18th Century Ulster The Scots continued to migrate to Ulster into the 18th century causing the Irish to complain of their occupation of towns, villages and the farmland, therefore, expelling the natives. According to their census in 1733, there was a large Protestant community in County Monaghan. This was also clear in Armagh, in the Tullyvallen area. Rev William Henry of Killesher parish Fermanagh, stated he could differentiate between the local inhabitants by their characteristics. He noted that the English were neat, and their plantings reflected this. This was also noticeable regarding their houses and tree plantations. The Scots while less fastidious were great believers in soil improvement. Isaac Butler noted, while travelling through Fermanagh in 1840 that Scots in the Enniskillen via Lisnarrick spoke with a Scots accent, while Lord Edward Wiles circa 1760 noted in the County of Antrim the inhabitants spoke “the broad Lowland Scotch” and used colloquialisms akin to Scotland. There are two trains of thought whether Ireland was populated by Scots or vice versa. My Bells came from Derryvullan Co. Fermanagh, and documents prove that these Scots were part of the Ulster plantation. I also have another faction of the family McEwan who inhabited both Scotland and Ireland. Family lore tells of my great-great-grandfather born in Derry, Ireland, of Scottish descent. He returned to Glasgow before immigrating with his wife and son to Toronto, Ontario in the mid-nineteenth century. My great-grandfather while born in Glasgow, called himself a Scot of Irish descent as his father was born in Ireland. Religious PrejudiceThe Penal Laws passed between 1695 and 1728 influenced by Anglicanism kept not only the Irish Catholics in tow but also the Presbyterian settlers in Ulster. Presbyterian marriages during this time, were unrecognised by the state, rendering any offspring as illegitimate. By 1704, a certificate stating they any government worker had received communion in the Church of Ireland was mandatory. The sheer numbers of Presbyterians were deemed more of a threat than the Irish Catholics. This would cause a split in the Presbyterian faith, becoming known as Covenanters or Reformed. This group refused to believe government had any authority over the church. They refused to take part in elections. Times in Ulster were not without turmoil. The Anti-Catholic Laws in IrelandThe more major of the laws include:
Looking AbroadWhile my Bell family would not leave a century later, many Presbyterians, Ulster Scots left Ireland for America before 1718. Economic motivation and religious freedom were two important reasons. The tithes imposed on these people by the church were a definite cause. There was concern over this departure as the Scots in Ulster were fervent weavers and their fear the industry would suffer. This did not prove the case. Immigration all but stopped with the War of Independence in 1770, but once peace was signed it again resumed. Continuing unrest was continually discernible in Northern Ireland and in 1791 the Society of United Irishmen was founded in Belfast and later in Dublin and elsewhere. The Belfast faction was predominantly middle class Presbyterians. The efforts to suppress it caused it to become a secret club and a plan for rebellion was born. Rebellion of 1798The uprising occurred in May 1798 in Leinster and soon spread to Ulster lasting scarcely a week. It was followed by a series of executions, one most notably, the Ulster rebel, Henry Joy McCracken. An act of union passed in 1800, was something that would define Irish history but at the time was ignored by most Ulster people. Over the next few weeks I will try to create some order in my
Bell Ancestor files and should repost my findings soon.
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Stephanie Bell-Boissonneault"When researching Family never leave a stone unturned, not even a pebble." Archives
July 2023
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