300 Years Ago: The Scots-Irish in Provincial New Hampshire

2019 marks the 300th anniversary of the Scots-Irish migration to New Hampshire. The Scots-Irish would become the largest group of non-English immigrants to the colony. At the time, they were seen as fundamentally different from the English—a different religion, a different history, and a different culture—and the English settlers greeted them with a fair amount of suspicion and hostility. Originally based in Londonderry, the Scots-Irish brought much to the province, including potatoes, linen, and a hearty, stubborn quality that would become quintessential to the Yankee character. In this lecture by historian R. Stuart Wallace, learn about these early immigrants and how they transformed New Hampshire. Immediately, following the lecture, Director of Collections and Exhibitions Wes Balla will be showing the Shute Petition, the 1718 document signed by over 300 Scots-Irish seeking a new home in America. The petition, one of the oldest documents in the Society’s collections and recently conserved through grants from the New Hampshire Society for Colonial Wars and the General Society for Colonial Wars, is not normally available for public viewing.