Jean Stephenson

Scotch-irish Migration to South Carolina, 1772 (Rev. William Martin and His Five Shiploads of Settlers) Jean Stephenson

In 1772, Ireland was still under the feudal system, where wealthy barons owned all the land and tenant farmers had to pay them rent. The Reverend William Martin spoke about this. Members of his church had been reduced to poverty because of the need to pay these excessive rents. He therefore proposed that they pool their resources, charter ships and sail to South Carolina where free land was available. Originally, just a few planned to go. But, as word spread, huge numbers joined the group. It eventually came to 467 families, or five boatloads. This book provides the history of these voyages, the names of the passengers, and documents the land they received and the places where they ultimately settled in South Carolina. The ancestors of the author were among the more than one thousand passengers who arrived on these five ships. Many of them joined the American Revolution and fought against the British when the Revolutionary War broke out three years later.