Who Were the Ulster Scots

It’s been estimated that as many as 27 million Americans can trace their lineage to the Scots people. A 2017 American Community Survey found 5.4 million respondents claimed Scottish heritage while another 3 million specifically identified as Scots Irish, or Scotch Irish – indicating they are descendants of immigrants who originated in Scotland, migrated to the north of Ireland, principally Ulster, and then later moved onward to the new world, arriving primarily in Pennsylvania and spreading outward from there. These immigrants were the original Ulster Scots.

Map of Ireland. The counties are indicated by thin black lines, including those in Ulster in g...