Most of the Scots-Irish who relocated to the South Carolina backcountry arrived either directly from Ireland through the port town of Charleston or migrated from the Pennsylvania settlement. The latter came either directly from Pennsylvania or migrated gradually through the Virginia valley. Historians believe that the settlers from Pennsylvania were more favorably settled than those who came from Northern Ireland via Charleston.1 They brought with them names such as Lancaster, York, and Chester that still permeate both South Carolina and Pennsylvania. These settlers attempted to retain as much of the culture from the Old World as possible while integrating in new traditions that arose in the New World. There are widely-known characteristics of Scots-Irish, such as high cheek bones, lighter hair, a hard-working, stubborn attitude, a fancy for whisky, etc.2
The name "Waxhaw" comes from the Indian tribe who had been given name to one of the Catawba River tributaries. The Waxhaw area appears to have been slightly northeast of York, Union, and Spartanburg counties. The first notice of Waxhaw was in May 1751, when six or seven families came from the north.
Just as in other aspects of life, the Scots-Irish assimilated food from America with their traditional food from Scotland and Ireland. These settlers were obviously hunters and ate the meat of a wide variety of game, such as deer. The Scots-Irish had an inherent dislike for pork. This prejudice was quickly lost as they frequently encountered the pig—America's preferred frontier food. Sheep were abundant in the Old World and were eaten regularly. In the backcountry, sheep required either fences or shepherds. Both of these required labor which was not available for either. Other duties took away from any time to build fences or tend to flocks of sheep. Even a few sheep could clothe a family though, so they were not completely absent in the backcountry. Cattle were the most valuable and plentiful livestock. The settlers commonly ate these cows.4
Some tried to live strictly off what nature offered from Ireland and Scotland, such as Irish potatoes, some wild fruits, certain nuts and berries, and several types of fish. Others integrated this diet with foods that the backcountry offered, such as corn, sweet potatoes, new varieties of beans, squash, and pumpkins.5
The Scots-Irish came to this region with very little and began the arduous task of surviving in the wild of the backcountry. They were initially dependent only on themselves for religion and did not have a structured system of worship. Many believe this is why the Scots-Irish got their reputation for non-pious behavior and rough attitudes.6 Also, in the Old World people had lived closer together to one another, and actions and religious behavior was better regulated through this type of system. In the New World, though, families were much more spread out, which caused social standards to deteriorate. Families were removed from the watchful eye and could fall victim to vices more easily. Distilleries became frequent; with no voice being raised against drinking, whisky abounded.7
The need for ministers in the backcountry was great. The new theologians could not be ordained until they visited the backcountry. One reason for the shortage was because Presbyterians had to be well educated, while Baptists only needed to hear the call. The Waxhaw eventually put themselves under the care of the Old Scotch Presbytery from Charleston, with the view of obtaining ministers from Scotland. John Brown preached the first sermon in Waxhaw in 153, and the first minister, Robert Miller from Scotland, arrived in the area in 1756.8
Education was a priority to Scots-Irish settlers. The schools were closely tied to the churches, though, and this caused some problems. While Scots-Irish as a group were not uneducated, they often could not provide the amount of education the wished. Because of the lack of churches, the schools often suffered,
Gender roles were closely tied to social class, and the Scots-Irish were very aware of their status in society. Women nursed the children as a doctor and taught them if there was no school. In addition to raising the children, women also worked at home: cooking, baking, making clothes, washing, milking cows, making butter, spinning, weaving, pickling, etc. Therefore, men could not survive on the frontier without a wife, and the settlers married at a young age. The men provided for the women in the fields. If wives and daughters were permitted to work in the fields, then they belonged to the lowest possible social class, "not even in the most trying days of early settlement, however, would a man who valued his social position permit field labor for his wife and daughters." Men enjoyed leisure time with competitive shooting, wrestling, and racing. Women socialized with quilting parties, cooperative work at house raisings, and corn huskings.10