Searching Scottish Roots
Several hundred thousand Scots immigrated to North America during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. The majority of Scottish immigrants arrived in America from the earliest colonial times up to the Revolutionary War.The main phase of immigration from Scotland during the colonial period actually occurred in the aftermath of the French and Indian Wars and before the outbreak of the American Revolution. The four main phases of Scottish immigration during this century were: (1) Nova Scotia in the 1620s; (2) New England and the Chesapeake mid-century; (3) South Carolina in the mid-1680s; and (4) East New Jersey, also in the mid-1680s. In total, probably around 4,000 Scots settled between Stuartstown, South Carolina and Port Royal, Nova Scotia before 1700.these new immigrants came from all over Scotland.

Sources of information for Scottish immigrant include parish records, passenger lists, prison records, church records, court records, deeds, wills, marriage contracts, Treasury papers and State papers.

The Scottish connection with the Caribbean started in 1611 with the voyage to the West Indies of the Janet of Leith. It was not until after 1626 that Scots actually settled in the Caribbean. James Hay, Earl of Carlisle, a Scot was appointed to the post of Governor of the Caribbean in 1627 which started a Scots to immigrate to the Caribbean including Barbados and other islands.The majority oThe main phase of immigration from Scotland during the colonial period actually occurred in the aftermath of the French and Indian Wars and before the outbreak of the American Revolution. The four main phases of Scottish immigration during this century were: (1) Nova Scotia in the 1620s; (2) New England and the Chesapeake mid-century; (3) South Carolina in the mid-1680s; and (4) East New Jersey, also in the mid-1680s. In total, probably around 4,000 Scots settled between Stuartstown, South Carolina and Port Royal, Nova Scotia before 1700.these new immigrants came from all over Scotland.f Scots to the West Indies were taken there against their will as prisoners of war. In 1654 Oliver Cromwell ordered these prisoners of war to be transported. Felons and political dissidents were taken there in chains directly from Scotland. Planters in the West Indies requested requested Scottish indentured servants to work their plantations. A steady stream of indentured servants sailed from Scottish and English ports to the West Indies. The main phase of immigration from Scotland during the colonial period actually occurred in the aftermath of the French and Indian Wars and before the outbreak of the American Revolution.

During the 1660s the Glasgow-based organization called the Company Trading to Virginia, the Caribbee Islands, Barbados, New England, St. Kitts, Montserrat, and Other Colonies in America established economic links with the West Indies. By the latter part of the seventeenth century, Scots merchants, planters, seafarers, and indentured servants were to be found throughout the English and Dutch colonies of the Caribbean. In total, it is believed that as many as 5,000 Scots settled temporarily or permanently in the Caribbean before the Act of Union in 1707. The settlement of Scots in the West Indies was important from the point of view both of the colonist and the home country. Many of the colonists used the islands as a stopping-off point before continuing on to the mainland of America, where they then settled. Alexander Hamilton and Theodore Roosevelt are numbered among those who descend from Scots who initially settled in the Caribbean. The Act of Union of 1707 eliminated restrictions on trade between Scotland and the American colonies, and in consequence emigration to the West Indies increased rather substantially.

Tags: my scottish ancestry, s, Scotland, Scotland history, Scots and the revolutionary war, scots in caribbrean, Scots in North America, Scots in South Carolina, scots in west indies, scottish connection, scottish immigrant, scottish roots

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