Born Fighting: Scots-Irishmen of the Old Schenectady District

Name: Born Fighting: Scots-Irishmen of the Old Schenectady District
Start: 2025-03-15T14:00:00-04:00
Location: Mabee Farm Historic Site - SCHS

Schedule

Sat, 15 Mar, 2025 at 02:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Mabee Farm Historic Site - SCHS | Rotterdam Junction, NY

This program is part of our Winter Speaker Series, and will be presented in-person at Mabee Farm Historic Site.
In the early 1750s Scots-Irish families from New England began moving into an unsettled region about halfway between Schenectady and Fort Hunter, into what is today the Town of Princetown. More of these families came, and their combined effort greatly contributed to the cause of American Independence during the Revolutionary War. Scots-Irish Presbyterians hated the British and throughout the Colonies overwhelmingly fought against the Crown. The men of this district were organized into a regiment named “2nd Albany,” a good portion of them living in the settlement of Currybush, a corruption of the original name for the “Corry’s Brook” patent. In this presentation we will gather together and examine the threads of Scots-Irish resistance to British Rule, following some of the men and their families throughout the war, and tracing how this thriving community of revolutionary men and women disappeared from history, leaving only remnants of its existence.
Terry McMaster researches immigration and settlement patterns, family connections and border warfare along Colonial New York’s 18th century frontier. He is especially interested in the immigration of Ulster Scots to New England and New York, and their overwhelming support for American Independence. He has presented at Ft. Plain Museum’s American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference, and at the Ulster-American Heritage Symposium at the University of Toronto. Terry’s ancestors helped settle the western frontier in the valleys of the Mohawk and the upper Susquehanna prior to the Revolutionary War, and they were living at Cherry Valley when the settlement was destroyed on 11 November 1778. His ancestor Capt. David McMaster was a member of the Tryon Co. Cmte of Safety, led the 6th company, 3rd Regiment, Tryon Co. Militia, and fought at the battles of Oriskany, Saratoga, Klock’s Field and Johnstown. Terry is an independent historian, an artist, and a psychotherapist in Albany, NY. He serves on the boards of the Van Alstyne Homestead Society and the Cherry Valley Historical Association and Museum.
Details at https://schenectadyhistorical.org/event/mcmaster25/