appointed Governor of East New Jersey in 1682, but never visited his
territory. Lord Neil Campbell, son of the ninth Earl of Argyll, was
appointed Governor in 1687, but meddled little in the affairs of the
colony. Andrew Hamilton (c. 1627-1703), his deputy, born in Edinburgh,
on Lord Neil Campbell's departure, became Acting Governor. He was an
active, energetic officer, who rendered good service to the state,
and organized the first postal service in the colonies. John Hamilton,
son of Andrew, was Acting Governor for a time and died at Perth Amboy
in 1746. William Livingston (1723-90), the "Don Quixote of New
Jersey," grandson of Robert Livingston of Ancrum, Scotland, founder of
the Livingston family in America, so famous in the history of New York
State, was Governor from 1776 to 1790. William Paterson (1745-1806),
of Ulster Scot birth, studied at Princeton, admitted to the New Jersey
bar in November, 1767, Attorney-General in 1776, first Senator from
New Jersey to first Congress (1789), succeeded Livingston as Governor
(1790-92), and in 1793 became Justice of the Supreme Court. The city
of Paterson is named after him.
PENNSYLVANIA. Andrew Hamilton, Governor (1701-03), was previously
Governor of East and West Jersey. Sir William Keith (1680-1751), born
in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Deputy Governor from 1717 to 1726.
Patrick Gordon (1644-1736), Governor (1726-28). James Logan
(1674-1751), born in County Armagh, son of Patrick Logan, of Scottish
parentage, was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from
1731 to 1739, and President of the Council (1736-38). He bequeathed
his library of over two thousand volumes to Philadelphia, and they now
form the "Loganian Library" in the Philadelphia Public Library. James
Hamilton (c. 1710-1783), son of Andrew Hamilton, champion of the
liberty of the press, was elected Member of the Provincial Assembly
when but twenty years of age, and was re-elected five times. He was
Deputy Governor 1748-54 and 1759-63. Robert Hunter Morris, of the
famous New Jersey family of that name, Deputy Governor (1745-56).
Joseph Reed, of Ulster Scot descent, Governor (1778-81). John
Dickinson was President from 1782 to 1785.
DELAWARE. Dr. John McKinly (1721-96), first Governor of the state
(1777), was of Ulster Scot birth. (All the above Governors of
Pennsylvania except Reed also held the governorship of Delaware along
with that of Pennsylvania.)
VIRGINIA. Robert Hunter (1707). (_See above under New York._)
Alexander Spotswood, Lieutenant-Governor (1710-22), a scion of the
Spotswood of that Ilk. He was one of the ablest and most popular
representatives of the crown authority in the Colonies and was the
principal encourager of the growth of tobacco which laid the
foundation of Virginia's wealth. Hugh Drysdale, Lieutenant-Governor
(1722-26), was strongly opposed to the introduction of slavery into
the colony. Commissary James Blair (1655-1743), President of Council
(1740-41), was born in Scotland. Robert Dinwiddie, born in Glasgow in
1693, was Governor from 1751 to 1758. He recommended the annexation
of the Ohio Valley and so secured that great territory to the United
States. To him is also due the credit of calling George Washington to
the service of his country. Dinwiddie county is named after him. John
Campbell, Earl of Loudon (1705-82), Governor (1756-58), does not
appear to have come to this colony. John Blair, Governor (1768), son
of Dr. Archibald Blair and nephew of Rev. James Blair, the Commissary.
Many of his descendants have distinguished themselves in the annals of
Virginia. John Murray, fourth Earl of Dunmore, Governor (1771-75), was
previously Governor of New York. Patrick Henry (1736-99), Governor
(1776-79, 1784-86), was born in Hanover County, Virginia, of Scottish
parentage, his father being a native of Aberdeen, his grandmother a
cousin of William Robertson the historian. He became a lawyer in 1760
and in 1763 found his opportunity, when having been employed to plead
against an unpopular tax, his great eloquence seemed suddenly to
develop itself. This defence placed him at once in the front rank of
American orators, and in 1765 he entered the Virginia House of
Burgesses, immediately thereafter becoming leader in Virginia of the
political agitation which preceded the Declaration of Independence. On
the passage of the Stamp Act his voice was the first that rose in a
clear, bold call to resistance, and in May, 1773, he assisted in
procuring the passage of the resolution establishing a Committee of
Correspondence for intercourse with the other colonies. In the
Continental Congress which met in Philadelphia in 1774 he delivered a
fiery and eloquent speech worthy of so momentous a meeting. In 1776 he
carried the vote of the Virginia Convention for independence. He was
an able administrator, a wise and far-seeing legislator, but it is as
an orator that he will forever live in American history. William
Fleming (1729-95), surgeon, soldier, and statesman, Councillor and
Acting-Governor (1781), was born in Jedburgh, Roxburghshire.
NORTH CAROLINA. William Drummond, Governor of "Albemarle County
Colony" (i.e., North Carolina), was a native of Perthshire, a
strenuous upholder of the rights of the people, and ranks as one of
the earliest of American patriots. He took a prominent part in
"Bacon's Rebellion" in 1676, "an insurrection that was brought about
by the insolence and pig-headedness of Sir William Berkeley, then
Governor of Virginia," and was executed the same year. Gabriel
Johnston (1699-1752), Governor (1734-52), was born in Scotland, and
held the Professorship of Oriental Languages in St. Andrews University
before coming to the colonies. Johnston County is named after him.
Matthew Rowan was President of Council and Acting Governor in 1753.
Alexander Martin (1740-1807), was fourth and Acting Governor, 1782-84,
and from 1789 to 1792. Samuel Johnston (1733-1816), sixth Governor
(1788-89), four years Senator, and Justice of the Supreme Court from
1800-1803. Bancroft says the movement for freedom was assisted by "the
calm wisdom of Samuel Johnston, a native of Dundee, in Scotland, a man
revered for his integrity, thoroughly opposed to disorder and
revolution, if revolution could be avoided without yielding to
oppression."
SOUTH CAROLINA. Richard Kirk, Governor (1684). James Glen, born in
Linlithgow in 1701, Governor (1743-56). Lord William Campbell, third
brother of the fifth Duke of Argyll, Governor (1775). John Rutledge
(1739-1800), brother of Edward Rutledge the Signer, was President of
South Carolina (1776-78) and first Governor (1779-82). He was later a
delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Associate Justice
of the United States Supreme Court (1789-91), Chief Justice of South
Carolina (1791-95), and in 1795 appointed Chief Justice of the United
States Supreme Court.
GEORGIA. William Erwin or Ewen, born in England in 1775. John Houston,
son of Sir Patrick Houston, one of the prime instigators and
organizers of the Sons of Liberty (1774), was Governor in 1774-76,
1778. His portrait was destroyed by fire during the Civil War. Houston
County was named in his honor. Edward Telfair, born in the Stewartry
of Kirkcudbright in 1735 and died at Savannah in 1807. When the
revolutionary troubles commenced he earnestly espoused the side of the
colonies, and became known locally as an ardent advocate of liberty.
He was regarded as the foremost citizen of his adopted state, and his
death was deeply mourned throughout the state.
FLORIDA. George Johnstone, a member of the family of Johnstone of
Westerhall, was nominal Governor of Florida when that colony was ceded
by Spain to Great Britain in 1763. He was one of the Commissioners
appointed by the British government to try and restore peace in
America in 1778.
SCOTS AND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Presbyterians in the Colonies, being dissenters, were untrammeled and
free to speak their mind in defence of their country's right, and
history shows that they did not fail their opportunity: the doctrine
of passive obedience never finding favor with them. In the Colonies
the Presbyterian ministers claimed equal rights, religious freedom,
and civil liberty. Their teaching had great influence, particularly in
the South, and Patrick Henry of Virginia, David Caldwell, Dr. Ephraim
Brevard, Rev. Alexander Craighead (d. 1766), and James Hall of North
Carolina, the two Rutledges and Tennant of South Carolina, William
Murdoch of Maryland, James Wilson and Thomas Craighead of
Pennsylvania, Witherspoon of New Jersey, Read and McKean of Delaware,
Livingston of New York, and Thornton of New Hampshire, with their
associates had prepared the people for the coming conflict. In
Maryland the lower house of the General Assembly was a fortress of
popular rights and of civil liberty. Its resolutions and messages,
beginning in 1733, and in an uninterrupted chain until 1755
continually declared "that it is the peculiar right of his Majesty's
subjects not to be liable to any tax or other imposition but what is
laid on them by laws to which they themselves are a party." These
principles were reiterated and recorded upon the journals of every
Assembly until 1771. The resolutions, addresses, and messages of the
lower house during this period discuss with remarkable fullness and
accuracy the fundamental principles of free government, and most of
them emanated from William Murdoch, born in Scotland (c. 1720), who
was one of the leading spirits and the directing force of the
discussion. He led in the resistance to the Stamp Act and in other
ways he united his colony in solid resistance to the attempt to levy
taxes and imposts without their consent. In May, 1775, the General
Synod of the Presbyterian Church met in Philadelphia and issued its
famous "Pastoral Letter," which was sent broadcast throughout the
Colonies, urging the people to adhere to the resolutions of Congress,
and to make earnest prayer to God for guidance in all measures looking
to the defense of the country. This powerful letter was also sent to
the legislature in every colony. Adolphus in his "History of England
from the Accession of George III. to the Conclusion of Peace in 1783,"
published in London in 1802, declared that the Synod and their
circular was the chief cause which led the Colonies to determine on
resistance. There is no question that from the Scots Presbyterians and
their descendants came many of the leaders in the struggle for
independence, as Bancroft has well pointed out in the following words:
"The first voice publicly raised in America to dissolve all connection
with Great Britain came not from the Puritans of New England, nor the
Dutch of New York, nor the planters of Virginia, but from the
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians." Joseph Galloway (1730-1803), the
Loyalist, than whom, says Ford, "there could be no better informed
witness," "held that the underlying cause of the American Revolution
was the activity and influence of the Presbyterian interest," and
further, that "it was the Presbyterians who supplied the Colonial
resistance a lining without which it would have collapsed." And Joseph
Reed of Philadelphia, himself an Episcopalian, said: "The part taken
by the Presbyterians in the contest with the mother country was
indeed, at the time, often made a ground of reproach, and the
connection between their efforts for the security of religious liberty
and opposition to the oppressive measures of Parliament, was then
distinctly seen. A Presbyterian loyalist was a thing unheard of."
Parker, the historian, quotes a writer who says: "When the sages of
America came to settle the forms of our government, they did but copy
into every constitution the simple elements of representative
republicanism, as found in the Presbyterian system. It is a matter of
history that cannot be denied, that Presbyterianism as found in the
Bible and the standards of the several Presbyterian churches, gave
character to our free institutions." Ranke, the German historian,
declared that "Calvin was the founder of the American Government;" and
Gulian C. Verplanck of New York, in a public address, traced the
origin of our Declaration of Independence to the National Covenant of
Scotland. Chief Justice Tilghman (1756-1827) stated that the framers
of the Constitution of the United States were through the agency of
Dr. Witherspoon much indebted to the standards of the Presbyterian
Church of Scotland in molding that instrument.
SCOTS AS SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Of the fifty-six Signers of the Declaration of Independence, no less
than nine can be claimed as directly or indirectly of Scottish origin.
Edward Rutledge (1749-1800), the youngest Signer, was a son of Dr.
John Rutledge who emigrated from Ulster to South Carolina in 1735. The
Rutledges were a small Border clan in Roxburghshire. William Hooper
(1742-1790), was the son of a Scottish minister, who was born near
Kelso and died in Boston in 1767. Hooper early displayed marked
literary ability and entered Harvard University when fifteen years of
age. At twenty-six he was one of the leading lawyers of the colony of
North Carolina. George Ross (1730-79), was also of Scottish parentage.
His nephew's wife, Elizabeth (Griscom) Ross (1752-1832), better known
as "Betsy Ross," was maker of the first national flag. Matthew
Thornton (1714-1803), the distinguished New Hampshire statesman and
physician, was brought to this country from the north of Ireland by
his father when about three years of age. He accompanied the
expedition against Louisburg in 1745, was President of the Provincial
Convention in 1775 and Speaker in January, 1776. In September, 1776,
he was elected to Congress, and in November following signed the
Declaration of Independence, although he had not been one of the
framers. Thomas McKean (1734-1817), was a great-grandson of William
McKean of Argyllshire who moved to Ulster about the middle of the
seventeenth century. He was a member of Congress from Delaware
(1774-83), Chief Justice of Pennsylvania (1777-99), and Governor of
the state from 1799 to 1808. George Taylor (1716-81), described as the
son of a clergyman and "born in Ireland," was most probably an Ulster
Scot. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly of Pennsylvania from
1764 to 1770 and again in 1775. James Wilson (1742-1798), whose fame
was to become as wide and lasting as the nation, was born in St.
Andrews, the old university city of Fifeshire. He was a Delegate to
Congress from Pennsylvania in 1776, Member of the Constitutional
Convention of 1787, and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme
Court from 1789 till his death. He strongly advocated independence as
the only possible means of escape from the evils which had brought
the various commonwealths into such a state of turmoil and
dissatisfaction. Philip Livingston (1716-1778), grandson of Robert
Livingston, the first of the American family of the name, was Member
of Congress from New York in 1776. "His life was distinguished for
inflexible rectitude and devotion to the interests of his country."
Last but greatest of all to be mentioned is the Rev. John Witherspoon
(1722-94). Born in Yester, Scotland, educated in Edinburgh, minister
in Paisley, he was called in 1768 to be President of the College of
New Jersey, now Princeton University. He said he had "become an
American the moment he landed." He took an active part in the public
affairs of the colony of New Jersey, and in the convention which met
to frame a constitution he displayed great knowledge of legal
questions and urged the abolition of religious tests. In June, 1776,
he was elected to the Continental Congress, and in the course of the
debates he displayed little patience with those who urged half
measures. When John Dickinson of Pennsylvania said the country was not
ripe for independence, Witherspoon broke in upon the speaker
exclaiming, "Not ripe, Sir! In my judgment we are not only ripe, but
rotting. Almost every colony has dropped from its parent stem and your
own province needs no more sunshine to mature it." He further declared
that he would rather be hanged than desert his country's cause. One of
his sons was killed at the battle of Germantown.
SCOTS IN THE PRESIDENCY
Of the twenty-nine Presidents of the United States five (Monroe,
Grant, Hayes, Roosevelt, and Wilson) are of Scottish descent, and four
(omitting Jackson who has been also claimed as Scottish by some
writers) are of Ulster Scot descent, namely, Polk, Buchanan, Arthur,
and McKinley. Jackson may possibly have been of Ulster Scot descent as
his father belonged to Carrickfergus while his, mother's maiden name,
Elizabeth Hutchins, or Hutchinson, is Scottish. She came of a family
of linen weavers. Benjamin Harrison might also have been included as
he had some Scottish (Gordon) blood. His wife, Caroline Scott
Harrison, was of Scottish descent.
James Monroe, fifth President, was descended from Andrew Monroe, who
emigrated from Scotland in the middle of the seventeenth century.
President Grant was a descendant of Matthew Grant, who came from
Scotland to Dorchester, Mass., in 1630. George Hayes, ancestor of
Rutherford B. Hayes, nineteenth President, was a Scot who settled in
Windsor prior to 1680. Theodore Roosevelt was Dutch on his father's
side and Scottish on his mother's. His mother was descended from James
Bulloch, born in Scotland about 1701, who emigrated to Charleston, c.
1728, and founded a family which became prominent in the annals of
Georgia. Woodrow Wilson's paternal grandfather, James Wilson, came
from county Down in 1807. His mother, Janet (or Jessie) Woodrow, was a
daughter of Rev. Thomas Woodrow, a native of Paisley, Scotland. James
Knox Polk, eleventh President, was a great-great-grandson of Robert
Polk or Pollok, who came from Ayrshire through Ulster. Many kinsmen of
President Polk have distinguished themselves in the annals of this
country. James Buchanan, fifteenth President, was of Ulster Scot
parentage. Chester Alan Arthur, twenty-first President, was the son of
a Belfast minister of Scottish descent. William McKinley, twenty-fifth
President, was descended from David McKinley, an Ulster Scot, born
about 1730, and his wife, Rachel Stewart. The surname McKinley in
Ireland occurs only in Ulster Scot territory.
SCOTS AS VICE-PRESIDENTS
Of the Vice-Presidents of the United States six at least were of
Scottish or Ulster Scot descent.
John Caldwell Calhoun (1782-1850), of Scottish descent on both sides.
Previous to becoming Vice-President he was Secretary of War in
Monroe's cabinet, and later was Secretary of State in the cabinet of
President Tyler. He was one of the chief instruments in securing the
annexation of Texas. George Mifflin Dallas (1792-1864), son of
Alexander James Dallas, Secretary of the Treasury, was Minister to
Russia in 1837-39, and subsequent to his Vice-Presidency was Minister
to Great Britain (1856-61). John Cabell Breckenridge (1821-75), of
direct Scottish descent, was Vice-President from 1857-61, candidate
for President in 1860, Major-General in the Confederate Army
(1862-64), and Confederate Secretary of War (1864-65). Henry Wilson
(1812-75), of Ulster Scot descent, had a distinguished career as
United States Senator before his election to the Vice-Presidency
(1873-75). His original name was Jeremiah Jones Colbraith (i.e.,
Galbraith). He was also a distinguished author, his most important
work being the "History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in
America" (1872-75). Thomas Andrews Hendricks (1819-85), who held the
Vice-Presidency only for a few months (March to November, 1885), was
of Scottish descent on his mother's side. Adlai Ewing Stevenson
(1835-1914) was Member of Congress from Illinois (1875-77), and First
Assistant Postmaster-General (1885-89), previous to becoming
Vice-President (1893-97).
SCOTS AS CABINET OFFICERS
WAR. William Harris Crawford (1772-1834), descended from David
Crawford, who came from Scotland to Virginia, c. 1654. Secretary of
War (1615-16), Secretary of the Treasury (1816-25), and save for an
unfortunate attack of paralysis, would have been President in 1824. He
was also United States Senator from Georgia (1807-13) and Minister to
France (1813-15). John Bell (1797-1869), Secretary (1841), Senator
(1847-59), and candidate of the Constitutional Union Party for
President in 1860, was probably of Scottish descent. George Washington
Crawford, Secretary of War, was also Governor of Georgia. Simon
Cameron (1799-1889), of Scottish parentage or descent, Senator
(1845-49), Secretary of War in cabinet of Lincoln (1861-62), United
States Minister to Russia (1862-63), and again Senator (1866-77).
James Donald Cameron (1833-1918), son of the preceding, was Secretary
under Grant for a year and United States Senator from 1877 to 1897.
Daniel Scott Lamont (1851-1905), journalist and Secretary under
Cleveland, was of Ulster Scot origin.
TREASURY. George Washington Campbell (1768-1848), Secretary (1814),
was also Minister to Russia (1810-20). Alexander James Dallas
(1759-1817), Secretary (1814-16), was the son of a Scottish physician,
Dr. Robert C. Dallas. During 1815-16 he also discharged the functions
of Secretary of War. Had a distinguished career as a statesman. Louis
McLane (1776-1857), son of Allen McLane, a Revolutionary soldier and
Speaker of the Legislature of Delaware, had a distinguished career as
Senator from Delaware (1827-29), Minister to Great Britain (1829-31),
Secretary of the Treasury (1831-33), and Secretary of State (1833-34).
His son, Robert Milligan McLane (1815-98), had a distinguished career
as a diplomat. James Guthrie (1792-1869), Secretary in the cabinet of
President Pierce (1853-57). Thomas Ewing (1789-1871), was United
States Senator from Ohio (1831-37), Secretary of the Treasury (1841),
Secretary of the Interior (1849-50). He traced his descent from
Findlay Ewing, a native of Loch Lomond, who distinguished himself in
the Revolution of 1688 under William of Orange. Hugh McCulloch
(1808-95), descended from Hugh McCulloch, Bailie of Dornoch,
Sutherlandshire, was Comptroller of the Currency (1863-65), Secretary
of the Treasury (1865-69, 1884-85). He funded the National Debt
during his first term as Secretary. Charles Foster (1825-1904),
Governor of Ohio (1880-84), was Secretary of the Treasury from 1891 to
1893. Franklin MacVeagh (b. 1837), of Scottish ancestry, also held the
office under President Taft.
INTERIOR. Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart (b. 1807), Secretary in
President Fillmore's cabinet, was son of Archibald Stuart, a Scot who
fought in Revolutionary War. Thomas Ewing is already referred to
(under Treasury). Samuel Jordan Kirkwood, Secretary of the Interior
under Garfield, was also three times Governor of Iowa.
NAVY. Benjamin Stoddert (1751-1813), Secretary (1798-1801), was
grandson of a Scot. William Alexander Graham (1804-75), Secretary
(1850), was also Governor of North Carolina. He projected the
expedition to Japan under Commodore Perry. James Cochrane Dobbin
(1814-57). Paul Morton (1857-1911), Secretary (1904-05), was said to
be descended from Richard Morton, a blacksmith and ironmaster of
Scottish birth, who came to America about the middle of the eighteenth
century.
STATE. James Gillespie Blaine (1830-93), Secretary (1881, 1889-92) and
unsuccessful candidate for President in 1884. John Hay (1838-1905),
one of the ablest Secretaries of State (1898-1905) this country ever
had, was also of Scottish descent. He also held several diplomatic
posts in Europe (1865-70), culminating in Ambassador to Great Britain
(1897-98).