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From: Glenn Stroup <>
Subject: Re: [DNA-R1B1C7] THE SCOTCH-IRISH MIGRATION PATTERNS INTOTENNESSEE_ VIA ASHLEY GAP
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:31:43 -0400
References: <d55.2730427d.350da15d@aol.com>
In-Reply-To: <d55.2730427d.350da15d@aol.com>
I've been through the gap many times when I lived in Northern
Virginia, but it's called "Ashby Gap" -named for Thomas Ashby. See quote below:
geographical & historical information
Ashby's Gap, located on the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, was
first called "the Upper
Thoroughfare of the Blue Ridge", but after Thomas Ashby received land
on Goose Creek at
its junction with Crooked Run (the present site of Delaplane), and
later settled near what
is now Paris, it became known as Ashby's Bent, and still later as
Ashby's Gap. This Thomas
Ashby was a prominent citizen both there and in Frederick County
where he subsequently
lived. His son John Ashby was a noted Indian fighter and bore to the
Governor at
Williamsburg the dispatches telling of Braddock's defeat and death.
Ashby's Gap was a strategic focal point for both sides in the Civil
War because of its
proximity to Winchester and the fact that whichever side controlled
the Gap also
controlled access to the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley from the east."
I also have a friend who is a descendant of Thomas who would be
interested in knowing if he were NW Irish - is he part of the Ashley line?
Thanks,
Glenn
At 06:02 PM 3/15/2008, you wrote:
>
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>Forwarded Message:
>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:
> (mailto:) Reply-to:
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>(mailto:) To:
>(mailto:) Sent from the Internet _(Details)_
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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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