How the Irish Became Protestant in America

Carroll, Michael P.

doi:10.1525/rac.2006.16.1.25

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…Hence, the idea that Scotch-Irish Protestants from Ulster formed the vast majority of Colonial Irish settlers in Virginia is, in all certainty, distorted (Wokeck, 1996) and exaggerated (Eid, 1986) confounded by assumptions that all Irish setters were Scotch-Irish (Dunaway, 1931) and failing to account for the conversion of Catholics to Presbyterians, Anglicans Methodists, Baptists and Quakers in a New World where religious affiliation took a distant second place to building a new life and the spirit of the American revolution (Carroll, 2006). And among those Irish who landed in Pennsylvania and settled in Virginia was William Fitzpatrick; his life and times and descendants are the focus of the remainder of this article.…”

Section: Irish and Ulster-scots To The Americas: 1649-1763mentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonial American Fitzpatrick Settlers Part I: Making Sense of One Line

Fitzpatrick¹,

Fitzpatrick²

2020

J. Fitzpatrick Clan Soc.

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Before the turn of the 17th century the settlement of Irish in the Americas lacked permanence. Soon after, Irish came to North America and the Caribbean in a steady flow, and by the mid 18th century a flood of Irish and Scotch-Irish had settled in the Americas. The reasons for that settlement were many and varied, as were the geographic origins and lineages of those Fitzpatricks among the influx. This article provides a review of the forces that pushed and pulled Irish and Scotch-Irish to the Americas. By way of example, a single Fitzpatrick line demonstrates how messy traditional genealogy of early Colonial American Fitzpatricks can get. That messiness is due in no small part to the cut and paste functionality at websites such as ancestry.com. But by careful review of authentic historical records, caution with speculative associations, and the power of Y-DNA analysis, it is possible to untangle the mess and bring back some much-needed clarity. In this article, the example used is that of the well-known colonial-settler William Fitzpatrick (born ca. 1690 AD), of Albemarle County, Virginia, who arrived in North American ca. 1728. Two living ancestors of William have been found to share a common ancestry from ca. 1650 AD — both bear a genetic mutation (FT15113) specific to William's line; this enables the ready identification of male descendants of William.

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Section: Irish and Ulster-scots To The Americas: 1649-1763mentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonial American Fitzpatrick Settlers Part I: Making Sense of One Line

Fitzpatrick¹,

Fitzpatrick²

2020

J. Fitzpatrick Clan Soc.

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“…78 Despite this exception, many Yankees continued to view those who considered themselves Irish rather than American as outsiders. Blood bestowed belonging in Yankee society.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Claiming the Centennial: The American Revolution's Blood and Spirit in Boston, 1870-1876

Smith¹

2013

Massachusetts Historical Review

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Religion, anti-slavery, and identity: Irish Presbyterians, the United States, and transatlantic evangelicalism, c.1820–1914

Holmes¹

2015

Ir. Hist. Stud.

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Scholars have devoted much attention to the causes and consequences of Presbyterian emigration from Ulster to the thirteen colonies before 1776. This article moves beyond the eighteenth century to examine the continued religious links between Presbyterians in Ireland and the United States in the nineteenth century. It begins with an examination of the influence of evangelicalism on both sides of the Atlantic and how this promoted unity in denominational identity, missionary activity to convert Catholics, and revivalist religion during the first half of the century. Though Irish Presbyterians had great affection for their American co-religionists, they were not uncritical, and significant tensions did develop over slavery. The article then examines the religious character of Scotch-Irish or Ulster-Scots identity in the late nineteenth century, which was articulated in response to the alleged demoralising influence of large-scale Irish immigration during and after the Famine of the 1840s, the so-called Romanisation of Catholicism, and the threat of Home Rule in Ireland. The importance of identity politics should not obscure religious developments, and the article ends with a consideration of the origins and character of fundamentalism, perhaps one of the most important cultural connections between Protestants in Northern Ireland and the United States in the twentieth century.

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How the Irish Became Protestant in America

Cited by 7 publications

References 39 publications

Colonial American Fitzpatrick Settlers Part I: Making Sense of One Line

Colonial American Fitzpatrick Settlers Part I: Making Sense of One Line

Claiming the Centennial: The American Revolution's Blood and Spirit in Boston, 1870-1876

Religion, anti-slavery, and identity: Irish Presbyterians, the United States, and transatlantic evangelicalism, c.1820–1914

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