Published originally in 1944, The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania, by historian Wayland F. Dunaway, is still regarded as one of the most important textbooks for Scots-Irish ancestry. For one thing, the title is a bit misleading as the author not only covers the significant arrival of Ulster Scots in the Province of Pennsylvania but also traces their dispersion to western Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and beyond. Mr. Dunaway also recognized that small settlements of Scots-Irish arose in Maryland and Pennsylvania in the second half of the 17th century before the great waves of the 18th made their impact upon American history. In several chapters, the author narrates the Scots-Irish role in colonial wars and the Revolution, religious and economic life including the settlement of Pittsburgh, the Scots-Irish mark on Pennsylvania government and politics, and their pioneering educational and cultural practices. Readers will find numerous references to the persons and personalities, both civil and ecclesiastical, who figured large in this history.
Following are a few sample pages from The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania to further illustrate the contents of this classic volume. Researchers hoping to connect their American Scots-Irish forebears with their antecedents in Ireland and Scotland should check out the new consolidated edition of Scots-Irish Links, 1575-1825, by David Dobson.
