GTOTD helps a friend discover his Scots-Irish roots: it's what we do.

With this post (also excerpted below) from his blog "Lee Family History," Grammar Tip of the Day's lifelong friend Paul Lee just made this one of the all-time great moments in GTOTD history. 

How "The Grammar Tip of the Day" inspired me to find my Scots-Irish roots

When I went back to Knoxville, Tennessee, recently on a visit with my Aunt Florence as a part of a quest to learn more about my family roots, I had dinner with my lifelong friend Brooks Clark. When I told him I had traced my ancestry to Ulster, he shared with me the 2004 non-fiction book by Senator James Webb (D-Va.), “Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America,” which is especially thought provoking in its insights into the influence of Scots-Irish culture that carry forward to the present. Brooks summarized from the book that common character traits of the Scots-Irish are a loyalty to kin, mistrust of governmental authority, fierce independence and military readiness. Another trait is the tendency of Scots-Irish culture to absorb members of other groups. Many of these defining traits are exemplified in my Wray ancestors as we shall see by exploring their common but fascinating lives.

    Brooks had written about this book in his blog titled “The Grammar Tip of the Day”:

“The word redneck was first cited in 1638, when Scots -- riding the wave of the Protestant Reformation -- adopted the Presbyterian Church (in which each church is run by its own Presbyters, or elders) and rejected the Church of England and its episcopacy (rule by bishops). Scots signed a National Covenant, often using their own blood. Many wore red pieces of cloth around their neck to signify their position to the public. Hence, they were referred to as Rednecks …. the idea of choosing to govern one's own religion of course led directly to the idea of choosing one's own government. This latter idea was carried over from Scotland, planted in America and brought to flower in the American Revolution.”

 

Read more.

Link to another GTOTD post, pertaining to the Metro Pulse story "Why East Tennesseans Love Their Guns.

Link to the original post cited above by Paul Lee.

A post about another great GTOTD moment with Paul Lee, the April 1968 filming of an RFK campaign ad in our school library.