A strong infusion of Scottish blood in New York State came through
settlements made there in response to a proclamation issued in 1735 by
the Governor, inviting "loyal protestant Highlanders" to settle the
lands between the Hudson River and the northern lakes. Attracted by
this offer Captain Lauchlin Campbell of Islay, in 1738-40, brought
over eighty-three families of Highlanders to settle on a grant of
thirty thousand acres in what is now Washington County. "By this
immigration," says E.H. Roberts, "the province secured a much needed
addition to its population, and these Highlanders must have sent
messages home not altogether unfavorable, for they were the pioneers
of a multitude whose coming in successive years were to add strength
and thrift and intelligence beyond the ratio of their numbers to the
communities in which they set up their homes." Many Scottish
immigrants settled in the vicinity of Goshen, Orange County, in 1720,
and by 1729 had organized and built two churches. A second colony
arrived from the north of Ireland in 1731. At the same time as the
grant was made to Lauchlin Campbell, Lieutenant-Governor Clarke
granted to John Lindsay, a Scottish gentleman, and three associates, a
tract of eighty thousand acres in Cherry Valley, in Otsego County.
Lindsay afterwards purchased the rights of his associates and sent
out families from Scotland and Ulster to the valley of the
Susquehanna. These were augmented by pioneers from Londonderry, New
Hampshire, under the Rev.
Pages:
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42