Chapter 4

NEW YORK. Robert Hunter, Governor (1710-19), previously Governor of Virginia, was a descendant of the Hunters of Hunterston, Ayrshire. He died Governor of Jamaica (1734). He was described as one of the ablest of the men sent over from Britain to fill public positions. William Burnet (1688-1729), Governor in 1720, was also Governor of Massachusetts (1720-1729). He was the eldest son of Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Sarum. Smith, the historian of New York, calls him "a man of sense and polite breeding, a well bred scholar." John Montgomerie, Governor of New York and New Jersey (1728-31), was born in Scotland. John Hamilton, Governor (1736). Cadwallader Golden (1688-1776), Lieutenant-Governor (1761-1776), born in Duns, Berwickshire, was distinguished as physician, botanist, mathematician, and did much to develop the resources of the state. O'Callaghan in his "Documentary History of the State of New York," says: "Posterity will not fail to accord justice to the character and memory of a man to whom this country is most deeply indebted for much of its science and for many of its most important institutions, and of whom the State of New York may well be proud." John Murray, fourth Earl of Dunmore, Governor (1770-71), afterwards Governor of Virginia. James Robertson (1710-1788), born in Fifeshire, was Governor in 1780. Andrew Elliot, born in Scotland in 1728, was Lieutenant-Governor and administered the royalist government from 1781 to November, 1783.

NEW JERSEY. Robert Barclay of the Quaker family of Barclay of Ury was 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.