Scottish Immigration to the American Colonies, 1772
British Customs Report: Scottish Immigrants Reasons for Emigration, 1772
John Catanoch, aged fifty years, by trade a farmer, married, hath 4 children
from 19 to 7 years old; resided last at Chabster in the parish of Rae in the county of
Caithness, upon the estate of Mr. Alexander Nicolson, minister at Thurso, intends to go to
Wilmington, North Carolina; left his own country because crops failed, bread became dear,
the rents of his possession were raised from two to five pounds sterling; besides his
pasture or common grounds were taken up by placing new tenants thereon, especially the
grounds adjacent to his farm, which were the only grounds on which his cattle pastured.
That this method of parking and placing tenants on the pasture grounds rendered his farm
useless; his cattle died for want of grass, and his corn farm was unfit to support his
family after paying the extravagant tack duty. That beside the rise of rents and scarcity
of bread, the landlord exacted arbitrary and oppressive services, such as obliging the
declarant to labor up his ground, cart, win, lead and stack his peats; mow, win and lead
his hay, and cut his corn and lead it in the yard, which took up about 30 or 40 days of
his servants and horses each year, without the least acknowledgment for it, and without
victuals, save the men that mowed the hay who got their dinner only. That he was induced
to emigrate by advices received from his friends in America; that provisions are extremely
plenty and cheap, and the price of labour very high, so that people who are temperate and
laborious have every chance of bettering their circumstances. Adds that the price of bread
in the country he hath left is greatly enhanced by distilling, that being for so long a
time so scarce and dear, and the price of cattle at the same time reduced full one half
while the rents of lands have been raised nearly in the same proportion, all the smaller
farms must inevitably be ruined.
Elizabeth McDonald, aged 29, unmarried, servant to James Duncan in Mointle in
the parish of Farr in the county of Sutherland; intends to go to Wilmington in North
Carolina, left her own country because several of her friends having gone to Carolina
before her, had assured her that she would get much better service and greater
encouragement in Carolina than in her own country.
John McBeath, aged 37, by trade a farmer and shoemaker, married; hath 5 children
from 13 years to 9 months old. Resided last in Mault in the parish of Kildorman in the
county of Sutherland, upon the estate of Sutherland. Intends to go to Wilmington in North
Carolina; left his own country because crops failed, he lost his cattle, the rent of his
possession was raised, and bread had been long dear; he could get no employment at home
whereby he could support himself and family, being unable to buy bread at the prices the
factors on the estate of Sutherland and neighbouring estates exacted from him. That he was
encouraged to emigrate by the accounts received from his own and his wife's friends
already in America, assuring him that he would procure comfortable subsistence in that
country for his wife and children, and that the price of labour was very high. He also
assigns for the cause of bread being dear in his country that it is owing to the great
quantities of corn consumed in brewing risquebah [whiskey].
Source:
North Carolina Historical Review 11 (1934), pp. 131-132.
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