* Robert Adams

  Medical Notes:

Measles epidemic in Pennsylvania in 1749.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Scotish-Irish history. ⁸⁴⁵ Before 1603 - - Background: For centuries, England had tried repeatedly and constantly to subdue the island of Ireland and the Irish had stubbornly resisted. There had been attempts over the years to transplant English settlers to Ireland in an attempt to "infiltrate" and/or "control" the Irish people and their society, but these had failed. By 1603, the problem was even more acute:

From a financial standpoint, Ireland was a drain on the treasury of England.
Ireland was one of the areas in Europe where the Catholic faith held steady while Protestantism had spread across much of the continent and even into England and Scotland. Aside from the missionary goal of converting the Irish was the real consideration of not having a neighbor that might hold a religion in common with its enemies.
In the closing years of the 1500's, England had sent a 20,000 man army to Ireland to quell an uprising. After an initial failure, the commander was replaced by a man named Lord Mountjoy, who was particularly ruthless. He destroyed all the food, houses, and cattle he could find. Starvation in their bellies and defeats on the battlefields finally made the Irish submit to England, again, just as Queen Elizabeth lay dieing in 1603.
An area that had been hit hard during this destruction was the north, the "kingdom" of Ireland called Ulster, consisting of nine counties.
In the meantime, in Scotland, times were never all that good, but the turn of the century saw the typical Scottish farmer in dire straits. The western coast of Scotland is only 20-30 miles from the Ulster coast.
Thus, the scene was set for a series of developments leading to:
Ireland being carved into two pieces causing disharmony and discord to this day.
A "double emigration" from Scotland: to Ireland and then to the United States of hundreds of thousands of immigrants we have come to know as the Scotch-Irish.
1603.. Elizabeth I dies and James VI, King of Scotland, becomes King James I of England
1606.. The first Ulster colonies are settled. Ironically, by private entrepreneurs, and Scottish at that. Some Scottish entrepreneurs had come up with the idea of acquiring some land and transplanting their own countrymen to farm them. These beginning colonies were successful and word quickly spread back to Scotland.
1607.. King James I declared that the land held by the defeated Irish rebel leaders, who had fled to the continent, was reverted to the Crown. This legal action was over-reaching, but when you're the King, what the heck. King James I took control of 3,000,000 acres of Ulster land.
1609.. James I inform the Privy Council of Scotland: "the King.. out of his unspeakable love and tender affection for his Scottish subjects, has decided that they will be allowed to participate in this great adventure". Remember, James I, becoming King of England in 1603, had already been King of Scotland for 35 years before that (he was crowned the King of Scotland when he was one year old.)
1620.. An estimated 50,000 Scottish (and some English) settlers are now in northern Ireland (Ulster).
1625.. King James I died and his son Charles I was crowned King. King James I was a definitely pro-Anglican and anti-Presbyterian, but at least he was somewhat of a politician about trying to convert the Scots to the more traditional Church of England. Charles I, however, had no tact, he tried to force the Anglican church down the throats of the Scottish people and deprive them of their Presbyterianism. (This is the same climate that led to the first flight of Puritans to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.)
1637.. King Charles required changes in the churches of Scotland to more closely resemble the Church of England. The Scottish people arise and overthrow the episcopacy that Charles I has tried to implement. Presbyterianism in Scotland survived.
1640.. An estimated 100,000 Scottish (and some English) settlers are now in northern Ireland (Ulster).
1642.. England is now in a Civil War, principally over the religious issues of the day: Puritanism versus the Church of England. The Scots are on the fringes of this war. They favor the more like-minded Puritans, but, after all, Charles I is still a Scot.
1642.. The Catholics in Ireland rebel against the north. Estimates of the deaths in this uprising vary, but many thousands die. The emigration of Scots to Ireland drops off.
1650.. The English Civil War ends with Oliver Cromwell responsible for the beheading of King Charles I. Then, he invaded Scotland , conquering the Scots at Dunbar. He then set out to crush the Scottish spirit.
1650.. Meanwhile, back in Ireland, the Irish rebellion went on for ten long years, until Cromwell came from England in 1650 and crushed the rebellion. He took neither side, however. He killed both Catholics and Presbyterians alike to let them know that England was in charge and wouldn't take disobedience from either side. He was particlularly cruel and viscious during his campaigns.
Whether the ends justify the means or not, at least peace did follow Cromwell's "policing action". The immigration of Scots Ireland now resume in 1650.
1653.. Cromwell ordered venerated leaders of their church driven from their places of meeting by English soldiers and led like criminals through the streets of Edinburgh.
1660.. The Puritan Cromwell dies and Charles II resumes the crown. Here we go again, a pro-Anglican as head of the country. As bad as times were for the Scots under Cromwell, worse times were ahead. During the 1660's, the Scottish suffered through what is called the "killing times", as the English tried again to force the Church of England down the throats of the Scots. This was the time of the rise of the term "covenanter", those Scots that, in effect, were guerillas fighting against the English landlords.
We have an example of the "killing times" that has been passed down in our family. A fourteen year old girl was arrested because of her failure to give allegiance to the English King in a way that connoted his being head of the church. This fourteen year old girl was ordered to DEATH BY DROWNING for refusing. This is how cruel things were getting over there at that time.
Emigration from Scotland to Ireland increased with the killing times.
1679.. The Covenanters (protestant rebels) are decisively defeated at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge in Scotland.
1690.. The King of England, William of Orange soundly defeats James II at the Battle of Boyne in Ireland. William is staunchly protestant, James is Catholic. This assures the continuation of the protestant Irish of the north, most Scottish descendants, to continue their protestant faith.
A result of of the English victory at the Battle of Boyne is reponsible for the last wave of immigrants from Scotland to England in the last decade of the 1600's. An estimated 50,000 Scots leave Scotland for northern Ireland.
1717.. The Exodus of the Scotch-Irish from Ulster to America now begins in earnest. Five thousand Ulstermen leave for America that year. Between 1717 and the American Revolution, approximately a quarter of a million Scotch-Irish will leave Ireland for America. Approximately 100 years after the original Ulster plantations have been planted they have succeeded... and they have also failed. In 100 years, Ulster had been transformed from a totally obliterated landscape to a respectable area with an economy that produced goods. Plagued by high rents, four years of drought, English import/export policies, and the religious factor thrown in (although religion wasn't a prime motivating factor in the Scotch/Irish migration as it was, say, with the Puritans.), many Scots look for a better life in America.
It is interesting to note that even though the Catholic Irish endured many of the same hardships as their Northern counterparts, the Catholic Irish did not participate in this Exodus. The emigration was 99% Protestant, Ulster-Scots leaving for the America's. Although there were Catholic Irish who fled to other Catholic countries, principally France and Spain.

• immigrated, Abt 1742.

Robert married Mrs. Agnes Adams about 1699. (Mrs. Agnes Adams was born about 1679 and died after 1765.)