Carolina Scots: A Historical & Genealogical Study of over 100 Years of Emigration

by Douglas F. Kelly, Caroline Switzer Kelly (Collaborator)

Out of his experience of growing up in a typical Scottish family of the upper Cape Fear Valley in Eastern North Carolina in the 1940s and '50s, and of several years of study in Scotland in the '60s and '70s, Douglas Kelly has woven together the story of two Scottish Highland and Eastern Carolina. He combines colorful strands of cultural, linguistic, educational, political and religious history, with a careful genealogy of the first four or five generations of some sixty-five different family groups, who emigrated from the Scottish Highlands and Islands to the Cape Fear Valley of North Carolina and the neighboring Pee Dee Valley of South Carolina, from 1739 to the early 1840s. North Carolina is believed to have been the largest Scottish settlement anywhere in the world outside Scotland, and its emigrants have formed the backbone of large sections of both Carolinas for some 250 years. It may become a classic study of one of the original headwaters of Southern Carolina Gaeldom, which sent an overflowing stream of hundreds of thousands of settlers into the Deep South and Southwest throughout the 19th century, thus profoundly shaping this huge region, and playing its part in making America what it is today. It has been hailed as the only major study so far of the early emigrations prior to the Clearances. The story is made more real through over 100 photographs, maps and engravings from the period, chronicling the history of housing among these Scots from castles and huts in 18th century Scotland to still extant log cabins, upcountry mansions, slave quarters and old Presbyterian Churches in both N. and S. Carolina. There is also a unique appendix to Chapter III of Part I on the historic and current status of the Gaelic language in Carolina. (At one time it was the second language of the Cape Fear region). Help is provided throughout the genealogies on how to find more information, including rare and unpublished sources. The complete index lists more than 7,000 different names, in addition to place names and subject matter.

Genres: Scotland

485 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1998

About the author

Dr. Kelly is the Professor of Theology Emeritus. Dr. Kelly received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Diploma from the University of Lyon, his B.D. from the Union Theological Seminary, and his Ph. D. from the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of many written works including, If God Already Knows, Why Pray?, Preachers with Power: Four Stalwarts of the South, New Life in the Wasteland, Creation and Change, and The Emergence of Liberty in the Modern World. His firm grasp of multiple languages and his theological competence are capably demonstrated in translating such works as Sermons by John Calvin on II Samuel. He is serving with David Wright of the University of Edinburgh as a general editor for a revision of Calvin’s Old Testament Commentaries. Before joining the faculty at RTS, Dr. Kelly traveled extensively throughout the world preaching and teaching. He was also enlisted to serve on the Jurisprudence project of The Christian Legal Society and serves on the Credentials Committee of the Central Carolina Presbytery.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the summary states, this work concerns Highland Scots wh0 migrated t0 the North Carolina low country in the 18th century. Good, brief summary of Scots life in the highlands & western isles, and the changes/conditions that drove their migration. If you are of looking for information about the Scots-Irish who came to the Carolina Piedmont thru Charleston or down the wagon road through Shenandoah Valley, or their life in Ulster before migrating, this is not the book you are looking for. Great information on the use of Gaelic in North Carolina.

[Moss Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount of time, energy, and effort that was undertaken by Dr. Kelly should be commended. Truly THE authoritative work on the history and genealogy of Highland Scots immigrants of Eastern and Central NC. The one thing I would nitpick is his leaving the Allen MacDonald, Donald Campbell, Farquhar Campbell, Laughlin MacKinnon, and Alexander MacIntosh families out of the book. The first three especially are arguably some of the most important Highland Scots immigrants to the region in the colonial era. I’m a bit confused as to why they were left out. Otherwise a tremendously detailed and impressive work.