British Buckeyes: The English, Scots, and Welsh in Ohio, 1700-1900

by William Van Vugt

Because of their similar linguistic, religious, and cultural backgrounds, English, Scottish, and Welsh immigrants are often regarded as the “invisible immigrants,” assimilating into early American society easily and quickly and often losing their ethnic identities. Yet, of all of Ohio’s immigrants, the British were the most influential in terms of shaping the state’s politics and institutions. Also significant were their contributions to farming, mining, iron production, textiles, pottery, and engineering. Until British Buckeyes, historians have all but ignored and neglected these industrious settlers. Author William E. Van Vugt uses hundreds of biographies from county archives and histories, letters, Ohio and British census figures, and ship passenger lists to identify these immigrants and draw a portrait of their occupations, settlement patterns, and experiences and to underscore their role in Ohio history.

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 2006

Reviews

[Leslie]

My great-grandparents were Welsh from the Jackson Co, OH & Gallia Co., OH areas. The book delved into the backstory of the Welsh communities in Ohio in the 1800s. An extremely industrious people in many areas throughout Ohio.

Excellent resource for family research/genealogy.

[Gayle Pritchard]

Yet another terrific reference for researching historical Ohio, I also love this book for the deep look at a particular group of early Ohio settlers. We researched and an enjoyable read, I recommend this book to anyone who loves pioneer history or genealogy research.