MAY 19 MA Inv. no. 122 ds

71. P317 1847

INTRODUCTION.

66

If this little family-book were likely to fall into the hands of strangers, an apologetic preface would be necessary. "Why should these families be signalized by a printed memoir?" There is no reason why they should; and if due weight were given to the principle which lies beneath this record, many a house would follow the example, and we should be relieved from the singularity. If it be right to put our household dates in the family Bible; if it is no breach of modesty to set up a tombstone; no act of notoriety to preserve the miniature and the lock of hair, then we may justify a larger, more liberal, and more lasting memento of those who, living or dead, are bound to us by ties which cannot be sundered, and which ought to be kept firm and bright. But this book is no publication; and this makes apology superfluous.

Amongst ourselves, however, it may still be asked what were the motives which led to this undertaking. I could name so many, as to make this salutatory of a weary length. It does seem that a mind of ordinary candour and discernment must perceive them, either before or after perusal of the book. Let a kind and generous construction be put upon the whole, and every part; and especially let me not be charged with a purpose of indulging vanity, or casting blame.

My helps have been as good as could be afforded in the case; perhaps no one in the connexion was more favourably situated for

procuring the requisite facts and evidences. The TRUTH was steadily aimed at; to be particular in stating the means by which it was sought to be attained, would take up too much room. There is a better test of accuracy.

It is not unusual for writers to extenuate the faults of their performances, on grounds which might have excused their labours altogether. On my part, I am bound to say, that however dissatisfied with what is here offered, I have taken time enough to it, and have done my best. To have done less, would have given a wrong estimate of the regard in which I hold my subject, and those who are expected to be my readers. To them, with the cordial esteem of a friend and kinsman, I commit this record of themselves and their progenitors, entreating them, if it be found worthy, to preserve it for future generations.

WILLIAM EWING DU BOIS.

Philadelphia, November, 1947.

PATTERSON.

THROUGH the lines of Patterson and Ewing, we partake largely of the Scotch-Irish blood. The compound has an unmusical expression; but its harshness is lost in the contemplation of a race, who in the struggle for popular rights, were ever forward to take the people's side; whose cardinal principle was always the maintenance of real religion, and that undefiled; and out of whose ranks have stood forth many eminent characters, in affairs of both church and state. How they came by this epithet, is known to every body. It was not by the mixture of two opposite races, as might at first be supposed; but, by a process of decanting from vessel to vessel, they were first Scotch, then Irish; and now, many of them, American. But beyond this mere syllabus, their history is little known; and perhaps this ignorance is common, even amongst descendants of the stock. A limited sketch is all that can be offered in this place.*

The quarrels of James I. with the Roman Catholics in Ireland, early in his reign, led to a conspiracy against British authority in that island. Its detection forced the chief conspirators to fly the country, leaving their estates at the mercy of a monarch, who only waited a pretext for taking possession. A second insurrection, limited to the province of Ulster, soon gave occasion for another

* A larger account of the colonization of Ulster, may be seen in the "History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland," by Dr. Reid, of Carrickfergus 2 Vols. 1834-37. This book is scarce here.

large forfeiture, and nearly six entire counties, in that district, were thus subjected to the king's disposal.

But it was a territory which showed the effects of a long series of lawless disturbances. Almost depopulated, and its resources wasted, it had yet a few fortified cities, some insulated castles, and cabins of the natives, too poor to be plundered. Cultivation of the soil was visible only in some favoured spots, and the face of the country seemed divided between woods and marshes. The character of the population is variously represented. On one side, the palm is awarded to Ulster, at this period, as "the most constant in maintaining its liberty, and in preserving the Catholic religion;" while on the other, it is affirmed, that the state of morals and of society was in keeping with the physical aspect of the province.

For the improvement of the country, and firmer establishment of British rule, king James resolved upon a plan of colonization; and a liberal offer was made to his subjects in England and Scotland, to settle upon the confiscated lands. The grounds having been previously surveyed, emigration commenced about the year 1610. Of the settlers from England, many were non-conformists. The arbitrary measures of the king gave them no peace at home, and they were willing to seek for liberty of conscience in a cold and unreclaimed wilderness. But the vicinity of Scotland to the north of Ireland, and the hardiness and enterprise of the Scotch people, brought the principal body of emigrants from that kingdom. A refuge from religious bigotry was not, however, at this time, the main inducement to emigration. Many adventurers, who had made shipwreck of fortune, or character, or both, retired thither to begin the world anew; and "going to Ireland" became a bye-word of reproach. Sufferers from losses, or for conscience sake, too often find themselves summarily classed with the improvident and vicious, and "exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease.

Of rapid and beneficial revolutions, if our own country be set aside, we seldom read of a greater, in every aspect, than that which took place in the province of Ulster. The towns were replenished with inhabitants, the lands were cleared, and houses erected through the country. In 1618, a surveyor appointed by the crown, reported 8000 settlers, of British birth and descent,

"capable of bearing arms," and what was better, capable of tilling the soil.* Within a few years after, the arrival of a number of Presbyterian ministers from Scotland, such men as Blair, Stewart, and Livingston, was the means of a general and permanent revival of religion; a good tone of piety, morality, and social order, pervaded the community; and thus, within twenty years of its survey for resettlement, the province wore a new face, and offered to its inhabitants every expectation of happiness and prosperity.

But it was a day in which the throne of Britain was a tower of bigotry and despotism. In accordance with the ecclesiastical preferences of the king, the land was apportioned into bishoprics, and an unwilling people were subjected to a spiritual lordship. But the early prelates behaved with moderation; the ministers, on their part, were wary and scrupulous; and for some years, the church government presented an anomalous and brittle mixture of episcopacy and presbyterianism. Such a constitution of things could. not last. When Charles I., or rather archbishop Laud, became the head of the church, the condition of the colonists, in a religious aspect, was materially altered for the worse, and soon grew perplexing, and vexatious. The bishops were imperious, the people obstinate. We have an indication of the state of feeling, in an angry annual charge, by one of the prelates, which declared, that "the laity would hear no prayers at all; while divine service was reading, they walked in the church-yard; and when prayer was ended, they came rushing in, as it were into a play-house, to hear the sermon."t

However, the rapid succession of great and stirring events, in those troubled times, while it retarded the prosperity of the colony, gave a check also to the consummation of high-church purposes. The papal rebellion of 1641; the overthrow of the royal despotism;

* It was about this time that Moses Hill, a gentleman from England, took a grant of land in county Down, on which was founded the handsome town of Hillsborough; in which neighbourhood, as will be seen, our Patterson ancestors resided.

+ Bishop Leslie, 1638.-In the year following, a colony started for New England, but were driven back by adverse weather. Many returned to Scotland; and it was a common thing for the Ulster Scots to cross the straits on communion occasions, and to have their children baptized.