The 1718 Migration – From Ulster to New England

Courtesy of Monreagh Heritage Centre & Ulster Historical Foundation

Submitted by
Jim McKane, Ontario, Canada
jamckane[at]gmail.com

It was not by means the first migration of people from Ulster to America, but it was probable the first that was organised successfully to bring groups of settlers from one definite catchment area, and importantly, these were people who wanted to continue to live together in the new land.

Most people will never have heard of the 1718 Migration, in which significant numbers of families from the north of Ireland travelled on sailing ships to BOSTON in America, and thence to found towns and communities in America at first MASSACHUSETTS, NEW HAMPSHIRE and MAINE, and then onwards throughout the continent.

While having special relevance to the area’s most directly affected – the BANN and FOYLE river valleys and adjoining districts, along with New England in the United States – 1718 and the events of that year have importance for Ulster and North America and the special relationship between the two.

 

Click Here for a pdf file, The 1718 Migration – From Ulster to New England, from the Ulster Historical Foundation

More Info on Rev. William Boyd

1718 Petition of Ulstermen, March 1718