Although the oldest regiment in the British Army is the 1st Royal regiment of Foot, usually known as the Royal Scots, it was not until the French and Indian War (known in Europe as the Seven Years War) that Scottish regiments played a significant role in the Army. In fact, between 1756 and 1763, Britain raised 10 regiments of Scots Highlanders to fight in the European and American theaters of that conflict. Many Scottish veterans of this conflict chose to stay in the colonies (sometimes returning to Scotland to bring families and friends back with them). The personal papers of various Scottish combatants, reflecting their nation's participation in or the perspective on that famous conflict, can be found at the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh.
Genealogists and other historical researchers have valued the first two editions of this work, often referred to as the genealogist's bible."" The new edition continues that tradition. Intended as a handbook and a guide to selecting, locating, and using appropriate primary and secondary resources, The Source also functions as an instructional tool for novice genealogists and a refresher course for experienced researchers. More than 30 experts in this field--genealogists, historians, librarians, and archivists--prepared the 20 signed chapters, which are well written, easy to read, and include many helpful hints for getting the most out of whatever information is acquired. Each chapter ends with an extensive bibliography and is further enriched by tables, black-and-white illustrations, and examples of documents. Eight appendixes include the expected contact information for groups and institutions that persons studying genealogy and history need to find. ""
The book under consideration here marks the second in a series on Scottish colonial soldiers compiled by emigration authority David Dobson. (The first volume was published as two parts in one.) Working from manuscripts in the Acts of the Privy Council and the Calendar of British State Papers and published sources such as the Aberdeen Journal, the Edinburgh Advertiser, and the Georgia Gazette, the author has uncovered information on an additional 750 Scottish colonial solders not found in his earlier book. One such soldier was "John Wright, born in High Calton, Edinburgh, during 1728, an army sergeant who fought in the French and Indian War and in the American War of Independence, witnessed to death of Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham, died in Joppa, Edinburgh, in 1838, father of a Roman Catholic priest in Montreal."
Colonial American historian Ian Macpherson McCulloch uses rare sources to bring to life the stirring story of the three Scottish Highland regiments that operated in North America during the French-Indian War (1754-1763). Forbidden to carry arms or wear the kilt unless they served the British King, many former Jacobite rebels joined the new Highland regiments raised in North America. Involved in some of the most bloody and desperate battles fought on the North American continent, Highlanders successfully transformed their image from enemies of the crown to Imperial heroes. The author pays particular attention to the part they played at Ticonderoga, Sillery, Bushy Run and on the Plains of Abraham, Quebec.
From search engines and databases to DNA platforms, discover how to easily learn more about your Scottish ancestry online with this helpful guide. Scotland is a land with a proud and centuries long history that far predates its membership of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Today in the 21st century it is also a land that has done much to make its historical records accessible, to help those with Caledonian ancestry trace their roots back to earlier times and a world long past. In Tracing Scottish Family History on the Internet, Chris Paton expertly guides the family historian through the many Scottish records offerings available, but also cautions the reader that not every record is online, providing detailed advice on how to use web based finding aids to locate further material across the country and beyond. He also examines social networking and the many DNA platforms that are currently further revolutionizing online Scottish research. From the Scottish Government websites offering access to our most important national records, to the holdings of local archives, libraries, family history societies, and online vendors, Chris Paton takes the reader across Scotland, from the Highlands and Islands, through the Central Belt and the Lowlands, and across the diaspora, to explore the various flavors of Scottishness that have bound us together as a nation for so long.
Uses primary source documents to provide an in-depth look into the history of the colony of North Carolina and includes a timeline, glossary, and primary source image list.
The closest thing to total war before the First World War, the Seven Years' War was fought in North America, Europe, the Caribbean and India with major consequences for all parties involved. This fascinating book is the first to truly review the grand strategies of the combatants and examine the differing styles of warfare used in the many campaigns. These methods ranged from the large-scale battles and sieges of the European front to the ambush and skirmish tactics used in the forests of North America. Daniel Marston's engaging narrative is supported by personal diaries, memoirs, and official reports.
In 2005 Clearfield Company launched a new series of books by David Dobson that were designed to identify the origins of Scottish Highlanders who traveled to America prior to the Great Highland Migration that began in the 1730s and intensified thereafter. The first four volumes cover Scottish Highlanders from Argyll, Perthshire, Inverness, and the Northern Highlands. This fifth volume in the series pertains to the Northern Isles, commonly known as the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands. Much of the Highland emigration was directly related to a breakdown in social and economic institutions. Under the pressures of the commercial and industrial revolutions of the 17th and 18th centuries, Highland chieftains abandoned their patriarchal role in favor of becoming capitalist landlords. By raising farm rents to the breaking point, the chiefs left the social fabric of the Scottish Highlands in tatters. Accordingly, voluntary emigration by Gaelic-speaking Highlanders began in the 1730s. The social breakdown was intensified by the failure of the Jacobite cause in 1745, followed by the British military occupation and repression in the Highlands in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden. In 1746, the British government dispatched about 1,000 Highland Jacobite prisoners of war to the colonies as indentured servants. Later, during the Seven YearsΓ War of 1756Γ 1763, Highland regiments recruited in the service of the British crown chose to settle in Canada and America rather than return to Scotland. Once in North America, the Highlanders tended to be clannish and moved in extended family groups, unlike immigrants from the Lowlands who moved as individuals or in groups of a few families. The Gaelic-speaking Highlanders tended to settle on the North American frontier, whereas the Lowlanders merged with the English on the coast. Highlanders seem to have established Γ beachheads,Γ ? and their kin subsequently followed. The best example of this pattern is in North Carolina where they first arrived in 1739 and moved to the Piedmont, to be followed by others for more than a century. Another factor that distinguishes research in Highland genealogy is the availability of pertinent records. Scottish genealogical research is generally based on the parish registers of the Church of Scotland, which provide information on baptisms and marriages. In the Scottish Lowlands, such records can date back to the mid-16th century, but Highland records generally start much later. Americans seeking their Highland roots face the problem that there are few, if any, church records available that pre-date the American Revolution. In the absence of Church of Scotland records, the researcher must turn to a miscellany of other records, such as court records, estate papers, sasines, gravestone inscriptions, burgess rolls, port books, services of heirs, wills and testaments, and especially rent rolls. (Some rent rolls even pre-date parish registers.) This series, therefore, is designed to identify the kinds of records that are available in the absence of parish registers and to supplement the church registers when they are available. The Northern Isles were once isolated on the northwest fringes of Europe; however, as trans-Atlantic trade expanded, they found themselves astride a major sea route between North America and northern Europe. Stromness in the Orkneys became the first or last port of call for many vessels crossing the Atlantic; for example, the vessels of the Hudson Bay Company from the late 17th-century traveled from Stromness to North America. For most Orkney emigrants, the motivating factors were poverty and lack of opportunity. Also noteworthy is that, unlike the other Highlanders, the Northern Islanders were of Scandinavian, not Celtic, origin (with an element of Lowland Scots). While this volume is not a comprehensive directory of all the Orkney and Shetland Islander emigrant
