What follows is historical information of some relevance to my research on Culbert families, particularly those from Great Britain.
Huguenots in France
In France in the 1500s, the development of printing was an important factor in the development of the Protestant Reformation. Religious information was closely held by the established Roman Catholic Church. Only the educated could read. And, only the rich could afford to own a Bible, which had to be hand written. With the development of printing the Bible could be now made available cheaply to everyone, and people eagerly sought it. The effects caused an awakening to a new religious and political life. [9]
In order to halt these changes, the Roman Catholic Church tried to ban the printing of the Bible. The Church also persecuted the printers and the people who possessed a copy, but it was all in vain. Charles IX, a boy of ten, succeeded to the throne in 1560, and in defiance of the Papists, in 1562 he issued a royal edict guaranteeing the Protestants the right to worship. [9]
Increasing tensions between Roman Catholics and Protestants from the mid-1500’s were a result of the growing political influence of the French Protestants, known as Huguenots, and the fear that they would eventually take control of the government. [7] In March, 1563, Huguenots meeting at Wassy (near Joinville in Champagne), France were massacred. This was the signal for Catholic France to rise against the Protestants, and massacres and the burning of churches occurred throughout the country, igniting a fierce civil war. By 1570. both factions were unable to continue, and a peace treaty was signed guaranteeing Protestants the right to worship and equality under the law. However, the queen-mother, Catherine de Medicis, conspired to destroy the Huguenots. Under the pretense of national reconciliation in the form of a wedding between Henry of Bearn (King of Navarre and leader of the Huguenots) to Margaret (the queen-mother’s daughter), King Charles IX ordered the death of the leading Huguenots on St. Bartholomew’s Day, 24 Aug 1572, in Paris. The massacre continued for three days in Paris, and then spread to the countryside and throughout France. Some say 70-100 thousand people were killed. Those who survived began to flee France for other countries. [9]
The flight of the Huguenots had thus begun, and occurred in four different waves:
1) During the latter half of the 16th century, due to the persecutions instigated by Catharine de Medici;
2) In the early 17th century, following the siege of La Rochelle brought about by Richelieu’s policies;
3) After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, when the code of penal laws was instituted; and
4) Following the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. [10]
The civil war in France continued until Henry IV succeeded to the throne in 1594. In 1598, Henry issued the Edict of Toleration at Nantes, which again granted the Huguenots the freedom to worship, and allowed them to gain public employment, access to schools, and representation in some parliaments. However, these privileges only lasted until 1610, when Henry IV was assassinated. [9]
Civil war again broke out, and the massacres resumed. By the 1620s the Protestants had been defeated everywhere in France, and had lost their political power. In 1629, Louis XIII issued the Edict of Pardon, granting Protestants freedom to worship and legal equality. From then on the Huguenots ceased to be distinguished as a separate political party in France. [9]
With the reign of Louis XIV, measures were again imposed upon the Huguenots restricting their religious freedom. Huguenots again began to leave France, and further edicts were issued restricting travel, forcing their conversion to Catholicism, and destroying the Protestant churches. In 1683, a pretext was found to begin mass executions of Protestants. In October 1685, the Act of Revocation of the Edict of Toleration of Nantes spelled the death-knell for the Huguenots, and all remaining Protestant churches were demolished. Private worship was abolished. All Protestant ministers were banished from France. All Protestant schools were closed, and parents were prohibited from instructing their children in their faith. All property of Protestant refugees, who failed to return to France, was confiscated. The borders were guarded, and anyone caught escaping the country was sent to the galleys, or to prison for life. Still, the Huguenots refused to be converted, and continued to flee France as best they could. It is said that some 300-400 thousand people were successful in gaining their freedom elsewhere, particularly across the frontiers to Switzerland, Luxembourg, Holland, and Germany, and across the water to England. [9]
The exodus continued for many years, and in some places entire towns were largely depopulated. Protestantism ceased to exist in France for almost a century. France thus lost its middle class, its skilled manufacturers, its merchants, and its other professionals. Wherever these people settled they began new and industrious businesses that significantly contributed to the wealth and prosperity of their new countries. France had a noticeable dearth of great men after this time, because most had fled. Political and religious liberty had ended, replaced by economic stagnation, political depravity, religious hypocrisy, and moral decay. [9]
Huguenots In Ireland
There is evidence to suggest that there were isolated Huguenot arrivals in Ireland in the latter half of the 16th Century, but they resulted in no permanent settlements. The few Huguenots to arrive in any numbers were almost certainly those brought over by the Lord Lieutenant Ormand in the 1660s to work as weavers on the outskirts of Dublin. [8]
The early waves of Huguenot immigrants to Ireland came from the western provinces of France, chiefly Poitou (in Poitiers) and Charente, but after the Revocation in 1685, they were followed by refugees from the Calvinist heartland of the south, principally from Languedoc (in Montpellier, Nîmes). Some came directly to Ireland from France. Many more went first to Britain, while others had established provisional refuge in the Swiss cantons, and were later attracted to Ireland by the resettlement schemes created by a key figure, Lord Galway. [8]
The most recent research suggests some 5,000 Huguenots arrived, in total, during the last three decades of the 17th Century, bringing with them the essentially urban skills of banking and finance, trade and industry, the professors and administrators, as well as a tradition of investment in or ownership of land. [8]
Much of the overland migration from France pivoted around Frankfort, which acted as a primitive clearing house for refugees and their families, of whom only a small proportion ended up in Britain. Nevertheless, it was from Britain that the majority of Huguenots came to Ireland. [8]
The most obvious initial impact made by the Huguenots in Ireland was in the military, and Harman Murtagh’s article recreates the contribution of Huguenot regiments to Williamite success in the wars of 1689-1691, including the Battle of the Boyne, which came to have an important symbolic significance in the political discussions of the 20th Century. [8]
There are a number of dominant currents that emerge from Huguenot papers. The Huguenots had an inferior civic status conferred on them by the custom and law of the times. It was hardship of a peculiarly systematic, institutionalized kind, which these first refugees had to endure. The highly significant legislation of Charles II, with the Act of 1662, encouraging Protestant strangers to inhabit the Kingdom of Ireland, played a dominant role in the naturalization and settlement policy of the British crown. And, it was this legislation, renewed and made permanent under George I, that favored the settlement of Huguenots in Ireland. [8]
One practical fact is that the exiles had relatively easy access to significant financial reserves in the commercial and financial networks of France and Europe. As a consequence, the mercantile subjugation of Ireland by Britain may not have been too onerous for Huguenot business houses, and the initial handicap of being a stranger probably became an advantage. [8]
The Huguenots survive in the collective folk memory of Ireland as a gentle, industrious community. Huguenot settlement was relatively free of acrimony and resentment. [8]
Ireland in the 1600-1700s
In the 1600s, conditions in Scotland promoted the migration of Scots to Ireland. [3] Early in this century, King James of England confiscated the lands of the departed Gaelic Lords of Ulster. [1] These lands were subsequently given or sold to men who began the plantations of the Protestant British in Ulster. Many immigrants from Scotland arrived, and by 1606 they were producing a useful harvest from lands that not very much earlier had been largely vacant. This “civilizing enterprize” served to lessen the risk of further native rebellion and foreign invasion in Ulster. The “printed book” of conditions for successful applicants for Ulster land was published in London in April 1610. This scheme was to promote the removal of native Irish inhabitants, although there were some favored Irish who were left in possession of some lands. [1] Estimates of up to 100,000 Scots settled in Ireland during that time, [3] however the great migration to Ulster actually drew from every class of British society. [1] On 15 Aug 1610, James, Earl of Abercorn, was granted Irish denization [17] [4] and on 28 Mar 1619 a grant of Strabane in the Barony of Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland, with 2,000 acres at Strabane, 2,000 acres at Doaghlong, and 1,500 acres at another location. [5] In the Ulster Plantation, east Donegal was extensively settled by Scots, while the west part remained in the hands of the native Irish families. [2]
In 1641, the Irish rebelled in an attempt to regain their lands. [1]
By the late 1600s, planters and natives in Ireland mingled freely. Gaelic families often dropped the “O” and “Mac” from their names and became Protestants. [1]
In the early 1700s, the English Parliament limited the export of woolen cloth from Ireland to England in order to encourage this market by English merchants. This development had the effect of impoverishing the Scotch Irish in Ulster, who lost their primary market. Starting about 1717, and continuing until the onset of the Revolutionary War in America, thousands of Scots Irish Ulster men and their families emigrated from Ireland to America. Religious restrictions in Ulster also played a role in their emigration. Although these emigrants traveled to various cities in America, a majority came to Pennsylvania because the policies of William Penn were recognized to be fairer than those of other colonies.
Emigration from Scotland
There were a multitude of reasons for emigration from Scotland. These included the results of war, religious persecution, and a strong desire to seek better opportunities elsewhere. With regards to the influence of war, as a result of the Battle of Dunbar, for example, about 1652 Oliver Cromwell sent a large number of Scots prisoners to New England in America. [15]
The Plantation of Ulster in Ireland was formed early in the 1600s, and an estimated 100,000 Scots emigrated to Ireland during that time. [3] Also in the 1600s, Scots were required to take an oath of allegiance to their ruler. For various reasons, including religion, some refused. Many, known as Presbyterian Covenanters who refused to take the oath, were put in town dungeons where they died of neglect.
Beginning in the late 1600s, the Scots Covenanters faced increased persecution, and many went into hiding in the countryside. Some were accused, rightly or wrongly did not matter, of carrying arms or spying against the King’s soldiers. Many were executed on false accusations without any trial whatsoever. Others of some means were forced to host or supply a group of soldiers for a long period of time during the occupation of their towns. During these occupations, it was common for the soldiers to ransack and pillage the town. Others, accused of various crimes or having participated in an uprising, were sentenced to transportation to the plantations of America. By 1683, the army was fully empowered to fine and imprison persons found to be against the Episcopal Church, or accused of favoring the Covenanters, according to the law. [14]
One of the more fortunate men was George Scott, Laird of Pittochie, who was given a promise of liberty and a gift of about 100 prisoners, provided that he transport them to eastern New Jersey and land them before Sept 1686. [16] The ship Henry & Francis was chartered from New Castle, and 125 people, including Scott, departed for America. [16] Thirty-one died on the voyage, including Scott, and his son-in-law assumed his role. [16] Upon arrival in New Jersey, they were not welcomed on the coast, but further inland (thought to be Woodbridge) they were made very welcome. [16] The following Spring Johnstone had them all cited before a legal tribunal of the province because they had not voluntarily gone to the ship nor bargained in any way for their passage. Thus, they were not in accordance with the laws of the province, and were scattered throughout eastern Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut. [16] Thereafter, from time to time, other Covenanters were banished from Scotland to New Jersey, Delaware, and South Carolina until the latter part of the 1600s, when this religious persecution ended. [13]
Emigration From Ireland
There were a multitude of reasons for emigration from Ireland. These included religious persecution, famine, and a strong desire to seek better opportunities elsewhere.
The establishment of the Plantations of Ulster in the early 1600s encouraged Scottish and English migrations to this Province. By 1672, it was estimated that 100,000 Scots resided in Ulster, along with 200,000 English scattered among all four Irish Provinces. [12, p. 3)] However, by 1715, the Scots were no longer interested in migrating to Ireland due to the change in the acceptance of Presbyterianism in Scotland, as well as the end of cheap land being available in Ulster. [12]
The Scots who settled in the province of Ulster in Ireland were perhaps the first group to begin a wave of migration from Ireland to America. Having been encouraged to migrate to Ireland by grants and low rents, they experienced poor harvests, religious discrimination due to their refusal to convert to the Church of Ireland, and high rents. [11] Small numbers of Scots Presbyterians from Ulster had emigrated to America as early as the late 1600s, mainly from the Laggan area in northeastern Donegal. The first phase of more significant Ulster migration to America occurred from 1718-1720. It resulted from the belief that opportunity in America would be more favorable than continuing to face the increasing land rents, periodic crop failures, and higher food prices being experienced in Ireland. [12, p. 29] Those who were Scots Presbyterians probably also felt some justified religious resentment. [12, p. 31) In 1718, 11 Presbyterian ministers and nearly 300 members left Derry in five ships bound for Boston. The Aghadowey congregation under James McGregor settled Londonderry, New Hampshire. Another ship left Derry soon after, and settled in Casco Bay, Maine. An estimated 3,500 Presbyterians left Ulster for America between 1725-1727, and this phase of emigration reached a peak in 1728-29.
In the mid-1700s emigration ebbed and flowed as conditions in Ireland changed. Then, in the 1770s, emigration to America again increased to about 10,000 per year as rents continued to rise, harvests failed, and the economically critical linen trade slumped. Then, emigration from Ireland almost ceased with the beginning of the American Revolution.
The unsuccessful rebellion of 1798 affected people throughout Ireland. Although dissatisfaction with England’s rule was expressed mainly in the south and west of the country, there was measurable support for the failed rebellion in the Ulster counties of Antrim and Down. The people involved were primarily Protestants, but there some were Catholics as well. [11]
In 1798, over a span of about three weeks, about 30,000 people throughout Ireland were killed in the rebellion. Many were armed only with pitchforks and pikes, and some were women and children. Following the end of this uprising, the commander of government forces in Ulster issued a general amnesty to the rebels in Antrim, however those of Down were shot. The two main Ulster rebel leaders were executed. These actions promoted a widespread fear of further reprisals and repression, and encouraged migration. [11]
The 1801 Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland forced wealthy Protestants to give up their power, while Catholic emancipation was offered to the majority, although it never really was realized. The loss of Ireland’s parliament further weakened the home industries, while augmenting competition from English factories. Thus, the union of Ireland with England generated further discontent among poor Protestants, and heightened sensitivities to the continued oppression of Catholics. [11]
Emigration to America reached a peak as a result of the devastating potato blight that first struck in 1845, and subsequently returned in 1846-1848. Although the majority of people, conditioned to scarcity and want, managed to survive the first outbreak, a terrible famine ensued as the blight returned to affect nearly the entire island. More than one million people died from starvation and disease. The British government did little to help. Many who survived were helped by individuals and private charities. More than one million people emigrated during those years. [11]
Those who chose to migrate to America, rather than Canada or Australia, were attracted to the major port cities of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, and New Orleans. Each of these cities had its own advantages and disadvantages. Philadelphia, particularly, presented opportunities, because it was a thriving industrial city, with jobs available to both the skilled craftsman and the general laborer. Equally attractive was the availability of housing for purchase at reasonable prices or for cheap rents. The Irish stressed the importance of owning their own homes, and many achieved that after not too many years. Philadelphia also offered one additional attraction to the Irish immigrant – it was the cradle of American freedom from British colonialism. [11]
Conditions in Ireland Encouraging Emigration Abt. 1815
Classes of People
Almost all land title was owned by a landlord class, who leased or rented their estates to farmers and cotters. [6, p. 6] A majority of these estates were held in entail, meaning that the owners could not sell the land outright without the consent of the eldest son once he had reached his majority. [6, p. 9]
The farming class was populous at this time. Most were holders of 30 acres or less. Although possibly indistinguishable from peasants in some ways, farmers normally held farm leases for long terms. A leasehold of 21 years created a freehold, and entitled the occupier a vote. Unfortunately, at the end of a long lease the land was often subdivided among the holder’s many family members, with each then holding no more than a peasant. [6, pp. 34-35]
The laborer class was the largest class of people in 1815. Typically, they held a tenement, but little or no land. Unemployment was common, and they customarily paid a part of their rent in labor. Low wages and lack of income made these Irish peasants dependent upon the food supply they could raise themselves, and this accounts for the tenacity with which they clung to what little they had. [6, p. 16] Among these peasants, women commonly married before 20, and men one or two years later. Large families were common. [6, p. 32] In general, the peasant class was too poor, too ignorant, and too homeloving to seek escape through emigration. [6, p. 34]
The Land
In 1785 the laws that prevented Roman Catholics from holding land were repealed. [6, p. 4] This encouraged an increase in the number of small farms, which in turn encouraged an increase in population [6, p. 4] These new farmers had little capital to pay wages, and so they paid their laborers by offering them land. [6, p. 4]
These lands were held on long term leases, most of which could not be changed. [6, pp. 9-10] Middlemen took large leases from the landowners, and then sublet them at high rents. [6, pp. 23-26] When a lease expired, it was common for the owner to evict tenants for non-payment. [6, pp. 9-10] Conditions were such that rents were normally in arrears by six months or more. [6, pp. 9-10] Prices for grains dropped after the War of 1812, making it more difficult for tenants to keep their rental payments current. [6, pp. 9-10] It was not until the 1840s, when many of the leases had expired, that the custom of renting land from year to year became prevalent. [6, pp. 9-10] Thus, there was a progressive degradation in the Irish farming classes, as good tenants were evicted, to be immediately replaced by poorer ones. [6, p. 12]
The landowners could not raise funds for land improvements. [6, p. 9] With high rents and year to year rentals there was little incentive to improve these small holdings. Instead, there was every incentive to wring everything possible from the land every year. [6, p. 16] Because of this, most farmland was managed to maximize current yields rather than to sustain long-term productivity. While the custom in most of Ireland discouraged agricultural improvements (and instead encouraged land deterioration), the Ulster farmers were in a more favorable state because of the tradition that the tenants be allowed by the owners to make improvements that benefited the tenants, rather than having the owners be responsible for making the improvements. In addition, when a tenant died, the landlord or his agent decided which member of the family received the farm, rather than allowing it to be subdivided. The remaining family members were paid a small sum in lieu of receiving the land, and these funds could be saved for an emergency or could provide the means to emigrate. [6, pp. 33-38]
The Pressure of Population
In 1821 the population density of Ireland was greater than any European country. [6, p. 4]
Transportation
Transportation again became readily available after the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, and as a result, emigration from Ireland increased. [6, pp. 66-67]
Disturbances
Conflicts, particularly over land, were common. These disturbances were exacerbated by the ready availability of illicit liquor, which contributed to drunkenness. The land of any tenant evicted for non-payment was quickly reoccupied, and the dispossessed sometimes would attack the new tenants in retribution. The frequency of such disturbances and their effects were a powerful incentive to emigration. [6, pp. 23-26] At its worst, it kept society in a state where improvement was virtually impossible. Even two or three disturbances per year were sufficient to sustain a feeling of insecurity, and this was a strong deterrent to the investment of capital in agriculture. [6, p. 31]
Agricultural Conditions
The five years following the War of 1812 were characterized by poor harvests and depressed markets. [6, p. 47] The poor cultivator fought a losing battle against the climate, deteriorating soils, and a lack of capital [6, p. 47]
References
[1] Bardon, Jonathan, 1992, A History of Ulster, Blackstaff Press, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
[2] William O’Kane and Eoin Kerr, Irish Gravestone Inscriptions: A Guide to Sources in Ulster, p. 26.
[3] David Dobson, 1999, Scots-Irish Links, 1575-1725, Clearfield Press, printed for the Clearfield Company by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, Parts I-II, ISBN: 0-8063-4686-8, Part I.
[4] Irish Patent Roll, In: David Dobson, 2001, Scots-Irish Links, 1575-1725, Clearfield Press, printed for the Clearfield Company by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, Part III, ISBN: 0-8063-5102-0, p. 1.
[5] Calendar of Carew, manuscript series Nos. 211/122 and 124, In: David Dobson, 2001, Scots-Irish Links, 1575-1725, Clearfield Press, printed for the Clearfield Company by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, Part III, ISBN: 0-8063-5102-0, p. 1.
[6] William Forbes Adams, 1932, Ireland and Irish Emigration to the New World from 1815 to the Famine, Yale University Press, Reissued 1967, Russell & Russell, New York, LCCN 66-27034.
[7] World Book Encyclopedia.
[8] Introduction and summary sections of the “Dublin Colloquium on the Huguenot Refuge in Ireland 1685-1985”, which was held 9-12 April 1985 at Trinity College, Dublin and published by The Glendale Press in 1987.
[9] Samuel Smiles, 1867, The Huguenots: Their Settlements, Churches & Industries in England and Ireland, John Murray, Albemarle Street, London
[10] Grace Lawless Lee, The Huguenot Settlements in Ireland, 1936, Longmans, Green & co., London, p. 2
[11] Raymond D. Adams, 1992, An Alphabetical Index to Ulster Emigration to Philadelphia, 1803-1850, Genealogical Publishing Company for Clearfield Company, Baltimore, Maryland.
[12] R.J. Dickson, 1966, Ulster Emigration to Colonial America, 1717-1775, Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K.
[13] Commissioner’s Reports, Boston Records, Vol. 29, Doc. 100, at the Massachusetts Historical Association, Boston, has records of various sailings from Scotland to Boston between 1716 and 1766.
[14] Archibald M’Kay, 1864, The History of Kilmarnock, Second Edition.
[15] New World Immigrants, Vol. 1 has a small (16 page) account of this event and where these prisoners ended up. Further research on these immigrants can be pursued by consulting New England History General Register, I 378 and Suffolk Deeds, I 5-6. These sources provide immigrant names arranged in alphabetical order, but misspellings are common.
[16] New World Immigrants, Vol. 1, pp. 421-423 has a short account of these events, with a passenger list, from the work of Miss S. Helen Fields, Covenanters and the Work of the Rev. John Cuthbertson, Washington, D.C.
[17] Denization was the first means whereby an alien could acquire British nationality, and can be traced back to the 13th century. It was the forerunner of naturalization, but it also continued alongside naturalization, the main difference being that letters of denization were granted by the Crown, whereas naturalization was, and still is, the result of an Act of Parliament. Persons who were British subjects by denization could not pass on the status to their heirs. Occasionally, a claim to citizenship, based upon descent from a denizated ancestor, makes an appearance in the Home Office. Although such a claim cannot be formally acknowledged, it has sometimes been possible, in the past, to grant the claimant administrative recognition. Source: Immigration & Nationality Directorate of the United Kingdom
