The Scotch-Irish And Savannah

Emigration from Ulster to America accelerated in the late 1710s. In 1718 over 100 families set sail from Ulster for New England. By this time significant numbers of families were also moving to Pennsylvania which would become the main focus of Ulster emigration for decades. From the 1760s ships were sailing regularly from Ulster to Southern ports, such as Charleston and Savannah. Estimates of the numbers leaving Ulster in the 1700s vary, but were perhaps in the region of 120,000–180,000 people. Chain migration was hugely significant as emigrants followed the routes taken by family members and neighbours from home who had gone before.

If the numbers emigrating from Ulster to America in the 1700s were impressive, these were dwarfed by the figures for the nineteenth century when possibly as many as 1.5 million people left Ulster for North America. While the destination for many of these migrants was Canada, a clear majority ended up in the United States. Emigration from Ulster in this period was more religiously and culturally diverse. However, the transatlantic migration of the Scotch-Irish remained hugely significant, both numerically and proportionately. The story of the relationship between Ulster and America comes right down to the present as the United States continues to attract many of our young people in search of new opportunities.

The Earl of Abercorn was a major landowner in Ulster. In the early seventeenth century his great-grandfather, the 1st Earl of Abercorn, a Scottish nobleman from Paisley, near Glasgow, was granted lands in County Tyrone as part of the scheme for the Ulster Plantation. In 1689, before he succeeded to the earldom, he took part in the famous siege of Londonderry when a small garrison held out successfully against a much larger army.

Abercorn was also the name given to a village on the Savannah River. In 1733 ten families were allocated to this settlement and in the following year a number of Salzburgers (German-speaking Protestants from Salzburg in modern-day Austria) settled here temporarily. Proving unsuitable for a lasting settlement, the village was abandoned and all traces of it have disappeared. The name survives, however, in Abercorn Creek, a stream that flows into the Savannah River.

In 1764–5 Rae and another Ulsterman, George Galphin from County Armagh, embarked on an ambitious project to bring large numbers of families from Ulster to Georgia. They secured a vast tract of land alongside the Ogeechee River from the Governor and Council of Georgia. Rae believed that families would be attracted to Georgia where, unlike in Ireland, there were no rents to be paid to landlords and no tithes to the Established Church (the episcopalian Church of Ireland).

Back in County Down, Rae’s brother Matthew was active in recruiting families for this colonization project. A settlement for the Ulster families was established at Queensborough, around 80 miles northwest of Savannah. However, for a variety of reasons the scheme did not prove to be a great success. Fewer families than expected settled at Queensborough. In addition, conflict between the settlers and the Native Americans and divided loyalties during the Revolutionary War contributed to the demise of the settlement.

Unlike his brother Alexander, Richard Wylly took the side of the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. From the late 1760s he had been operating as a merchant in Savannah, trading in a broad range of commodities including rum, sugar, coffee and chocolate. During the Revolutionary War, he was a colonel in command of a Georgia brigade and in 1779 was the Deputy Quarter Master General in General Lincoln’s army. His nephew, Thomas Wylly, served as his assistant quarter master.

Captured by the British, Richard Wylly spent some time as a prisoner before being released. In 1782 he was described by John Martin, the Governor of Georgia, as ‘a gentleman of character and one who is much esteemed by his fellow citizens’. Richard Wylly died at his home near Savannah in 1801. He was buried in Colonial Park Cemetery in one of a series of brick vaults known as the ‘Colonial vaults’.

Though often referred to as ‘Dr Cumming’, he seems to have been primarily a merchant and factor in Savannah. He was active in many other areas of city life. Soon after settling in Savannah Cumming was instrumental in the creation of the Savannah Volunteer Guard and was the force’s first commander. He was one of the founders of the Georgia Medical Society and was a member of the Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, where he held the office of elder. He also served as President of the Savannah Branch of the United States Bank.

In 1812 Cumming was one of the founders of the Hibernian Society of Savannah and was the original President of the Society, serving from 1812 to 1815. Cumming was one of a number of individuals with roots in Ulster to play an active part in forming the Society. The second president, Moses Cleland, was possibly from County Down. Another of the founders was David Bell from County Down, who was the last survivor of the original members

At the beginning of the nineteenth century William Hunter was one of Savannah’s leading merchants. He was a director of the Bank of Discount and Deposit and was the Navy Agent for Georgia. In August 1802 Hunter fought a duel with Scottish-born David B. Mitchell, who had recently completed his term as mayor of Savannah. Tensions between the two men had been rising over the previous months due to their political differences. In the duel Mitchell’s second shot fatally wounded Hunter.

James Hunter continued the business and became one of Savannah’s most respected businessmen in the first half of the 1800s. He served as an alderman and was an active member of the Independent Presbyterian Church. He was one of the founders of the Hibernian Society in Savannah in 1812 and served as President of the Society from 1816 to 1832. It was during his time as President that the Society organised the first public St Patrick’s Day parade in 1824.

The third brother, Alexander, was also involved in the commercial life of the city and for a time was surveyor of the port of Savannah. He died in 1827 and his death notice in the Savannah Republican stated that he was a native of Donegal and had been in Savannah for 24 years. He was secretary of the Hibernian Society at the time of his death and the members agreed to wear mourning crepe on their left arm for 30 days in his memory.

Hugh McCall is generally considered to be the first historian of Georgia. The first volume of his work, The History of Georgia: Containing Brief Sketches of the Most Remarkable Events, Up to the Present Day, was published in Savannah in 1811, with the second volume following five years later. McCall was of Scotch-Irish heritage and his father, Col. James McCall, had been a prominent figure in the Revolutionary War. Hugh McCall served as an officer in the United States Army and also held the position of jailer in Savannah. He died in 1823 and was buried in Colonial Park Cemetery.