Andrew Paterson (1659–1746)

Andrew Paterson was a Covenanter who was transported in 1685 and made his way to Connecticut where he settled and had a family. Andrew Paterson [or Patterson] was born in 1659 in Hamilton, Lanarkshire. He was firm in his Covenanting beliefs and may have been in the Covenanter army at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge […]

David Simson (c.1632–c.1686)

David Simson was an exiled Presbyterian minister and amongst the oldest Scots emigrants. David Simson, a Scottish Presbyterian minister, was born around 1632 and served faithfully in parishes of Argyll for several decades before being exiled to East Jersey for his religious convictions. He began his ministry in 1656 at Killean and Kilchenzie parish in […]

David Falconar (c.1632-1713)

David Falconar played a significant role in the East Jersey venture as a promoter and investor and was a leading member of the Quaker community in Scotland. David Falconar (or Falconer) was born around 1632, the eldest son of Sir John Falconer, Master of the Cunziehouse (the Scottish Mint), and Sibil Ogilvy. Though he never […]

William Ridford (c.1642–1726)

William Ridford [or Reidford] was one of the first Scots emigrants to East Jersey in the 1680s. He was born around 1642 in Friershaw, near Lilliesleaf in Teviotdale, Roxburghshire. He was a Quaker, a member of the Kelso Monthly Meeting. By 1682, tenant farmer Ridford was in negotiation with Arent Sonmans, one of the East […]