I am Scots Irish with roots in the Great Smoky Mountains. I enjoy exploring my Scottish American heritage, eating homemade shortbread cookies and occasionally having a wee dram of peaty, smoky whisky.
While my DNA says I have connections to Scotland and Ireland, I’m still learning which ancestors immigrated and from where. But like the estimated 20 to 30 million other Americans of Scottish or Scots-Irish descent, I am thoroughly enamored with my ancestry. I want to know and experience it all. And I’m working on it. My husband and I host a Clan tent at Highland festivals and games in Colorado, and he’s training to become a Highland games athlete! We enjoy a wee dram, celebrate St. Andrew’s Day, toast the haggis on Rabbie Burns birthday, make shortbread regularly and are planning our first trip to Scotland. We have kilts and flasks, but the only Gaelic we know is “Slàinte Mhath” (good health)!
I’m a native of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. My ancestors were the pioneers who first crossed and settled the Appalachian mountain ranges in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Some, though not all, were Scottish American and Scots Irish.
About the blog
On the Scottish American Insider, I’ll be exploring the history of the Scottish-American and Scots-Irish settlers in the United States, especially as relates to my ancestors; debunking commonly-held myths among Scottish Americans about the history of Scotland; and sharing experiences with Scottish Clans at Highland festivals and games throughout the United States and Scotland. I’ll also be writing about tartans, kilts and other Celtic apparel, favorite wee drams, making and eating Scottish food, discovering kin, traveling to Scotland, present-day Scottish Americans and more.
I am not an expert on Scotland or Scottish Americans or Scots Irish. But as I learn and experience, I will share here on the Scottish American Insider, and together we will know more than we did before!
