Family folklore has it that my American immigrant ancestors were Scots Irish. Who were these people?

In the late 17th and early 18th century, rising rents imposed on Argyll residents and on those living in South West Scotland led to mass migration to Ulster, the North Eastern area of Ireland. In part, these people were encouraged by the British government to invest in cheap Ulster land to counteract the strong Roman Catholic movement in Ireland.

Many of these emigrants, who were referred to as Ulster Scots, subsequently emigrated to America and in particular the 'Appalachian States', where they were referred to initially as Scotch-Irish and even more recently Scots Irish. Most have typically Scottish names. Unless they were prominent land owners the chances of tracing their direct ancestry back to Scotland are slight.

The official genealogy website of the Scottish Tourism Agency. More