1743 A district of the lower Shenandoah Valley is settled by Irish families and is called “the Irish tract.”

1745 Lord Chesterfield the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in an attempt to dissuade a possible Irish uprising in favor of support for Bonnie Prince Charlie, suspended the Penal Laws. He also, in 1747, established Phoenix Park in Dublin.

The Jacobite Rising in favor of Bonnie prince Charlie.

1746 Princeton University is founded by Irish Presbyterians

Louisburg, the largest fortified settlement of French Canada was successfully attacked under a plan of Irishman William Vaughn.

Robert Strettal, a native of Dublin, was the Mayor of Philadelphia.

Oliver Pollock, of Colleraine, Ireland, cornered the trade of Spain in New Orleans.

The Battle of Culloden, Scotland in which the Scottish Highlanders lost. They emigrate to Cape Fear, North Carolina and found the town of Campbelltown which later becomes Fayetteville, North Carolina.

1749 Richard McAllister, of Ireland, founded McAllister’s Town, it later became known as Hanover, Pennsylvania.

1752 Hugh Gaine founded the Mercury, a newspaper in New York. It was one of the leading colonial newspapers. Gaine was from Belfast.

1754 Arthur Dobbs, born in Antrim, was Governor of North Carolina.

James McBride navigates the Ohio River to settle Kentucky.

Henry Stevenson started a trading business with Ireland from Baltimore that inaugurated Baltimore’s commercial consequence.” Other Irish merchants quickly added to the volume including: Alexander Brown, Robert Oliver, and William Patterson. Alexander Brown, who was born in Ulster, was soon the largest importer of Irish linens. Alexander & Sons Private Mercantile and Banking House which he founded is America’s oldest investment banking firm. Brown later helped to found the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1827.

1755 A Captain McGinnis of New Hampshire led a successful attack on Crown Point on Lake George. He was killed in the battle.

The Reverend Francis Allison, whose teachings had a great influence over many of the American Revolution’s leaders, founded the College of Pennsylvania.

1756 The Irish Brigade of France is at Oswego, New York under General Montcalm. They came from their former station in the West Indies. There is evidence they participated in the capture of Fort George and of Fort William Henry in the French and Indian War. Irishman General Edward Hand was among their number.

1758 Irishman Robert Rogers’ Ranger unit is well known and respected by friend and foe in the border area between the French and English of North America.

1759 Henry Flood enters the Irish Parliament. He assumes leadership of the “patriot party” a movement that has grown among Irish Protestants in opposition to English control of Ireland’s political and economic function.

The fall of Quebec, where Wolfe captured the city after a siege of Montcalm’s forces. Key to the success was knowledge of an approach to the French citadel on Abraham’s Plain owned by Irishman Abraham Martin, given to Wolfe’s men by Scotsman Robert Strabo who was previously a hostage in Quebec. With General Wolfe were Irishmen: Richard Montgomery, John Stark, and John Sullivan.

1760 John Lynch from Galway settled in Virginia. His son John founded the town of Lynchburg, Virginia. His son, Charles was a commander of irregular forces during the American Revolution, his drastic treatment of Loyalists gave rise to the term “Lynch Law.” His son Charles, later became a governor of Louisiana.

An estimated 40,000 Ulster Irish were settled in the area of Cape Fear, North Carolina. The Presbyterian Church reported that a large number of them became Baptists and Methodists due to missionary work being done among them by those churches.

1761 Irish settled the County of Dublin, and town of Londonderry, Nova Scotia.

1762 The “Whiteboys”, a secret society, emerged from Ireland’s poor people in Munster. The organization carried on guerrilla warfare against oppressive landlords, tax collectors, tithe gathers, and such. Similar organizations began to appear elsewhere in Ireland.

1763 McKee’s Place and Mahoney’s were two Indian Trading Posts operated by Irishmen in western Pennsylvania.
Scotsman James Small invented the swing plow.

1764 The “Oakboys”, a secret society among the Ulster Presbyterians, rose to fight tithe gathering, for they too were being forced to tithe to the only official church, the Anglican church; the organization also protested rent-raising, forced work on roads and clearing of areas, and other unfair actions.

The Burke brothers, Thomas and Adamus arrived in America. Thomas later represented North Carolina in the Continental Congress, and was Governor of North Carolina. Adamus became Chief Justice of North Carolina in 1778, and represented South Carolina in the First Congress (1789-91).

The Sugar Act was levied by Parliament on the colonies to pay high import duties on refined sugar, and called for enforcement of an earlier Molasses Act in 1733, that was not enforced driving up the cost of all related products. Also taxes were raised on rum and other spirits.

The Currency Act, another act of Parliament for the colonies, forbid the colonies to use any money other than English currency.

1765 Matthew Lyon of Wicklow settled in Vermont, he later assisted Ethan Allen at Fort Ticonderoga and represented Vermont in the Congress of 1797-1801. Matthew Lyon cast the vote that chose Thomas Jefferson as President over Aaron Burr when the election was thrown into the House of Representatives in 1800. His vote was against the wishes of his constituents. He moved to Kentucky where he was elected to Congress in 1803. He later moved to Arkansas where he was elected to Congress in 1820. Matthew Lyon served his country as a United States Congressman from three different states.

The English Parliament passes the Stamp Act, an attempt to finance the colonial administration and defense costs by taxing every official transaction. All documents had to have a stamp affixed to show the tax was paid.

The port of Waterford, Ireland built up a sizeable trade with Newfoundland that opened a route for emigrants and goods to and from America that lasted until the 1840’s.

The Quartering Act called for the colonists to house, and board English troops where barracks were not available.

William Tryon was Governor of New York, he was Irish.

Patrick Henry, of Scottish ancestry, when he made a complaint against King George to the Virginia Assembly he heard shouts of “treason”, to which he replied, “If that be treason make the most of it.”

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