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The Origins of Scottish Settlers to Georgia
In 1733, General James Oglethorpe invited a village of highlanders from Inverness to emigrate to Georgia. Historically, this village had sided with the Stuarts who wished to restore themselves to the throne of Scotland. The young Flora MacDonald hid bonnie Prince Charles from the English. The Scottish people were actively engaged in secret maneuvers with the Stuarts and used aggressive guerrilla warfare to fight the invading English armies. Because they chose unwisely, they lost their homes and economy. Oglethorpe, having Scottish roots himself, enticed the highlanders to Georgia because their military prowness was needed to fight the Spanish in Florida. The Scots named the village "New Inverness" after their homeland. The name was later changed to Darien. Indeed, the village of Darien, situated between Savannah and Brunswick, on the old 1722 site of Fort King George, was erected to serve as a barrier. The site of Fort King George, founded about 1722, abandoned by the English about 1724.
Here is a list of the emigrants from Scotland who established a new home and using their guerrilla tacts, virtually helped Oglethorpe win the war with Spain. The genealogies are available to members of Georgia Pioneers and are found under "Biographies"
Carr, Cross, Cuthbert, Dunbar, Graham, Houstoun, Mackay, McBean, McIntosh, McLean, McKenzie, Telfair.
Become a Member and have access to passenger lists, biographical sketches, genealogies and much more of the colonial period The book Colonial Georgians by Jeannette Holland Austin is also included as a database in the "colonial" designation of the website.
Inverness and Isle of Skye, Scotland
The word "Inverness" is from the Scottish Gaelic "Inbhir nis" and means the mouth of the River Ness.
The city itself lies near the site of the famous Battle of Culloden which occurred during the 18th century and at the northeastern extremity of the Great Glen (An Gleann Mor). It is at this point that the River Ness enters the Inverness-Moray Firth. The area appears to have been settled during the 6th century. The first royal charter was granted by Dabid mac Mail Choluim (King David I) in the 12th century.
Castle Urquhart dating from the 13th century. It was built on a rocky promontary on the banks of Loch Ness. Now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The castle is thought to have been constructed during the 6th century by King Brude son of Maechon of the northern Picts. There were some 1983 excavations of the castle which date it between 460 and 660 A. D. The site was been granted to the Durward family in 1229, and they were probably the builders of the castle. King Edward I of England captured the castle in 1296. At that time it was owned by Sir Andrew de Moray in the course of his clearing the English from northern Scotland. In 1329 Sir Robert Lauder of Quarrelwood was the constable of Urquhart Castle and his grandson, Robert Chisholm, succeeded him in 1359. During the 1500s, the Earl of Ross seized the castle from the Crown, however, in 1509 it was recovered by the Crown. The MacDonald clan captured the castle in 1545. However, it fell fate to the internal fight of the Stuarts to regain the throne of Scotland. The Williamite troops held the castle against the Jacobit forces, but destroyed it about 1692. This was to ensure that the castle would not become a Jacobite stronghold. Bu 1698 the Stuart pretenders were still fighting their cause. And about thirty years afterwards, the clans left their homes for America.
Dominated by the Cuillin hills, the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. As early as the Norse rule, the clans MacLeod and MacDonald occupied this island. Many of the first settlers to Georgia were from the Isle of Skye, MacLeod and MacDonald.
Loch Loyne, Fort William and Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland.