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Electric Scotland News
£223,256 - The cost of raising a child from birth to 18 in the UK
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The story this week comes from a "Forgotten Book" which tells something of the history of the Scotch-Irish in America. What interested me in reading this is the comment on American History being written by people from New England which were mostly of English origin. I managed to find Volume 1 which I've made available for you to download.
--------
Got in a new book from Stan Bruce and he's asked for some help so here is the information...
Hall, Russell & Co., Ltd., SHIPBUILDERS, ABERDEEN, WW1 Roll of Honour
A wee bittie different from the first 22 vols, however just as, or even more historically important.
In your newsletter I would greatly appreciate if you could ask if anyone has any photos of the men or any other information, as I’d be most grateful to receive anything.
The book can be found at:
https://www.electricscotland.com/his...%20s.bruce.pdf
And so if you can help please email Stan at:
bardofthebroch@yahoo.com
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time. Here is what caught my eye this week...
The West Highland Line: One of the world's most scenic train lines
It's been featured in films like Trainspotting and Harry Potter. Recently, it was seeking new drivers to ride its rails in Scotland.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/2...ic-train-lines
From stagnation to innovation
Future anthropologists will marvel at how a small island in the North Atlantic unleashed a wave of innovation in the 19th Century. But Britain today is very different, and without a regulatory regime that promotes innovation, today's young people may be the first in many years to not enjoy significant economic growth.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/from-stagnation-to-innovation/
The tiny Scottish fishing village with a hidden gem Christmas market opening this week
The Daily Record has chosen a small and charming fishing village in the East Neuk of Fife for the 13th edition of our weekly series spotlighting Scotland's must-visit destinations.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotla...idden-31612248
Seven years on, we need to finally stop blaming Brexit - just look at the numbers
In this first of a series of updates on the impact of Brexit, Professor Paul Ormerod argues that Brexit is a convenient scapegoat for the UK’s economic woes, but if we dig into the data we’ll see a different story,
Read more at:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.u...t-the-numbers/
Fiscal Reality Bites
By Kevin Hague
Read more at:
https://www.these-islands.co.uk/publ...ity_bites.aspx
Israel-Hamas war hostages update: Israeli govt. says Hamas soldiers surrender
Israeli Government Spokesman, Eylon Levy delivered an update Monday on the war with Hamas, as it enters its third month following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Levy said Israel wants all of the hostages returned and that dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered to Israeli troops with more expected to follow. Israel continues to step forward with its offensive after the U.S. blocked the latest international push for a ceasefire.
Watch this report at:
https://youtu.be/WmYeRZv6JIo?si=FzyKrTpt1gCa4L4O
America could be on the verge of a new space age
A strong chance exists that, in the next few years, American astronauts will leave low-Earth orbit for the first time in half a century.
Read more at:
https://www.city-journal.org/article...he-right-stuff
Lies, damn lies and education stats
The SNP-led Scottish Government and the party itself are spinning a report purportedly showing the opposite of what the Paris-based think tank has discovered.
Read more at:
https://sceptical.scot/2023/12/lies-...ucation-stats/
Family matters
Politicians may be reluctant to talk about family breakdown, but those dealing with the devastating consequences aren't. With new research predicting that, by 2030, a quarter of children will have a mental health condition, it's time to face up to the evidence that children of married parents tend to have happier lives.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/why-family-matters-f...mental-health/
Arab Muslim Speaks About Her Life in Israel
Muslim Arab Sophia Salm Khalifa sits with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit to discuss the accusations that Israel is an apartheid state, that Gaza is an "open air prison," and that Israel Defense Forces are guilty of committing genocide of Palestinians.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/i_MfnpuafBg?si=8-aGTATi4yd2JHRn
What Is Life Like for Palestinians in Gaza?
Life for Palestinians in Gaza under Hamas has been extremely difficult. Palestinian civilians lack basic water, sanitation, and electricity infrastructures, as well as access to upward economic mobility and the rights to freedom of speech and self-expression. The constant suffering from rampant political and economic corruption has left civilians in Gaza with a sense of despair and a longing for a change in leadership.
Watch this report at:
https://youtu.be/PgAq-9_4Rzs?si=WTuKK5LlkLwfn00V
Iran’s web of intrigue and propaganda exposed
IN SEPTEMBER this year, the London-based TV station ‘Iran International’ and the news website ‘Semafor’, sent shockwaves through Europe and America when they revealed that an influential organization known as the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), which had consistently lobbied and advised EU governments, the European Parliament, the US Congress and others, was in fact fashioned and directed by Tehran, stirring profound implications for global diplomacy and security.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2023/12/ir...ganda-exposed/
Scots suffering under SNP as gap between rich and poor widens
Record View says the Scottish government must do better on tackling drugs deaths and the education gap.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/s...p-gap-31660394
Cost-of-living emergency set to fuel winter health crisis with hypothermia and malnutrition on the rise
The cost of living crisis is destroying the health of the most vulnerable families and impacting on the NHS, a leading doctor has revealed.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/cost-o...health-impact/
Electric Canadian
The History of the Village of Chester
Compiled by the Chester Branch of the Women's Institute of Nova Scotia founded on January 30, 1923 (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...-1759-1967.pdf
Evan MacColl
Scottish and Canadian Poet with two books of his poems n Gaelic and English.
You can read more about him and his work at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...an-MacColl.htm
Thoughts on a Sunday Morning - the 10th day of December 2023 - Peace
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can watch this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...ber-2023-peace
An informative introduction to Edmonton, Alberta
Added a video about Edmonton to the foot of our page about Alberta.
You can watch this video at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...erta/index.htm
Letters of Lovisa McDougall 1878 - 1887
Edited By Elizabeth M. McCrum (1978) (pdf)
You can read these at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...20-%201978.pdf
Electric Scotland
Forty Years Residence in America
Exemplified in the life of Grant Thorburn (the original Lawrie Todd) written by himself with an introduction by John Galt (1834) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00thorrich.pdf
Sculptured Stones in the Kirkyard of Govan
These twenty-seven plates of the Early Sculptured Monuments in the Parish Kirkyard of Govan, are printed in order to preserve their designs, and to bring them within the reach of students. (1899) (pdf)
You can look at these at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00maxwgoog.pdf
Zoophytes
With Special Reference to the Buchan Coast by W. J. Caird (1903) (pdf)
You can read about them at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00cairrich.pdf
Report of the Joint Sub-Committee on Welfare Foods
By the Central and Scottish Health Services Councils Standing Medical Advisory Committees (1957) (pdf)
You can read this report at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...lfarefoods.pdf
The Story of the University of Edinburgh
During its first three hundred years by Sir Alexander Grant. in two volumes (1884). Added a link to these two volumes at the foot of the page at:
https://electricscotland.com/education/edu11.htm
Fiscal Reality Bites
By Kevin Hague (Dec 2023) (pdf)
A complex study but worth reading at:
https://electricscotland.com/indepen...ty%20Bites.pdf
Scottish Society of Indianapolis
Got in their end of year 2023 newsletter which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...olis/index.htm
The two publications below describe two families – the Robertsons and the Murrays – who were related to William Watt and his sons by marriage. I had quite a lot of information and photos about both and it seemed sensible to put it all together. The articles are 38 and 27 pages in length, so quite a bit of reading but I think the stories and photos are interesting – the Robertsons in particular put their mark upon the world, and Sir Charles Grant Robertson’s portrait is in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery...
The Robertson Watt Connection
By Graham Watt (October 2023) (pdf)
Read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ONNECTIONS.pdf
The Murray Watt Connection
By Graham Watt (December 2023) (pdf)
Read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ONNECTIONS.pdf
Southern Generals
Who they are and what they have done by William Parker Snow (1865) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00snowrich.pdf
Story
Ireland and North America
By Charles A. Hanna
THE term “Scotch-Irish” is peculiarly American, and in tracing its origin we have, epitomized, the history of the people to whom it is now applied. The word seems to have come into general use since the Revolution, having been first taken as a race-name by many individuals of a very large class of people in the United States, descendants of emigrants of Scottish blood from the North of Ireland. The name was not used by the first of these emigrants, neither was it generally applied to them by the people whom they met here. They usually called themselves “Scotch,” just as the descendants of their former neighbors in Northern Ireland do to-day; and as do some of their own descendants in this country, who seemingly are adverse to acknowledging any connection with Ireland. The Quakers and the Puritans generally spoke of them as “the Irish,” and, during the Revolutionary period, we find a large and influential body of these people joined together at Philadelphia, in the formation of a patriotic association to which they gave the distinctively Irish title, “The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.”
The appellation “Scotch-Irish” is not, as many people suppose, an indication of a mixed Hiberno-Scottish descent; although it could be properly so used in many cases. It was first appropriated as a distinctive race-name by, and is now generally applied to, the descendants in America of the early Scotch Presbyterian emigrants from Ireland. These Scotch people, for a hundred years or more after 1600, settled with their wives and families in UIster, in the North of Ireland, whence their descendants, for a hundred years after 1700, having long suffered under the burdens of civil and religious oppression imposed by commercial greed and despotic ecclesiasticism, sought a more promising home in America.
It has been remarked by some recent observers in this country that while American history has been chiefly written in New England, that section has not been the chief actor in its events.
No doubt the second part of this proposition would be disputed by a large number of American people as not substantiated, who would perhaps claim that their position was supported by the testimony of a majority of the writers on the subject. With the latter claim it is not my purpose to take issue. Yet the fir st part of the proposition is more lacking in substantiation than the second. For, while it is apparent that the natural spirit of self-assertion, sot early manifested by the descendants of the English Puritans, has found-expression in a lengthy series of recitals of the doings and virtues of New England men, it is no less evident that these portrayals are largely of restricted application, and, for the most part, can only be considered as contributions to that portion of American history which is called local.
That these writings have ever been taken as national history arises perhaps from a conjunction of two causes, or conditions. The first of these, and one that naturally would have been ineffective without the other, is the marked tendency on the part of many New England writers to ignore or belittle the presence of any element not within the range of their own immediate horizon. In this they are peculiarly English, and exhibit that trait which has become so characteristic of the native English as to take its name from their geographical situation, namely—insularity. The second cause, which will be more fully adverted to hereafter, arises from the comparative dearth of historical writings originating outside of the Puritan colonies.
The New England fathers came to a strange coast and found stretching back from the shore a forbidding wilderness, to them of such unknown depth that it was not until after a slow and gradual pushing forward of the frontier line for a period extending over a century and a half that their children found this wilderness was unsubdued only as far west as the Hudson River and fully another century elapsed before many of them were willing to acknowledge this to be the case. To the fathers, accordingly, New England meant America, and to some of the sons who stayed at home it is not unnatural that the western boundary line of America should seem to be fixed at the point where the early Dutch settlements began.
In the examination of the contributions of the New England writers to the “history of America,” therefore, it is only necessary to bear in mind the restricted sense in which so many of them use this term, and to observe their superficial treatment of men and affairs not within their own provincial boundaries, to enable us to accept these contributions at their true value. Hence we can take pride with the New Englanders in the noble deeds which they narrate of their fathers and of the good these fathers wrought for their own communities, and can thus understand the nature and extent of New England’s contribution to the good of our country as a whole.
It is, however, this inevitable disposition on the part of New England writers in their treatment of American history to magnify local at the expense of national affairs, to which may be attributed so much of the present adverse criticism of their authority. If it be said that this tendency is only a natural manifestation of the dominating Anglo-Saxon spirit, which brooks no rivalry and sees no good in anything foreign to itself, it may properly be answered that the page of impartial history is no place for such display.’ The share of New England in making American history is great; but it is perhaps not so great as its chroniclers would have us believe. Neither can it be said by any fair-minded student that the events which took place on the soil of New England are of chief interest or importance in connection with the progress and success of the American War of Independence, and the foundation of our present system of government subsequent thereto, even though the record of those events forms the substance of a majority of the books which have been called American history.
A notable instance of this one-sided treatment of our country’s history, if not of its actual perversion, on the part of all but the most recent writers, treating the subject from a New England standpoint, is that furnished by certain tables purporting to give the numbers of troops supplied by the different colonies in the Revolutionary War. These tables have appeared in whole or in part a great many times during the past sixty years, and until recently have been quite generally cited to show the superior patriotism of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut over that of the other colonies, and to sustain the claim, repeatedly made, that New England furnished more than half the soldiers in that struggle. The tables first appeared in the Collections of the New Hampshire Historical Society for 1824, vol. i., p. 236; then in the American Almanac for 1830, p. 187, and for 1831, p. 112; in Niles's Register for July 31, 1830; in Sabine’s Loyalists of the Revolution, in 1847, p. 31; in Lossing’s Field Book of the Revolution, vol. ii., p. 837; in Hildreth’s History of the United States, vol. iii., p. 441; in Barry’s Massachusetts, vol. ii., p. 304; in Greene’s Historical View of the American Revolution, p. 455; etc.
They are supposed to be founded on a report made to Congress, May 11, 1790, by Henry Knox, then Secretary of War; but they contain only a portion of the figures given in that report, and utterly ignore and omit the part relating to the enlistment and service of certain southern troops composing, perhaps, one fourth of the entire army. The compilers of the tables also attempt to summarize the portion given, by adding up the aggregates of the various enlistment rolls for the whole Revolutionary period (many of which in the early part of the war were duplicated more than four times in a single year, the same names appearing at every ninety-days’ re-enlistment), and then claiming that the results reached give the total number of Regulars furnished by the different colonies in the struggle. This erroneous summary appears as follows:
New Hampshire...........................12,496
Massachusetts..........................67,807'
Rhode Island............................ 5,908
Connecticut............................31,939
New York................................17,781
New Jersey.............................10,726
Pennsylvania.........................25,678
Delaware.............................. 2,386
Maryland..............................13,912
Virginia..............................26,678
North Carolina........................ 7,263
South Carolina........................ 6,417
Georgia............................... 2,679
Total 231,670
The report on which these tables are said to be founded is published in the American State Papers, vol. i., pp. 14-19, of the series relating to Military Affairs; and in order to show the falsity of the statements based upon the garbled and incomplete extract made from it in the aforesaid tables, the report is here given in full and the figures accompanying the same appear in tabulated form on the opposite page. This tabulation, it may be remarked, shows the form in which the incomplete statement appears, as well as the full report,— the figures here printed in heavy-faced type being omitted from all of the former tables since the fir st report of Knox.
TROOPS, INCLUDING MILITIA, FURNISHED BY THE SEVERAL STATES
DURING THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.
Communicated to the House of Representatives, May 11, 1790.
War Office of the United States, May 10, 1790.
In obedience to the order of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of War submits the statement hereunto annexed of the troops and militia furnished from time to time by the several States, towards the support of the late war.
The numbers of the regular troops having been stated from the official returns deposited in the War Office, may be depended upon; and in all cases where the numbers of militia are stated from the returns, the same confidence may be observed.
But in some years of the greatest exertions of the Southern States there are no returns whatever of the militia employed. In this case recourse has been had to letters of the commanding officer, and to well informed individuals, in order to form a proper estimate of the numbers of the militia in service; and although the accuracy of the estimate cannot be relied on, yet it is the best information which the Secretary of War can at present obtain. When the accounts of the militia service of the several States shall be adjusted it is probable that the numbers will be better ascertained.
There are not any documents in the War Office from which accurate returns could be made of the ordnance stores furnished by the several States during the late war. The charges made by the several States against the United States, which have been presented by the commissioners of accounts, are, probably, the only evidence which can be obtained on the subject.
All of which is humbly submitted to the House of Representatives.
H. Knox, Secretary of War.
You can read more of this which is available at:
http://tinyurl.com/25df9hv5
END.
Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you.
Alastair
£223,256 - The cost of raising a child from birth to 18 in the UK
-------
The story this week comes from a "Forgotten Book" which tells something of the history of the Scotch-Irish in America. What interested me in reading this is the comment on American History being written by people from New England which were mostly of English origin. I managed to find Volume 1 which I've made available for you to download.
--------
Got in a new book from Stan Bruce and he's asked for some help so here is the information...
Hall, Russell & Co., Ltd., SHIPBUILDERS, ABERDEEN, WW1 Roll of Honour
A wee bittie different from the first 22 vols, however just as, or even more historically important.
In your newsletter I would greatly appreciate if you could ask if anyone has any photos of the men or any other information, as I’d be most grateful to receive anything.
The book can be found at:
https://www.electricscotland.com/his...%20s.bruce.pdf
And so if you can help please email Stan at:
bardofthebroch@yahoo.com
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland and world news stories that can affect Scotland and as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on search engines it becomes a good resource. I might also add that in a number of newspapers you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish which I do myself from time to time. Here is what caught my eye this week...
The West Highland Line: One of the world's most scenic train lines
It's been featured in films like Trainspotting and Harry Potter. Recently, it was seeking new drivers to ride its rails in Scotland.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/2...ic-train-lines
From stagnation to innovation
Future anthropologists will marvel at how a small island in the North Atlantic unleashed a wave of innovation in the 19th Century. But Britain today is very different, and without a regulatory regime that promotes innovation, today's young people may be the first in many years to not enjoy significant economic growth.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/from-stagnation-to-innovation/
The tiny Scottish fishing village with a hidden gem Christmas market opening this week
The Daily Record has chosen a small and charming fishing village in the East Neuk of Fife for the 13th edition of our weekly series spotlighting Scotland's must-visit destinations.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotla...idden-31612248
Seven years on, we need to finally stop blaming Brexit - just look at the numbers
In this first of a series of updates on the impact of Brexit, Professor Paul Ormerod argues that Brexit is a convenient scapegoat for the UK’s economic woes, but if we dig into the data we’ll see a different story,
Read more at:
https://www.briefingsforbritain.co.u...t-the-numbers/
Fiscal Reality Bites
By Kevin Hague
Read more at:
https://www.these-islands.co.uk/publ...ity_bites.aspx
Israel-Hamas war hostages update: Israeli govt. says Hamas soldiers surrender
Israeli Government Spokesman, Eylon Levy delivered an update Monday on the war with Hamas, as it enters its third month following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Levy said Israel wants all of the hostages returned and that dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered to Israeli troops with more expected to follow. Israel continues to step forward with its offensive after the U.S. blocked the latest international push for a ceasefire.
Watch this report at:
https://youtu.be/WmYeRZv6JIo?si=FzyKrTpt1gCa4L4O
America could be on the verge of a new space age
A strong chance exists that, in the next few years, American astronauts will leave low-Earth orbit for the first time in half a century.
Read more at:
https://www.city-journal.org/article...he-right-stuff
Lies, damn lies and education stats
The SNP-led Scottish Government and the party itself are spinning a report purportedly showing the opposite of what the Paris-based think tank has discovered.
Read more at:
https://sceptical.scot/2023/12/lies-...ucation-stats/
Family matters
Politicians may be reluctant to talk about family breakdown, but those dealing with the devastating consequences aren't. With new research predicting that, by 2030, a quarter of children will have a mental health condition, it's time to face up to the evidence that children of married parents tend to have happier lives.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/why-family-matters-f...mental-health/
Arab Muslim Speaks About Her Life in Israel
Muslim Arab Sophia Salm Khalifa sits with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit to discuss the accusations that Israel is an apartheid state, that Gaza is an "open air prison," and that Israel Defense Forces are guilty of committing genocide of Palestinians.
Watch this at:
https://youtu.be/i_MfnpuafBg?si=8-aGTATi4yd2JHRn
What Is Life Like for Palestinians in Gaza?
Life for Palestinians in Gaza under Hamas has been extremely difficult. Palestinian civilians lack basic water, sanitation, and electricity infrastructures, as well as access to upward economic mobility and the rights to freedom of speech and self-expression. The constant suffering from rampant political and economic corruption has left civilians in Gaza with a sense of despair and a longing for a change in leadership.
Watch this report at:
https://youtu.be/PgAq-9_4Rzs?si=WTuKK5LlkLwfn00V
Iran’s web of intrigue and propaganda exposed
IN SEPTEMBER this year, the London-based TV station ‘Iran International’ and the news website ‘Semafor’, sent shockwaves through Europe and America when they revealed that an influential organization known as the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), which had consistently lobbied and advised EU governments, the European Parliament, the US Congress and others, was in fact fashioned and directed by Tehran, stirring profound implications for global diplomacy and security.
Read more at:
https://thinkscotland.org/2023/12/ir...ganda-exposed/
Scots suffering under SNP as gap between rich and poor widens
Record View says the Scottish government must do better on tackling drugs deaths and the education gap.
Read more at:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/s...p-gap-31660394
Cost-of-living emergency set to fuel winter health crisis with hypothermia and malnutrition on the rise
The cost of living crisis is destroying the health of the most vulnerable families and impacting on the NHS, a leading doctor has revealed.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/cost-o...health-impact/
Electric Canadian
The History of the Village of Chester
Compiled by the Chester Branch of the Women's Institute of Nova Scotia founded on January 30, 1923 (pdf)
You can read this at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...-1759-1967.pdf
Evan MacColl
Scottish and Canadian Poet with two books of his poems n Gaelic and English.
You can read more about him and his work at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/life...an-MacColl.htm
Thoughts on a Sunday Morning - the 10th day of December 2023 - Peace
By the Rev. Nola Crewe
You can watch this at:
http://www.electricscotland.org/foru...ber-2023-peace
An informative introduction to Edmonton, Alberta
Added a video about Edmonton to the foot of our page about Alberta.
You can watch this video at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...erta/index.htm
Letters of Lovisa McDougall 1878 - 1887
Edited By Elizabeth M. McCrum (1978) (pdf)
You can read these at:
http://www.electriccanadian.com/hist...20-%201978.pdf
Electric Scotland
Forty Years Residence in America
Exemplified in the life of Grant Thorburn (the original Lawrie Todd) written by himself with an introduction by John Galt (1834) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00thorrich.pdf
Sculptured Stones in the Kirkyard of Govan
These twenty-seven plates of the Early Sculptured Monuments in the Parish Kirkyard of Govan, are printed in order to preserve their designs, and to bring them within the reach of students. (1899) (pdf)
You can look at these at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00maxwgoog.pdf
Zoophytes
With Special Reference to the Buchan Coast by W. J. Caird (1903) (pdf)
You can read about them at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00cairrich.pdf
Report of the Joint Sub-Committee on Welfare Foods
By the Central and Scottish Health Services Councils Standing Medical Advisory Committees (1957) (pdf)
You can read this report at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...lfarefoods.pdf
The Story of the University of Edinburgh
During its first three hundred years by Sir Alexander Grant. in two volumes (1884). Added a link to these two volumes at the foot of the page at:
https://electricscotland.com/education/edu11.htm
Fiscal Reality Bites
By Kevin Hague (Dec 2023) (pdf)
A complex study but worth reading at:
https://electricscotland.com/indepen...ty%20Bites.pdf
Scottish Society of Indianapolis
Got in their end of year 2023 newsletter which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...olis/index.htm
The two publications below describe two families – the Robertsons and the Murrays – who were related to William Watt and his sons by marriage. I had quite a lot of information and photos about both and it seemed sensible to put it all together. The articles are 38 and 27 pages in length, so quite a bit of reading but I think the stories and photos are interesting – the Robertsons in particular put their mark upon the world, and Sir Charles Grant Robertson’s portrait is in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery...
The Robertson Watt Connection
By Graham Watt (October 2023) (pdf)
Read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ONNECTIONS.pdf
The Murray Watt Connection
By Graham Watt (December 2023) (pdf)
Read this at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...ONNECTIONS.pdf
Southern Generals
Who they are and what they have done by William Parker Snow (1865) (pdf)
You can read this book at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...00snowrich.pdf
Story
Ireland and North America
By Charles A. Hanna
THE term “Scotch-Irish” is peculiarly American, and in tracing its origin we have, epitomized, the history of the people to whom it is now applied. The word seems to have come into general use since the Revolution, having been first taken as a race-name by many individuals of a very large class of people in the United States, descendants of emigrants of Scottish blood from the North of Ireland. The name was not used by the first of these emigrants, neither was it generally applied to them by the people whom they met here. They usually called themselves “Scotch,” just as the descendants of their former neighbors in Northern Ireland do to-day; and as do some of their own descendants in this country, who seemingly are adverse to acknowledging any connection with Ireland. The Quakers and the Puritans generally spoke of them as “the Irish,” and, during the Revolutionary period, we find a large and influential body of these people joined together at Philadelphia, in the formation of a patriotic association to which they gave the distinctively Irish title, “The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.”
The appellation “Scotch-Irish” is not, as many people suppose, an indication of a mixed Hiberno-Scottish descent; although it could be properly so used in many cases. It was first appropriated as a distinctive race-name by, and is now generally applied to, the descendants in America of the early Scotch Presbyterian emigrants from Ireland. These Scotch people, for a hundred years or more after 1600, settled with their wives and families in UIster, in the North of Ireland, whence their descendants, for a hundred years after 1700, having long suffered under the burdens of civil and religious oppression imposed by commercial greed and despotic ecclesiasticism, sought a more promising home in America.
It has been remarked by some recent observers in this country that while American history has been chiefly written in New England, that section has not been the chief actor in its events.
No doubt the second part of this proposition would be disputed by a large number of American people as not substantiated, who would perhaps claim that their position was supported by the testimony of a majority of the writers on the subject. With the latter claim it is not my purpose to take issue. Yet the fir st part of the proposition is more lacking in substantiation than the second. For, while it is apparent that the natural spirit of self-assertion, sot early manifested by the descendants of the English Puritans, has found-expression in a lengthy series of recitals of the doings and virtues of New England men, it is no less evident that these portrayals are largely of restricted application, and, for the most part, can only be considered as contributions to that portion of American history which is called local.
That these writings have ever been taken as national history arises perhaps from a conjunction of two causes, or conditions. The first of these, and one that naturally would have been ineffective without the other, is the marked tendency on the part of many New England writers to ignore or belittle the presence of any element not within the range of their own immediate horizon. In this they are peculiarly English, and exhibit that trait which has become so characteristic of the native English as to take its name from their geographical situation, namely—insularity. The second cause, which will be more fully adverted to hereafter, arises from the comparative dearth of historical writings originating outside of the Puritan colonies.
The New England fathers came to a strange coast and found stretching back from the shore a forbidding wilderness, to them of such unknown depth that it was not until after a slow and gradual pushing forward of the frontier line for a period extending over a century and a half that their children found this wilderness was unsubdued only as far west as the Hudson River and fully another century elapsed before many of them were willing to acknowledge this to be the case. To the fathers, accordingly, New England meant America, and to some of the sons who stayed at home it is not unnatural that the western boundary line of America should seem to be fixed at the point where the early Dutch settlements began.
In the examination of the contributions of the New England writers to the “history of America,” therefore, it is only necessary to bear in mind the restricted sense in which so many of them use this term, and to observe their superficial treatment of men and affairs not within their own provincial boundaries, to enable us to accept these contributions at their true value. Hence we can take pride with the New Englanders in the noble deeds which they narrate of their fathers and of the good these fathers wrought for their own communities, and can thus understand the nature and extent of New England’s contribution to the good of our country as a whole.
It is, however, this inevitable disposition on the part of New England writers in their treatment of American history to magnify local at the expense of national affairs, to which may be attributed so much of the present adverse criticism of their authority. If it be said that this tendency is only a natural manifestation of the dominating Anglo-Saxon spirit, which brooks no rivalry and sees no good in anything foreign to itself, it may properly be answered that the page of impartial history is no place for such display.’ The share of New England in making American history is great; but it is perhaps not so great as its chroniclers would have us believe. Neither can it be said by any fair-minded student that the events which took place on the soil of New England are of chief interest or importance in connection with the progress and success of the American War of Independence, and the foundation of our present system of government subsequent thereto, even though the record of those events forms the substance of a majority of the books which have been called American history.
A notable instance of this one-sided treatment of our country’s history, if not of its actual perversion, on the part of all but the most recent writers, treating the subject from a New England standpoint, is that furnished by certain tables purporting to give the numbers of troops supplied by the different colonies in the Revolutionary War. These tables have appeared in whole or in part a great many times during the past sixty years, and until recently have been quite generally cited to show the superior patriotism of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut over that of the other colonies, and to sustain the claim, repeatedly made, that New England furnished more than half the soldiers in that struggle. The tables first appeared in the Collections of the New Hampshire Historical Society for 1824, vol. i., p. 236; then in the American Almanac for 1830, p. 187, and for 1831, p. 112; in Niles's Register for July 31, 1830; in Sabine’s Loyalists of the Revolution, in 1847, p. 31; in Lossing’s Field Book of the Revolution, vol. ii., p. 837; in Hildreth’s History of the United States, vol. iii., p. 441; in Barry’s Massachusetts, vol. ii., p. 304; in Greene’s Historical View of the American Revolution, p. 455; etc.
They are supposed to be founded on a report made to Congress, May 11, 1790, by Henry Knox, then Secretary of War; but they contain only a portion of the figures given in that report, and utterly ignore and omit the part relating to the enlistment and service of certain southern troops composing, perhaps, one fourth of the entire army. The compilers of the tables also attempt to summarize the portion given, by adding up the aggregates of the various enlistment rolls for the whole Revolutionary period (many of which in the early part of the war were duplicated more than four times in a single year, the same names appearing at every ninety-days’ re-enlistment), and then claiming that the results reached give the total number of Regulars furnished by the different colonies in the struggle. This erroneous summary appears as follows:
New Hampshire...........................12,496
Massachusetts..........................67,807'
Rhode Island............................ 5,908
Connecticut............................31,939
New York................................17,781
New Jersey.............................10,726
Pennsylvania.........................25,678
Delaware.............................. 2,386
Maryland..............................13,912
Virginia..............................26,678
North Carolina........................ 7,263
South Carolina........................ 6,417
Georgia............................... 2,679
Total 231,670
The report on which these tables are said to be founded is published in the American State Papers, vol. i., pp. 14-19, of the series relating to Military Affairs; and in order to show the falsity of the statements based upon the garbled and incomplete extract made from it in the aforesaid tables, the report is here given in full and the figures accompanying the same appear in tabulated form on the opposite page. This tabulation, it may be remarked, shows the form in which the incomplete statement appears, as well as the full report,— the figures here printed in heavy-faced type being omitted from all of the former tables since the fir st report of Knox.
TROOPS, INCLUDING MILITIA, FURNISHED BY THE SEVERAL STATES
DURING THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.
Communicated to the House of Representatives, May 11, 1790.
War Office of the United States, May 10, 1790.
In obedience to the order of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of War submits the statement hereunto annexed of the troops and militia furnished from time to time by the several States, towards the support of the late war.
The numbers of the regular troops having been stated from the official returns deposited in the War Office, may be depended upon; and in all cases where the numbers of militia are stated from the returns, the same confidence may be observed.
But in some years of the greatest exertions of the Southern States there are no returns whatever of the militia employed. In this case recourse has been had to letters of the commanding officer, and to well informed individuals, in order to form a proper estimate of the numbers of the militia in service; and although the accuracy of the estimate cannot be relied on, yet it is the best information which the Secretary of War can at present obtain. When the accounts of the militia service of the several States shall be adjusted it is probable that the numbers will be better ascertained.
There are not any documents in the War Office from which accurate returns could be made of the ordnance stores furnished by the several States during the late war. The charges made by the several States against the United States, which have been presented by the commissioners of accounts, are, probably, the only evidence which can be obtained on the subject.
All of which is humbly submitted to the House of Representatives.
H. Knox, Secretary of War.
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Weekend is almost here and hope it's a good one for you.
Alastair