In an earlier message Libbie Griffin wrote: > Kathleen, you raise an issue that has long interested me, and one I think > has been little researched: that is about early immigrants from Ireland. In > labeling people "Anglican Irish" (a term I don't believe I've ever heard > before) do you mean Scots-Irish? If not, could you please detail whom you > mean to describe with that term? > > I have noted a great many early Virginians with Irish-sounding names, and it > has long been my belief that many people emigrated from Ireland to early > Virginia, perhaps by way of somewhere in England or Scotland. Because the > great preponderance of Irish were/are Catholic, I suspect these people were > born and baptized in the Catholic church. Because there was no Catholic > church in early Virginia, and because of their relatively powerless position > at the bottom of the social hierarchy, they would have been unable to > continue to worship within the Catholic church. This is not an area I specialize in, but I have made some observations, particularly of the Northern Neck in the 17th century. There were no Catholic churches in Virginia that early. There were certainly some Catholics and Catholic sympathizers, as there were in Maryland, which had a substantial "recusant" population. But the established church was Anglican. Settlers were taxed to support the church, and the vestry usually handled what we now call social welfare matters. For social and political reasons, some Irish who were born Catholic attended the Anglican church in Virginia. They may have been real converts, or simply followed the path of least resistance. I referred to them as "Anglican Irish" for convenience. Others probably joined the underground network of English Catholics ministered to by itinerant priests. As far as I know, little has been written about them. I don't mean Scots-Irish, who were descended from the Protestant Scots who were settled in northern Ireland during the "plantations" of the early 17th century. The big Scots-Irish migrations to America came in the late 17th and the 18th centuries. People with Irish-sounding names MAY be Protestant, and if the surname starts with Mac or Mc, they MAY be Scottish (but don't forget that Catholicism was strong in Scotland, so origin doesn't determine religion). It's easy to identify some settlers, though, who are explicitly called "ye Irishman" or "of Ireland" in public records. Some of them are known to have attended the Anglican church and even held office as vestrymen. I'll leave the 18th century for others to discuss. Migration patterns changed substantially after 1700 or so. Kathleen Much To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html