AMERICA'S ULSTER STORY

The website name is inspired by the famous 1943 poem “Hi Uncle Sam” which was written by Rev. W.F. Marshall and published in his book Ulster Sails West. Marshall was a true pioneer in recovering Ulster-Scots-American heritage for his generation.

Stylistically, the website is aimed at a younger audience, and at anyone who wants to enjoy much deeper content than the usual light-touch approach.

Numerically, during the 1700s, the Ulster-Scots were the largest group to emigrate from Europe to America. At least 200,000 made the journey across the Atlantic. In that century, only enslaved Africans arrived in greater numbers.

Ireland is an island of cultural variety. Some people today think that the terms Ulster-Scots and Scotch-Irish are recent creations. This isn’t true - the very first written references in America to the term “Scotch-Irish” can be found where they first settled, in Somerset County in Maryland. There, surviving court records show that the term was being used as early as the 1680s.

The larger wave of migration began in 1718, and very soon after the term was being used. In 1723 Rev. George Ross of Delaware said “They call themselves Scotch Irish”, and a few years later another Delaware minister said “great numbers of Irish (who usually call themselves Scotch Irish) transported themselves and their families from the North of Ireland unto the Province of Pennsylvania … they are Presbyterians by profession”. You’ll find many more examples within the website.

From the early eighteenth century onwards, hundreds of thousands of people left Ulster in search of opportunity, religious freedom, and a better future across the Atlantic. Their journeys helped shape the development of the American colonies and, later, the United States itself.

Today, millions of Americans can trace part of their family story back to Ulster, making this shared heritage a powerful link between our communities.

The story of Ulster migration is about far more than statistics and historical events. It is a story of courage, resilience, innovation, and identity. Farmers, artisans, entrepreneurs, educators, soldiers, community leaders, and ordinary families carried with them traditions, skills, values, and ideas that would leave a lasting mark on American society.

Their influence can be found in politics, culture, industry, music, education, and civic life across the United States.

America's Ulster Story brings together places, people, archives, and experiences that reveal these remarkable connections. Through historical interpretation, personal stories, genealogy, and heritage sites, the project invites visitors to discover the human stories behind the migration and explore how these relationships continue to shape both nations today.

Whether you are researching your roots, exploring shared history, planning a heritage journey, or simply curious about the connections between Ulster and America, this website offers a gateway to understanding a rich and complex story that spans centuries and crosses oceans.

At its heart, America's Ulster Story celebrates the people whose journeys connected two continents and whose legacy continues to be felt on both sides of the Atlantic.

America's Ulster Story focuses on the years preceding and immediately following the 1776 Declaration of Independence. As the United States of America evolved, the treatment of Black and Indigenous Americans became fundamental issues that resonate to this day.

This project references Ulster-Scots people who were slave owners and those who were abolitionists, as well as Black and Indigenous Americans who worked and lived alongside some Ulster-Scots communities.

If you wish to explore the subject of the treatment of post-Revolution Black and Indigenous Americans, please visit the following resources:

• The National Museum of African American History and Culture

• The National Museum of the American Indian

America's Ulster Story has been developed by the Nerve Centre with funding from the Ulster Scots Broadcast Fund managed by Northern Ireland Screen.

Content throughout the platform has been written and developed by Mark Thompson with support from Dr William Roulston of the Ulster Historical Foundation.