Where did we come from – Part 3 Scotland?

Was Scotland the original home of the Wiseley clan?
The short answer is Yes, the Wisely line is from the Scottish Lowlands. But that simple answer raises more questions.
Did some of the Wiseley’s come from Germany?
Were the Scotch-Irish part Irish and part Scot?
Are there still Wisely’s in Scotland?

The answer to the question about Germany is Yes. There were Scottish Wiseleys that came from Germany. (I like sauerkraut ..maybe I’m German?)

There is a longer story behind that answer that I will address in a future blog.

 

In part 2 we talked about the Ulster Plantations and the people who lived and worked on the plantations being Lowland Scots. Rich, well connected Scots and English could get huge allotments of land from the English King if they agreed to bring a number of Scot or English farmers to work the land. They also had to provide arms to protect the plantation. These large landholders were called undertakers because they were willing to “undertake” the opportunity. It wasn’t because they worked people to death.



THISTLE
     THE EMBLEM OF SCOTLAND



The Ulster plantations were a break with the feudal land arrangement still existing in southern Scotland. Here the Lowland Scot and English farmers could lease the land for long periods of time. (20 years and more)  They could grow their own crops, build their own houses and live in relative freedom. The Ulster plantation worked well for about 100 years, or about 5 generations of Scots. Thus many Scots were born in Ireland of Scottish parents and were raised in a Scottish culture. Were they Irish or Scotch? I say they were Scots. Some might say they were Irish. I won’t argue with them. (I won’t even mention that they are wrong!)

What about intermarriage? Did some of the Ulster Scots marry Irish spouses? Yes it did happen, but not in great enough numbers to affect the Scottish culture that existed on the plantations. Several reasons explain the rarity of intermarriage between Scots and Irish.

1. The Scots were fiercely Presbyterian. The Irish were determinedly Catholic both religiously and culturally The Scots said some harsh things about the Pope. The Irish said insulting things about the Scotch “heritics.” Consequently there would be a lot of pressure from both families to avoid having one of their kin be joined with “popery” or “heretics”


2. There just were not that many Irish around. Ulster was full of Scots, with some English and a few French Huguenots. It was illegal for a Scot or Englishman to lease any land to an Irishman. It did happen and some Irish were farming the least desirable land, but their presence was limited. The Protestant population on the plantations thought of the Irish as little more than savages and barbarians.


3. Scotland was so close to Ulster that parents often sent their children to Scotland for their education, and when they were of a marriageable age could go back to Scotland for a mate.
 
The term Scots-Irish refers to those Lowland Scots who lived in Ireland on the plantations. It does not mean that they were a mixture of Scots and Irish. The book by Dunaway says it well. Here is passage quoting a Reverend who lived in Ulster;
                       “To this hour, in the remoter and unchanged parts of Antrim and Down,
                         the country  folks will tell you: ‘We’re no Eerish bot Scoatch”
                                  (the book was published in 1944)

HIGHLAND & LOWLAND SCOTLAND

There are several things you should know about Scotland to appreciate your ancestry. First of all the country was one nation but divided culturally into Highland and Lowland Scots. The two regions were populated by genetically different races. Here is what happened. Without lots of dates and details the British Isles were populated by people who were racially Celtic. One of the numerous invasions of the British Isles was the Anglos and Saxons. The Celts were driven to western England (Wales), Northern Scotland and Ireland. The Anglos made it their new home. It became known as Angland. We call it England. That explains why the Highland Scots are racially closer to the Celtic Irish, and the Welsh than with the lowland Scots who were a mixture of Anglo, Saxon, Norman, Dane, Celtic, etc etc..

What kind of people were these lowland Scots? We can imagine from their living conditions that they were tough people. Their toughness was the result of several factors; Relative isolation from other nations, poor soil, outdated farming methods, bands of robbers, no central government because it was beyond their feudal way of thinking, and there was little of cultural inspiration to challenge their minds. No great literature, painting, sculpture or philosophers came from Lowland Scots during this time period. Finally they had to endure centuries of the warfare between England to the south and the Celtic Highland Scots to the north who often had their battles in the Lowland farm country.  The lowland Scots would have their lands and buildings destroyed in the "crossfire". And yet they endured.




STAINED GLASS THISTLE

 

The lack of any central authority required each Scot to be their own enforcer. They could give blow for blow, and having done all, still fight on. These people did not know the meaning of submitting. That was one of the character traits that made them successful as patriots in America. No wonder the Scottish national emblem is not the Shamrock, but the Thistle. Many Wiseleys came from the area around Aberdeen, which recently chose a Rose as their city emblem…and even then the idea of  being tough enough to survive was shown by the kind of rose they selected. The Wild Scottish Rose.  No hot house delicate flower for these folks!  

There is one last factor we need to consider. Scotch Whiskey.

Scotch Whiskey has been made in Scotland since about the 12th century. (by the monks in monestaries no less!)  Barley was one of the grains that grew in the thin Lowland soil. Much of it was turned into Scotch Whiskey which was consumed by these tough Scots.

Overall these lowland Scotch were hard working, never give up, hard fighting, hard drinking, frugal, independent thinking people.

That should be more than sufficient to give you some background on the Lowland Scots. But there is so much more that you might want to learn. If so please go to one of the many sources I have listed to the left.

The next blog will address the idea of the Wiseley’s coming from Germany. Look for it in about a week. I try to post a new blog every weekend.