Border-Scot and Scots-Irish Ancestral Research
This web site is intended to serve as a springboard of sorts to provide the Border-Scot and Scots-Irish family historian with various works and links to aid in their research. On this page one will also find links to the author's family history including various ancestral lines leading back to diverse locations throughout Great Britain. Click on any of the following surnames to find research aids and links for that family or clan:JOHNSTON/E
Surname research pages to be added soon: Armstrong, Bell, Creighton, Graham, Elliot, Irving, Kerr, Maxwell, Moffat, Scott, Tait/Tate.
Also for the researchers convenience there is a simple "genealogy kit" providing basic forms such as Ahnentafel Chart and Family Group Sheet. Simply click on this link and print them off: JG kit.
Here is the first in a series of articles on Genealogy entitled Adventures in Genealogy. They will contain advice that will be helpful to family researchers. This one is on evaluating Monument Inscriptions and is entitled The Last Word.
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This page represents the efforts of one who has managed to find the area of origin for his Scots-Irish ancestors John Johnston and Margaret Tait, as well as determining the initial area of settlement for them in the New World; County Derry, Ireland and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania respectively. Essentially, Scots-Irish are those who know that their forebears originated in Scotland and settled in Ireland. Quite often these forbears were part of the Plantation of Ulster initiated by King James VI of Scotland soon after he became King James I of England. In the early seventeenth century James "encouraged" many of the troublesome clans and families of the Scottish Borders to relocate. Due to this effort to pacify the Scottish Borders many Armstrongs, Elliots, Grahams and Johnstons were hanged, outlawed and banished. As a result many among these and other clans headed for Ulster at the time of the 1609 Plantation. Obviously, the genealogical researcher needs an understanding of Scottish, Irish as well as English history. I have been able to trace all my Scots-Irish families back to County Derry, Ireland.
My families from County Derry include:
As many who have tried genealogical research of their Irish forebears can attest, it can be most difficult to do. This is due primarily to the scarcity of surviving records in Ireland. Many records were destroyed in 1922 in a fire at the Four Courts building in Dublin. One is left with the problem of depending on the fragmentary remains of these records and other obscure, but invaluable sources. It can be a form of research in and of itself to determine what and where these records are. This researcher has realized that some of the most rewarding and amazing results can be achieved by examining records here in North America, especially in the local area where they settled. Collateral families, publications about township and county history, wills, cemeteries, land records and other sources are in my opinion sometimes overlooked. Rather than depending on census and civil records alone, the Irish researcher needs to leave no stone unturned. This does include records in Ireland but one must get there first. A place of origin for an ancestor who came from Ireland can usually be found more readily somewhere on this side of the Atlantic. In the case of a common surname like Johnston it can depend on building (or accessing) a broad foundation or database of information. Obviously this all takes a great deal of time and effort, and for some it can be frustrating, but for this researcher it is a form of entertainment that never gets tiring. If you are having difficulty with research on Irish, Scottish or Scots-Irish ancestors perhaps I can help. Scots-Irish surnames that are unrelated, but of interest to me include:
These represent only a few of the Riding Clans of the Scottish Borders. As can be seen my interest is not only genealogical but historical as well. For some decades now I have been an armchair student of Great Britain’s history, and have focused on Dark Age Britain in particular. I have amassed a substantial personal library and am a small time book dealer. In 2000 I took a Family History Course presnted by BIFHSGO and the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS). Said course was taught by noted Family Historian Norm Crowder. I am currently involved with the Ottawa based Irish Research Group and in November of 2002 I was named Member at Large for Ontario of Clan Johnston/e in America. Finally, my goal is to pursue genealogy as a lifelong avocation and to become a respected and accredited genealogist. If you have any information to share or questions please e-mail me at:
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This page last updated 9 Febeuary 2009.
Previous update 1 August 2003.