Calvinism, Scotch-Irish, and the Appalachian Experience

My mother in law 's family is from the lowlands of Scotland. Pioneering people in this country. Original Covenanter's, driven out of their land is Scotland by English who executed them like vermin. She feels no Anglo kinship with the Sassenagh (or some other words that cant be used in polite company). She would also correct you in that Scotch is a whiskey & Scots are the people. now here is a test, do you know the difference in single malt to blend?

 

My mom's mother, her maiden was Fitzwater, and I think that my ancestors are from Ireland. I need to get up with mom, Grandma died in 1969, so I need to ask my mom more about where her family came from. I know some of them came from Ireland, because I heard mom mention that she always liked the tatse of whiskey, which was the Irish in her. As far as "theological" background, I truly don't know, and I don't know if mom would now either. I am not Calvinistic, nor am I Arminian.

i am I AM's

Willis

 

Take a look at this Willis, its Charles Finneys Theology....let me know if your on the same page or in left field.

See attached
http://www.gospeltruth.net/1851Sys_Theo/index1851st.htm

 

That's my heritage as well. The Little's were aligned with the Wallaces in Scotland. The first Calhoun came to the colonies as indentured servants.


Peace and Prayers

Jeff

 

I imagine most of my ancestors are Scotch-Irish, as both my mother and father's families are from deep in the Appalachian Mountains along the NC/TN border. My mother grew up attending a Presbyterian Church in the mountains, and my parents were married there (neither are calvinists). I remember attending VBS there as a child when I spent my summers with my grandparents. I have been back to visit a couple times with my grandfather in the past few years until he was placed in assisted living. I don't consider myself a Calvinist, but tend to lean more in that direction, but I doubt it has anything to do with my ancestory. My ancestors were more likely to be horse thiefs than deep theologians.:laugh:

Others have mentioned a tie in to whiskey, the only one I have is that if you remember the old 50's movie Thunder Road with Robert Mitchum (one of the greatest car chase movies of all time BTW), my last name is the same as one of the families that made moonshine in the movie.

 

Thanks so much for sharing the history, I am scot/irish/english in ancestry. The wife and I just visited Ireland for the first time. I was most struck by the National Archaelogical Museum. In the museum, they had rooms dedicated to the various periods of human habitation, the Celts and their predecessors (neolithic stone age culture) date in Ireland back to 8-9000 BC. The scots, are actually "cousins" to the irish, in that the celts migrated back and forth between Eire and Scotland, where in Scotland at the time lived small tribal people known as the Pict's, the intermarrying of the irish celts and Pict's became what we know as the Scots.

 

To the OP, BobInKY, do you have a bigger picture of the map you could share?

 

naaah...you're just plain mean, Bob.

(just kidding)

 

Bob, Thank you for putting this together :thumbsup:

 

I am of Scoth-Irish ancestry. I don't remember having Calvanist roots - at least it was never spoken of in those terms when I was growing up.

Peace!
WM

 

It's interesting that you can see the start of the Appalachian region just north of Montgomery, Alabama. Heading up 231N towards Wetumpka, you can see a very definitive rise in the landscape. My parents live in those foothills near a beautiful town called Tallassee. In that area are beautiful hills, rocky rivers (the Coosa and Tallapoosa join to form the Alabama river just below the start of the foot hills) and creeks, with lots of oaks and pine trees.

 

I'm Scots Irish on both sides, but........there is an Anglo (or two) in the wood pile on Mom's side.

My father's ancestors began in KY when three Scots brothers immigrated in through the Cumberland gap in 1803.

Some of my ancestors were Primitive Baptists that were involved from the beginning in the creation of a school, Oneida Baptist Institute in Clay County; NOT a mission school, but a homespun accomplishment by local folks who had in the past been killing each other in the feuds, that would teach their children to love one another and stop the feuding. I helped to financially support this school for years while I was working.

I believe that the county I'm in (Clark) is included on the fringe of Appalachia on one of those maps (couldn't tell for sure). Most of the county I would consider to be 'Bluegrass' of Central KY, the eastern section to be 'foothills' of Appalachia.

 

Bet you got a secret family recipe hidden away there somewhere. :godisgood:

 

Lol, well, I don't have it, but I've no doubt there were more than just one recipe. Whisky making/bootlegging is in my heritage for sure. It was a feud over bootlegging rights that eventually caused my father's immediate family to pick up and leave Lee county when he was fourteen years old. (and that's all I've got to say about that )

 

My family is of Scots-Irish background.
Members of my family fought with Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

 

My ancestors on Mom's side were Scots-Irish Presbyterians who came over in the 18th century. My brother has researched this quite a book, and the earliest ancestor he found a record of was John Rice, six generations ago, who settled in Tennessee. John was one of the Overmountain Men formed in 1780 to fight the British. His son had the interesting name of Dangerfield Rice. His son James Porter Rice helped found the Presbyterian church in Hazel Hill MO in 1853. James fought for the South in the Civil War with his son under Conferate calvary Colonel Jo Shelby.

James' son Will was my great-grandfather. He became a Texas cowboy and abandoned the faith. However, he trusted Christ as Savior at a revival meeting at First BC of Gainsville. Will became an SBC lay preacher. His son was John R. Rice, my grandfather and a well-known Baptist evangelist. So we've been non-Calvinist Baptists since 1889.

 

Bob, great idea for a thread.

My mom and dad are both from eastern KY. Alot of northern IN migrated from KY during the 50s and 60s looking for work, so it wasn't too difficult getting some United Baptists up there.

Dad's side supposedly came to the colonies on the Mayflower. My last name "White" supposedly is traced back to the "MacGregor" clan.

Dad's side has steadily attended United Baptist; mom's side (German) came out of, and some still attend the Old Regular Baptist.

Anyway, I believe that the calvinistic roots are well blended within most United Baptist churches.

I also appreciate our old school brethren. :saint:

David