Although today this group is commonly referred to as Scots or Scotch Irish, it is preferred that they be referred to as Ulster Scots. They include many of our Culbert branches, and this group term suggests we have origins from Scotland while also having connections to Ireland.
Although no specific origin for the Culberts has been identified, it has long been suspected that our family origins are from Scotland. This belief is somewhat supported by the Culbert birth records I have found to date, which for Scotland the earliest is Patrick Culbert, b. 1564, to James Cuthbert and Iden Hutton, in Dunfermline, Fifeshire, while for Ireland the earliest is James Culbert, b. 1651, in Antrim, County Antrim. In early records is was not uncommon for the surnames Cuthbert/son, and Culbert/son to be attributed to the same persons.
I speculate that the earliest Culberts coming to Ireland from Scotland arrived in Ireland some time band better economic opportunities in Ireland. Once in Ireland, some Culberts remained, while others migrated to other parts of the world, continuing to seek a better life, particularly to North America.
Only a very few Culberts living in Ireland have been found to have been significant property or business owners through the late 1800s. Thus, it is also supposed that perhaps one reason for our Culbert ancestors, as tenants to Undertakers on their Scottish estates, to migrate from Scotland resulted from their perceptions that a better life could be enjoyed in Ireland, starting with the formation of the Irish Plantations, and particularly the Plantation of Ulster in 1607-1608. Thus, a good reason for referring to this group as Ulster Scots. Lists of tenants on those early Plantations are hard to come by, but some do exist in specific estate records compiled by the plantation owners and undertakers.
