I don't know exactly when the first one came over, but according to my nephew's genealogical research on my father's side my great-great (and maybe another great) grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War. He originally lived in Virginia but I don't know if he was the first one to come over or not. Scots-Irish on that side of the family. His Revolutionary War service earned him some sort of land grant in Georgia. East Tennessee, western North Carolina, and western Virginia are full of people with the same last name. In fact, Dollywood is on McCarter Drive in Sevierville, TN. Being from Georgia, my great grandfather fought in the (un)Civil War - 13th and 16th Georgia Cavalry.

Don't know much about ancestors on my mother's side beyond by grandparents but I believe some of them were already here. As Will Rogers said, "My folks didn't come over on the Mayflower, but they were there to meet the boat."

Edit to add: This is a picture of my paternal grandparents along with my oldest uncle. The baby in the picture was born in November of 1900 so the picture must have been made sometime in 1901 or 1902. Both were in their mid 20s at the time of this picture.

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IMG_1843 (full).JPG (136KB - 11 downloads)