President Woodrow Wilson was the descendant of Protestants from Northern Ireland. His ancestors' former home was in the news recently, when it caught on fire
The thatched roof of the ancestral home of a former American president near Strabane, County Tyrone, has been extensively damaged by fire.
The cottage at Dergalt, which was once owned by the family of Woodrow Wilson, caught fire around lunchtime on Thursday.
Woodrow Wilson was president of the United States from 1913 to 1921.
Police said the fire was the result of an accident. Fire crews managed to save some artefacts and furniture.
Local historian Michael Kennedy said: "It's bad news from a local history - and even from an Irish history - point of view," he said.
President Wilson's grandfather emigrated from County Tyrone to North Carolina in the early 19th century.
Perhaps as many as 30 million Americans are the descendants of protestants from Northern Ireland, also known as Ulstermen or Ulster Scots. Most of them came there from Scotland in the 17th century, although there were some who came from England and others from France. Many of them moved to the American colonies in the 18th century, or came to America after the Revolution, as Wilson's family did.
And many of us don't even realize where our ancestors came from. I didn't know that I was descended from Ulstermen until a few years ago when I began researching my geneaology. And I also didn't understand what was really happening during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. In the press it was usually depicted as Irish revolutionaries struggling against British occupiers. The fact was and remains today that most people in Northern Ireland want to remain part of the UK. Terrorist groups like Sinn Fein/IRA were waging war against our kinsmen in Northern Ireland.
I am pleased to see that the violence has largely stopped. But if it should resume again, the IRA should be aware that American Ulstermen will not allow our kinsmen to be attacked with impunity.
No comments:
Post a Comment