Could your family be Scots-Irish without you even knowing it? Millions of American family stories lead backwards through Appalachia, Virginia and Pennsylvania, across the Atlantic to Ulster and, for some families, farther back to Scotland.
In this ancestry investigation, we uncover the strongest clues to Scots-Irish ancestry through surnames, migration routes, church communities, land records, neighbouring families, genealogy and DNA. We also explore why a Scottish surname, an ‘Irish’ family story or a DNA ethnicity estimate alone cannot prove your family was Scots-Irish. The real clue may be something much more powerful: the road your family travelled.

How far back can you trace your family? Comment your oldest documented surname and location below. Subscribe to The Past Unlocked for American ancestry, genealogy, DNA, migration and the forgotten family stories that shaped America.

Chapters — 29 Minutes
00:00 — Could Your Family Be Scots-Irish?
01:38 — Who Were the Scots-Irish?
03:42 — Scotland, Ulster and the Forgotten Migration
06:05 — Why Scots-Irish Families Came to America
08:18 — Pennsylvania and the Great Wagon Road
10:35 — Scots-Irish Surnames: What They Really Reveal
12:48 — The Clues Hidden in Churches, Land and Neighbours
15:05 — There Is No Single Scots-Irish Trait
17:02 — The Family Trail Most People Overlook
19:18 — When ‘We’re Irish’ Doesn't Tell the Whole Story
21:16 — Can DNA Reveal Scots-Irish Ancestry?
23:44 — The Appalachian Connection
25:37 — How to Test Your Own Family History
27:32 — The Journey Your Family Forgot

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