward the State of Tennessee, with their
cousin and brother-in-law, Colonel David, of Campbell's station, East
Tennessee; his son, General John Campbell, of the War of 1812;
grandson, Governor William B. Campbell, of Tennessee. Another
branch bears upon it the name of the gallant Confederate, General
Alex. W. Campbell, of West Tennessee. Scotch-Irish on both sides.
From these before-mentioned Montgomerys, we find in North
Carolina, at Saulsbury, in the Revolutionary War, Hugh Montgomery,
who equipped a regiment of patriots for the Continental army a man
with the shrewd business characteristics of his ancestors. . From him
we trace the children, Hugh and Jane; Hugh, the father of Major
Lemuel P. Montgomery, a brilliant young lawyer of Nashville, who
fell leading a dashing charge at the battle of Horseshoe, and for whom
the fair city of Montgomery, Ala., is called; and Hugh, a lawyer of
Chattanooga, for whom the beautiful avenue in that city is named.
Jane became the wife of Samuel Cowan, the first merchant of Knox-
ville; later, was married to Colonel David Campbell, before mentioned,
a private in the battle of King's Mountain, the founder of Campbell's
Station, near Knoxville. Of this union of the Scotch-Irish Camp
bells and Montgomerys, your annalist of to-day is, in the second gen
eration, the only living representative. Three of his children have in
their veins the added blood of the Hamiltons, Hays, and Cunnynghams.
And yet two other Scotch-Irish additions, the history of which is here
given as an illustration of the methods by which this blood has beeu
so widely spread in our country :
John Bowen, a wealthy planter of Lancaster county, Pennsyl
vania, as was the custom of the times, at harvest, gathered the lads
and lassies of the surrounding country to his harvesting. One of
BOOTH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 135
these, Lilly Mcllheuny, by her grace and beauty, so attracted the old
bachelor's heart that he bowed at the shrine of matrimony. From
this marriage came Captain William Bowen, the Indian fighter, and
the more celebrated Reese Bowen, who was killed at King's Mountain.
Captain William was one of the early settlers of Sumner county;
the father of John H. Boweu, lawyer, and idol of his county of Sum
ner, and of whom the venerable Judge Thomas Barry says, he was
the best and most loved man he ever knew. Such was his reputation
for probity, that the juries gave him credence when he differed with
the court on a point of law ; he was elected to Congress before he was of
the age to take his seat. His sister married David Campbell, a son of
Colonel David Campbell, and brother of General John Campbell, of
the war of 1812. This David Campbell and Catherine Bowen were
the father and mother of Governor William B. Campbell, of our good
State of Tennessee. Speaking, therefore, for our home, your annalist
and his wife, daughter of W. B. Campbell, represent, of the Scotch-
Irish blood, the united strains of the Kelleys, the Thompsons, the
Montgomerys, the Hamiltons, the Mcllhennys, the Cunninghams,
Hays, and Adarns.
My only claim to be heard is the blood that tingles in my veins,
and the love aud veneration in which I hold the race which first spoke
for independence on American soil, which poured out the first blood
for liberty from "taxation without representation," and which, in the
language of Bancroft (Ransey, p. 102), when defeated in the first
battle of the Revolution (Alamance), " like the mammoth, they shook
the bolt from their brow and crossed the mountains." Of this mam
moth, Tennessee is the child I speak for this goodly child on her own
soil in the fairest domain of America in old Maury, par excellence the
home of the race, which, having spoke first for American independence,
made good her words with the first blow to tyranny. The race which
gave to liberty not only the first blood, but if we are to accept the au
thority of the author of the " Rear Guard of the Revolution," twice at
the most critical juncture of the Revolutionary struggle,
CUT THE COILS
of the anaconda, which, with its head on the lakes and its extremities
in Southern Georgia, combined in one gigantic plan, embracing British
power and pelf combined with Indian hate and lust of gain, threatened
to crush by a single concerted movement the hopes of the young
America. Nursed in the heart of this race, the mammoth of liberty
has proven thenceforward not only too strong to be held in restraint
by the coils of the anaconda of tyranny in America, but has become
the apostle of freedom to all the world.
136 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
The contribution the Scotch-Irish of Tennessee have to bring to
this honorable gathering would be a meaningless fragment without a
few words showing the origin of the race, and tracing the source of
their marked characteristics.
WHY HAVE THE SCOTCH-IRISH CONTRIBUTED MORE TO CONSTITUTIONAL
LIBERTY THAN ANY OTHER PEOPLE ?
In the little sketch of the immigration, as early as 1584, of the
Scotch Campbells, McDonnells, Montgomerys, and Hamiltons into Ire
land, given in our introduction, we have the settlement of a hardy,
industrious, sturdy, and liberty-loving population, in the midst of a
brave, reveling, quick-witted, emotional, and law-hating race. The
two begin to act and react, the one upon the other. Henry the
Eighth's contest with the religion of his realm brings a new element to
the compound. More Scots come over, to escape wars and persecution
at home. Henry VIII. sets up religious persecution, and begins the
long-continued and oft-repeated attempt to transfer the possession of
Irish lauds to the hands of Englishmen. When Elizabeth had come
to the throne of England, she continued the work begun by her father.
By conquest or by contract, she gave to her favorites, Raleigh and
Essex, and other English adventurers, vast estates in Ireland, to be
peopled by English.
Following upon her imperfect work, came the more extensive plan
of Lord Bacon, under James the First, by which hundreds of thousands
of acres of Irish lands were parceled out by allotments to " English
and Scots, requiring the Irish to remove from the precincts allotted to
them."
During the reign of Charles I., no scruples were felt by the king
in awarding to adventurers who had been of service to him estates in
Ireland as a reward, nor did the adventurers hesitate as to the morality
of the methods used to possess themselves of their estates. But the
great settlement of Ireland by English and Scots came about under
the government of Cromwell. I have taken from first hands.*
" From the days of the first invasion, the king and council of
England intended to make English landed proprietors in Ireland the
rulers of Ireland, as William the Conqueror had made the French of
Noraiandy landlords and rulers of the English. Though the govern
ment of England were interrupted in this course by the wars of Ed
ward I. for the subjection of the Scotch, by the wars of Edward III.
* " Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland," by Prendergast a book in the
hands of Colonel Thomas Boyers, of Gallatin the shortest epitome that can be
made intelligible of the motives and methods of these settlements.
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 137
and his successors for the crown of France, and finally by the civil
wars of England, called the 'Wars of the Roses,' the design was
never abandoned. And when Henry VIII., disencumbered of any
foreign war or domestic treason, had time to destroy the house of Kil-
dare, he projected the clearing of Ireland to the Shannon and colon
izing it with English. But the new conquest of Ireland only really
began in the reigns of his three children, Edward VI., Queen Mary,
and Queen Elizabeth, when the conquest of the lauds of the Irish for
the purpose of new colonizing or planting them with English was re
sumed, after an interval of more than three hundred years. During
this interval, the English Pale, or that part of Ireland subject to the
regular jurisdiction of the king of England and his laws, had been
gradually contracting partly by the English of Ireland throwing off
the feudal system, and partly by re-conquests effected by the Irish,
until in the reign of Edward VI., the Pale was nearly limited by the
line of the Liffey and the Boyne. Beyond the Pale the English and
the Irish dwelt intermixed. And in all the plans for restoring the
regular administration of the king's laws in Ireland it was proposed
that these English should be brought back to their ancient military
discipline, and should conquer from the Irish the lands in their posses
sion, in order that they might be given to English under grants on
feudal conditions by the king.
" But the English of Ireland clearly foresaw that the effect of the
complete conquest of the Irish would be to give the government of
Ireland to the English of England. Their armed retainers, called
Gallowglasses and Kerne, would be put down, as there would no longer
remain the pretense of defending the land from the king's Irish ene
mies. With the regular administration of English law would come
back wardships, marriages, reliefs, escheats, and forfeitures, which
they were only too happy to have thrown off in the days of Edward
II.; and the final result would be to bring over new colonists from
England who would be rivals to supplant them in the favor of the
government and in all the offices of the state. The English of Ire
land, consequently, were secretly indisposed to effect the reconquest,
and it was not until they were subdued that the second conquest began.
" The first blow to the English of Irish birth was the limiting the
power of the Parliament. In the reign of Henry VII., Sir Edward
Poynings forced from the Irish Parliament a statute whereby the Privy
Council of England were made virtually a part of the Parliament of
Ireland ; from thenceforth it could originate no statutes, and could
pass only such as had been first approved by the Privy Council of
England. The Parliament had, in fact, long become devoted to the
138 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
earls of Kildare, who had thereby become too powerful for the kings
of Englaud. The next and final blow to the power of the English,
of Ireland was the fall of the House of Kildare, when Silken Thomas,
Earl of Kildare, and his five uncles, were executed at Tyburn for
treason, at the end of Henry VIII. 's reign. The head of the ancient
English of Ireland had now fallen; their parliament had been already
deprived of its power; the main obstacles to the design of England
were removed, and in the following reigns the reconquest of Ireland
by plantation began.
"At first it was the native Irish that were stripped, as the
O'Moores, the O'Connors, and the O'Neils. The earl of Desmond's
great territories, extending over Limerick and Kerry, Cork and Water-
ford, were next confiscated and planted. Finally, in James I.'s
reign, the native Irish, not only of Ulster, but of Leitrim and where-
ever else they continued possessed of the original territories, were dis
possessed of portions of their lands, varying from one-third to three-
fourths, to form plantations of new English. During the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, the old English of Ireland, though they agreed in
point of religion with the native Irish, always adhered to the English
in any rebellion of the Irish, as in a national quarrel. In James I.'s
reign, as all the planters were of the new religion, the old English
found themselves supplanted by them in all the offices of the state,
as the Irish found themselves supplanted by them in their native
homes.
"It is needless here to recapitulate the long continued injuries and
insults by which the ancient English of Ireland were forced into the
same ranks with the Irish in defense of the king's cause in 1641.
Chief among them were the attempts to seize their estates under the
plea of defective title, in order to plant them with new English. It
was thus Lord Stafford got Connaught and parts of Tipperary and
Limerick into his power, with the intention of forming a new planta
tion at the expense of the DeBurgos and other old English. One
of the old English in 1644 thus graphically expresses their feelings :
' Was it not the usual taunt of the late Lord Stafford and all his
fawning sycophants, in their private conversations with those of the
Pale, that they were the most refractory men of the whole kingdom,
and that it was more necessary (that is, for their own crooked ends)
that they should be planted and supplanted than any others,' and
that ' where plantations might not reach, defective titles should ex
tend.' He had known many an officer and gentleman, he adds, wha
had left a hand at Kinsale in fighting in defense of the Crown of
England, when the Spaniards and the Earl of Tyrone were defeated
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 139
by Lord Mountjoy, to be afterward deprived of his pension for hav
ing refused to take the oath of supremacy and allegiance in the
Protestant form, though, as one of them answered, on being ques
tioned before the state for matter of recusancy (as they termed it), ' it
was not asked of me the day of Kinsale what religion I was of.'
"The Scotch and English, however, having rebelled against the
king in 1639 (for the march of the Scottish rebels to the border in
that year was on the invitation of the leaders of the popular party in
England, though they themselves did not openly take the field till
1642), the Irish rose in his favor. They were finally subdued, in
1652, by Cromwell and the arms of the Commonwealth, and then
took place a scene not witnessed in Europe since the conquest of
Spain by the Vandals. Indeed, it is injustice to the Vandals to equal
them with the English of 1652, for the Vandals came as strangers
and conquerors in an age of force and barbarism, nor did they ban
ish the people, though they seized and divided their lands by lot ;
but the English in 1652 were of the same nation as half of the chief
families in Ireland, and had at that time the island under their sway
for five hundred years.
"The captains and men of war of the Irish, amounting to 40,000
and upward, were banished into Spain, where they took service under
that king; others of them, with a crowd of orphan boys and girls,
were transported to serve the English planters in the West Indies ;
and the remnant of the nation, not banished or transported, were to
be transplanted into Connaught, while the conquering army divided
the ancient inheritances of the Irish amongst them by the lot."
This writer, in speaking of old English, includes under that term
Scotch as well.
Space does not allow more detail. Our object has been to show
you the original training which made of the Scotch-Irish the race we
find then afterward.
ELEMENTS WHICH MAKE THE CHARACTER OF THE COMPOUND.
The Scotch-Irish in the earlier years of the settlement were often
intermarried. We quote a paper which throws light on this point,
and on much more :*
"The humble petition of the officers within the precincts of Dub
lin, Catherlough, Wexford, and Kilkenny, in the behalf of themselves,
their souldiers, and other faithful English Protestants, to the lord deputy
and council of Ireland."
They pray that the original order of the council of state in Eng-
* (Jromwelliun Settlement of Ireland.
140 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
land, confirmed by Parliament, September 27, 1653, requiring the re
moval of all the Irish nation into Counaught, except boys of fourteen
and girls of twelve, might be enforced: "For we humbly conceive
(say they), that the proclamation for transplanting only the proprietors,
and such as have bin in arms, will neither answer the end of safety,
nor what else is aimed at thereby. For the first purpose of the trans
plantation is to prevent those of natural principles (i. e., of natural affec
tions), becoming one with these Irish, as well in affinity as idolatry, as
many thousands did, who came over in Queen Elizabeth's time, many
of which have had a deep hand in all the late murthers and massacres.
And shall we join in affinity (they ask) with the people of these abom
inations ?
" Would not the Lord be angry with us till he consumes us, having
said, ' The land which ye go to possess is an unclean land, because of
the filthiness of the people that dwell therein. Ye shall not, there
fore, give your sons to their daughters, nor take their daughters to
your sons,' as it is in Ezra, ix, 11, 12, 14. 'Nay ye shall surely root
them out before you, lest they cause you to forsake the Lord, your
God.' Deut, vii, 2, 3, 4, 16, 18."
We have mention, in the documents giving details of the trans
plantation, of the names of many high born persons who had thus in
termarried. Even Cromwell's old soldiers, full of pious cant and great
fear of the abominations of idolatry in the lands where thousands of
Irishmen had been slaughtered, and tens of thousands sent out of the
land into Spain and the West Indies, found the charms of the Irish
maidens, full of vigorous life, chastity, and redolent with healthful
beauty, more than they could resist, and so made them wives of the
daughters of the land.
We have thus the indomitable, prudent, calculating, metaphysi
cal, God-fearing, tyrant-hating Scotch, brought by marriage into
blood relationship with the brave, reckless, emotional, intuitive, God-
loving, liberty-adoring Irish.
We shall see the results when we find these people the cautious build
ers of free constitutional government, and at the same time, the pioneers
of American civilization.
ENVIRONMENT.
The Scotch settlers in Ireland, for the government of which the
English and Irish were often at war, found themselves so greatly in
the minority that they could only stand and see their own civil and re
ligions rights the foot-balls of a government where they had no repre
sentation. Their religious and civil rights subject to the whims of
kings, courtiers, lord lieutenants, bishops, either Romish or Protestant.
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 141
In one reign rewarded for services by wrongful gifts of Irish estates,
in a subsequent, deprived of their possessions and their services for
gotten that more hungry adventurers, or the exchequer of needy raon-
archs might be replenished. They had for three hundred years been
compelled to know by actual daily experience the evils of provincial gov
ernment by kingly favorites, the arrogance, hate, and cruelty of episco
pal interference and control. Added to these they felt the narrow hatred
and hypocritical cruelty of the Puritan soldiers who prayed to God for
strength to visit untold horrors on the men, women and children whom
they were robbing in their acts of transportation. Besides these ever
recurring religious and political perplexities, they saw their industries
at the mercy of the orders of the throne or the English parliament.
In other words, government without representation had burnt its evils
into their very souls, until in despair of any desirable future to be
found in Ireland, and in resolute determination to win a future on the
high plane of their own value of manhood and liberty, they deliber
ately chose to hazard the wilds of America. Their reasons for seek
ing America had little in common with the adventurers who hud been
induced by large promises to emigrate from England. They were in
nowise allied to the people transplanted by force from England.
They were the very people the English most desired to remain in Ire-
laud. They had more in common with the Puritans than with their
other persecutors, but even from these had marked distinctions. . The
strong points and virtues of the two were much the same. A sentence
may show the line of distinction, they held in more contempt a re
stricted hospitality than they did May-poles, their laugh was as hearty,
musical, and manly as the groan of the Puritans was affected, grating
and inhuman. With this necessary allusion to the blood and environ
ment which gave form, vigor and fitness to this race, we come to the
period of their emigration to and settlement in America.
Before passing to the settlement of America, there are a few
bright factors entering into the environment of our forefathers in Ire
land that we pause on a moment with pleasure. Bishop Echliu,
who was himself a native of Scotland in the ordination of Robert
Blair, who came as a missionary from the Presbyterian church of
Scotland to Ireland, attained a position of lofty Christian manhood
little known to bishops of any era. Aided by the influence of Scotch
Presbyterian learning and love of liberty, the University of Dublin
was founded on very liberal principles. To Dr. James, afterward
Archbishop Usher, a professor in this university, was assigned the
task of drawing up a confession of faith for the Irish church. To
him we are largely indebted for one of the most liberal and compre-
1-42 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
hensive confessions of faith ever drawn up in Christendom. After
ward, as archbishop, we find this great man standing firmly for lib
erty of conscience and the protection of the Scotch Presbyterian
preachers, until overruled by orders from England. Again to Oliver
Cromwell we turn for the exhibition of tolerance far in advance of
the Puritan parliament.
These acts of toleration and protection were not without their
due influence on the minds of our ancestors. They saw then what the
world is slow to learn, that the highest tolerance and the broadest freedom
belong to the greatest men; not to one form of government; not to one
form of doctrine. The men grand enough to outgrow their environ
ment, and defend freedom of thought for those who differ from them,
have as yet been too few to pass by their names or forget their in
fluence, in even the most meager historical sketch of the age to which
they belong. These were grand beacon-lights, which shone on the
struggling days of our forefathers.
Usher towered above the Church of England. Cromwell breached
the iron walls of Puritanism. All honor to men who thus grow to
proportions which may gladden our hope and confidence in the possi
bilities of the race.
EMIGRATION.
" The Protestant settlers in Ireland at the beginning of the sev
enteenth century were of the same metal with those who afterward
sailed in the Mayflower Presbyterians, Puritans, Independents in
search of a wider breathing-space than was allowed them at home.
By an unhappy perversity they had fallen under the same stigma, and
were exposed to the same inconveniences. The bishops had chafed
them with persecutions. . . . The heroism with which the Scots
held the northern province against the Kilkenny parliament and
Owen Roe O'Neil, was an insufficient offset against the sin of non
conformity. . . . This was a stain for which no excellence could
atone. The persecutions were renewed, but did not cool Presby
terian loyalty. When the native race made their last effort, under
James II., to recover their lands, the Calvinists of Derry won im
mortal honor for themselves, and flung over the wretched annals of
their adopted country a solitary gleam of true glory. Even this
passed for nothing. They were still dissenters; still unconscious
that they owed obedience to the hybrid successors of St. Patrick,
the prelates of the Establishment; and no sooner was peace re
established than spleen and bigotry were again at their old work.
Vexed with suits in the ecclesiastical courts, forbidden to educate
their children in their own faith, treated as dangerous to a state
8COTCH-IKISU IN TENNESSEE. 143
which but for them would have had no existence, and deprived of
their civil rights, the most earnest of them at length abandoned the
unthankful service. If they intended to live as free men, speaking
no lies, and professing openly the creed of the Reformation, they must
seek a country where the long arm of prelacy was still too short to
reach them. During the first half of the eighteenth century, Down,
Antrim, Tyrone, Armagh, and Derry, were emptied of Protestant in
habitants, who were of more value to Ireland than California gold
mines." " In two years," says Froude, " which followed the Antrim
evictions, thirty thousand Protestants left Ulster for a land where
there was no legal robbery, and where those who sowed the seed could
reap the harvest. . . . The south and west were caught by the
same movement, and ships could not be found to carry the crowds
who were eager to go."
A minister of Ulster, writing to a friend in Scotland, in 1718,
laments the desolation occasioned in that region "by the removal of
several of our brethren to the American plantations. Not less than
six ministers have demitted their congregations, and great numbers of
the people go with them." Ten years later, Archbishop Boulter wrote
to the English Secretary of State respecting the extensive emigration
to America: "The humor has spread like a contagious distemper; and
the worst is, that it affects only Protestants, and reigns chiefly in the
North." About the same time, we find James Logan, the President
of the Proprietary Council of Pennsylvania, who had identified him
self with the Quakers, and was prejudiced against the emigrants from
Ireland, expressing "the common fear that, if they (the Scotch-Irish)
continue to come, they will make themselves proprietors of the prov
ince." He further, in 1729, expresses "himself glad to find that the
Parliament is about to take measures to prevent their too free emigra
tion to this country. It looks as if Ireland is to send all her inhabitants
hither ; for last week not less than six ships arrived, and every day two or
three arrive also." Dr. Baird, in his History of Religion in America,
states that, " from 1729 to 1750, about 12,000 annually came from
Ulster to America."
These emigrants lauded at the ports of Boston, Philadelphia, and
Charleston. Comparatively few entered the country by way of New
England. Those that did so, settled mainly in New Hampshire,
while others found their way to Pennsylvania, and helped swell the
tide which was pouring into this state by way of Philadelphia. These
Irish settlers occupied the eastern and middle counties, bordering on
the wilderness still occupied by the Indians. Such as landed at
Charleston, located themselves on the fertile lands of North an
144 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
South Carolina ami Georgia. The settlers in Pennsylvania afterward
turned southward through the valley of Virginia, till, " meeting those
extending northward from the Carolinas, the emigration passed west
ward to the country then called ' beyond the mountains,' now known
as Kentucky and Tennessee." At a later period, Western Pennsyl
vania was occupied by the descendants of the settlers in the middle
counties of the state, with Pittsburg as a center. From these points
of radiation, the Scotch-Irish have extended to all parts of the coun=
try, and, being an intelligent, resolute, and energetic people, have left
their name and mark in every state of the Union.
Their youth, at this early period, "were generally educated at
home, and under parental instruction, and trained to obedience and
subordination, as the unbending law of the family. The schools es
tablished by Presbyterian ministers, confirmed and extended the home
education. The impress of such instrumentalities was not only mani
fested in the families of church members, but, by association and in
fluence, extended beyond the pale of organized congregations, and
their tendency was to reform and elevate public sentiment and morals*
as well as the habits and manners of the people."
The mass of these emigrants were men of intelligence, resolu
tion, energy, religious and moral character, having means that enabled
them to supply themselves with suitable selections of land, on which
they made permanent homes for their families, and from which they
derived an ample support. By their own enterprise and industry they
hewed out for themselves valuable farms from the primeval forest;
and the toils, sacrifices, and perils, incident to their life in the New
World, formed, in both men and women, the characters which were
requisite to endure the hardships and dangers of their frontier situa
tion. These traits of character were manifest also in their descend
ants. Brought up under such education and training, they have since
been the " pioneers and founders of settlements in the North-western
Territory, and the states formed out of it, and have been amongst the
most prominent, useful, and distinguished citizens of the republic."
"They were a God-fearing, liberty-loving, tyrant-hating, Sabbath
keeping, covenant-adhering race ; trained by trials, made resolute by
oppression, governed by conscience, and destined to achieve a mission
and place in the history of the church and the race."
Of the early ministers, a very large proportion were from the
Irish church. Francis Makemie (1682) was a member of Lagan
Presbytery. George McNish (1705) was from Ulster. John Henry
(1709) was ordained by the Presbytery of Dublin John Mackey
was from Ireland. Samuel Young, of New Castle Presbytery, be-
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 145
longed originally to the Presbytery of Armagh. Robert Cross, Alex
ander Hutcheson, Thomas Craighead, Joseph Houston, Adam Boyd,
John Wilson, and many other useful and honored ministers, were ac
cessions to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in this country
previous to 1730. And from this period, the number who came was
continually on the increase. Nor would it be difficult to prove to the
satisfaction of all sincere inquirers after truth, that we are indebted to
these same men " for the germs of our civil liberties and institutions,
as really as for our own noble system of faith and order." As might
be expected from their antecedents and providential training, they
were ardent lovers, and strong defenders of civil liberty. They hated
tyranny with almost "perfect hatred." They had received a discipline
that could never be lost, and of all the memories of childhood, none
could remain more fresh and impressive than those received from the
lips of parents numbered among the heroic champions of freedom at
Derry and Euuiskillen. And the earliest Scotch-Irish emigrants to
America were men who had been participants, or children of those
who were participants, in the terrible drama which closed with the
battle of the Boyne. Accordingly we find that these men were
among the earliest champions of freedom, and the most earnest and
persistent defenders of the rights of the people, as against the unjust
actions of the British government. No less an authority than the his
torian Bancroft, states that, "the first public voice in America for
dissolving all connection with Great Britain came not from the Puri
tans of New England, the Dutch of New York, nor the planters of
Virginia, but from Scotch-Irish Presbyterians." Abbe Raynal, in his
history contemporary with our Revolutionary struggle, though on the
side of American independence, does not hesitate to say that the
provocations by the British government to the American colonies were
so much less than those to which the age was every-where accustomed
that it was a matter of deep surprise how the Americans could have
been brought to so heroic resistance on grounds so slight. He traces
the fact that in the early years of the struggle the mass of our people
were little interested in the result. The masses of Americans who
had known nothing for generations of provincial government without
representation were in no condition M see the dangers which
threatened them.
The Scotch-Irish who landed in Boston and New York found
colonists too readily submissive to foreign dictation, and preferred to
seek Pennsylvania and Maryland, where the proprietary governors and
the people governed were in immediate contact. There they pressed
10
146 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
to the frontier, where they could organize local governments of their
own choosing. Those who reached Virginia passed again to the
frontier; they loved neither the aristocratic government nor the epis
copal dictation of this colony. Those landing in the south passed
north and west in search of similar freedom, so soon as they had met
in sufficient proportions to realize their own power. They were led to
find homes where they could exercise their attachment to the doctrine
affirmed by one of their ministers, speaking for all, as early as 1650,
when required by the Long Parliament to subscribe to the oath against
a goverment of king, lords, and commons ; in refusing, he said :
" Men are called to the magistracy by the suffrage of the people,
whom they govern ; and for men to assume unto themselves power, is
mere tyranny and unjust usurpation." This he said on account of the
self-constituted" authority of this Parliament. This doctrine, new to
civil government, which they had derived from religious convictions,
traditions, and struggles, was first to receive the baptism of blood,
May 10, 1771, at
ALAMANCE CREEK.
Having mentioned the battle of Alamance, and finding that in
some of our histories the character and purposes of the Regulators
engaged in this conflict have been greatly misunderstood, I offer the
following extract from the life of David Caldwell, D.D., by Rev. E.
W. Caruthers, of North Carolina.
"A people who have been religiously educated, as a majority of the
Regulators had been, and who had been taught to regard the Bible as
a revelation from heaven, are not apt to rise at once in open rebellion
against the established government, or bid defiance to the regularly
constituted authorities of the land. This is the work of time and re
flection. There must be consultation and inquiry into facts for the
purpose of satisfying their own consciences, and of justifying them
selves before the world. There will be some regard to the voice of
reason : some efforts will be made to obtain a redress of grievances
without the hazard and sufferings attending a conflict with ' the powers
that be.' And then they must have mutual encouragement and
mutual pledges of fidelity and support. This is just what we find in the
men whose principles and conduct are now under consideration, and
it does not appear that hitherto they had as a body made auy direct re
sistance to the operations of government. Fanning and others, who
had in the same way become obnoxious to the people, were made the
subjects of ridicule or of merriment by the wits and wags of the day,
and, as usual in such cases, caricatures and pasquinades abounded.
The meeting at Haddock's mills, as we have seen, resolved that they
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 147
would pay no more illegal taxes, unless they were forced ; that they
would pay no more exorbitant fees to officers, except by compulsion,
and that they would bear an open testimony against it; that they
would hold frequent meetings for conference, which they would re
quest their representatives to attend for the purpose of giving them
information respecting what was done in the legislature, and of con
sulting together about the measures that ought to be adopted for the
common welfare ; that they would select more suitable men for the
various offices in the gift of the people; that they would petition the
assembly, governor, council, king and parliament, for redress of their
grievances ; that they would contribute to collections for defraying
whatever expenses might be necessary in this undertaking; that when
ever a difference of opinion might arise they would submit to the ma
jority ; and as a pledge of their fidelity in the performance of these
things they bound themselves by an oath or affirmation." In all this
we see nothing but the principles and spirit which covered the patriots
of '76 with immortal honor; and only because they were better sus
tained, had more ample resources, and were more successful.
This battle was followed by the call of Colonel Thomas Polk, on
the 19th day of May, 1775, for the convention, which gave an " unan
imous aye" to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, a
declaration remarkable for its heroism, and at the same time its pro
vision for continued government; there was no moment of anarchy be
tween their Declaration of Independence from the British crown, and
the erection of a government of their own ordination.
THOMAS POLK.
I have in my possession ample evidence of the Scotch-Irish blood
of the Polks. The evidence of genealogy, and the details of service
rendered by this distinguished family would occupy more space in this
address than your time allows.
I shall, therefore, file these papers with the custodian of the his
torical papers of the society, and content myself with the mention of
only a few prominent events in the lives of a few of the most distin
guished members of the family. While dealing with Colonel Thomas
Polk, we will complete what we have to say of his direct line, adding
a few incidents not to be found in the regular histories. As has already
been said, Thomas Polk, as colonel of the militia of the district, called
the convention which passed unanimously the Mecklenburg Declara
tion of Independence. The document, which had been written before
the meeting by his son-in-law, Ephraim Brevard, was read to the con
vention, submitted to a committee for revision, as revised, was re-read,
148 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
unanimously adopted, and read by order of convention, at the court
house door to the assembled people by Colonel Polk. This had been
immortality enough for one man or one family, but Colonel Polk was
later a member of the colonial congress, and brigadier-general, was at
the battle of Germantown, and in the colonial congress of North Car
olina, which was the first to instruct for independence, April, 1776.
John Simpson, one of the witnesses of the Declaration of Inde
pendence, of May 20, in giving his testimony (before committee of
North Carolina legislature), relates this anecdote: "An aged man
near me, on being asked if he knew any thing of this affair (Declara
tion of 20th), replied: ' Och, aye; Tarn Polk declared independence
lang before any body else.'"
COLONEL WILLIAM POLK,*
Son of General Thomas Polk and Susan (nee Spratt), was born, 1759.
He left Queens College, Charlotte, when sixteen years of age (1775),
and entered the army as lieutenant in Colonel Thompson's (Old Danger)
regiment. He was detailed by Colonel Thompson with thirty men
to watch the movements of tories in South Carolina. He was led into
an ambuscade by his guide (one Sol. Deason) and was badly wounded
in the shoulder, from which he did not recover in a year. " This was
the first blood shed south of Lexington," so says General Andrew
Jackson, in a sketch written in 1844, when James K. Polk was a can
didate for the presidency, also an autobiography written by Colonel
Polk, for Judge Murphy, of North Carolina.
General Jackson was a small boy at school with Colonel Polk, at
Charlotte, North Carolina. They were life-long friends, and I think
that Jackson, although not of military age, was a short time in
service with Colonel Polk.
Colonel William Folk's Memoir.
He was with General Davis as volunteer captain at Beaver Creek
(Wheeler, 190 page).
At Cowans Ford, July 20, 1780, by the side of General David
son when he fell (Wheeler, 235).
With General Nash at Germantown, when he (Polk) was wounded
in the cheek.
Captain in charge when liberty bell was removed from Phila
delphia.
* MS. furnished by granddaughter.
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 149
He was the first representative from Davidson county (Tenn.) in
North Carolina legislature.
Member of North Carolina assembly, 1787, 1790, 1791.
President of North Carolina state bank.
Was appointed by Washington supervisor of all the ports of North
Carolina, which he retained until the office was abolished.
Was a member of the Cincinnati society.
At the surrender of Coruwallis at Yorktown.
At the " Cowpens," where his brother Thomas was killed.
Query : Did not Colonel Polk give the name of Nashville and
Davidson to the city and county ? Having been at the side of Gen
eral Davidson when he fell, and with General Nash when he was
killed, and being the first representative from Davidson, I think con
firms the tradition that he named or caused them to be so named. Col
onel Polk was offered the commission of brigadier-general by Madison,
in the war of 1812 and '13, which he in a patriotic letter declined,
and then tendered his service to the governor of North Carolina.
" It was certainly creditable to the Scotch-Irish of North Caro
lina, as they were the first to secede from the mother country, and so
remained that the blood of one of their -sous was the first shed (South)
in the cause of Liberty," says Bancroft.
General Bishop Leondias Polk, whose life was given in the cause
of the South, was a son of Colonel William Polk. General Lucius E.
Polk is a grandson.
ANTOINETTE POLK.
A granddaughter of Colonel William Polk, Antoinette Polk,
married Baron de Charette, nephew of Comte De Chambord, the
Orleans claimant, until his death, of the French throne. She is a
charming and noble woman, and is well remembered in Maury
county for her courage and daring horsemanship, and also for a
famous race.
Before Columbia, Tenn., was taken possession of by either army,
General Wilder and his cavalry made a dash into the town to surprise
and capture Confederate soldiers, who were scattered at Ashwood and
country houses near the town.
Antionette Polk, then a girl of sixteen, was at her uncle's, Dr.
William Folk's home, the site of the present U. S. arsenal. Hearing
of the raid, she ran to the stable, saddled her fine blooded horse, and
not taking time for gloves, started off to give the alarm to the soldiers
along the pike, and at Ashwood. As she emerged from the woods she
saw she was pursued by several cavalrymen. A countryman, seeing
her danger, jumped from his cart, threw wide open the gate, and
150 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA..
through she darted, followed by the cavalrymen, and then they raced six
miles down the Mt. Pleasant pike. Though they picked up the long
ostrich plumes and hat with which she whipped her horse, the lady, the
soldiers said, vanished from their sight; but when she was taken faint
ing from her horse near Mt. Pleasant, she had accomplished her work,
and not a soldier was taken prisoner at Ashwood.
The part taken by this distinguished family in the late war be
tween the states is beyond the limits our time will allow.
Bishop (General) Leonidas Polk, and General Lucius Eugene
Polk will appear in future history as the peers of the foremost men of
their day. President James K. Polk belongs to another place in this
address.
Let us return to our proper chronological point, the Declaration
of Independence of Mecklenburg, May 20, 1775. The first voice
publicly raised in America to dissolve all connections with Great
Britain came from the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. To those at
Mecklenburg are to be added an assembly of the same people at
Hanna's Town, Western Pennsylvania, May, 1776.
ALEXAJtDER CRAIGHEAD.
If Presbyterians were the first, and Scotch-Irish in the front line
of advance in the march toward American independence, I would be
untrue to history if I did not direct attention to the fact that Alex
ander Craighead was the single file at a good distance in front of the
column. As early as 1743, we find Mr. Craighead in Pennsylvania,
charged by Thomas Cookson, one of his majesty's justices for Lancaster
county, before Presbytery, for the publication of a pamphlet " which
tended to dissatisfaction with the civil government that we are now
under." Later we find Mr. Craighead in Hanover, Va., and from
thence we follow him to Mecklenburg, North Carolina, where we hear
him thus spoken of by Rev. A. \V. Miller in his centennial discourse,
delivered at Charlotte, North Carolina, May 20, 1875.
" To the immortal Craighead, a Presbyterian minister of Ire
land, who finally settled in Mecklenburg in 1755, ' the only minister
between the Yadkin and the Catawlm,' who found in North Carolina
what Pennsylvania and Virginia denied him sympathy with the
patriotic views he had been publicly proclaiming since 1741 to this
apostle of liberty, the people of Mecklenburg are indebted for that
training which placed them in the forefront of American patriots and
heroes. It was at this fountain that Dr. Ephrairn Brevard and his
honored associates drew their inspirations of liberty. So diligent and
successful was the training of this devoted minister and patriot ; so
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 151
far in advance even of the Presbyterians of every other colony had he
carried the people of this and adjacent counties, that on the very day,
May 20, 1775, on which the General Synod of the Presbyterian
Church, convened in Philadelphia, issued a pastoral letter to all its
churches, counseling them, while defending their rights by force of
arms, to stand fast in their allegiance to the British throue, on that
Jay the streets of Charlotte were resounding with the shouts of free
men, greeting the first declaration of American independence."
As we found an ancestor of Alexander Craighead (viz.) Rev.
Robert, standing for liberty at a critical hour in the history of the
church in Ulster, so we find later his son, Rev. Thomas B. Craighead,
in Haysborough, six miles east of Nashville, the first President of
Davidson Academy. The academy was erected into Davidson College,
July 9, 1805, and Mr. Craighead became the first president. He,
with John Hall, of Suraner, and Geo. McWhirter, of Wilson county,
all Scotch-Irish, did more than any men of that day, west of the
Cumberland mountains, to form on a high moral plane the manhood
of the youth of the earlier part of the nineteenth century. Robust
manhood, a high sense of honor, devotion to liberty, enthusiastic
patriotism, with excellent mental training, gave to our state a bevy
of great men in all that constitutes true greatness.
The first settler in Tennessee was perhaps Captain Wm. Bean,
whoso relation to the Scotch-Irish race is unknown. In 1770, came
Scotch-Irish James Robertson, who should have by right the appella
tion of father of Tennessee. He was among the first settlers of
Watauga. The troubled state of affairs in North Carolina soon begot
a steady stream of hardy, daring settlers.
THE WATAUGA SETTLERS,
in convention assembled, formed a written constitution, and elected as
commissioners thirteen citizens. They were: John Carter, Charles
Robertson, James Robertson, Zach. Isbell, John Sevier, James Smith,
Jacob Brown, William Beau, John Jones, George Russell, Jacob Wo-
mack, Robert Lucas, William Tatham. Of these John Carter, Chas.
Robertson, James Robertson, Zach. Isbell, and John Sevier, it is
believed, were selected as the court of which William Tatham was
the clerk. It is to be regretted that the account of the lives of all
these pioneers is so meager and unsatisfactory. The biography of
each of them would be now valuable and interesting. All of the
names mentioned, except Sevier, seem to be, from their agreement
with the names of well known Scotch-Irish in North Carolina and the
valley of Virginia, of the same race.
So far as I have been able to trace the facts, after some care be-
152 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
stowed upon the question, this is not only what Ramsey calls it, " the
first written compact of civil government west of the Alleghanies,"
but the
FIRST WRITTEN CONSTITUTION
born of a convention of people on this continent. The old colonies
brought with them the common law of England ; they received
charters from the English throne, added legislation under these char
ters; but of constitutions having their origin in the breast of the peo
ple, and born of a convention of the people, this is the first recorded
in history. This act bears date 1772. The constitution of Virginia
bears date, June 12, 1776; North Carolina, December 18, 1776;
Maryland, August 14, 1776 ; New Jersey, July 2, 1776 ; Massachu
setts, 1779.
These, so far as time has enabled me to ascertain, are the earliest
state constitutions. I leave to the future historian the query as to
whether Alexander Craighead or Patrick Henry deserves the first
place as pioneers of American independence. Whether to James
Robertson or Alexander Hamilton we are to give the name of consti
tution builder. In either case, the Scotch-Irish, with a trace of Hu
guenot blood, win the pre-eminence over all other races. Or if to
Madison the greatest credit of the constitution belongs his ancestors
being unknown we have the Scotch-Irish Donald Robertson, his first
teacher.
It is a marvel how we have slept over these glorious achievements
of our fathers, and have come to the last moment of possible rescue
before we arouse ourselves to see that history shall do them justice.
Had we begun this work, even thirty years ago, priceless facts had
been saved from the oblivion to which they have gone. Massachu
setts makes a rival constitutional claim, founded on the paper drawn
up and signed by the Pilgrims before landing on Plymouth Rock.
But this paper recognizes the loyalty of the signers to the king, and is
destitute of the Scoth-Irish doctrine, long before announced, that right
government must have its origin in the breast of the people. The au
thor of the " Rear Guard of the Revolution," evidently on grounds
of fancy, rather than proof, gives the chief credit of the constitutional
movement at Watauga to John Sevier. I would pluck no laurel from
the brow of Tennessee's first governor. He has many, and wears them
worthily, but by every token of well attested history of the two men,
this act is much more like the
SCOTCH-IRISH ROBERTSON
than the French Sevier; much more the act of the statesman than
the soldier. Sevier was vivacious, frolicsome, brave; Robertson, se-
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 153
date, subtle, wise,- and brave, as well. The superior diplomatic pow
ers of Robertson are seen in the early meeting with the Indians to set
tle the question of title.* Robertson was the spokesman. When all
had been settled, on the last day of the gathering it had been arranged
that a foot-race should take place between the younger braves and the
young men of the settlement, on the open ground along the southern
bank of the river. The race was in full progress, and among the
younger men all was mirth, hilarity, and good-natured emulation, and
even the older chieftains, catching the spirit of the occasion, had re
laxed from their habitual gravity, and were cheering on the contest-
ents, when suddenly a musket-shot echoed over the grounds, and one
of the young braves, the near kinsman of a chieftain, fell in his tracks
lifeless. The report came from the woods near the race-ground, and
pursuit failed to discover the assassin, but there could be no question
that
HE WAS A WHITE MAN.
It was as if the shot had been fired into a magazine of gunpowder.
The Cherokees were there without arms, or there might have followed
a bloody tragedy. As it was, they silently gathered their goods to
gether, and, with threatening gestures and faces presaging a bloody
vengeance, rapidly stole away into the forest.
It was subsequently discovered that the murderer was a young
man named Crabtree, from the Wolf Hills (now Abingdou), Virginia,
about fifty miles to the north-east. A brother of his had, not long
before, been killed by the Shawnees, while engaged in exploring with
Boone in Kentucky, and he had taken this inopportune time for his
revenge. The Indians had left hastily, giving the whites no time for
explanation or parley. Revenge blood for blood was the cardinal
doctrine of their theology, and, if something were not done at once to
avert it, war, bloody and exterminating, would soon be upon the set
tlers. What could be done to avert it? To flee the country would
be to merely invite pursuit, and a hundred miles of wilderness lay be
tween them and any safe asylum. To remain was just as hazardous,
for how could this handful of one hundred men sustain a conflict with
THREE THOUSAND INFURIATED SAVAGES?
Hastily, the settlers gathered together in council, and then it was
that Robertson volunteered, like Curtius, to ride into the breach at
the peril of his life, to visit and endeavor to pacify the enraged Che.ro-
kees. It was a hundred and fifty miles through an unbroken forest,
with death lurking behind every tree that grew by the way; but
* Ramsey, and "Rear Guard of the Revolution."
154 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
what, he said, was one life periled to save five hundred? Thus Rob
ertson reasoned with his neighbors and friends; and then, giving a
parting kiss to his wife and child, he mounted his horse and rode off
into the wilderness. History contains few acts so daring, so full of
the highest courage, so truly altruistic. To charge with comrades on
the field of battle in no sense reaches to the sublime height of an act
like this. He succeeded in his mission, and four years of peace fol
lowed.
Robertson, as is well known, came early to the French Lick set
tlement on the Cumberland, now Nashville. Here he repeated the
same act of founding constitutional government in which he had led
at Watauga. Here he repeats his skillful diplomacy with Indian and
Spanish agent alike. His manly bearing, his great strength of char
acter, and profound knowledge of men, make him the trusted leader.
After detailing many of his military expeditions and negotiations,
Ramsey, the venerable historian, says: "The people of Tennessee
have reason to
VENERATE THE MEMORY
of James Robertson, alike for his military and civil services, and the
earnest and successful manner in which he conducted his negotiations
for peace and commerce. His probity and weight of character se
cured to his remonstrances with Indian and Spanish agents respectful
attention and consideration. His earnest and truthful manner was
rarely disregarded by either."
While Robertson was thus building up constitutional government
and laying broadly the foundation of western empire, Sevier allowed
himself to become involved in the unfortunate feuds of the State of
Franklin. Every-where he appears the glorious soldier, the magnani
mous friend ; but had Robertson been at Watauga instead of French
Lick, Colonel Arthur Campbell, who was the real originator of the
State of Franklin, could never have led him to the steps taken by
Sevier. He, Robertson, would never have been led to the grave mis
take of the attack on Tipton's house. Colonel Arthur Campbell waa
a restless spirit, full of theories; a man of much more educational
culture than either Robertson or Sevier; did the writing that produced
the State of Franklin; prepared the constitution first presented to the
convention. Patrick Henry, then governor of Virginia, says, in a
communication to the legislature: "The limits proposed for the new
government of Frankland by Colonel Arthur Campbell, and the peo
ple of Virginia, who aimed at a separation from that state, were ex
pressed in the form of a constitution, which Colonel Campbell drew up
for public examination."
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 155
His county in Virginia did not follow his wishes and become con
nected with the new state. His brother-in-law, Colonel Wm. Camp
bell, of King's Mountain fame, opposed the movement, and was more
influential with the people. Judge David Campbell, his brother,
though not originally favoring the formation of a state, became after
ward its ablest counselor and apologist, yet so retained, by his con
servative course, the confidence of both parties, that he held the high
est judicial positions under both states. I have no disposition to
pursue the question growing out of the formation of the State of
Franklin further than to make good a claim that the origin or main
tenance of well- organized government in Watauga and in the French
Lick settlement are to be attributed to the same great pioneer genius,
James Robertson. I have seen the private papers of Colonel Arthur
Campbell, which manifest a subtle genius, a fondness for elaborate
writing. His letters, to the last, were very long, almost equal to a
modern newspaper, and filled with political discussion. He was more
than once on military expeditions with Sevier. In one of the most
extended of the Sevier expeditions enumerated to the credit of Sevier
in the "Rear Guard of the Revolution," he, and not Sevier commanded.
I have seen his official reportof the expedition in his own chirography.
I had at one time proposed to give the names of the early set
tlers of Tennessee, both east and middle, that could be identified as
Scotch-Irish, but have been led to abandon that purpose for several
reasons : First. We are a generation too late in attempting to gather
many of the necessary facts the last generation might have given
them ; this generation can not ; many families have not preserved the
records back of the first settlers. I have found many descendants of
our more prominent families ignorant of the fact that their ancestors
were Scotch-Irish, when on examining the material at hand, I have
been able to find ample proof of the fact ; it would therefore be in
vidious to offer a list of names of families unless the list could be made
comparatively complete. Second. On further study of the question,
it is evident that an overwhelming majority of the early settlers of our
state were Scotch-Irish, so that every Tenuessean descending from our
first hardy settlers is to be put down as of this people, if he can not
prove his descent to be otherwise. The author of the "Rear Guard"
thus speaks of the early settlers who came to Watauga after Robert
son's peace with O-ka-na-sto-ta :
"They were nearly all from Virginia, and of Scotch-Irish de
scent, generally poor, and threading the old Indian war-path, or pome
narrow trace blazed by the hunters, with only a single pack-horse,
which carried all their worldly possessions. But they had strong
156 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
arms and stout hearts, and added at once to the wealth and security
of the young community. They became, by the mere act of settle
ment, large land-owners, and their names are borne to-day by many
of the leading families of the south-west. Forts, modeled after the
one at Watauga, were built for the protection of the outlying settlers,
and the colonists soon felt as secure as in their old - homes in Vir
ginia."
Later, Ramsey tells of further Scotch-Irish under Colonel David
Campbell, forted near Kuoxville, old soldiers of King's Mountain.
To show that these were not the ignorant people the author of the
Rear Guard seems to indicate, I here give the names of books taken
from a single shelf in my library which have come down to me books
from homes of old Scotch-Irish :
Abbe Reynal's Histories, 1750 begun.
Hume's History.
Female Spectator, 1775.
Essays, Hugh Knox, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1804.
Pollock's Course of Time.
Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, 1766.
Dodridge's Works, 1792.
Life of Ireland, Winchester, Va., 1819.
Newton's Works, 1792.
Night Thoughts, 1770.
Hervey's Meditations.
Pope's Essays.
Newton on Prophecies, 1782.
Discourses on God's Sovereignty, 1772, by Elisha Coles.
William Cowper, 1792.
The Boston Collection of Hymns, 1808.
"A Plan for Female Education," by Erasmus Darwin, 1798.
On Solitude. Michael W. Hogan, Limerick, on one of the blank
pages. Title page gone.
Sin iu Believers, John Owen, D.D., Glasgow, 1758.
Joseph us.
Taking the early histories of North Carolina, and the annals of
the settlement of middle Tennessee, it is easy to see that the largest
proportion of the settlers were from the Scotch-Irish counties of North
Carolina and Virginia. Among the first we have from Ramsey:
"A settlement of less than a dozen families was formed near Bledsoe's
Lick (1778), isolated in the heart of the Chickasaw nation, with no
other protection than their own courage, and a small stockade in-
closure. In the early spring of 1779, a little colony of gallant ad-
SCOTCH-IRISH OP TENNESSEE. 157
venturers, from the parent hive at Watauga, crossed the Cumberland
Mountain, penetrated the intervening wilds, and pitched their tents
near the French Lick, and planted a field of corn where the city of
Nashville now stands. This field was at the spot where Joseph Park
since resided, and near the lower ferry. These pioneers were Captain
James Robertson, George Freeland, William Neely, Edward Swanson,
James Hauly, Mark Robertson, Zachariah White, and William
Overhall.
" While Robertson and his co-emigrants were thus reaching the
Cumberland by the circuitous and dangerous trace through the wilder
ness of Kentucky, others of their countrymen were
UNDERGOING GREATER HARDSHIPS,
enduring greater sufferings, and experiencing greater privations upon
another route, not less circuitous and far more perilous, in aiming at
the same destination. Soon after the former had left the Holston set
tlements on their march by land, several boats loaded with emigrants
and their property left Fort Patrick Henry, near Long Island, on a
voyage down the Holston and Tennessee, and up the Ohio and Cum
berland. The distance traversed in this inland voyage, the extreme
danger from the navigation of the rapid and unknown rivers, and the
hostile attacks from the savages upon their banks, mark the emigra
tion under Colonel Donelson as one of the greatest achievements in the
settlement of the west."
Without going into details, which would protract too much the
time, I quote from Phelan's "Tennessee" his summary, leaving out
such names as are known to be of other blood :
" The names of these adventurous navigators and bold pioneers
of the Cumberland country are not, all of them, recollected ; some of
them follow : Mrs. Robertson, the wife of James Robertson, Col.
Donelsou, John Donelson, Jun., Robert Cartwright, Benjamin Porter,
James Cain, Isaac Neely, John Cotton,. Mr. Rouusever, Jonathan
Jennings, William Crutchfield, Moses Reufroe, Joseph Renfroe, James
Renfroe, Solomon Turpin, Johns, Sen., Francis Armstrong, Isaac
Lauier, Daniel Dunham, John Boyd, John Montgomery, John Cock-
rill, and John Caffrey, with their respective families; also J\I:iiy
Henry, a widow, and her family, Mary Purnell and her family, John
Blackmore, and John Gibson. These, with the emigrants already
mentioned as having arrived with Robertson by the way of the Ken
tucky trace, and the few that had remained at the bluff to take care
of the growing crops, constituted the nucleus of the Cumberland com
munity in 1780. Some of them plunged at once into the adjoining
158 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
forests, and built a cabin with its necessary defenses. Col. Donelson,
himself, with his connections, was of this number. He went up the
Cumberland and settled upon Stone's river, a confluent of that stream,
at a place on its south side. The situation was found to be too low,
as the water, during a freshet, surrounded the fort, and it was, for that
reason, removed to the north side."
The names Nashville and Davidson county are testimonials to the
blood of the inhabitants, while Montgomery county adds another, and
Sumner is dotted with licks and creeks which retain the names of these
early Scotch-Irish settlers. The original Maury county is a cluster of
Scotch-Irish with scarcely a drop of alien blood. The bravery of these
people, coupled with their sturdy endurance of privation and savage
warfare, is without any parallel in the early settlement of America.
In the north-west the settler followed the soldier, often also the settler
followed the roads ; here the settler was the only soldier, and no roads
were known until he created them under his own organized govern
ment.
At first, as we have seen, emigrants came by a circuitous route
through Kentucky or along the dangerous navigation of the Tennes
see ; as soon as the settlers could organize they cut a road more than
two hundred miles in length from Campbell's Station, in East Tennes
see, to Nashville, and sent properly officered squads to protect the
emigrants en route. The stories of the heroic actions and brave en
durance of many of the women on these long journeys kindled in my
boyhood a passionate admiration never to be forgotten. The part
taken by Mrs. Buchanan in the fort just east of Nashville, molding
bullets and carrying in her apron over an uncovered space to the men
as they fired from the port-holes, has been often told. At Campbell's
Station, on occasion of an attack, when the men reached the house
from the field, they found the women had already barred the doors,
loaded the rifles, and the commander of the fort found his wife, gun
in hand, at the port-hole.
While two armies, one under General Harmar and another under
General St. Clair, and, finally, a third, under that thunderbolt of war,
General Anthony Wayne, had been sent forward by the general gov
ernment for the protection of the north-western settlers, the Tennessee
settlers were left to work out their own destiny, tempted by Spanish
officers, importuned by French promises. "The Indians, incited by
the British and Spaniards, constantly harried around the stations, the
springs, and the fields, ambushed the paths from station to station,
roamed the woods like sleuth-hounds to seize the adventurous hunter,
stole their horses, killed their cattle, drove off the wild game to produce
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 159
famine. So terrific at one time became the ordeal, that all the stations
were abandoned except Eaton's and the Bluffs (Nashville). The sta
tioners went in armed squads to the springs, and plowed while armed
sentinels guarded the fields." Deaths by Indians were of almost
weekly occurrence. Many of the settlers left in despair; but the
Scotch-Irish blood in the veins of Robertson, Ewing, Rains, Buchanan,
and Donaldson, after solemn counsel and compact, said, we will stay.*
On the 22d of April, 1781, the Indians, by a well planned stratagem,
attempted to take the Bluffs, which was considered the Gibraltar of
the Cumberland. A decoy party drew the men away from the fort
into an ambush. When they dismounted to give battle, their horses
dashed off toward the fort, and they were pursued by some Indians,
which left a gap in their lines, through which some whites were escap
ing to the fort. Just then another large body of Indians were seen
from the fort emerging from another ambush, intercepting the whites
and making for the fort. All seemed lost. We are ready to shut our
eyes upon the horrid scene, and stop our ears against the wail of women
and children as they are sinking under the tomahawk and scalpiug-
knife. But no! the heroic women, headed by Mrs. James Robertson,
seized the axes and idle guns, and planted themselves in the gate,
resolved to die rather than give up the fort. Just in time, she ordered
the sentry to turn loose a pack of dogs, selected for their size and
courage to encounter bears and panthers, and that were frantic to join
the fray. They dashed off, outyelling the savages, who recoiled before
the fury of their onset, giving the men time to escape into the fort. It
is said that Mrs. Robertson " patted every dog as he came into the fort."
Through it all, our first progenitors held true to their first compact
of equal rights, mutual protection, impartial justice, urith the reserved power
of removing the unfaithful from office, and to the soil where they had
elected to make their struggle for liberty and homes.
To give the temper of the Scotch-Irish women, I give the follow
ing:
A WHIG WEDDING IN DERBY DURING THE REVOLUTION.
In Dunlap's Pennsylvania Packet for June 17, 1778, then pub
lished at Lancaster during the occupation of Philadelphia by the
British, we find the following reference to the marriage of Jane,
daughter of the Rev. John Roan, to William Clingan, Jr.:
"Was married last Thursday (June 11, 1778), Mr. William
Clingan, Jr., of Donegal, to Miss Jenny Roan, of Londonderry, both
of this county of Lancaster; a sober, sensible, agreeable young
* Address of General Bright.
160 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
couple, and very sincere Whigs. This marriage promises much happi
ness as the state of things in this our sinful world will admit. This
was truly a Whig wedding, as there were present many young gentle
men and ladies, and not one of the gentlemen but had been out when
called on in the service of his country ; and it was well known that
the groom, in particular, had proved his heroism, as well as Whigism,
in several battles and skirmishes. After the marriage was ended, a
motion was made, and heartily agreed to by all present, that the
young unmarried ladies should form themselves into an association by
the name of the ' Whig Association of Unmarried Young Ladies of
America,' in which they should pledge their honor that they would
never give their hand in marriage to any gentleman until he had first
proved himself a patriot, in readily turning out when called to defend
his country from slavery, by a spirited and brave conduct, as they
would not wish to be the mothers of a race of slaves and cowards."
All honor to the memories of those patriotic women of Dauphin
in the war for independence! This was a Scotch-Irish county. Rev.
John Roan was a Presbyterian, and the uncle who reared Archibald
Roan, afterward governor of Tennessee. The latter was among the
earlier settlers, and married the sister of Judge David and Colonel
Arthur Campbell.
There are two men, Duncan Robertson and Montgomery Bell,
who, on grounds of distinguished philanthropy and liberality, deserve
to be mentioned in every sketch of the Scotch-Irish of our county of
Davidson.
Monette, in his "Valley of the Mississippi," says: "Tennessee,
not inaptly, has been called the mother of states. From the bosom of
this state have issued more colonies for the peopling of the great valley
of the Mississippi than from any one state in the American Union.
Her emigrant citizens have formed a very important portion of the
population of Alabama, of the northern half of Mississippi and
Florida. They have also formed the principal portion of the early
population of the states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas.
The first settlers of Tennessee not only through years of manly
struggle and endurance combined the work of the pioneer settler with
that of soldier, but early won as volunteers the rightful claim of pro
tector of the regions beyond them south and west. We do not deem it
proper to enter into the part taken by the Scotch-Irish of western
Virginia and Tennessee, and North and South Carolina, in the critical
battle of Kings Mountain that has been left for others. I may be
allowed to say the men who fought that battle were almost to a man
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 161
of this heroic race. In their history they are three times called upon
during the revolutionary struggle to repel the combined attempt of
English and Indians to crush the struggling colonies each time they
cut the lines of the advancing foe, and so dismembered the parts of
the plan of operation as to thwart its ends. This is the work so bril
liantly described in the pages of the "Rear Guard of the Revolution."
It is too well known to detain you with its recital.
As we find a band of Scotch-Irish grouped around William
Campbell at Kings Mountain, so we find in the second period of Ten
nessee history,
ANDREW JACKSON,
Whose father came from Carrickfergus, Ireland, to North Carolina,
becomes the central figure of all the military movements of the south
west. Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana alike,
find in him and the Tennessee volunteers, who come at his call, their
deliverers from Spanish, Indian, and British foes. The leaders who
are the arms of his power are of his own race. Generals CofFe and
Carrol, General Winchester, General William Hall and Colonel
Henderson. In the fiercest hours of the struggle others of the race
arrest the pen of history at the battle of Horseshoe. The Thirty-
ninth regiment, under Colonel Williams, the brigade of East Tenues-
seeans, under Colonel Bunch, marched rapidly up to the breastwork
and delivered a volley through the port-holes. The Indians returned
the fire with effect, and, muzzle to muzzle, the combatants for a short
time contended. Major L. P. Montgomery, of the Thirty-ninth, was
the first man to spring upon the breastwork, where, calling upon his
men to follow, he received a ball in his head, and fell dead to the
ground. At that critical moment, young ensign Houston mounted the
breastwork. A barbed arrow pierced his thigh ; but, nothing dis
mayed, this gallant youth, calling his comrades to follow, leaped down
among the Indians, and soon cleared a space around him with his
vigorous right arm. Joined in a moment by parties of his own regi
ment, and by large numbers of the East Tennesseeans, the breastwork
was soon cleared, the Indians retiring before them into the underbrush.
The wounded ensign sat down within the fortification, and called a
lieutenant of his company to draw the arrow from his thigh. Two
vigorous pulls at the barbed weapon failed to extract it. In a fury of
pain and impatience, Houston cried, "Try again, and if you fail this
time, I will smite you to the earth." Exerting all his strength, the
lieutenant drew forth the arrow, tearing the flesh fearfully, and caus
ing an effusion of blood that compelled the wounded man to hurry
over the breastwork to get the wound bandaged. While he was lying
11
162 THE SCOTCH IRISH IN AMERICA.
on the ground under the surgeon's hands, the general rode up, and
recognizing his young acquaintance, ordered him not to cross the
breastwork again. Houston begged him to recall the order, but the
general repeated it peremptorily and rode on. In a few minutes the
ensign had disobeyed the command, and was once more with his com
pany, in the thick of that long hand-to-hand engagement, which con
sumed the hours of the afternoon. Toward the close of the afternoon
it was observed that a considerable number of the Indians had found
a refuge under the bluffs of the river, where a part of the breastwork,
the formation of the ground, and the felled trees, gave them complete
protection. Desirous to end this horrible carnage, Jackson sent a
friendly Indian to announce to them that their lives should be spared
if they would surrender. They were silent for a moment, as if in
consultation, and then answered the summons by a volley, which sent
the interpreter bleeding from the scene. The cannon were now
brought up, and played upon the spot without effect. Jackson then
called for volunteers to charge : but the Indians were so well posted,
that, for a minute, no one responded to the call. Ensign Houston
again emerges into view on this occasion. Ordering his platoon to fol
low, but not waiting to see if they would follow, he rushed to the over
hanging bank, which sheltered the foe, and through openings of which
they were firing. Over this mine of desperate savages he paused, and
looked back for his men. At that moment he received two balls in
his right shoulder ; his arm fell powerless to his side ; he staggered
out of the fire, and lay totally disabled. His share in that day's
work was done. After being elected governor of Tennessee, this man
became the Washington of Texas.
A CHARACTERISTIC INCIDENT
of General Jackson, which I have not seen in print, was given me by
Judge Thomas Barry, of Sumner county, who knew*the general
well. The judge himself is a fine specimen of the race. Gen
eral Jackson, after his popularity had given him a large number
of namesakes through the country, was invited to a public dinner in
his honor at Hartsville, now in Trousdale county. After dinner, the
fond parents claimed the privilege of a hand-shake for the namesakes.
Judge Barry said that at a little distance he noted the fact that to
each of the boys the general gave a silver coin, accompanied by a re
mark he could not hear. Selecting one of the larger boys, he asked
him what the general had said to him. The boy replied, " IIo put his
thumb-nail on the word liberty, and said, ' For this our country fought
through seven years ; never give it up but with your life.'" To him
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 163
liberty had a meaning. Men who followed him adored it. There
was a sacredness and awe in the tmes in which they spoke of it, show
ing its profound impress upon the strong mold of their natures.
Jackson not only delivered the south-west, -but gave us much of what
is distinctive in the principles, and all of what is marked in the meth
ods of the Democratic party, affecting the life of the nation as no man
after Washington and before Lincoln has done.
THE CONSTITUTION OP TENNESSEE,
in the formation of which he took a prominent part, was pronounced
by Thomas Jefferson the " most republican of all the constitutions
adopted by the states." Jackson's love of liberty and of the Union
atone for much of his personal tyranny when in office. His force of
will brooked no opposition ; his intensity allowed no friendship beyond
the bounds of agreement; his fiery temper was an exaggeration of
true Scotch Irish devotion to principle and enthusiasm for right.
Besides the prominent soldiers who co-operated with Jackson, we
have among his contemporaries of Scotch-Irish blood Hugh L.
White, who in one of Jackson's greatest extremities left the ju
dicial bench to lead a party of volunteers to the rescue.
A man who was brave as Jackson, as deeply enamored of his
country's freedom, but one who knew no arts to win popular applause
bevond lofty adherence to principle, the man who as a candidate for
the Presidency of the United States won the vote of his own stuto
over Jackson's active opposition, one of the purest and ablest of Amer
ican statesmen, second only as a statesman to one Tenuessean John
Bell.
The father of John Bell, Samuel Bell, came from North Caro
lina to Tennessee. His wife was Margaret Edmonson, of a family
largely represented in the battle of King's Mountain, and in all sub
sequent military expeditions from Tennessee Scotch-Irish on both
sides.
JOHN BELL
was a student with Craighead in his boyhood ; elected to Congress over
Felix Grundy, who was supported by the warm personal influence of
General Jackson; a warm admirer of J. C. Calhoun, but of such thor
ough independence of character, that he was placed as chairman of the
committee in the House before which it was supposed Mr. Calhoun's
resolutions would come for consideration ; elected speaker of the House
over James K. Polk ; supported Hugh L. White for President, and
while White carried the state, Bell carried the Hermitage district over
the whole force of the administration and the indomitable exertions
164 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
of General Jackson ; entered the Senate, where he stood for the Union
through every change of administration ; favored the right of petition
on the part of the abolitionists when the whole South and many of the
northern statesmen refused them the privilege ; was secretary of war
under Harrison ; resigned when he could not agree with Tyler ; de
clined the offer of re-election to the Senate, on the grounds that E. H.
Foster deserved it at the hands of his party rare man ; was re-elected
at the next vacancy; stood for the compromise of 1850; opposed the
doctrine " to the victor belongs the spoils." One of the best, most
independent of American statesmen, who through all his career loved
the American Union more than he'loved party or power.
Before leaving John Bell, duty to the race whose place in Amer
ican civilization we are seeking to indicate, demands a reference to the
remarkable attitude held by him and Stephen A. Douglas at the sec
ond most critical juncture in American history. We have seen our
ancestral part in the earlier era ; again, in the trying epoch of the na
tion, when the hour came to test the power of the Union to hold in
one the states which had been gathered under the constitution, the
race stands out with a prominence that I have seen accorded them in
no annals of the times.
In the Presidential contest of 1860, Lincoln represented the ex
treme opinions of the North, Breckinridge the extreme opinions of
the South. The Scotch-Irish Bell and Douglas stood for the Union
under the constitution. They represented, the one, the conservatism
of the old Whig party, the other, the conservative element in the
Northern Democratic party. Whatever of honor there is in love of
the Union, we claim that honor for the Scotch -Irish, as represented
by these two sons in the hour of our country's greatest peril.
The chronological order of events demands that we turn back to
the period of the last Indian war, with the Se'minoles in Florida, when
Tennessee again is found with her volunteers in the fore-front of the
fight. General Robert Armstrong, Colonel Wm. Trousdale, and
Captain Wm. B. Campbell, leading spirits of the hour, were all
from Scotch-Irish ancestors. These we have traced ; many, perhaps
all others, were of the same blood, but the proof has not come to us,
though asked for again and again.
We ought to mention that pure man, Mr. Sommerville, cashier
of the bank at Nashville, by whose indomitable energy the mouey was
raised that enabled General Carrol to reach New Orleans at the crit
ical moment for the battle of New Orleans, where Jackson, with two
Scotch-Irish general officers and an army of like blood, won deathless
fame. The world has kept the name of the warrior, but allowed to
SCOTCH-IRISH IN TENNESSEE. 165
be almost forgotten the name of the quiet patriot who " handled mill
ions, but died poor."
JAMES K. POLK.
We have found the first President Tennessee gave to the United
States of Scotch-Irish blood, so we find the second, 1 James K. Polk. It
is said by a historian that the most brilliant career of any man in the
White House was that of James K. Polk. About his early career
gather White, Bell, Cave Johnson, Catron, and the great Socratic
lawyer, John Marshall, of Williamson county. They, with his first
opponent for governor of the state, Newton Cannon, were of the same
race. In this canvass the latest historian of Tennessee says: "Polk
opened the campaign on his side by an address to the people of Ten
nessee perhaps the ablest political document which appeared in this
state up to the time of the war."
His agency in adding the boundless West to the domain of the
United States needs no eulogy at this late day. Without the Pacific
coast, as we have it, the United States would have been one of the
great nations of the world ; with it, she inevitably must hold at no
distant future an unrivaled pre-eminence. The time is now on us
when the world must realize that in potency we can be classed with
no other nationality.
In the Mexican war again we look for the Tennessee volunteers,
and in addition to the names of Trousdale and Campbell, that of B. F.
Cheatham, who had gone as captain in the First, when that regiment
was disbanded at the close of the year for which it was enlisted, raised
another regiment, of which he was made colonel. Cheatharn had the
blood of James Robertson in his veins. He proved in the war be
tween the states a veritable thunderbolt of war; a man of the stauuch-
est integrity. All the men from Tennessee prominent in the Mexican
war were of Scotch-Irish blood, with, perhaps, the exception of General
Gideon Pillow. I believe him to be of the same blood, from his relation
to Colonel Wm. Pillow, of whom Ramsey says: "Among other emi
grants from North Carolina to Cumberland was the father of William
Pillow. He came through the wilderness with the guard commanded
by Captain Elijah Robertson, and settled four miles south of Nash
ville, at Brown's station. The son, William Pillow, was in most of
the expeditions carried on against the Indians, from the time of his
arrival in the country to the close of the Indian war."
He was the hero and victor of Fort Donelson in the recent war.
He has never been accorded his due for his brilliant fighting there.
The Mexican war showed the volunteer spirit of Tennessee undimmed.
166 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
Ten men volunteered their services for one accepted. Phelan's history
thus speaks of two of Tennessee's soldiers ia this war :
GENERAL WILLIAM TROUSDALE,
whose popular sobriquet was the " War Horse of Sumner County,**
was born September 23, 1790, in Orange county, North Carolina, and
was of Scotch-Irish descent. In 1796, his father removed with him to
Davidson county, Tennessee. When a boy at school he had joined
the expedition against the Creek Indians, and was at Tallahatchie and
Talladega. During the Creek war, in pursuance of some duty, he
swam the Tennessee river, near the Muscle Shoals, being on horse
back, although unable to swim himself. He was also at Pensacola and
New Orleans during the War of 1812. In 1835, he was in the state
senate, and in 1836 major-general of the militia. He fought through
the Seminole war of 1836. In 1837, he was an unsuccessful candidate
for Congress. In 1840, he was a Van Buren elector. He fought
through the Mexican war with great bravery, and was twice wounded
at Chapultepec. He was made brigadier-general by brevet in the
United States army for gallant and meritorious conduct in that en
gagement. Trousdale was a man of sound understanding and pure
character, and intellectually not inferior to his competitor. He was
elected by a majority of 1,390.
WM. B. CAMPBELL,
who opposed Trousdale in the next gubernatorial race, was descended
from a line of distinguished Revolutionary heroes. He finished his ed
ucation, which was solid and liberal, under his uncle, Governor David
Campbell, of Virginia, under whose supervision he studied law.
He returned to Tennessee, and in 1829 was elected attorney-general.
In 1836, he resigned his seat as a member of the legislature, and as cap
tain entered the Florida war, through which he fought with honor. In
1837, he defeated General Trousdale for Congress, and again in 1839.
In 1841, he was elected without opposition. He fought gallantly
through the Mexican war as colonel of the First Regiment, whose
desperate bravery won for it the sobriquet of "The Bloody First."
Campbell himself led the charge at Monterey, and his troops hoisted
the first flag on the walls of the Mexican city. This was perhaps the
most brilliant feat of arms accomplished during the war. The form
of Campbell's command to charge, " Boys, follow me," became his
toric, and was also the favorite battle-cry of the Whigs during the
campaign that elected him governor. In 1848, he was elected circuit
judge by the legislature, and in 1851 he was nominated by acclama-
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 167
tion for governor by the Whigs. Trousdale and Campbell were cast
in the same mold. Both were men of pure character, of high pur
pose, of stern integrity, possessing sound practical sense, without bril
liancy of parts or fluency of tongue, and both were conservative and
courageous. " Two gamer cocks," says one writer, " were never pitted
against each other in a canvass for governor."
" Virginia and Massachusetts are the only states which have fur
nished more names that stand higher on the national roll of honor
than Tennessee. Not to mention Tennesseaus who, like Tipton, of In
diana ; Houston, of Texas; Benton, of Missouri; Garland and Sev-
ier and Hindman, of Arkansas; Claiborne, of Louisiana; Henry
Watterson, of Kentucky; Sharkey and Yerger, of Mississippi ; Gwin,
of California; and Admiral Farragut, have attained influence and
celebrity either local or national in other states, Tennessee has given
the national government a number of
PRESIDENTS AND CABINET OFFICERS
entirely out of proportion to its wealth and population. George W.
Campbell was secretary of the treasury under Madison. Andrew
Jackson was President from 1829 to 1837. John H. Eaton was sec
retary of war under Jackson. Felix Grundy was attorney-general
under Van Buren. John Bell was secretary of war under Harrison
and Tyler. Cave Johnson was postmaster-general under Polk, and
Polk himself was President from 1845 to 1849. Tennessee has fur
nished the House of Representatives two speakers, Bell and Polk, and
the Senate one presiding officer, in the person of H. L. White, in
1832.
" In addition to this, Tennessee has had two unsuccessful can
didates for the Vice-presidency, James K. Polk, in 1840, and A. J.
Donelson, on the ticket with Fillmore, in 1856, and two unsuccessful
candidates for the Presidency, H. L. White, in 1836, and John Bell,
in 1860. John Catrou was on the supreme bench of the United
States from 1837 to 1865. Joseph Anderson was the first comptroller
of the United States, from 1815 to 1836. William B. Lewis was the
second auditor from 1829 to 1845. Daniel Graham was register of
the treasury from 1847 to 1849, and A. A. Hall from 1849 to 1851
and 1853.
" In addition to this, Tennessee has furnished innumerable
representatives to the diplomatic service abroad, two of them,
George W. Campbell and Neil S. Brown, to the same court
Russia."
" The quaintest, the most striking, the most original figure in
168 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
south-western history was David Crockett. Brownlow, the fighting
parson, the caustic writer, the politician, was a Tennessean governor
and senator. The filibustering expeditions, just preceding the war,
were full of romantic episodes. The leading figure in them was
William Walker, the ' Grey-eyed Man of Destiny,' whose exploits in
Nicarauga for a time attracted the gaze of Europe and America,
and whose sad and tragic fate has been described in the glowing and
sensuous verses of Joaquin Miller. The war between the states
brought to the surface many men of strong character and pronounced
individuality, but the most brilliant, the most original, the most at
tractive, the most dashing of all, was
N. B. FORREST,
a Tennessean. Joe C. Guild, the odd wag and the quaint humorist,
whose memory still lives in the traditions of the story-teller and the
anecdote-monger, was a Tennessean. Bailie Peyton, the peripatetic
politician and brilliant orator, was a Tennessean. The period from
1836 to 1860 was an era of great men and great orators. The style
of oratory was characteristic, and nearly always brilliant full of fire
and gorgeous flights of fancy and rhetorical adornment. Gus Henry
was the eagle orator. James C. Jones was a figure of national promi
nence, and was frequently suggested as a candidate for speaker. M.
P. Gentry was a leader in Congress, and an orator of the first magni
tude. After his first speech in Congress, John Quiucy Adams, who
took pleasure in observing new members of Congress, declared that
he was ' the greatest natural orator in Congress.' Laudon C. Haynes,
the Confederate senator, was also noted for the dazzling brilliancy of
his rhetoric." The Irish-Scotch William Walker, here mentioned, was
descended from the McClellans, a family whose genealogy is traced
back through many of the early settlers of Virginia, Tennessee, and
North Carolina to the north of Ireland, and thence to Scotland in the
twelfth century, where they held noble position. To the same fam
ily belongs Prof. A. H. Buchanan, of Cumberland University. The
record involves many of the best familes of Lincoln and Giles counties,
and of North Alabama. It will be filed with the historical papers.
PRESBYTERIANS.
We turn from the secular to the religious, and in as compact
manner as possible give the place of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians in
Tennessee ; as the family is largely represented in Tennessee, I begin
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 169
with Dr. Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independ
ence.*
Dr. Caldwell, of North Carolina, first president of the State Uni
versity, has worthy descendants in Tennessee. The family honor has
been maintained in the worthy representative in Congress from the
Hermitage district, the Hon. Andrew Caldwell. Caruthers, of North
Carolina, has a large progeny in Tennessee. One was Judge A.
Caruthers, founder of the celebrated law school of Cumberland Uni
versity, whose influence as lawyer and Christian has gone far toward
peopling the south-west with Christian lawyers. His brother, Judge
Robert L. Caruthers, of the Supreme Court, the most powerful force
in giving success to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. E. B.
Currie, of North Carolina, whose descendants have held distinguished
places in Tennessee history, especially in the postal service. Rev.
Gideon Blackburn was a right arm of power to General Jackson
through all the struggles of the early settlement of Tennessee. " It
is worthy of remark that the first four prominent educators of Tennes
see, Doak, Craighead, Carrick, and Balch, were all of Scotch-Irish
descent, and members of the same Presbytery. The Bible and the
school-book were borne together across the Alleghanies by men in
whose veins flowed the blood which had withstood the oppression of
three centuries."
That America should have owed its independence at the era
when it occurred, to the Scotch-Irish settlers, and foremost among
them to
THE PRESBYTERIAN PREACHERS,
that at the close of the revolutionary struggle, with the popularity
and decided prestige which belonged to that ministry, with the edu
cation and purity of life which was theirs in so eminent a degree,
with the priority of occupancy, that they should have been so quickly
distanced in the struggle for the rescue from sin and vice of the
hardy . settlers and their children by the Methodist preachers, is a
matter for profound study. The- Presbyterians held, as pioneers of
liberty, the foremost place in the popular mind and heart, and de
served the place they held. The Methodist preachers came out of
the struggle almost without a single laurel of freedom on their br<>\vs,
as preachers ; as men, many of them were soldiers before they became
preachers. The government of America had been fashioned in its
fundamental principles after the pattern set them by the Presby
terian Church.
* Omitted, as he was fully represented by another speaker.
170 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
Before my recent studies, I had given to Thomas Jefferson and"
French political theories credit for a much larger share in our govern
mental principles and forms than I can ever do again. The great
principle of no taxation without representation, we owe to the Scotch-
Irish Presbyterians. For the insertion of the constitutional pro
vision against the union of church and state, we are alike indebted
to them. With all this debt of gratitude, we do well to ask why has
a church whose government for nearly a hundred years gave no voice
to the people on questions of taxation, and allowed little more indi
vidual freedom than Jesuitism itself, so surpassed in its growth
the church of our fathers? Results so stupendous as these are not
matters of chance. This is neither the time nor place to discuss
the problem. I present it because it is incumbent on some future
philosophic Christian historian of the race to solve it for the world's
good.
Do we find a part of the solution the following ?
Dr. McDonald, in his history of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church, just from the press, says :
"The Southern Presbyterian Church, which has been so wonder
fully conservative, is seriously considering the propriety of changing
its standard on this subject. A standing committee has been ap
pointed to investigate the question. A long circular has been sent out
by one of that committee, ably advocating the change. This circular
shows that the ratio of increase in a hundred years between the Pres
byterian and Methodist Churches is as 47 to 1051. It shows that
' aptness to teach,' which is a Bible qualification, is not proved by
the possession of a college diploma, which is not. Indeed, there is no
essential connection between the two."
SCOTCH-IRISH THREAD IN METHODISM.
We find the Scotch-Irish represented among the early Methodist
preachers of Tennessee, by Thomas Logan Douglass, Hubbard
Saunders, who married a daughter of General Russell, of revolutionary
fame, whose wife, Madam Russell, was a sister of Patrick Henry,
James Gwin, chaplain, adviser, and trusted friend of General Jackson,,
at some of the most critical periods in his stormy career, John McGhee,
who, with his brother, a Presbyterian preacher, had a large part in the
revival out of which sprung the Cumberland Presbyterian church.
Among the early laymen we find as members of the first society or
ganized at Nashville, General James Robertson and wife ; a little later,
Colonel Robert Weakley. Among the earliest converts in Sumner
county, Lindsay, McNelly, Crane, the Carrs, Cages, and Douglass
SCOTCH -IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 171
family. But a little later, Mrs. Bowen, who was another daughter of
Geueral Russell, and pronounced by general Jackson the most remark
able woman he ever knew her place of prayer and devotional read
ing, the hollow of a sycamore tree, I have seen, the interior of which
she had liae-d with devotional clippings, prose and poetry.
The bishop, who had most to do in planting Methodism in Ten
nessee, Bishop William McKendree, and the bishop who last died iu
the state, Bishop McTyeire, were, as I take it, both Scotch-Irish.
Their names and places of birth indicate the fact, while their mental
characteristics are markedly of the racial type. Both of them bold
and urgent for the enfranchisement of the rank and file of the church
before they were separated from the mass by their elevation to the
episcopacy. Bishop McKendree, before he came under the personal
influence of Asbury, sympathized greatly with O'Kelly in his cry for
freedom of government, a cry which gave birth to Protestant Method
ism.
H. N. M'TYEIRE,
Before his elevation, was the resolute, adroit, persistent, and finally
victorious advocate for lay representation in the councils of the church.
Yet when clothed with the episcopal office, they were both as promi
nent for their high exercise of episcopal prerogative as was Jackson
himself in the presidential chair, or in the roll of military chieftain.
Strenuous for liberty when under authority, stalwart for prerogative
when gifted with authority. Of the men most marked in the history
of Tennessee, as exerting the most influential and long-continued in
fluence over the destinies of Methodism, we have John B. McFerrin
and David R. McAnally. Dr. McFerrin, in his History of Methodism
in Tennessee, speaking of Mr. Craighead, the earliest Presbyterian
preacher, says, "Mr. Craighead was a man of learning, and long
lived at his first residence in the state, and devoted most of his time
to the education of the youth of the country. In this field he was
very useful, and, as an educator, left a noble reputation. As a
preacher he was formal, and somewhat eccentric, but he has left be
hind him the savor of a good name."
It can be little doubted that had Craighead been writing of Mc-
Ferriu, he would have written "A strong man, gifted with power to
sway the masses, but as a preacher, of marked eccentricity." Most of
men who make the age feel them, and who leave behind them a dis
tinct impress, are written down by the many as eccentric.
JOHN NEWLAND MAFFET,
From the North of Ireland, the wonderful orator who swept like a
172 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
comet over the Union, followed by vast crowds, was for a time a
resident of Nashville, and pastor of the leading Methodist church.
Philip Neely, perhaps the most eloquent of Tennessee's many eloquent
men. was Scotch-Irish. F. E. Pitts, who rivaled Whitfield in his
power to move masses, was of Scotch-Irish blood. Jesse Cunningham,
a preacher of East Tennessee, whose son, Rev. W. G. E. Cunning
ham, has won high position in Methodism, claims our notice, as well
as Peter Cartwright and James Axley. Dr. McFerrin, in his Method
ism in Tennessee, thus characterizes a band of Scotch-Irish preachers.
" The pathos of Massie and Lee, the logic of McHenry and Burke,
the polemical power of Page and Garrett, the zeal and piety of
Walker and Lakin, the unction and poetry of Wilkerson and Gwin,
the thundering and lightning of McGee and Granade, and the fine
talents and noble bearing of McKendree and Blackman, drew the
multitudes to Methodist meetings, and brought thousands of the best
people of the land into the church. And these men of God went into
the hovels of the poor and sought the halt and blind, the maimed and
the distressed, preached to them Jesus and the resurrection, and won
multitudes to the cross of Christ."
CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, OR THE IRISH-SCOTCH CHURCH.
This church is the child of the Irish-Scotch of Kentucky and
Tennessee. As the race itself is the synthesis of two races, the birth
of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is the analysis of the two
races which reappear, the Scotch blood as Presbyterian, the Irish as
Cumberland. The one true to its logic, the other striding along across
all logical paths as enthusiasm may lead. Each is a source of honor
to the other, and, a second synthesis would be a blessing to our land,
the chief religious curse of which is the multiplication of sects. The
Cumberland Presbyterian Church has abounded in energy, which has
produced large results.
A very characteristic statement of the standpoint of its origin is
given in " McDonald's History," page 100.
" We have far more confidence in a system of theology growing
out of a revival than in a system made by scholastics writing in the
midst of their books and aiming at logical consistency."
Let us see the revival as it appears in history.*
The re-awaking Christian energy which ushered in the nineteenth
century, and which introduced a new method of spiritual propagand-
ism and enlightenment into American Christianity, was due to a man
* Phelan.
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 17-'5
whose name has almost been forgotten by the great body of the peo
ple. This was James M'Gready, who was born in Pennsylvania, of
Scotch-Irish parents. Wheu young, he was removed to North Caro
lina, and was under the pastorate of John Caldwell. He was, as a
boy, of a naturally grave and serious disposition, and was early des
tined for the ministry. He thought himself devout and a true Chris
tian. But he accidentally overheard a remark made by one whom
he respected, that he had not a spark of religion in 'his heart. He
was aggrieved and surprised. He thought over what he had heard.
Light began to dawn upon him. Returning to North Carolina, he
commenced preaching in earnest. In 1790, he married, and took
charge of a church in Orange county. He was accused of " running
people distracted, diverting their attention from the necessary avoca
tions of life, and creating unnecessary alarm in the minds of those
who were decent and orderly in their lives." A letter written in
blood ordered him to leave the country. His church was attacked.
His pulpit was set on fire. In 1796, he removed to Kentucky. Here
he took charge of three congregations in Logan county Gasper river,
Red river, and Muddy river. He infused new life into them. The
people were aroused. His reputation spread. His influence grew.
People came miles and miles to hear him. The walls of sectarianism
were thrown down. He joined with Methodists in the work of reviv
ing the love of Christ. William M'Gee, a Presbyterian, was located
first at Shiloh, near Gallatin, Tennessee, then on Drake's creek, in
Stunner county. His brother, John M'Gee, was a Methodist. In
June, 1800, the two brothers assisted M'Gready at the Red river meet
ing-house, where the great revival fully developed itself. The crowd
was enormous, and many were compelled to sleep in the open air un
der the trees. It was noticed that some had brought tents and fond.
This suggested the idea of a camp-meeting. The next month,
THE FIRST CAMP-MEETING
the world had ever seen was held at Gasper river church, in Logan
county, Kentucky. The spirit spread wider and wider, farther and
farther. A peculiar physical manifestation accompanied these re
vivals, popularly known as the "jerks." They were involuntary and
irresistible. When under their influence, the sufferers would dance,
or sing, or shout. Sometimes they would sway from side to side, or
throw the head backward and forward, or leap, or spring. Generally,
those under the influence would, at the end, fall upon the ground and
remain rigid for hours, and sometimes whole multitudes would become
dumb and fall prostrate. As the swoon passed away, the sufferer
174 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
would weep piteously, moan, and sob. After a while, the gloom would
lift, a smile of heavenly peace would radiate the countenance, and
words of joy and rapture would break forth, and conversion always
followed. Even the most skeptical, even the scoffers who visited these
meetings for the purpose of showing their hardihood, would be taken
in this way. As the inspiration spread, the
DEMAND FOR NEW PREACHERS
was greater than the church could supply. In this demand the Cum
berland Church had its origin. David Rice, the leading member of
the Transylvania Presbytery, visited the Cumberland country. Con
vinced that the revivals were doing great good, and appreciating the
lack of preachers, he suggested that laymen possessing the proper
qualifications for carrying on the work should be selected to apply for
membership in the Presbytery. Alexander Anderson, Finis Ewing,
and Samuel King applied, and were licensed to exhort.
Of Scotch-Irish we have marked these as prominent in the early
days of this church : Robert Donnel, Thos. Calhoun,T. C. Anderson,
J. M. McMurray. This church has come to number 150,000.
ALEXANDER CAMPBELL THE SCOTCH-IRISH CHURCH.
So large a place has been gained by the followers of the Scotch-
Irish Alexander Campbell in Tennessee, and he was himself so often
here, that no sketch of the religions of the race would be complete
without reference to him. A man who was bold enough to attempt
to reform, and in most of what he taught reverse the theology of the
ages, who fought his way single-handed and alone, who resorted to
no appeals to the passions, who was the death of enthusiasm, and
sought his conquests alone by the force of logic, arrests the pen of
history while he claims rightful place. He stands uniquely apart
from the religious reformers of the world as history has given them
to us. His success, which has been as marked as his courage was
dauntless, demands for him a foremost place among the celebrated men
of the race. John C. Calhoun, perhaps, of all the race, is his peer
in analytical powers, in persistence in unfaltering adherence to the re
sults of logic without giving place to either passion or expediency.
He belongs to the same Scotch-Irish family before referred to, was
brought up in the Presbyterian Church, trained in the theology of
the schools. He came on the scene of action just as the reverse tide
began to set in after the great excitement and religious furor of the
early part of this century. His movement has been improperly called a
reformation ; it was, in doctrine, methods, and purposes, a rebellion.
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 175
The creeds of Presbyterian isra, the revivals of Methodists, Bap
tists, and Cumberland Presbyterians, were attacked with a persist
ency that knew no abatement. He had some grounds for his points
of attack. Protestantism had gone much too far along the line of
credal infallibility, while many of the churches of Kentucky and Ten
nessee had narrowed down evangelical methods to one, " the mourn
ers' bench or anxious seat," the evidences of conversion had practically
become the measure of the emotions. It has taken Alexander Camp
bell and his followers a half century to draw the old churches out of
the pent-up Utica, into which reverence for misplaced creeds on the
one hand, and exaggeration of emotion on the other, had drifted them.
The evidences of the good accomplished by him along these lines in
the life and action of the churches is becoming every day more ap
parent. When Christendom comes to
%
VALUE CREEDS AS MILE-STONES
to mark progress, instead of anchors to forbid further movement, the
followers of Alexander Campbell may be able to meet us half way,
and allow that creeds have a rightful place. Whether they do or not,
the age owes to Alexander Campbell a debt larger, perhaps, than to
any other one man of the pulpit of the century, Henry Ward Beecher
excepted.
Beecher denounced the binding nature of creeds as fearlessly as
did Alexander Campbell, but never was narrow enough in his intensity
to be blinded to the fact that it was the abuse, not the use of creeds
that had so damned up Christian growth.
The Scotch-Irish stick-to-right exaltation of minor points into
fundamental principles, the contentious character of the race, has no
better example than in Alexander Campbell and his followers. His
refusal of all creeds, his abandonment of all established forms of gov
ernment, was carrying to its extreme logical results the central prin
ciples of Scotch-Irish Presbyterianism. Taking the Bible as in
terpreted by every individual as the only source of right belief and
action, his Scotch-Irish blood at once .goes forward along its hereditary
tendencies to construe a book full of tropes, figures, and parables redo
lent of lofty imagery, by the literalism of the unimaginative Scotch
metaphysics, resulting in the narrowest of possible structures on the
broadest of foundations. Yet so just were many of his criticisms on
the credal and emotional religions of his day, so welcome was his
doctrine of equal rights in the kingdom of Christ to all members, so
attractive has been the field for activity presented to laymen, that,
176 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
measured by the number of bis followers, be stauds unrivaled in the
history of the religious movements of the world.
A prophecy is on my lips, but I repress it. A single suggestion I
make. Had it not been for the exaltation of a symbol into the place
of a vital power by a faulty literalism, had it not been for the narrow
refusal to utilize such helps of government as Christian enlightenment
has approved, not as essentials, but as convenient scaffolding, their
success would have been as the torrent compared with the wave-like
growth of their history.
The following from Mr. Campbell shows his standpoint in contrast
to that given by McDonald as characteristic of Cumberland Presby^
terian church :
"What I am in religion, I am from examination, reflection, con
viction, not from ipse dixit, tradition, or human authority; and, hav
ing halted and faltered and stumbled, I have explored every inch of
the way hitherto. Though my father and I accord in sentiment,
neither of us are dictators or imatators. Neither of us lead ; neither
of us follow." *
This, with the whole history of this church, so vividly recalls Par-
ton's picture of Scotch-Irish character in his life of Jackson, that we
call attention to it in closing.
" One trait in the character of these people demands the particu
lar attention of the reader. It is their nature to contend for what they
think is right with peculiar earnestness. Some of them, too, have a
knack of extracting from every affair in which they may engage, and
from every relation in life which they form, the very largest amount
of contention which it can be made to yield. Hot water would seem
to be the natural element of some of them, for they are always in it.
It appears to be more difficult for a North of Irelander than for other
men to allow an honest difference of opinion in an opponent ; so that
he is apt to regard the terms
OPPONENT AND ENEMY
As synonymous. Hence, in the political and sectarian -contests of the
present day, he occasionally exhibits a narrowness, if not ferocity of
spirit, such as his forefathers manifested in the old wars of the clans
and the borders, or in the later strifes between Catholic and Protestant."
It is strange that so kind and generous a people should be so fierce in
contention. " Their factions," says Sir Walter Scott, speaking of the
* Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, pp. 466, 467. [Letter to his uncle in
Ireland.]
SCOTCH-IRISH OF TENNESSEE. 177
Irish generally, " have been so long envenomed, and they have such a
narrow ground to do their battle in, that they are like people fighting
with daggers in a hogshead." And these very people, apart frjotn
their strifes, are singularly tender in their feelings, liberal in gifts and
hospitality, and most easy to be entreated. On great questions, too,
which lift the mind above sectarian trivialities, they will, as a people,
be invariably found on the anti-diabolic side : equally strenuous for
liberty and for law, against " mobs and monarchs, lords and levelers,"
as one of their own stump orators expressed it. The name which Bul-
wer bestows upon one of his characters, Stick-to-rights, describes every
genuine son of Ulster. Among the men of North of Ireland stock,
whose names are familiar to the people of the United States, the fol
lowing may serve to illustrate some of the foregoing remarks : John
Stark, Robert Fulton, John C. Calhoun, Sam Houston, David Crock
ett, Hugh L. White, James K. Polk, Patrick Bronte, Horace Greely,
Robert Bonner, A. T. Stewart, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Benton,
James G. Elaine, Judge Jervis Black.
Judging by the ocean-like roll of his heart, I am inclined to add
to these the name of Abraham Lincoln, and am much disposed to be
lieve that the sturdy honesty of Grover Cleveland springs from the
same source.
12
178 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMEKICA.
SCOTCH-IRISH ACHIEVEMENT.
BY COLONEL A. K. M'CLURE, OF PHILADELPHIA.
Ladies and Gentlemen: You have had very excellent samples of
the oratory of the Scotch-Irish, and I am not here to deliver an ora
tion, but 1 will give you a recess from Scotch-Irish oratory, by devot
ing a short space of the evening to a confidential conversation about
our distinguished race. The trouble with me is to know where to be
gin. If you are asked, Where have the Scotch-Irish been, and
where are they now ? the answer is, Where have they not been, and
where are they not? If you are asked what they have done, the an
swer of every intelligent citizen must be, What have they not done?
If you ask what distinguished places of trust and power they have
filled, the logical answer is, What place is there, in civil, military, or
religious authority, that they have not filled? To speak of such a
race, is to speak of the history of the past achievements of our land ;
and, strange as it may seem, this people whose history is written in
every annal of achievement in our land, is without a written history.
There is not a single connected history of the Scotch-Irish in Amer
ican literature, and there is not a history of any other people written
in truth that does not tell of Scotch-Irish achievement. If you were
to spend an evening in a New England library, you would find not
only scores, but hundreds of volumes, telling of Puritan deeds ; and if
you were to study them, the natural inference would be that the only
people that have existed and achieved any thing in this land were
the Puritans. They have not only written every thing that they have
done, but they have written more than they have done. The story
that they generally omit is their wonderful achievement in the burning
of witches. There is a complete history of the Quakers. You find it in
connected form in almost every library of any city. There is a complete
history of the Huguenots who settled in Carolina, and there is a con
nected history of every people of our land, save the one people whose
deeds have made the history of this country the most lustrous of all.
It is true, that those who write their history in deeds have least need
of history in the records of our literature, but the time has come in
this land when the Scotch-Irish owe it to themselves, and owe it
especially to their children, who are now scattered from eastern to
western sea, and from northern lake to southern gulf, that those who
SCOTCH-IRISH ACHIEVEMENT. 179
come after us shall learn not only that their ancestors have been fore
most iu achievement, but that their deeds have been made notable in
history , as they were in the actions of men. Some of our more thought
ful historians or students of history will pretend to tell you when the
Scotch-Irish race began. I haven't heard even our Scotch-Irishmen
who have studied the question do the subject justice. No such race of
men could be created in a generation ; no such achievements could be
born in a century. No such people as the Scotch-Irish could be com
pleted even in century after century ; and while you are told that the
Scotch-Irish go back in their achievements to the days of John Kn<>x,
John Kuox lived a thousand years after the formation of the Scotch-
Irish character began. He was like the stream of your western
desert, that comes from the mountains and makes the valleys beauti
ful, and green, and fragrant, and then is lost in the sands of the
desert. Men will tell you that it disappears and is lost. It is not.
After traversing perhaps hundreds of miles of subterranean passages,
forgotten, unseen, it is still doing its work, and it rises again before
it reaches the sea, and again makes new fields green, and beautiful,
and bountiful. It required more than a thousand years to perfect the
Scotch-Irish character. It is of a creation single from all races of
mankind, and a creation not of one people nor of one century, nor
even five centuries, but a thousand years of mingled effort and sac
rifice, ending in the sieges of Derry, were required to present to the
world the perfect Scotch-Irish character. If you would learn when
the characteristics of the Scotch-Irish race began, go back a thousand
years beyond the time of John Knox, and find that there was a crucial
test that formed the men who perfected the Scotch-Irish character,
after years and years of varying conflict and success, until the most
stubborn, the most progressive, the most aggressive race iu achievement,
was given to the world. Let us go back to the sixth century, and
what do we find? We find Ireland the birth-place of the Scotch-Irish.
We find Ireland foremost of all the nations of the earth, not only in
religious progress, but in literature, and for two centuries thereafter
the teacher of the world iu all that made men great and achieve
ments memorable. For two centuries the Irish of Ireland, in their
own green land, were the teachers of men, not only in religion, but
iu science, iu learning, and all that made men great. She had her
teachers aud her scientists, men who filled her pulpits and went to
every nation surrounding ; and it was there that the Scotch-Irish char
acter had its foundation ; it was there that the characteristics became
evident which afterward made them felt wherever they have gone.
Those Irish were teachers of religion, and yet as stubborn for religious
180 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
freedom as were the Scotch-Irish. Catholic, they often refused
obedience to the Pope. They were men of conviction ; they were
men of learning. They were the advanced outposts of the progressive
civilization of that day, and the cardinal doctrine of their faith, down
deep-set in the heart, was absolute religious freedom, and they even
combated the Vatican in maintaining their religious rights.
Then came the cloud that swept over the laud, and that effaced
this bright green spot from existence. Then came the barbarian from
the isles of the Baltic. He came with the torch of the vandal and
all the fiendishness of a barbarian, desolated the land, destroyed its
prosperity, overthrew its minsters, razed its churches to the earth, and
from that once bright green isle a land of desolation was made.
The Irish of that day were not to be conquered in a generation ; nay,
not in a century. It was only after two centuries of desperate, bloody
conflict, of sacrifice such as men to-day know not, that finally they
were almost effaced from the earth. But it was like the stream that
comes from the great mountains of the West, that had made the val
leys beautiful which it had traversed, and then disappeared in the
desert. The work of these men had perished and been overthrown
for the time being, but their teachings were eternal, and they are as
much impressed upon this audience now as they were twelve hundred
years ago in Ireland. Then history tells how the province was finally
laid waste, and, how, when it had ceased, by reason of its desolation,
to invite any to it, the Scotch-Irish were invited to come to Ulster,
and how there was literally founded the great people whose history
and whose achievements we celebrate now. They had undergone per
secution from King and Pope. Not until Pope Adrian and King
Henry, Protestant upon the one side and Catholic upon the other, had
united their arms, their schemes, and their statesmanship, was the
land laid waste so that the Scots alone could rebuild the destruction
which had been wrought. So great was the desolation, that prelates
denounced Catholicism one day, and again praised it ; the teachers at
the holy altar abjured Catholicism to Mary and Protestantism to
Henry. The church and state reeked with corruption. When there
was universal demoralization, even at the very altar of the holies, then
the Scots went to Ireland and settled in the province of Ulster, where
the history of the race properly begins. They made the laud again to
bloom and blossom, and upon every hand was brightness and pros
perity. They called a convocation of their clergy, and proclaimed
their profession of faith, the same that you would proclaim at your
altar to-night; and it seemed, at last, as though the angel of peace
had visited the land, and that now there should be freedom to worship
SCOTCH-IRISH ACHIEVEMENT. 181
at the altar of their choice; that improvement, mental, social, relig
ious, and material, should go hand in hand again, and that Ireland
should become a place of plenty and of happiness. But scarcely had
they established themselves, and proclaimed their faith, and restored
prosperity for the desolation that they had found, when persecution
again came, with the power of Church and State. These people were
persecuted at their altars, in their homes, in their business, in all
things; they were condemned as felons, and compelled to flee from
their land. After a ceutury of conflict such as we know not now,
maintaining their altars and their homes and their rights, they seemed
again to have been scattered to the four quarters of the earth. Again
the bright mountain stream of education, religion, progress, and ad
vancement seemed to have been swallowed up by the desert in utter
hopelessness. It was then that John Knox came, and came as the
long-concealed sweet waters from the fountain of religion and of edu
cation, having long been swallowed up by the desert of desolation and
persecution, in all their splendor, pure as crystal, pure as heaven.
Again the people were taught that the religion and the education of a
thousand years before had not been lost ; that there was one character
of men, and one alone, in which was preserved eternally the truths
of progress, of freedom, of religion ; and finally, after conflict upon
conflict, and sacrifice upon sacrifice, these men presented what I regard
as the perfected Scotch-Irish character. At the siege of Londonderry,
after twelve hundred years of education and teaching, and utter pros
tration under persecution of all the power of Church and State to
destroy, the perfect Scotch-Irish character was presented to the
world ; and I thank the siege of Londonderry, because it was that
which sent them to the new world. Then they came fleeing from
home, from all which they loved, to the new world, as teachers of the
inalienable rights of man to worship the living God as he shall choose,
and maintain civil freedom as the highest right of God's created
beings. They came, and they settled in Pennsylvania, the Carolinas,
and Virginia ; and it was the Scotch-Irish people of the colonies that
made the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Without them, it
could not have been thought of, except as a passing fancy. When
the New England Puritan and the Virginia mixture of the cavalier
and Scotch-Irishman sat side by side, and presented to the memorable
Congress of Philadelphia the immortal document of the Declaration
of Independence, they did not voice the views or convictions of
Thomas Jeflforson or John Adams ; they voiced the teachings of the
Scotch-Irish people of the laud. They did not falter, they did not
dissemble, they did not temporize, when a foreign government became
182 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
oppressive beyond endurance. It was not the Quaker, not the Puri*
tan, nor even the Cavalier nor the Huguenot nor the German ; it was
the Scotch-Irish of the land whose voice was first heard in Virginia.
In the valley of Virginia was the first declaration of independence;
not a formal declaration, but it was there that, the smothered feelings
of these people were first declared. Next, in North Carolina, at
Mecklenburg, came the declaration of independence in form, arid from
the Scotch-Irish of that region. Next came the declaration of my
own state, at Carlisle, Pa. There was the declaration made by the
Scotch-Irish, that the colonies must be free from the oppressive hand
of Britain. They had taught this, not only in their public speeches,
they had taught it at their altars, from their pulpits, in their social circle ;
it was taught upon the mother's lap to the Scotch-Irish child ; and it
was from these, and these alone, that came the outburst of rugged,
determined people that made the declaration of 1776 possible. They,
and they alone, were its authors, and when they made a declaration,
they meant to maintain it by all the moral and physical power they
possessed. When a deliverance came from the Scotch-Irish when
they demanded that they must and shall be free, it was no mere diplo
matic declaration ; it was no claim to be tested and disputed and be
recalled in season. When the Scotch-Irish of this land declared that
the American colonies should be free, it meant that the Scotch-Irish
blood was ready to flow upon the battle-field, that the Scotch-Irish arro
ws ready to wield the battle-ax, and that, come weal or woe, they
meant to maintain the declaration with their lives. (Applause.)
I wish the truthful history of the Declaration of Independence
had been written. It has not been done, and I am sorry that it will
never be written, for the reason that it now can not be done. I wish
that some other people, some other race than mine, had been in a po
sition to write the true history of the Declaration of Independence.
The Scotch-Irish can not write it, because in the writing they would
make themselves immortal. There is no passage in history that tells
you that, after the passage of this declaration by the Congress of the
colonies at Philadelphia, two of Pennsylvania's representatives were
recalled and retired for disobedience to the will of the people, and new
men sent to complete the work. Need I tell you that these men were
not Scotch-Irish ? It was, perhaps, well for young American students,
that they have not by history been told how the Continental Congress,
even after passing the memorable Declaration of Independence, shiv
ered at the consummation of its work; how men shuddered and hesi
tated at affixing their names to the document that would make them
traitors to their King; and it was not until John Witherspoon, the
SCOTCH-IRISH ACHIEVEMENT. 183
Scotch-Irish Presbyterian preacher, the lineal descendant of John
Knox, rose in his place, with his venerable silvered head and earnest
oratory, and declared that his gray head must soon bow to the fate of
all, and that he preferred it to go by the ax of the executioner rather
than that the cause of independence should not prevail, that the hes
itating were made to stand firm, that the quivering heart beat its
keenest pulsations for freedom, and made every man come up, one
after another, and affix his name to the immortal document. What
might have been the history of that day, if John Witherspoon had
not lived, and had not stood there, as John Knox stood, centuries be
fore, to present the teachings of religion, science, education, and free
dom, from which could be drawn the inspiration, generation after gen
eration, for twelve centuries? Had he not been there, I know not
what might have been the record of that day. I only know, and re
joice for freedom and civilization, that John Witherspoon lived, and
that, as ever, the Scotch-Irish ruled the great event of the day. How
have they written their history amongst us ? When the battle came
for freedom, I need not tell you where they were. I need not tell you
that, of the whole Scotch-Irish race on this continent, there was but a
single exceptional community where there was not the most devoted
loyalty to the cause of freedom for which the colonies fought; and
these might have been patriotic if they had not been Scotch-Irish.
They had given their solemn promise, upon parole and pardon, when
condemned unjustly, and when it was a choice between freedom and
death, and when their King had given them permission to settle in the
new country, that they would maintain their loyalty to the King that
pardoned them. This little community in North Carolina was faithful
to its oath, and became apparently unfaithful to its liberty. This is
the record of the whole disloyalty of the Scotch-Irish race in this
country to the struggle for freedom, and this stands out with the
stamp of Toryism ; but it is made lustrous by the fidelity to the oath
given to a King who had granted pardon.
As I told you when I began, I know not where to turn to tell you
of Scotch-Irish achievement. I know not where to begin, where to
go, or where to stop. Don't imagine, from what I have said, that the
Scotch-Irish were all angels. They were very human. Dr. Macin
tosh, in his address to you, summed up the Irish character pretty well
in a single sentence. What were your words, doctor?
Dr. Macintosh :
I said the Scotch-Irish kept the commandments of God, and
every thing else they got to lay their hands on. (Laughter.)
184 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
Colonel McClure :
I want to get it from the mouth of the reverend doctor, because
he knows them quite as well as I do. That was the truth of them.
They were a thrifty people. In my own state they had a conflict with
the Quakers. The Quakers concluded that Scotch-Irish immigration
ought to be stopped, and in one of their petitions sent to the council of my
state, they declared that the Scotch-Irish were ' a pernicious and pug
nacious people." They were in perpetual conflict. The truth is, the
Scotch-Irish were ever upon the outskirts of civilization. The Quakers
lived where they could live in peace. They were a lovely people, and
we have the conviction that they founded Pennsylvania in peace. So
they did. The truth is, they did every thing to aid warfare, and
left the Scotch-Irish to fight it out. They would go amongst the In
dians, and trade with them, and give them ammunition and firearms,
because they were peaceful brothers, and the Indians would murder
the Scotch-Irish, and the Quakers while dwelling in peace did great
good in dealing justly with the Indian and getting him to kill the
Scotch-Irish. They were in constant conflict. The Scotch-Irish en
tered the Cumberland Valley when the Quaker was scarcely outside
of Philadelphia. They had gone to Fort Pitt, and settled in Western
Pennsylvania, when the Quaker was dreaming of peace along the
banks of the Delaware ; and it was one perpetual struggle of noble
daring and courage to maintain their homes against the Indians in
that state. But the Quaker always protested, always complained, and
in every possible way sought to limit Scotch-Irish immigration, or drive
it from the state ; and they did drive many from the state. Turn to
South Carolina, and you will find settlements of Scotch-Irish from
Pennsylvania, who took with them the names of Pennsylvania coun
ties Chester, Lancaster, York. Before the Revolutionary War they
settled many counties on the borders, simply because they got
away from the Quakers, who constantly complained of and criticised
them. These Quakers made the truest charge they ever did when
they said : " These men absolutely want to control the province them
selves." Of course they did. There never was a Scotch-Irish com
munity anywhere that did not want to boss every job around it, and of
course these people in Pennsylvania wanted to control the colony. The
Quakers wanted nobody but themselves. The Scotch-Irish were the
pioneers of civilization, and wherever they went with their trusty
rifles and built their log-cabins, there was the school-house, there was
the little log church, for religion and education went hand in hand
SCOTCH-IRISH ACHIEVEMENT. 185
with the Scotch-Irish wherever they weut, from the time of the Revo-
ution until now; and what was true of Pennsylvania was true of every
part of the land where they settled. They dominated, and that was
the cause of complaint against them. They dominated, simply be
cause in the nature of things it could not be otherwise. They were
born and educated a thousand years as leaders of men ; they were men
of conviction ; they were men of faith in religion, faith in God, and
faith in themselves, and tell me why should not such a people at that
day resolve that the land belonged to the saints, and that they were
the saints?
Men have inquired whether there is not a decadence in the
Scotch-Irish character, and men of thought and students of the race
have at times hesitated to answer. Let me say that if there shall be
decadence in the Scotch-Irish race, there shall be no conflicts worthy of
the Scoth-Irish character to develop their grandeur and their hero
ism. (Applause.) Turn but back to the last great conflict between the
North and the South, and there was not a man upon the battle field
that was not made more heroic by Scotch-Irish leaders and Scotch-
Irish soldiers. There would have been thousands fewer fallen in that
conflict but for the pertinacity of the Scotch-Irish character and its in
fluence throughout the whole American people; and after read,
ing all of Grecian and Roman story, there is nothing in human
history, 'there is nothing in all the conflicts of men, ancient or modern,
that evidenced such matchless heroism as was shown by the blue and
the gray that stands to-day lustrous over all the heroism of the earth
a> the heroism of the whole American people. Tell me not that there
is decadence in the Scotch-Irish character. There is no decay, but there
is no achievement to-day, because there is nothing heroic to achieve.
He is foremost in the conflict, when the conflict is for the right. He
is but a man as all men are, human, full of all its infirmities, but the
grandeur of his character, fixed twelve hundred years ago, is to-day
as perfectly true to its teachings as when Ireland, in her grandeur,
was the teacher of the world. When these men fail in achievement,
it is because there is nothing to achieve. However, they will be felt
when the battle field is not to be found. When there are no conflicts
in statesmanship, when the great issues have passed, think you that
the Scotch Irish teaching is still and unheard and unfelt in civiliza
tion? No. When the tempest is still, and all is calm and beautiful
around you, the dews of heaven make the flowers jeweled in the morn
ing, and your fields green with the promise of future plenty. Thna
with the Scotch-Irish character, in conflict grander than all ; when
186 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
every conflict shall have been won ; when free is the banner of faith,
and liberty has triumphed, then, as gentle as the dews of heaven, will be
felt the teachings of the Scotch-Irish in behalf of a civilization which
has grown for centuries and centuries, until, in the fullness of time,
will the Scotch-Irish character stand out grandest and most beneficent
in all the achievements of men. (Applause.)
ADDRESS OF HON. BENTON M'MILLLN. 187
ADDRESS OF HON. BENTON McMILLIN.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Fellow Citizens: I am
happy to have the privilege of meeting and greeting you on this
auspicious occasion. It is said to be well for a speaker who comes be
fore an audieuce for the first time to, by some means, get into their
good graces at an early moment. I am going to do that by an
nouncing that I am too selfish toward myself and too generous to you
to detain you long from the good feast that awaits you from the lips
of one more eloquent than I could possibly be.
It is well for us to be here to-day, not simply because Scotch-Irish
blood flows in our veins, for that of itself is a minor consideration.
But why, my friends, are we here? It is to commemorate the deeds
of a glorious ancestry, not because they were our ancestors, but be
cause, by that commemoration, we may possibly instill into the young
men, upon whom the responsibilities of government and the responsi
bilities of defending religious liberty are soon to rest, ideas which will
nerve them to come up to those responsibilities with more of patriotic
fervor and more of religious zeal than was possessed before the meet
ing of this assembly. (Applause.)
It was not my pleasure to be with you at the opening of this
congress, as had been arranged, for the reason that I was from home
in New York when the invitation reached me about the time of the
opening of this assembly, and did not get back home so as to be here
at the inauguration of the exercises. This I say in justification of
myself. I am glad to come into your midst. I have heard much of
this glorious land in which you live, and its unstinted hospitality ; I
had heard of the magnificent and fiery spirit of its sons ; I had heard
of the beauty and feeling of its daughters ; but I can truly say, in the
language of one of old, that the half had not been told. (Applause.)
I take another pleasure in coming here. It is the home of one
of the purest patriots, one of the greatest friends I ever had, a man
who Tennessee regrets and the nation regrets is stricken with affliction
to-day, and for whom the prayers of all patriotic people ascend on this
goodly morn ; need I say that I speak of your own distinguished fel
low citizen, General Whitthorne? (Applause.)
My friends, it has been said, in language more eloquent than I
can command, that the history of the Scotch-Irish race is the history
188 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
of the combat against physical force and the combat against oppression
of the church by the state. I rejoice in the little blood that flows in
my veins from that stock. I rejoice in the memories that cluster
around the illustrious heroes that this country has had, and I am glad
that it is impossible for the historian to omit from the pages of glori
ous deeds the actions of these thrice-glorious men. Suppose that they
could be obliterated, what would you have ? The conquest of Mexico
by your own immortal Polk would be unknown, the defense of New
Orleans by -Tennessee's glorious sons would be unrecorded, the great
intellectuality of Calhoun would be unknown to American youth as
an inspiration to exertions, and that fierce and fiery appeal of a Henry
to his countrymen to rush to arms would never have resounded down
the ages to awaken every man with the love to be free. It may be
truly said of the Scotch-Irish race what was said by Byron, the great
poet, when he spoke of Corinth and said :
"Many a vanquished year and age
And tempest's breath and battle's rage
Have swept o'er Corinth, yet she stands,
A fortress, formed to freedom's hand."
So it is with the Scotch-Irish race. They stand to-day as they have
stood through the ages and the centuries, defending freedom, proclaim
ing the freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom of the citi
zen. Those three freedoms we come up to-day as Scotch-Irishmen to
again proclaim the faith of their sons as it was the faith of our fathers.
(Applause.)
A peculiarity of the Scotch-Irishman is that he is not the kind
of a believer in freedom of religion which is described so graphically,
and I fear so truly, by Artemus Ward, when in his book he praises his
ancestry as follows : " The Wards is a noble family. I believe they
are descended from the Puritans, that baud of religious patriots who
fled from the land of persecution to the land of freedom, where they
could not only enjoy their own religion, but prevent every other man
from enjoying his." That is the difference between the Scotch-Irish
love of freedom and the love of freedom which he says characterized
the Puritan. My friends, when I look around at the great country
that is our common blessing to-day, I feel that on its account it is not
amiss for us to meet here and commemorate the noble deeds by all
races and in all ages. We have sixty odd million people in these
United States. We have more Jews than Jerusalem, more Irish than
Dublin, more Scotch than Edinburgh, more Germans than Berlin, and
still have more than 50,000,000 of native born, American citizens,
ADDRESS OF HON. BENTON M'MILLIN. 189
noble sons of noble sires from every clime and every country. Thus
far we have got along reasonably well, but the time will come when
the vast public domain, acquired [\>y our ancestors, will uot be here
unoccupied as an inviting field in times of calamity and distress tliat
may occur in the east and the south. My prediction is that it will
then require all the patriotism of the patriot, and all the wisdom of
the sage to correctly steer this government between all the breakers
that will rise of anarchism on one side and socialism and the disposi
tion to control by other than patriotic means on the other. It is
characteristic of the Scotch-Irish race that in its ranks, so far as I
know, there has never been found a single anarchist or socialist. On
the contrary, there has never been found a single Scotch-Irishman that
was not able to defy power and potentate, be he king or anybody else,
who stood in the pathway of progress and of right. When I look
around in this beautiful country, I rejoice that there is a considerable
amount of Scotch-Irish blood in the southern states of the Union ; and
in what I shall say, it is not my purpose to deal with any part of my
country except as a patriot talking of a part of the whole country,
every foot of which is loved, and every foot of which every man of
the South stands ready to defend. (Applause.) I don't recur to the
past save for the lessons of wisdom and instruction and patriotism that
it may give us. Twenty odd years ago there was not in all this land,
from Kentucky to the gulf, hardly a single thoroughly fenced farm ;
our homes were desolated, our farms yielding nothing, our country de
populated. The same spirit that had characterized our Scotch-Irish
ancestry, characterized the people of the South, and they have caused
this country to bloom as the rose, until to-day it is hardly possible for
a stranger to detect that the blighting hand of war ever fell upon it.
I also speak the truth of history when I say that at the close of the
late war there was eleven millions of people in the South, seven mil
lions of whom could not have bought their kettle, and yet the coal
that lights the streets of London is mined in Kentucky, and the iron
that makes the screw to fasten down the coffin lids of the dead English
man comes from Tennessee and Alabama, and is manufactured in Con
necticut. Who is there that could have done more than this, more than
Aladdin with his lamp? You men of the South deserve much; you
were never discouraged in defeat. But a most potent factor in the re
habilitation of the South was its glorious women. When impartial
history shall have been written, it may be truly recorded that she who
saw disaster with a smile, who encountered defeat and poverty with
out any thing of encouragement ; she who uprooted the thorn and
planted the rose; she, the woman of the South, deserves the praise
190 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
for what has been done ; and she deserves the praise for keeping our
young men in firmness and uprightness which alone should character
ize a man made in the image of his almighty God. (Applause.) My
friends, we have a glorious country, and the reason I rejoice that
there is Scotch-Irish in my veins, is not simply because it is Scotch-
Irish, but because it gives a little more grit and a little more resolu
tion to see the right and to have the courage to do it, and be a better
American citizen ; for, after all, my greatest ambition is to be one of
the best of American citizens. But I promised you in the beginning
that I was not going to detain you. Complying with that promise,
and thanking you for your kind attention, I give place to one who can
more fittingly entertain you. (Applause.)
JOHN KNOX IN INDEPENDENCE HALL. 191
JOHN KNOX IN INDEPENDENCE HALL.
BY REV. JOHN S. MACINTOSH, D.D.
As we pace the story-laden Piazzetta of San Marco, we think with
stirred souls of the ducal makers of Venice ; as we sit toward sunset
beneath the heavy shadows of the historic Campanile, we behold move
past in stately progress the majestic makers of Florence ; as we rest by
the banks of the turbid Thames, we stand amid the crowding captains
and statesmen, who have been the makers of our own ancestral
Britain ; and as we turn aside from the glare of broad sunlight and
the din of the thronged streets into the cool shade and the sacred si
lence of our own dear hall of liberty, our common nation's hallowed
home of freedom, we face the crown and glory of all these mighty
men, the makers of our own republic.
But who made these makers of our land, we can not but ask, as
we front our great dead once more ? Whence came these souls of purest
flame, whose glowing spirit fires blazed the new and broad pathway to
rest and freedom, to happy homes and ever-enlarging power for the
weary and the downtrodden from a score of the old world's packed and
groaning serf-pens ? Who were the sires of the fathers of our republic ?
Who breathed into them their quickening spirits; who flashed into
their capacious hearts the impulsive inspirations ; who unbarred for
them the way to new life, new rights and duties? Question of deep
est interest ! Few studies so tempting as the studies of origins ! What
so enchanting as the search after the upper fountains of great world
streams, the Niles and the Congos? Who, then, the sires of our fathers;
whence their origin ; what the fountains of these life streams that flowed
together into the glorious tide of a new land of freemen ?
Like most potent incantation works swiftly the question. And
forms hoary and honored to us rise like Samuel's at Endor from graves
of quiet dignity ; and as these august ancients gird us round, forward
with glad, bold, almost defiant cry of recognition and right filial pride
start the Puritans, to show and claim as their all-honored sires, Milton,
and Hampden, and Sydney, and Pym, and, greatest among the great,
England's uncrowned Protector ; and forward bound with Gallic eager
ness the Huguenots to lay their reverent hands on Conde and Coligny,
and Calvin and our own Lafayette ; and forward stride with firm foot
the Hollanders, pointing out majestically, and linking their descent
with William the Silent and the sage De Witt, the dashing Egmont,
192 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
and the fearless Van Horn ; and forward come the Germans, and
trace their blood to the Hohenzollerns and Saxon electors, and Luther,
lordliest of them all. But amid these many gladsome and proud voices
of childhood, and amid these bold, true claims upon the bluest blooded
ancestry any land can show, one group has hitherto been strangely
silent. Have these silent ones, then, no sacred obligations to grand
ancestral dead ? Have they had no divine preparations for their
achievements through God-given and God-taught sires? Call they no
Heaven-built man father? Are they the American Melchisedeks,
kings verily by all mightiest proofs and world-wide confession, but
kings without royal parentage? Nay, verily! But while Puritans
have made this land, and as many more as they could reach, ring time
and again with Mayflower and Mayflower's men and women and their
glorious ancestry, while Dutch and Germans and French, and the sons
of St. George, have long lifted trumpet tones of self-gratulation be
cause of their great fathers, this silent, patient group, not the smallest
in the land, not the weakest, as every battle field and place of state
and church and busy life may prove, not the least laurelled, as shows
the country's roll of honor, not the least trusty nor backward in
danger's hours, nor giving fewest chieftains to the makers of this com
pacted empire of freemen this silent band of proud self-repressive-
ness has hitherto said but little as to their own intellectual, political,
patriotic patriarch, the high-towering soul of impulse, the new creative
force, who under God has been the fountain and origin of their most
marked qualities, their national and everswelling glory. Have, then,
we Scotch and Scotch-Irish, for we have been the silent band, unor
ganized and unbound till this happy hour, have we no prophet ? Can
we call no seer as sire from honored grave, to say of him with reverent
affection, "He is the soul of fire the Lord sent to stir the flames of
new daring within our fathers' souls?" Strange if we, of all, had not!
Looking round the portrait-lined walls of our hall of freedom, gazing
on and studying with pious steadfastness, those strong, masterful, dis
tinct faces from Witherspoon's and Henry's, round and round, faces
that throw out into so rugged and characteristic boldness of relief, the
Scotch and Scotch-Irish makers of this republic, we must feel it pass
ing strange indeed, if no one grand, lone chieftain can be planted at
the head of our clan, and with a fearless, intelligent pride, pointed out
as noblest among the very noble the peculiar and royal leader of a
peculiar and royal race.
Peculiar and royal race ; yes, that indeed is our race ! I shrink
not from magnifying my house and blood with a deep thanksgiving to
that Almighty God who himself made us to differ, and sent His great
JOHN KNOX IN INDEPENDENCE HALL. 193
messenger to fit us for our earth-task ; task as peculiar and royal as is
the race itself; I shame me not because of the Lowland thistle and the
Ulster gorse, of the Covenanters' banner, or the Ulsterman's pike. If
we be not the very peculiar people, we Scotch-Irish are a most peculiar
people, who have ever left our own broad, distinct mark wherever we
have come, and have it in us still to do the same, even our critics be
ing judges. To-day we stand out sharply distinguished in a score of
points from English, French, Dutch, German, and Swede. We have
our distinctive marks ; and like ourselves, they are strong and stub
born ; years change them not, seas wash them not out, varying homes
alter them not, clash and contact with new forms of life, and fresh
forces of society blur them not. Every one knows the almost laugh
ably dogged persistency of the family likeness in us Scotch Irish a' the
warld ower. Go where you may, -know it once, then you know it, ay,
feel it forever. The typal face, the typal modes of thought, the typal
habits of work, tough faiths, unyielding grit, granitic hardness, close-
mouthed relf-repressiou, clear, firm speech when the truth is to be
told, God-fearing honesty, loyalty to friendship defiant of death, con
science and knee-bending only to God these are our marks ; and they
meet and greet you on the hills of Tennessee and Georgia you may
trace them down the valleys of Virginia and Pennsylvania, cross the
prairies of the west and the savannahs of the south, you may plow the
seas to refiud them in the western bays of Sligo, and beneath the
beetling rocks of Donegal ; thence you may follow them to the maiden
walls of Derry, and among the winding banks of the silvery Baun ;
onward you may trace them to the rolling hills of Down, and the busy
shores of Antrim ; and sailing over the narrow lough you will face
them in our forefathers' cottier-homes and grey keeps of Galloway and
Dumfries, of the Ayrshire hill, and the Grampian slopes.
These racial marks are birth-marks, and birth-marks are indelible.
And well for us and the world is it that they are indelible. They are
great soul-features, these marks. They are principles. The principles
are the same every-where ; and these principles are of four classes,
religious, moral, intellectual, and political.
Of the religious, the denominational, the confessional, I will not
speak, for this is neither time nor place. While I am churchman of
my church through and through, and to the last drop of my heart's
blood; while I would nail the blue banner of Presbyterianisna to
the very tip of the mast, and nail it there, and fight to death to keep
it there, while I do not cease nor hesitate to claim for my church the
truest apostolicity, the fullest catholicity, and the sweetest charity,
13
194 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
all in its own place and time ; but the place and the time for this ec
clesiastical distinctiveness is not here, is not now.
On this common platform of a race's rally 1 hail as brother my
Episcopal brother, Dr. Beckett, and my Methodist brother, Dr. Kelly,
as eloquent on the platform as he was dashing and daring in the
charge. I hail as brother all in whose veins runs the good old blood of
loyalty and liberty, whether he be of Scotch church, or Anglican, or
Latin. I hail all with gladness who come from town or hamlet, hiJl
or glen, that lies any-where between Cork's green coves or far Loch
Awe.
On broader lines than sect or party, than clique or section, we
want to start and run this great brotherhood. We grasp hands all
round ; we stretch across a continent ; we welcome all our kith and
kin. Let there be no strife, for we be brethren.
And such I take it, from my conference with them, are the
thoughts and desires of all the busy and able officers of this Congress.
Such I know to be the aims and the wishes, heartfelt wishes, of him
who is in very truth the father of our Congress, who first thought of it,
who has wrought for it with that quiet, resolute energy so character
istic of our race, who has joyed in its triumphant and rising success,
but who, with a self-sacrificing modesty, as noble as it is rare, has not
suffered himself to be seen or heard in public, yet has been felt every
where, and always for " sweetness and light," my dear friend, the
Hon. Thomas T. Wright, of Florida ; dear to me as the boy from
Ballymonev, little moorland town of Ireland's Antrim, so closely
linked to me and mine, but dearer far for his unwearying kindness
and manly virtues.
The sectarian and the confessional topics I shall avoid, and of the
moral I shall say naught except as involved in the intellectual and the
political. With ourselves, as citizens and patriots and politicians, or
rather statesmen, I would here exclusively deal, and then with the
great personal historic impulse and force that lie behind us in our pe
culiar and royal citizenship and patriotism
As citizens, we are pre-eminently thinkers and politicians, that is,
thoughtful patriots, who have an enlightened and conscientious policy
for the guidance of land. In holding by and working out their intel
ligent patriotism, our fathers and brethren have ever demanded, have
toiled for, paid, fought, suffered, and died for two all-precious boons,
the school and the people's limitations of governmental control. Ed
ucated freemen we want to be, and educated freemen who shall say
with sovereign authority, and will and strength backing up and en
forcing our utterance, " thus far shall the ruler come, but no farther."
JOHN KNOX IN INDEPENDENCE HALL. 195
To us an enlightened public opinion is essential ; a public opinion,
not the haughty mandate of a despot, nor yet the bigot cry of any
self-conceited separatist ; and that enlightened public opinion imme
diately influential and operative ; and, when duly formulated and ex
pressed, final and mandatory. Hence, wherever our race is, and has
been found, there, sooner or later, these three things are met: ra
tional, right-built politics, regulated liberties, and representative gov
ernment; or as a quaint, alliterative friend put it once, the pedagogue
and the press, the pulpit, platform and parliament. Whosoever
would sway us must give the reason, the whole reason, and nothing
but the reason, and that the sufficient and the right. Our race is
every-where hard-headed and firm-handed ; we are a people of logic
and law, of truth and reason, of rights and duties ; we call for free
dom chartered by highest and impartial law, and upheld by the con
scientious convictions of the independent commonwealth ; \ve work
for the willing cohesion of self-respecting and brotherly freemen ; we
exact the bold and honest execution of the common law ; we pride
ourselves upon our sacred love of the old customs, " the use and the
wont," so long as these are reasonable, just and useful ; we admit
changes slowly, but ours is a fearless acceptance of the new, if right,
needed and practical. We have feelings, the " perfervidum ingcnnnn
Scotornm," but it is " passion's steed curbed by reason's master hand."
Not traditions, but truth sways us ; but only truth that can be tested
through and through, truth put logically, argumeutatively, judicially.
Not the haughty dictates of despotic arrogancy constrain us, but law \
law being the voice and assertion of righteousness, righteousness being
articulate, active, aggressive. Hence we seek truth that goes back to
final truth ; hence we labor for laws going back to supreme righteous
ness. Therefore, have we ever thought and sought that the moral
should bulk both in the intellectual and the political. We wish the
supreme code both in our schools and in our senates.
This union of all-ruling truth and right you may easily find in
all our characteristic philosophy and religion, in our church and" our
conduct, in our politics and our patriotism. The tone we love best
and bow before most readily is, "I speak as unto wise mea judge
ye what I say."
Hence, the world has in the Scotch-Irishman a man as distinct
from the Puritan as the Puritan is from all other men; and the Puri
tans of England and the Presbyterians of the Lowlands and of Ul
ster were the two pillars of our national temple. As we enter the
hallowed court of our country's sanctuary, and gaze upon and contrast
this "Jachin" and this " Boaz," the pillar-man "established of Je.
196 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IX AMERICA.
hovah," and this other pillar-man " strengthened from on high," we see
that while the Puritan believes in personality, the Scotch-Irish believes
in partnership ; while the Puritan believes in separation, the Scotch-
Irish in representation ; while the Puritan believes in individuality, the
Scotch-Irish in equality ; while the Puritan believes in independency,
the Scotch-Irish in liberty ; while the Puritan believes in experiment,
the Scotch-Irish in experience ; while the Puritan believes in the town
meeting, the Scotch-Irish in the state house ; while the Puritan be
lieves in the congregation, the Scotch-Irish in the assembly.
And so up they rise, burly men of brawn and of brain, who say
in the market, "A man's a man for a' that;" who say in the forum,
" Give a reason for the hope that is in you ;" who say in the common
wealth, "We be brethren, let there be no strife;" who say in the
church, "Call no man master, for One is your Master;" and on the
battlefield, "No surrender," and " Keep your powder dry and trust
in God;" great, strong, kindly, true-hearted men if at times a trifle
grim and hard ; men of reality, on whom their fellows lean'; men be
lieving in broad humanity, solid reason, free conscience, God-taught
faith, and godly works showing forth faith ; men fearing God, but no
other.
That is how I think of them ; that is how I have seen them in
a score of strangely diverse lands ; that is how they have met me as
man and minister ; that is how they have greeted and wrought with and
helped me, by the old ingle, on the perilous glacier, in fire, and on
flood, at the hospital bed and on the play-ground, when they have
marched out to battle, and when they have laid themselves down to
die, may the God that made them thus, their fathers' God and their
God, bless, preserve, and keep them every-where !
So traditions and history show them from 1889 to 1776, from
1776 to 1688 to 1547.
But at that eastertide of 1547, you face a break, a vast, deep gap;
up to that date and up to that garrison chapel at old St. Andrew's,
where John Rough summoned out the God-sent maker of the newer
and world-stamping Scotland, you never miss the one characteristic
face, the one faith, the one force; but before that day there was no
such Scotland, no such Lowland band of intelligent patriots, no call
for common schools, and the broad equality of daring freemen, no con
certed readiness to do and die fora free creed and a free country;
while from that hour onward, these are never wanting, and they only
strengthen, as the Scotch and Scotch-Irish multiplying from that
creative moment spread themselves across the glad earth that welcomes
them.
JOHN KNOX IN INDEPENDENCE HALL. 197
That hour and that gap are epochal. Such hours and gaps meet
you ever and anon, as you steadily push your way down the historic
pathway. On this side it is the polytheists of Ur of the Chaldees, on
that the monotheists of the tents of Mamre ; on this side it is the
slaves of the Egyptian brick-kilns, on that side it is the jubilant free
men of the Red Sea ; on this side it is the broken-hearted serfs of
Spain, on that side it is the sturdy burghers of the Dutch Republic.
So 'twas in Scotland. There had been the "making" of men,
but the men had not been made.
Suddenly the men are, and never henceforth disappear. No doubt
there were antecedents; no doubt there was a long patience of divine
toil; no doubt He who sees the end from the beginning had made His
beginning far off in the dim distances of the race-moviugs and race-
miuglings. No doubt for over even twelve centuries, the older Scot,
with his poesy and piety from Erin's isle, the roving Pict with north
ern daring, and the free-souled Teuton, had poured into the Strath-
clyde, there in turn to conquer and be conquered by the splendid Brit
ish race of Arthur and his knightly band ; and thus furnish the pe
culiarly rich and varied blood of our ancestors. But preparation is
not product. Possibilities and promises are not active aud victorious
powers.
Here is my point of agreement with my friend Colonel McClure,
and also my point of divergence from him. During twelve hundred
and sixty years, the path is wending slowly to the Scotch, whom we
know, and the Scotch-Irish, but the new man .is not on the path.
You have the raw material, but not the finished work. It is the
difference between the crystalline mass and the crystal itself. There
in the great bowl you have the crystalline mass ; shoot your electric
bolt through it, you have another and a new thing, the true crystal,
with its strange property and exact angles.
Up to that eastertide, 1547, your crystalline mass is gathering;
then came the master-chemist, his hand shot the charge, aud the crys
tal is.
I see Michael Angelo in the quarries of Carrara ; his great far-
seeing eye falls on a great block of fresh-hewn marble ; the master
pauses, then starts, and bids them send him that huge block. Now
in his work-place I see the prince-sculptor walk up and down, his
whole soul heaving with his thoughts and plans, beside him the raw
material of the rough block, with its possibilities.
Now he works ; the flaming spirit burns in his eager hands, and
the creative soul passes through skilled, plastic fingers, into the dead,
dull thing, from change to change it is carried by the artist's strength,
198 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
till at last before the wondering world it lives the Moses with the
Law!
So do I see, before 1547, lying between the Grampians and the
Dee, all across the historic Strathclyde, rarest raw materials, but after
1547 1 see leaders of the world with the law of God iu hand and heart.
The same, yet not the same. Name and fortune all changed.
You stand at the Straits of Dover and look across. On each side there
is the same geologic formation, the same old, rich chalk ; but in be
tween has burst the mighty tide of the sea, and on the one stands
France, on the other Britain, with histories, and fortunes, and futures
all so different.
And thus the race is in itself the same before 1547 as after, but
there is a great gulf, and in between rolls one vast vitalizing tide of
life. That separating, yes, transforming tide, was a man with such
race-changing, and race-stamping force, as scarce another has owned
and wielded.
The epochal gap is such at eastertide, 1547.
And in that epochal gap stands one great prophetic form, our
ancestral seer. Before that Samuel of the later hour, you meet not our
" school ;" before him you see not our characteristic features of faith and
freedom; after him you always do. And this lone, massive, formative
man, sent by the Nations' King just as our motherland grew hot to
whitest heat, and fit for the " crown-mark," is John Knox, at once
our Moses and our Joshua, father of the school, father of chartered
freedom, father of Scotland, of Ulster; yes, of us all! Here is the
one man who, God-taught and God-fitted, taught our common family
how to balance and harmonize the freeman's individual rights with
dutiful and just submission, the supreme power of the people, with
the support and recognition of constitutional rulers.
From exile and from bondage he came back to his native land iu>
the darkest of her dark days, to find Scotland the enslaved province
of a foreign and greedy state ; to find no true people, no sturdy com
mons, no brave burghers ; to find no constitution, no folk-made laws ;
to find no common schools, no free creed or free church ; and he left
behind him a steady, courageous. God-fearing nation in a freed land ;
a sturdy, truth-seeking, school-building, conscientious peasantry ; a con
quering, colonizing people, who guard righteous liberties and love their
Bible, that divine Magna Charta of real freedom ; who sing " Scots-
wha hae," or raise "plaintive martyrs" or "wild Dundee" amid the
snow of Suuherlandshire and Canada, the Alleghanies or the Rockies;
who build states beside the rolling Ohio or the floods of the gulf, and
feel their strong hearts leap with gladness, here in the frosty blasts of
JOHN KNOX IN INDEPENDENCE HALL. 199
Minnesota, or there in the soft airs of Louisiana, here on the hills and
downs of Virginia, or there in the vast wheat-fields of our West, as
some familiar voice lifts up the old race words :
" Breathes there a man with soul so dead
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land."
Before Knox wrought and enstamped himself, our race had abili
ties; after him we have achievements; before him capacities, now
careers; before him powers, now performances; before him strug-
glings, now success.
In long years of somewhat close historic reading and of sharp,
interested studies of national departures and racial trends, I have
found many a marked and self-impressing leader who, for some time,
has made a nation wax and molded it at will ; but then new fires
came and a new stamp. But I have not found one such other case
in profane history where a single leader has so deeply, pervasively, and
permanently eustamped himself on a people who, of all folks, stand
foremost among the self-asserting races.
Knox, under God, made the Scotch and the Scotch-Irish. All
the race recall him ; and the larger they are in characteristic build
and features, the more obtrusive they are in racial majesties, by just
so much the more do they reveal their great forefather's face.
His own quaint but invaluable history, McCrie's Life, Moncrieff's
Studies, Cunningham's Lectures, and Froude's all graphic pages prove
that Knox, first man of English speech, formulated, threw in covenant
or charter form the balancing principles of individual independence
and the authority of a constitutional government. His was indeed
the earliest hand that penned any thing I can call a declaration of in
dependence. He boldly taught broad and stirring Scotland these les
sons, and put the generative words into clear writ, "The authority of
kings and princes was originally derived from the people ; that the
former are not superior to the latter, collectively considered ; that if
rulers become tyrannical, or employ their power for the destruction of
their subjects, they may be lawfully controlled, and, proving incorrigi
ble, may be deposed by the community as the superior power; and
that tyrants may be judicially proceeded against even to a capital
punishment." Mark well these propositions; they are far-reaching;
they are fruitful. They will appear and reappear ; they are met con
stantly in Knox's preaching; they are written with large letters in his
famous "Counterblast;" they are restated in his memorable answer to
Queen Mary ; they are set forth afresh in his declaration to Elizabeth;
200 TIIE SOOTCMI-iUISil IX AMERICA.
they underlie all the Covenants; they are heard among the Lords of
the Congregation ; they were pealed across Scotland by the Covenant
ers; they were frequent maxims of Paden and Cameron, and Walsh,
by Carrick's side, and the Valley of the Six Mile Water ; they were
battle words for the Ulster Volunteers; they survive to this very hour
among the Presbyterians of Connor; they were fires in the heart of
Patrick Henry; they were the familiar thoughts of John Witherspoon ;
they lie behind the war of independence ; their spirit greets the world
in our declaration ; and, therefore, walks forth as master spirit their
immortal author in the dear old hall of my native city. Johannes
Knox, semper virens, semper vivans !
Observe well, the influence of this prophetic patriot was felt most
at St. Andrews, through the long Strathclyde, in the districts of Ayr,
Dumfries, and Galloway, the Lothians and Renfrew. There exactly
clustered the homes which thrilled to the herald voice of Patrick
Hamilton ; there were the homes which drank in the strong wine of
Knox ; there were the homes of tenacious memories and earnest fire
side talk ; there were the homes which sent forth once and again the
calm, shrewd, iron-nerved patriots who spurned as devil's lie the doc
trine of "passive resistance;" and there mark it well, were the homes
that sent their best and bravest to fill and change Ulster; thence came
in turn the Scotch-Irish of the " Eaglewing;" thence came the settlersof
Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Kentucky ; and
the sons of these men blush not as they stand beside the children of the
"Mayflower," or the children of the Bartholomew martyrs. I know
whereof I affirm. My peculiar education and somewhat singular
work planted me, American born, in the very heart of these old an
cestral scenes; and from parishioners who held with deathless grip
the very words of Peden, Welsh, and Cameron , from hoary headed
witnesses in the Route of Antrim and on the hills of Down, have I
often heard of the lads who went out to bleed at Valley Forge to die
as victors on King's Mountain, and stand in the silent triumph of
Yorktown. We have more to thank Knox for than is commonly
told to-day.
Here we reach our Welshes and Witherspoons, our Tennents and
Taylors, our Calhouns and Clarks, our Cunninghams and Caldwells,
our Pollocks, Polks, and Pattersons, our Scotts and Grays and Ken
nedys, our Reynolds and Robinsons, our McCooks, McHenrys, McPher-
sons and McDowells.
But the man behind is Kuox. Would you see his monument?
Look around. Yes! To this, our own land, more than any other, I
am convinced, must we look for the fullest outcome and the vet all
JOHN KNOX IN INDEPENDENCE HALL. 201
unspent force of this more than royal leader, this masterful and mold
ing soul. Hither came the men most thoroughly saturated with the
teaching of Knox, because of their very special training and exper
ience in Ulster, on which most fertile theme time will not suffer me
even to touch; here they met those singular, historic provocations
that imperiously summoned forth into fiercest but still strongly ruled
action the mightiest and most characteristic powers of their souls ; here
they had acute call and most magnificent reason to stride into justest
battle for the very principles that were of all ancestral gifts the very
dearest and most sacred ; here they were given of the wise God and
the most foolish George the field and opportunity to let stream forth
floods of energy in the seeking of a new home of freedom ; here they
triumphed ; here they won no second place in state and church, ou
bloody field and hall of legislation, on the billow and in commerce ;
here they hold their own, and grow and multiply, and give themselves
fullest scope and sweep to the good of the common country, and their
own honor and the glory of the God whom alone they fear. Carlyle
has said: "Scotch literature and thought, Scotch industry; James
Watts, David Hume, Walter Scott, Robert Burns. I find Knox and
the Reformation at the heart's core of every one of those persons and
phenomena ; I find that without Kuox and the Reformation, they
would not have been. Or what of Scotland?" Yea! verily! no
Knox, no Watts, no Burns, no Scotland, as we know and love and thank
God for! And must we not say no men of the Covenant; no men of
Antrim and DOWH, of Derry and Euniskillen; no men of the Cum
berland valleys; no men of the Virginian hills; no men of the Ohio
stretch, of the Georgian glades and the Tennessee Ridge; no rally at
Scoone; no thunders in St. Giles; no testimony from Philadelphian
Synod; no Mecklenburg declaration; no memorial from Hanover
Presbytery; no Tennent stirring the Carolinas ; no Craighead sowing
the seeds of the coming revolution; no Witherspoon pleading for the
signing of our great charter; and no such declaration and no such
constitution as are ours, the great Tilghman himself being witness
in these clear words, never by us to be let die: "The framers of the
Constitution of the United States were greatly indebted to the stand
ards of the Presbyterian Church of Scotlaud in modeling that admira
ble document."
Never, then, to us of the Scotch and Scotch-Irish lineage race of
resolute and orderly citizens, never let the name of Knox bo other
than battle-blast and household boast, nor his memory ought save in
spiration yes, consecration !
202 THE SCOTCH-IRIS. 1 JN AMERICA.
SCOTCH-IRISH SETTLERS IN SOUTH CARO
LINA, AND THEIR DESCENDANTS IN
MAURY COUNTY, TENNESSEE.
BY HON. W. S. FLEMING, COLUMBIA, TENN.
It is not my purpose, in this paper, to dwell at any length upon,
or to magnify and extol the racial characteristics of the Scotch-Irish
uor to investigate the causes which led them to leave their homes in
Scotland, and to find new homes in the province of Ulster, Ireland ;
nor to inquire into the motives, be they civil or ecclesiastical, which
induced or impelled them to seek an abode in the then wilds of
America. All this has been done and will be done by abler pens
than I can wield, and tongues in strains more eloquent than I could
ever dare to attempt. My humble purpose is to trace in brief the
history and progress of one colony or society, more or less connected
with each other by ties of affinity and consanguinity. And instead
of entering into an elaborate discussion of or treatise upon the man
ners, customs, habits, and genetic characteristics of the race in detail,
I will attempt to illustrate their distinctive traits of character by a
very brief historic sketch of this little colony ; for its history is that
of many others, if not nearly all, who emigrated from Ulster to
America. In the language of the Roman poet :
" Ex uno disce omnes."
From 1730 to 1734, this colony, the parent of one in this county
of Maury, to be mentioned presently, migrated to Williamsburg
District, South Carolina, of which Kingstree is the county seat. Of
those who came during the above period were the following heads of
families : James McClelland, William and Robert Wilsou, James
Bradley, William Frierson, John James, Roger Gordon, James Arm
strong, Erwin, Stuart, McDonald, Dobbins, Blakely, Dickey, and per
haps a few others. In the last named year, to wit, 1734, John
Witherspoon, of the same family with the distinguished signer of the
Declaration of Independence, born near Glasgow, Scotland, in 1670,
and who had removed to County Down, Ireland, came to Williams-
burg, bringing with him his four sons, David, James, Robert and
Gavin, and his daughters, Jennet, Elizabeth and Mary, with their hus
bands, John Fleming, William James (father of Major John James, of
SCOTCH-IRISH SETTLEMENTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 203
revolutionary memory aud distinction) and David Wilson. All these
colonists were from County Down, Ireland. They were all members
of the Presbyterian Church, or reared and indoctrinated in its faith.
Consequently one of their first cares was the erection of a house for,
the worship of God ; and the present, known as Bethel Church, is the
representative and successor of the original body constituted and
established by them. In 1849 three of the original elders, to wit,
William James, David Witherspoou, and John Fleming, died of a sin
gular epidemic, known as the " Great Mortality," which ravaged the
country, carrying off no less than eighty persons of the little town
ship. For many of the foregoing facts I am indebted to a historical
discourse delivered on the 120th anniversary of this church, in 1856,
by Rev. James A. Wallace, its then pastor.
It is proper to notice another family or connection of Scotch-
Irish, who, coming clown from Pennsylvania through Virginia and
North Carolina, settled in or near the " Waxhaws," in Lancaster
District, South Carolina. These were the Stephensous, the Dun-
laps, the Crawfords, Blairs, Fosters, and General Andrew Jackson's
parents, who were nearly related to the Crawfords. I mention these,
because both before and after the immigration to Tennessee they be
came connected by intermarriage with the Williamsburg branch.
They were all of the same religious persuasion, and all of the John
Knox type. During the War of Independence every man of these
settlements capable of bearing arms was in the field on the side of
liberty. There was not a "tory" among them in a district abound
ing with " tories."
In the address alluded to above Mr. Wallace eays : " Among
the descendants of the Irish Presbyterian colonists of the township,
the name of 'tory' was unknown. 'Liberty or death' was the
motto of every man ; and it was the immutable sentiment of every
heart." They mainly formed " Marion's Brigade," whose patriotism
and deeds of daring have passed into song and story and become
household words, lisped long after by their children, and inspiring
with sentiments of chivalry the youthful minds of their descendants.
With them were many descendants of the French Huguenots, those
sterling Christian patriots, exiled by the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes, united with them in one common faith, political and religious.
Shoulder to shoulder stood these two distinct races, through all the
terrible scenes of bloodshed and danger, battling for the same eternal
principles of truth and liberty" Man's heritage in the Church and
man's heritage in the State." Simms says: " The people of Will
iamsburg were men generally of fearless courage, powerful frame,
204 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
well-strung nerves, aud an audacious gallantry that led them to delight
in dangers. They felt that ' rapture of the strife ' in which the Goth
delighted."
They took part in every battle fought in the state of South Caro
lina, and some of them took part in the Battle of King's Mountain,
the thunder of whose guns sounded the key-note of Cornwallis' dirge.
Besides many minor engagements with British troops and lories, they
participated in the Battles of Eutaw, Cowpens, Monk's Corner, Fort
Motte, and Georgetown. But I must not dwell longer upon the pat
riotism and gallantry of this people in the old Revolution. Their
record is without a stain their escutcheon untarnished.
And now let us trace for a brief space some of their descendants,
and follow them to this state aud to this county. If this course will
in any way illustrate the Scotch-Irish character, then the attempt will
not be without profit. This account deals with the people of a settle
ment, known as " Zion's Church," all of them Scotch-Irish an off
shoot of the Williamsburg colony a swarm from that as the parent
hive always regarded as a peculiar people, more so formerly than at
present ; peculiar in its intermarriages within itself, so to speak ; pe
culiar in its systematic and thorough instruction of the young in the
Westminster Confession and the Shorter Catechism ; peculiar in its
rigid observance of the Sabbath, such as no shaving, no chopping of
wood, no cooking except the drawing of coffee, no dinings, no visiting
except of the sick, upon that holy day ; peculiar in the religious in
struction given on Sundays to their slaves, of whom they possessed a
very large number ; peculiar in their very exalted standard of honesty
and morality; peculiar in their entire exemption from all legal prose
cutions involving crime or moral turpitude. Many, if not most, of
these peculiarities are, or were, common to the Scotch-Irish race, but
not to those outside of it.
About the 25th of March, 1805, James Armstrong (my maternal
grandfather), Moses G. Frierson, James Blakeley, and Paul Fulton,
with their respective families, emigrated from Williamsburg, South
Carolina, being members of Bethel congregation, under the charge
of Rev. James White Stephenson, D.D. After six weeks of labor
ious travel they reached the vicinity of Nashville on the 8th of May,
1805. In the fall of the same year they removed to the neighbor
hood of Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee, where they rented
temporary habitations for themselves, and also secured places for some
of their friends and relatives, who proposed to follow them the ensu
ing year.
SCOTCH-IRISH SETTLEMENTS IN SOUTH CAKOLINA. 205
Accordingly, on the 6th of March, 1806, the following, with their
several families, left their native homes in South Carolina to seek their
abode in the wilds of Tennessee and join the four families who had pre
ceded them, and with whom they were closely connected, to wit: John
Dickey, Mrs. Margaret Frierson, Mrs. Jane H. Blakely, Samuel Frier-
son, Thos. Stepheuson, Wm. Friersou, Wm. I. Frierson, Samuel With-
erspoon, Elias Frierson, John W. Stephenson, and Mrs. Mary Fleming-
(my paternal grandmother), with her four boys. They were singularly
blessed and providentially favored in their long and tedious journey by
reason of the clemency of the weather, the low stage of the many
water courses they had to cross, the facility for obtaining food and pr. -
visions in abundance along the way, and their entire exemption from
disease and death, although attended by a large number of slaves.
This company reached their friends in Williamson county about the
middle of April, 1806. True to their religious training and habits,
they soon resolved to meet every Sabbath for the purpose of reading
the Scriptures, and of prayer and praise. They accordingly erected a
stand, where they spent most of each Sabbath in religious exercises.
In the fall of 1806 they received a visit from their old pastor, Dr.
Stephenson, who remained long enough to preach on several occasions.
Soon they resolved to purchase land suitable and sufficient for a perma
nent settlement. A part of General Green's 25,000 acre grant was
selected as the most eligible and desirable they could find. This lies
in Maury county. The next question was whether it could be bought
and titles could be secured from Green's heirs. Accordingly a mes
senger was at once dispatched to their home on Cumberland Island,
off the coast of Georgia, near the mouth of the River St. Mary, to
ascertain whether a purchase could be made, and if so, to pay the
purci.ase-money and have the title papers executed. Captain George
Dickey, one of the colony, undertook the apparently perilous journey,
through the tribes of Indians then settled along the Tennessee ami
Chickamauga Rivers and the mountainous regions of North Georgia.
The response was favorable for a sale, which was soon effected. Eight
square miles, lying in oblong shape, were purchased at $3 per acre, the
total amount being 815,360. This purchase lies in Maury county, its
nearest boundary line to Columbia, the county seat, being about five
miles west of that city.
This purchase lay in an unsettled, wilderness state at that time, a
few scattering habitations in remote parts of the county probably not
one upon the entire Green survey. The county had not as yet re
ceived its name; no settlement to be found, dating back as far as a
year ; the whole face of the country densely covered with cane, so that
206 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
in but few spots here and there could a man see fifty steps in any di
rection around him. Wild game abounded, such as wolves, bear, deer,
and turkeys.
On a given day every able-bodied man, with as many men slaves
as he could spare, was present on the land so purchased, at a desig
nated spot, for the double purpose of dividing the land and of erecting
a large log-house, to serve as a house of public worship. This church
or meeting-house was built as near the center of the purchase as pos
sible, regard being had to the procurement of water. This was not a
matter of much difficulty, as the tract abounded in springs of water
of excellent quality, as does the entire country.
Upon assembling, some proceeded to survey the land and lay it
off into lots or smaller tracts, to suit families, while others were en
gaged in getting out timbers for and in constructing the church build
ing. In less than one week it was finished, and the land divided into
suitable shares or sections. Then each returned to his home and fam
ily in Williamson county, about thirty miles distant, to make prepara
tion for his removal.
Think what a people this was ; not a cabin was built, nor a move
made in the direction of home and individual comforts, until a house
for the worship of Almighty God was first built. In the fall of 1807,
most of the little colony returned to their new purchase to rear tem
porary huts or cabins for their families ; and early in January, 1808,
a general move was made to their new homes and cheaply constructed
habitations. Their labors were now arduous. Provisions must be
hauled thirty miles in midwinter, along narrow, newly-made, muddy
roads ; the dense cane must be chopped out and the ground cleared for
cropping. All these things required the closest attention, as well as
untiring industry.
Soon after their removal, they began to hold services in their log
church or meeting-house. Remarkable punctuality characterized their
attendance on divine worship. The utmost unanimity, unaffected
friendship, and cordial hospitality prevailed among them. They were
yet without a pastor, or "stated supply, " v yet they never failed to
keep up sermon reading, singing, and prayer on the Sabbath. This
state of affairs, however, did not long continue, for, in April, 1808.
there was an addition to their number in the arrival of Dr. Stephen-
son, their former pastor, Dr. Samuel Mayes, Robert Frierson, and
Joshua Frierson, all from the same church in South Carolina. Dr.
Stephenson, who was from the Waxhaw settlement, had been pastor of
this people for some fifteen or twenty years. A sketch of his life may
be seen in Dr. Howe's " History of Presbyterianism in the Carolinas."
SCOTCII-IUISII SETTLEMENTS IX SOUTH CA1I >U.\A. 207
These last immigrants, at first, rented farms for a year or two ia
Williamson county.. One of them, old Mr. Robert Friersou, beiug a
very old man, died, and on his death-bed requested that his remains
should be taken to the new settlement, and be buried in the church
yard there, which was done, and so he became the first solitary tenant
of that sacred spot.
In the spring of 1809, Dr. Stephenson, having married Mrs. Mary
Fleming, who, with her four boys, had already come to the country,
as before stated, removed from Williamson county, where he had
rented for about a year, to the Ziou neighborhood, and became at once
what is termed "stated supply." An incident is related of him, that
occurred during the war of the Revolution. In one of the battles, I
do not remember which, but fought desperately, either at Eutaw, the
" Cowpeus," or Fishing Ford, as he had his gun to his face, and was
in the act of firing, a ball from the side of the enemy struck his gun
near the lock and severed the barrel from the breech. At the instant
a comrade fell dead by his side, and he instantly seized his gun and
continued the fight.
This settlement possessed a large number of slaves, and in pro
portion to the whites had a much larger number than any other settle
ment in the county, and probably in the state. For many years they
had been brought over from Africa to Charleston, and their ancestors
had been large purchasers. These slaves were, without exception,
kindly treated and cared for, both as regards their temporal and
spiritual interests, and the slaves loved their masters. They became,
when converted, members of the same church, worshiped with them,
by having their own particular seats assigned to them, and partook of
the sacraments with them, but not occupying the communion-table
at the same time. I do not remember any more impressive and touch
ing sight to my youthful mind than to witness them (the communi
cants) corne down from the galleries, where they always sat during
service, and march up the two aisles in the body of the church, with
a white elder at the head of each column, singing as they went to oc
cupy the seats around the long-extended table, just before occupied by
the white communicants.
Soon after Dr. Stephenson took charge of the church the session
concluded that a certain number of their body should employ a por
tion of each Sabbath in catechising and instructing the young people
of the congregation. The plan succeeded admirably in familiarizing
them with the larger and shorter catechisms.
In the beginning of 1811, the permanent white members of the
congregation, young and old, male and female, numbered about one
208 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
hundred and forty. Of course, the number of communicants was
much less, not exceeding probably thirty or forty, and this was a very
rapid increase. It may not be out of place to state that in this year
(1811) a presbytery was for the first time constituted or organized.
Its style was "The Presbytery of West Tennessee," and was held at
Bethsaida, on Fountain Creek, in Maury County. Dr. Stephenson
was made moderator, and Dr. Duncan Brown clerk. The other minis
ters present were Rev. Messrs. Blackburn, Donald, and Gillespie.
In the spring of this year the congregation resolved to provide
ways and means for the erection of a brick building as a church. The
work and materials were distributed among the members in the pro
portion of their taxable slave property ; and on the 5th of Augnst,
1812, the corner-stone of this grand old church was laid. In the sum
mer and fall the walls were carried up, and in the spring of 1813 the
house was ready for preaching, and was accordingly so used.
Of these men it might be truly said, what their hearts designed to
do, their hands, with all their might, pursued.
Here we might close the early history of this church and congre
gation, but I must be permitted to add that, within a few feet of this
old church building, a new church edifice was erected and received as
finished on the 20th of March, 1849, being the same now standing,
and in which the congregation now worship. It is built of brick, large,
commodious, and well appointed.
Of the ministers who have had charge, from the beginning to the
present time, are the following, in the order in which they officiated,
to wit: James White Stephensou, D.D., who served them about forty
years some sixteen in South Carolina, and about twenty-four in this
church. He died January 6, 1832. James M. Aornell, a native of
New York, was elected to succeed him, January 9, 1832, and died
March 4, 1850. Rev. Duncan Brown, quite an old man, filled the
pulpit from time to time till the call of Daniel G. Doak, who was
elected as "stated supply," June 20, 1850, and on account of ill-
health resigned his position in 1855. Rev. A. A. Doak, father of
Editor H. M. Doak, was then called, but remained only a short time,
less than a year, as now remembered. Rev. I. Tilghman Hendrick, son
of Dr. I. T. Hendrick, formerly of Paducah, Ky., was elected pastor
October 1, 1857. In a few years he died, and upon his death the
pulpit was supplied by various ministers as Rev. C. Foster Williams,
Rev. William Mack, D.D., and perhaps some others, until Rev. S.
W. Mitchell was called, who filled the pulpit for several years, and
until his recent resignation in the fall of 1888. A call has been made
SCOTCH-IRISH SETTLEMENrs IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 209
and accepted by Rev. Mr. Kennedy, who will enter shortly upon his
duties as such minister.
Very few of that congregation, who reached the age of responsi
bility, have ever neglected to unite with the church ; and I may be
allowed to say I can now recall but three or four instances in which
any male descendants of these fathers have left the church ; but, I am
happy to further say, that in these few instances they have shown
themselves consistent, efficient, useful Christians.
From this congregation as a mother hive, her children have,
from time to time, swarmed, so to speak, and formed colonies or
settlements in all the Gulf States; and wherever they have mi
grated, they have carried with them the faith of their fathers. From
this stock, I venture to say, there have sprung a greater number
of ministers of the Gospel of the Presbyterian faith than from any
other in the United States. It may be interesting to some to know
who they were and who they are.
I will first give the names of the ministers who are the direct
descendants of the original colonists and founders of Zion Church,
without regard to chronological order : W. Vincent Frierson, de
ceased, of Pontotoc, Miss.; W. Vincent Frierson, Jr., of the same
place; John Stephenson Frierson; John Simpson Frierson, late de
ceased, and W. J. Frierson of Columbia, Tenn.; Jerry Wither-
spoon, Nashville, Tenn.; T. Dwight Witherspoon, Louisville, Ky.;
S. Reese Frierson, deceased, Stark ville, Miss.; Jno. C. McMullen,
Chester, S. C.; Rev. Fulton, S. C.; Thomas R. English, York-
ville, S. C.; W. D. Heddelston of Kentucky ; then Robert Gayle
of Mississippi and A. I. B. Foster of Tennessee. These two be
came and now are Methodist preachers. In all there are fifteen min
isters, thirteen Presbyterian and two Methodist, descendants of the
original colonists.
This estimate does not embrace the three brothers, David E., Ed
win O. and M. L. Frierson, whose father did not immigrate to Tenn
essee, nor David E., Jr., son of David E., located in Lewisburg, W.
Va. If these are added then we would have nineteen from this
family connection. All these were descendants of Scotch-Irish Pres
byterians, who emigrated from County Down, near Belfast, Ireland,
to Williamsburg District, South Carolina, from 1730 to 1734.
Of the ministers, who intermarried with some of the colonists,
their daughters, grand or great-granddaughters, may be numbered
James White Stephenson, D. D. Duncan Brown, D.D., James M.
Arnell, J. Tilghman Hendrick, C. Foster Williams, S. W. Mitchell,
14
210 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.
and Thomas A. Hoyte of Philadelphia. All these preached in Zion
at different times, and the last mentioned three still survive.
Then there were Thomas R. English, Sr. , deceased, of South
Carolina ; James P. McMullen, deceased, of Alabama, who fell in
battle at the head of the regiment of which he was chaplain ; M. C.
Hutton, of Alabama, and L. R. Amis, of Tennessee. All these inter
married with descendants of these colonists, the last named being a
Methodist preacher, quite young and promising, in all eleven of these,
added to the nineteen , give us thirty.
Four of these early colonists were soldiers in the war of inde
pendence, to wit, Dr. Stephenson, James Armstrong, Dr. Mayes, and
David Matthews. This entire connection of people, or rather their
ancestors, were all Whigs in that war, and fought under Greene and
Marion and at King's Mountain. They or their descendants fought
under Jackson in the War of 1812-14. They were fully represented
in the Seminole War of 1837. In the war with Mexico, in 1848, her
sons stood before the walls of Monterey, and their blood stained the
plains of Buena Vista. In the late war, their bones lay scattered on
nearly every battle field of the south. At the tap of the drum, at
the call of the bugle, they have always been ready, without compul
sion, to' gallantly respond.
So it seems that rigid instruction in the Calvinistic or John Kuox
faith of their Scotch ancestry was not inconsistent with their ideas of
a lofty patriotism.
From this little colony of Presbyterians, or rather their descend
ants, Tennessee has had some dozen of representatives in her legis
lative halls, one speaker in the state senate, one United States senator,
one judge on the supreme bench of the state, two chancellors in
Middle Tennessee, several editors, besides many very eminent law
yers and skillful physicians.
Last of all, but not least, I have never known or heard of one of
their descendants being convicted of or charged with any capital or peni
tentiary offense, or any less offense or misdemeanor, involving moral
turpitude or degradation of character.
The record thus given of this, the oldest Presbyterian church in
Maury county, is worthy of preservation, and may be viewed with
pride and veneration by every descendant, however remote they may
be removed from the home of their fathers, or wherever in this broad
land Providence may have cast his or her lot.
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