The Ulster American Trail

Nearly a quarter of US Presidents have had their roots in Ulster.

THE PEOPLE of Northern Ireland are justly proud of the fact that more than a quarter of the 42 US Presidents have had their roots in Ulster.

Bill Clinton, who has spoken of his ancestral links to Fermanagh during his two Presidential visits here, is the latest in a distinguished line of more than a dozen Chief Executives descended from settlers who left the north of Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries.  Their descendants have been successful in many fields ranging from John Wayne, Mark Twain and 'Stonewall' Jackson to Thomas Alva Edison, Kit Carson and Davy Crockett. Ulster roots are also shared by Country music stars Reba McEntire and Jimmie Rodgers; the wealthy Getty and Mellon dynasties, the astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, as well as movie stars James Stewart and Robert Redford.  The story of emigration is graphically recalled at the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh. A visit to this unique attraction, plus trips to four Presidential ancestral homes open to the public and places associated with others, constitute a fascinating self-guided tour along an Ulster-American Heritage Trail.

Andrew Jackson: 7th President 1829-37
He was born in South Carolina just two years after his parents left a village near Carrickfergus. The Andrew Jackson Centre at Boneybefore celebrates Old Hickory.
James Knox Polk: 11th President 1845-49
His ancestors were among the first Ulster settlers, emigrating from Londonderry in 1680.
James Buchanan: 15th President 1857-61
Born in a log-cabin near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, 'Old Buck's family were originally from Deroran, near Omagh where the Buchanan Ancestral Home still stands.
Andrew Johnson: 17th President 1865-69
His grandfather left Mounthill, near Larne in Antrim around 1750 and settled in North Carolina.
Ulysses Simpson Grant: 18th President 1869-77
The Grant Ancestral House near Ballygawley, has an exhibition on the life of the victorious Civil War Commander who served two terms as President.
Chester Alan Arthur: 21st President 1881-85
His election was the start of a quarter-century in which the White House was occupied by men of Ulster origins. His family left Dreen, near Cullybackey, in 1815. There is now an interpretive centre, alongside the Arthur Ancestral Home.
Grover Cleveland: 22nd and 24th President 1885-89 and 1893-97
Born in New Jersey he was the maternal grandson of Abner Neal, who emigrated from Antrim in the 1790s.
Benjamin Harrison: 23rd President 1889-93
His mother, Elizabeth Irwin had Ulster roots through her two great-grandfathers, James Irwin and William McDowell.
William McKinley: 25th President 1897-1901
Born in Ohio, the descendant of a farmer from Conagher, near Ballymoney, he was very proud of his ancestry.
Theodore Roosevelt: 26th President 1901-04
His mother, Martha Bulloch, had Ulster Scots and Irish Hugenot ancestors who emigrated from Larne in May, 1729.
Woodrow Wilson: 28th President 1913-21
He was grandson of a printer from Dergalt, near Strabane. The Wilson Ancestral Home welcomes visitors.
Richard Milhous Nixon: 37th President 1969-74
His Nixon ancestors left Ulster in the mid-18th Century; the Milhous family ties were with Ballymoney and Carrickfergus.

Other notable Americans are celebrated at:
Gray's Printers' Museum in Strabane: John Dunlap, printer of the 1776 Declaration of Independence.
Castlederg Visitor Centre in Castlederg: Davy Crockett and Sam Houston of the Alamo.
Earhart Centre, Ballyarnett, near Londonderry: Amelia Earhart landed here as the first woman to fly the Atlantic solo.
Ulster Aviation Society Museum at Langford Lodge, Crumlin: Former US airbase in World War II now has displays of aircraft and military memorabilia to celebrate the hundreds of thousands of US servicemen who spent months in Northern Ireland 1942-5. Also, displays at the World War II Exhibition at 9/13 Waring Street, Belfast explain how the city became the first place American troops landed in preparation for D-Day.