They Came From Ulster

The emigrants who left Ireland prior to the American Revolutionary War came solely from the province of Ulster. More than five thousand people emigrated from Ulster in 1717-1718. Those families sent back favorable reports, which helped to pave the way for future migrations. Between 1725 and 1729 there was another wave of emigration from Ulster, again induced primarily by the suffering caused by rack-renting. During that migration it was estimated that over six thousand people left Ulster in 1728 alone. In 1740 a major famine devastated Ireland and brought about the third major wave of emigration from Ulster. The fourth wave emigrated in 1754-1755, partly as a result of hardships occasioned by drought and partly because of an effort made by the governor of the province of North Carolina to attract settlers to that colony. Governor Dobbs had left Ulster himself, and his call was answered by many other Ulstermen. The last major wave of emigration occurred between 1771 and 1775. At least twenty-five thousand people are believed to have emigrated during this period. That great wave of departure from Ireland was motivated primarily by the eviction of so many families from county Antrim when the leases on the estate of the Marquis of Donegal expired and the settlers could not comply with the rack-renting demands. Altogether, approximately 200,000 people, primarily of Scottish descent and Presbyterian faith, left Ulster and sailed for America between 1717 and 1775.