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Subject: [DNA-R1B1C7] THE SCOTCH-IRISH MIGRATION PATTERNS INTO TENNESSEE_VIA ASHLEY GAP
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:02:05 EDT
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Subj: [ASHLEY] Crosses the Blue Ridge Mountains via Ashley's Gap.- THE IRISH
ROAD Date: 3/15/2008 4:02:59 P.M. Eastern Standard Time From:
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_THE SCOTCH-IRISH MIGRATION PATTERNS INTO TENNESSEE_
(http://www.tngenweb.org/campbell/hist-bogan/ScotchIrishMigration.html)
Early as 1740, the Shenandoah Valley was the course of The Great Valley
Road
of Virginia, which continued as a wagon road as far as big Springs,
Virginia
(now Roanoke). During the middle of the 1700s, the route was often
recognized as "The Irish Road," simply because the majority of the travelers
were
Scotch-Irish immigrants. At present, the trace of the Great Valley Road is
practically the same line as U.S. Highway 11 (or I-81). In 1746, travelers
on the
Great Valley Road at Big Springs had to abandon their wagons and use pack
horses to carry on, either due south into central North Carolina, or
continue
into the valleys of the Clinch, Powell, or Holston Rivers advancing into
western
North Carolina, now Tennessee.
But in just a few years after the opening of the Pioneer's Road in 1746,
the
Upper Road became a wagon road as well. The Upper Road took off from the
Fall Line Road (which is the same as U.S. Hwy 1 today) at Fredericksburg,
Virginia, and paralleled the Fall Line through Virginia, eventually
reaching North
Carolina some 60-70 miles west of the Fall Line Road. A present map of
North
Carolina shows the chief population centers along Interstate 40 as Raleigh,
Durham, Burlington, Greensboro and Winston-Salem -- all the villages that
were
first settled as a result of the Great Valley Road or the Upper road. The
Upper Road is the only pioneer wagon road that does not survive today as a
modern highway -- it crossed several streams and rivers that are now large
man-made lakes. Very little traffic came through eastern North Carolina
into the
western regions, due to the lack of wagon roads. Practically all the entire
Piedmont region of North and South Carolina was settled by means of the
Great
Valley Road during the latter half of the 1700s.
The first land grants in north central North Carolina were in 1746,
conjoining with the advent of a wagon route (the Pioneer's Road) that
became feasible
in the same year. Before that date, land sales in North Carolina were
limited to the coastal areas and up a few rivers. North Carolina's land
grants came
as a result of Lord Granville, the reigning governor, who opened the
northern section of North Carolina's counties for sale in that year. The
area became
known as the "Granville District," which attracted thousands of migrants
from the north, particularly people coming by way of the Chesapeake region
of
Virginia and Maryland.
Before 1746, travelers from the Chesapeake into western Virginia were
obliged to first go north to Philadelphia, then west to Lancaster, then
southwest
on the old Philadelphia Road through York and on to the Potomac River,
connecting with the Shenandoah River Valley. A major happening which
influenced the
migration of people from the Chesapeake to points west and southwest was
the
opening of a wagon road across the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1746. It became
known as the Pioneer's Road, as noted earlier in this text, and permitted
wagon
traffic from Alexandria to Winchester, the westernmost town in Virginia at
that time. Winchester was located on the Great Valley Road, and by
traveling
from Alexandria overland to Winchester, the route to access the Great
Valley
Road had been reduced considerably. The trace today of the Pioneer's Road
is
very close to that of the modern U.S. Hwy 50, which crosses the Blue Ridge
Mountains via Ashley's Gap.
The Scotch-Irish ancestor who immigrated to America during the 18th century
without delay headed for western North Carolina, now known as Tennessee.
The
first farming settlements in the interior of North Carolina were created by
a
group of people who came from the ocean side area of Maryland and Virginia.
They brought with them a good understanding of how to raise tobacco, the
principal crop of the tidewater region of the Chesapeake This in turn
became a
primary crop of North Carolina. Many of these people were second and third
generation Chesapeake residents, however, a sizeable number of them were
newcomers to America -- a group of people who are often called themselves
Scotch-Irish.
As a result of the opening of the Pioneer's Road, thousands of Scotch-Irish
immigrants to America changed their travel plans after hearing from
relatives
in America. Before 1746 the primary port of entry to the American colonies
was Philadelphia. After 1746, Alexandria, Virginia on the Potomac River
became
a vital port of entry for the newcomers from the Irish Sea.
"Scotch-Irish" was a name given to the people who came to America from
about
1717 to 1775 by way of northern Ireland, or Irish Seaports on either side
of
the border of Scotland and England. Although many had lived in Ireland for
decades, these folks did not think of themselves as Irish. Beginning around
1607, thousands of border clan people were encouraged to leave their homes
along the English-Scottish border and were transported to northern Ireland.
The
enticement was a parcel of land, which the borderers could have as their
own
for a lease period of 100 years. For the next hundred years, the system
worked
convincingly well.
The border clan people established thriving flax farms in Northern Ireland,
and assembled a linen trade that was the envy of Europe. They didn't change
their Scottish ways while they were in Ireland, and did not see themselves
as
Irish. In fact, most of the clans of the borderlands were more Scotch than
anything else, whether their traditional lands were on the English side or
the
Scottish side-- they had a history of taking whatever land they wanted and
were famous for their centuries of fighting Scottish kings, English kings,
or
each other--it really didn't matter.
A big change in the lives of the border clan people took place with the
merger of Scotland and England into one kingdom in 1705. The border clans
became
an unbearable struggle to the English, and thereby, thousands were by force
transferred to northern Ireland. This time, the clan people were treated
adversely which encompassed higher rents and shorter leases; as earlier
leases ran
out, the tenants were replaced with new border clan people at higher rents.
At the same time, dreadful droughts, famine, and the crumbling of the linen
trade in Northern Ireland put the clan people into dismal situations, and
living there became virtually impossible. By 1717, ejected Scotch-Irish
began
relocating to America.
During the next 50 years or so, it is estimated that over 275,000 of them
went to the American colonies. Most of them found themselves traveling into
the
backwoods of colonial America and the Appalachian region, extending from
western Pennsylvania to Georgia. These regions were settled almost
exclusively
by Scotch-Irish immigrants.
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