I’m born and raised in Roanoke, VA. We’re are west of the Blue Ridge, so IN the Appalachians, but would definitely not qualify it as part of the culture. Also, Floyd is the next county over. Cool place for Bluegrass.
They are the oldest mountains in the world. The oldest river is there, too, and it's so old there are no fossils. This info comes from a scientist. I used to live there.
I live right at the base of the Blue Ridge and I have a wonderful view of the second tallest mountain in Virginia from my front porch. I've lived here my entire life and I wouldn't trade it for a bag of speed (if you know you know, lol) or the world.
I considered moving out west, but I would miss my misty mountains too much. She is my home and the reason our country exists at all. God bless Appalachia and her people.
I’m Appalachian and I spend alot of time out west. I love the desert but I can’t stay too long, it’s beautiful but it feels dead. We have so much life in our mountains. I live at the ocean on the east coast now and it’s fine with me. I’m not far from our mountains and still spend alot of time in them.
Peter Santenello has a great ground level series on Appalachia and he meets fascinating people. I'm only in the episode about Cherokee country but it is top notch and good for continued watching after this one. 👍
@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606 oh no I thank them profusely for being so sweet and kind to point it out to others that might not be aware that I am a HILLBILLY!!!!!
I am foreign born and lived much of my life in southern California. Believe or not though, I can relate to this. When my neighbor across the branch of our spring, who was born across the road and lived all his life in this holler, told me I was a Hillbilly now, I knew I was alright with my adopted people in my adopted Homeland. I just had to laugh and tell him, " You say it like some would think it was a bad thing and I tw'ern't so already." I am an Appalachian by marriage, but more importantly by intent and choice. The future of my branch of the clan is a strange, new, American and Appalachian one and I'd have it no other way.
If this topic was interesting to you read American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard. It was my largest source of information for this video.
I've never been to Appalachian but I've heard many great things, I used to work with a lady about 12 years ago and she told me she was born and raised in Appalachian, she told me she grew up dirt poor without lights and running water, and I told her, you and my dad have something in common, when they met they quickly became good friends, she was one of the nicest people I've ever met, and that's all I've ever heard about people from Appalachian, that they are some of the nicest people that you ever want to meet and talk to .
The story of my ancestors! If anyone cares to hear some folk music from the area, I encourage you to look into Bluegrass music. I personally dont like country music, but Bluegrass has a very authentic feeling and is genuinely beautiful.
Like many UK fans of bluegrass and Appalachian music, I've always been intrigued by this area and the people who gave the world this very special sound, and this video has been great to see. I've only visited twice, in 1983 and 1984, to visit my friend bluegrass star Bill Clifton, who taught us so much when he lived in England in the 1960s and 1970s: he showed me the land and rivers, the place in Bristol (Tennessee/Virginia) where the Carter Family recorded some their first songs, and the Carter Fold in Hiltons where their descendents set up a music venue - brilliant! Bill gave me a copy of Harry M Caudill's 'Night comes to the Cumberlands' which gave me a lot of background, but - as you say - the music expresses a lot of the truth about the mountains and the people.
A genealogy expert told me that 80% of people in The USA in the 1600s were indentured servants. Somebody paid for their passage to the colonies. They were treated bad ,so when their servitude was over they left the area cause they were looked down on. So they settled in the frontier of Southern Appalachian. The land was cheap and they could get land grants from lord Grandville in England.
“Tend to be violent” my family consisting of Hatfields. Me: “yeah, that checks out” Having grown up and live currently in West Virginia I’ve become accustomed to the independence and freedom of living here, I don’t think I could move anywhere else I already struggle with the culture shock of the city when visiting my brother in Harrisburg PA.
I'm related to the Hatfields about 4 or 5 generations back. My dad's people are from the mountains of West Virginia. According to family lore my great grandfather left Kentucky during the feud. 🤔🤓🍻
@@jimc.goodfellas Harrisburg really isn’t a terrible place, I think it’s location being so close to the Amish community and rural central PA keeps it pretty tame, there are some things about it, but it’s the only city I know of that you can legally conceal carry in with a valid permit from PA or a state with shared reciprocity like WV. Went to the native festival they hold every year and was shocked at the amount of vendors carrying firearms.
Originally from Florida, I moved here - via Texas - exactly because of the stereotypes you mentioned early on... self-sufficiency, distrust of authority, strong sense of family and community, and the promise of violence when you fuck with any of that.
I grew up at the foot hills of the Great Smoky Mountains in east TN. I absolutly love this region and I am proud of it. I love the fact that after a week of work, I can go into the mountains, pick from hundreads of trails and just start walking and get lost. It is such a beautiful area.
I’m Scots/Irish-Cherokee West Virginian and I’m proud of my heritage. Thanks for making this video, real cool to see my peoples history and how we came about to this wonderful and mystical place I call home.
Proud daughter of Scott’s-Irish descent here. It’s fascinating to learn more of our history and recognize how the experiences of our ancestors have shaped our own values, traditions and norms. For those interested I would highly recommend the book “Born Fighting” by James Webb.
Gave your channel a follow a fellow Appalachian here in Washington County Virginia. Closer to TN my home town was discovered by Daniel Boone and first named Wolfe Hills. I am also Scots-Irish and got some Pennsylvania Dutch in my bloodline.
My family is similar Bucks and Lancaster counties in PA, then on to upper appalachia i n Washington Co, PA. My imgrant grandparents entered the port of Philadelphia in the 1720's and stayed in the two counties mentioned long enough to have 17 children, then Great-Grandpa 6 or 7x got itchy feet and moved his family to Washington County, PA. Which is where most stayed for a couple generations. We might be cousins :)
My family is from NC via Germany and Switzerland. Scots and Irish too. And Scots Irish. Moore County in the early 1700s. Independence and freedom to do what you want. Self sufficiency. Distrust of government. Wariness of strangers. My dad was raised in north Alabama. Near the mountains. My family in north Alabama was from my great grandfather moving to north Alabama from Moore County. Long story. Others of my family moved there in 1820s. Land for guns made by my ancestors. For the revolution and 1812. Kennedy is an ancestor name. The Kennedy Rifle was my family. Gunsmiths and farmers. I’m an independent rebellious woman and I had no clue I had so much Scots in my DNA. I still have the German name. It explains so much. Personal freedom is what we wanted then and now. The mountains drew so many because it was like home. Moonshine and whiskey were commodities and was vital to Scots. And Irish. I was also curious about native DNA. I have none. Mississippi has a band of Choctaw.
There is something about the Appalachian Mountains that even city folk hide here. When the lockdowns for C started people poured out of the cities into rentals in the mountains. I’m glad to have been born here and can’t imagine being from anywhere else. The next best place is with Jesus.
As a N.C. girl, who has moved to the Blue Ridge Parkway of Virginia I can say these wonderful people would give you the shirt off their backs, once you’re accepted by them. A little stand offish at first but once they see you’re genuine they are a friend for life. Love this place.
Western Marylander here! We are also a part of Appalachian culture! Every year, Frostburg State University hosts an Appalachian Festival highlighting the culture and music of Appalachia! There are also many Germans,and Italians in Western Maryland! The Shawnee Native Americans also live in this part of Maryland!
I lived and worked as a forester in Bakersville, NC. The people were kind to me and I cannot say enough about them. Their history is long but let me summarize my experience as strong and kind people…
If you worked there then no doubt you are aware of the way the forest service has gradually tightened access to the pisgah national forest in yancey County. First the picnic grounds, then the slab camp ground, and then the forest service roads one by one to the point that there is only one real camping spot on the entire mountain that everyone is competing for. If you say anything about it they will claim that there is a camp ground just off U S19W which is nonsense there is not a single level spot there.
My 3rd g-grandfather settled in Patrick Co. Germans from Pennsylvania. My 2nd g-grandfather moved from Patrick Co. to what is now West Virginia. Enjoyed the video.
My 5th great grandfather settled in what is today's Patrick Co., VA in 1746. It was the extreme frontier back then, and William Bird's survey between VA & NC ended at Peters Creek near the Dan River in Patrick County, I am related to the Lawson and Dodson who settled there. They later moved to what is now Hancock Co., TN.
We did one of the DNA tests you can order. All four of my grandparents family's came back as "original settlers of the region". We are 100% hillbillies. I'm still in the region.
Grew up in Harlan County, KY just over the mountain from Rose Hill, VA. Miss the area terribly, but still close enough to make it back every month or two.
I have discovered part of my ancestry from this region recently and chuckled when he described the value if freedom and independence over wealth as well as being able to liquidate and move quickly. It’s amazing what we somehow receive from our family generations before. What a beautiful region and peoples! Thank you for your excellent video.
I can definitely tell you’re from the south! As one of them, I’m very interested as I am Melungeon. Your giveaway for being Southern were 2 words, ten (te en) and defend (de-feend). I get it. Me too. 😂
I loved this video from the get go. I know that all the citizens of the USA, unless you are indigenous people, are from all parts of the world...But myself, I am Scottish/Irish descent. I am very proud of the 4th generation to be living in the western north Carolina mountains , known as the Blue Ridge Mountains. I would never, ever trade this region for any other birthplace, home or legacy of my ancestors and my own experience. I love my mountains and I love my people. Forever, the gentle, strong Blue Ridge Mountains.❤❤❤
The people who primarily settled in the Appalachia were mainly the Lowland Scots, Irish, Welsh, and Northern England, especially around the borders (these were called "Reivers" or River Reivers). Their origins also is key to how the Southern dialect developed.
This is literally my heritage and where my family came from. Living in southern Wv my family still resides to this day. My grandfather told us exactly that growing up that our family was primarily farmers because we could be on the move with all the assets at a moments notice. I have spent nearly 10 years tracing my ancestry and family history and it follows exactly what you said in the video. Well done!
My dad is from north/central WV. I wish my grandmother who was born in 1889 and died in 1987 would have shared more about her early life. She had 11 children, all of whom lived to adulthood, no stillbirths or miscarriages. The children all lived past the age of 70. My dad was the 9th child born in 1930. They were dirt poor, but strong and hearty hardworking people. He moved to New Orleans when he was discharged from the army in the 50s and only went back for visits. He had too many memories of being poor and struggling and actually broke the chain of generational poverty in his family.
@@jeannewilson1655 Okay. Thank you. My fingers are too fat for these small letters. I make lots of typos. Ha. To edit your own comment you can either move the cursor back to where the mistake is, just by tapping on the text, or you can add the comment, then act as if you're going to reply to your own comment. There is a choice there for reply, edit, or delete. The three dots on top right corner.
On behalf of those in Central Pennsylvania, I'll say that we see ourselves as and associate with Appalachia and its people generally speaking. I'm glad to see that you included us under the "disputable" category; to us though, it's not disputable. Great video!
To the site author, you have relatives in Hancock Co., TN through your Jefferson Family. They moved there from Patrick Co., VA in 1835. At that time, the Cherokees gave up there Hunting rights on the Clinch River, and the land became available for land grants and settlement.
As a Melungeon, I can assure you my ancestors mixing started occurring in the first years of Jamestown Virginia and even before that in the late 1500’s when the Spanish freed slaves into the Carolinas due to a promise of freedom for anyone who fought for them. We have a lot of forgotten history and those who know need to speak up and educate our fellow Americans.
My families are from McDowell and Watauga counties NC and I went to ASU for undergrad. I had to laugh at how true it was when you called Boone a hippy town.
Great video! As someone who was born and raised in Henry County, VA (with a lot of kinfolk from Patrick County), I enjoyed learning about the region I grew up in. Hope to return to live there someday.
Never realized it was such a big Scots Irish population in these parts! That's where my family ancestry has been traced back to, and weve been living around west virginia and southern PA for like 300 years
Very interesting and educational video! I am from Murphy and I've traced my family's roots back to the early 18th century when they first arrived here. So, this video definitely hit close to home for me. Great job!
My father's mother's people settled Scott County VA well before 1780. My grandmother once told me her grandmother was full Cherokee. I guess as a result I still have a full head of straight black hair at 63 years old.
We share some ancestry, Field Jefferson is my 5th GGF. I have ancestors in the same co. you where talking about.I was born in Botetourt co. an now live in Bedford co. I found this video very good .
Most of my ancestors are from Western Europe and they landed all over the east coast. But they all seemed to congregate in the heart of Appalachia. I was born and raised in southeast Kentucky but have moved away. No joke, looking at the names you have on your family tree, we may be distant cousins. lol I have Hall, Turner, and Cox in my family tree as well so you never know. I always love info on this area. Even though I no longer live there, those mountains are near and dear to me.
Don't get hung up on elevation people. The Cumberland Plateau with elevations that rarely exceed 2,500 feet is an example of "difficult terrain" that exceeds that of areas of the Appalachians at twice the elevation. You must consider this in the whole question of the influence terrain has on culture and human settlement and development. Elevation is relative. Think of the Ozark and Ouachita "mountains" of Arkansas and Missouri.
@@brawndothethirstmutilator9848 didn't say it took being from the east, but people out west act like they're skiing 13000 feet down to sea level. We have resorts here with comparable vert and a little less acres due to our trails being narrower.
It's interesting to think about some of the regional stereotypes we assign to different parts of the US. For a long time I knew only the negative stereotypes of this unique place. It might be cringe but Fallout 76 got me interested in a few things, especially some great music. The game's surface level look got me doing my own research and it was very insightful.
My ancestors were displaced minor nobility from Galloway. They followed McCulloch’s Traders trail off of the Warrior’s trail at Winchester and ended up in the upper Ohio Valley. Long story, but several of the characters in Zane Grey’s Ohio Valley series of three books were my ancestors, notably the Boggs’s and the McCollochs.
Hey man. We are cousins. My 7th great grandmother is Mary Jefferson Nichols, President Jefferson's aunt. I also decent from Melugeon Families Sizemore, Fields, and Sheppard. Ned "Cheif of all" Sizemore was a Cherokee adopted by white folks during the trail of tears days i think or just before it. They moved from Cherokee NC to Hawkins County Tennessee at some point. Great video with great editing and graphics.
That’s wild! Thanks for sharing and I appreciate the kind words. I tried some new things with the editing in this one and a lot of the footage is from a trip I took to the smokies last year.
I moved to Appalachia 2.5 yesrs ago and love it. The people are awesome, the scenery is wonderful, and the rich history is almost too much to actually take in. East Tennessee, BTW.
@@penguinsfan251the Alleghenies are in western Pa. The ridge and valley region isn’t part of the Allegheny plateau. We also have a tiny part of the blue ridge mountains in south central PA
Southern west virginian and I absolutely agree that there is a spirit of rebellion here that is undeniable. We will absolutely take freedom over wealth any day.
Being from the Scottish Borders myself, Appalachia just speaks to me. It’s a dream to travel to Appalachia, for some reason it feels like home! Maybe I was a Scottish immigrant in America in my past life and that’s why I’m so obsessed with America 😂
I'm from Appalachia and have traveled to the Border region of Scotland. I 100% recognized it as home. Turns out they are, geologically speaking, the same hills.
@@HookingAndHiking dude, it’s a dream to fly over to Appalachia, there’s just something about rolling hills and miles of open forest that grasp me. Glad you came to the borders dude! Not many people get to experience this side of Scotland. The Borders are literally mesmerising if you’ve never glanced at them. Again, it’s the rolling hills and small pele towers and abundance of castles in the area that make me feel proud to be Scottish! If Appalachia needs back up, Scotland will be there!
The part you talked through, the Scotch-Irish taking unused land in PA made me think of the series Outlander. Was any of that show truly historical, about the Scottish people?
Before the first African slaves were sent to America, Scots Irish were exported by the Crown to America and sent to plantations throughout the South and the Caribbean. Some were actual indentation servants who wanted to leave the country, but most were criminals, troublemakers, and Catholics, who the Crown believed were trying to overthrow the Anglican Church. The is a video on TH-cam, which reveals this earlier era in Scots Irish history.
Interesting! My dna results were majority ulster Scot too. But my ancestors mostly went to southern Quebec on the border of New York State and Vermont.
My dad’s side is from Washington County, the county beside or near Patrick County, they moved to Ohio where I currently live in the 50’s to find work. My mom’s side is mostly from West Virginia where she is related to both the Hatfields, and the McCoys.
My family settled in cataloochee nc from ireland not long after our country was born. Unfourtantly for my family the government eventually forced them off the land and made it a part of the smokey mountains national park. One of my familys houses the caldwell house still stands to this day. Even though it happened long before i was born i cant help but feel bitter about it since it was my familys land for generations.
The French, English, German & Nordics/Dutch were in Appalachia in most places 100 to 200 years EARLIER than Scotch & Irish --At least this is the case in the Cresson Mountain region... And 100 years later Italians came. JUST like movie "Gangs of New York" (typically I despise HollyWood, but they got that movie correct)
My father, grandfather, and great grandfather were coal miners in WV. My great grandfather led a group of men on Blair Mountain in the mine wars. I am named after them. RIP John McGan buried in Ascoe Hollow in McDowell County, WV 🗿
My Patrick County ancestors go back through John Tuggle , (Tuggle’s Gap on Blue Ridge Parkway) who married Elizabeth Harrison which places us in Benjamin Harrison’s family. He was in the Revolutionary War, helped write and signed the Declaration of Independence, held many offices in our new government including President. I’ve also traced my family through my Grandmother’s family (Bolling) back to Catherine Parr’s sister. (Last wife of Henry VII) Also through the Bolling I’ve traced our heritage back to Charlemagne. There is strong possibility you and I could be related. My grandmother was Lilly Jathina Bolling was married to William Elmer Adkins. We are also related to Stephen Hopkins, the only person who arrived at both Jamestown and Plymouth as he returned to England after the starving days in Jamestown and then sailed to Plymouth for the Virginia Company stayed and raised his family. 👍 you have done a great job on this great video!
From south Central, Pennsylvania to Northern Georgia Appalachia I believe it should be its own state. I feel at home even if I’m multiple states away as long as I’m still in the mountains. New York, Vermont and New Hampshire are still really similar, but not quite like the southern half
Me My great gran died in the same house that she was born in up in there, my gran died a few miles away from that house, my mother a few more miles away from that. Me, probably a thousand or two miles away, the rustbelt is dying. E: I have tasted the bathtub moonshine. Set yourself to maximum pucker is all I have to say.
My grandfather was a Hillbilly from Croatia. Was recruited by West Virginia coal company in 1912, and was in debt to them forever basically. Company script is what they got paid, not cash. So he ran a still. Helped to feed 7 kids. The story went that because of the still, he knew company cops well. They informed him it would be wise to leave town because of his involvement with attempted unionization. Coal companies were ruthless. Ended up in Chicago area steel mills/ quarry. Grandpa had a neighborhood smokehouse, and maybe a little still (prohibition) lol. I like Bluegrass. The mandolin and dobro sound a lot like traditional Croation music. I can just imagine all the different miners from different countries gathering for jam sessions. Was also told a Scottish woman tried to steal my father because he was such a "bonnie lad".
@cwlj16 I saw grandfather's naturalization application, and he put down Austria as home country. (It was all part of the empire prior to WW1) I think the ship was SS Breslau? Do you know what town your grandfather was in?
I have an ancestor who was born in Virginia in 1730- it does not say where his parents were from. They lived there for a couple generations and moved to minnesota where I am from. The last name is lyons. It kills me that I can’t figure out where they came from!
Thank you, thank you for having the respect to call it App-ah-latch-a. I get so annoyed with people who do documentaries of Appalachia and can’t even get the pronunciation correct! I quit listening the minute they do because their ignorance is so annoying and when you attempt to gently tell them the correct pronunciation they look down their noses and assure you BOTH pronunciations are correct. I mean, really?? I am 4th generation Appalachian and definitely know how we pronounce where we have lived for over 150 years. Talk about being disrespectful, that’s it! If you want to document about an area, at least have the integrity to try to get it right. On a better note, I really did enjoy this video. Thank you for posting it and for allowing me to vent just a little.
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I’m born and raised in Roanoke, VA. We’re are west of the Blue Ridge, so IN the Appalachians, but would definitely not qualify it as part of the culture. Also, Floyd is the next county over. Cool place for Bluegrass.
The Appalachian mountains are literally older than bones. Such a magical place, especially along the Blue Ridge!
Country Roads just plays better when you know where these places are and what they look like.
They are the oldest mountains in the world. The oldest river is there, too, and it's so old there are no fossils. This info comes from a scientist. I used to live there.
They're also older than trees.
@@egrogan6482We have fossils
I live right at the base of the Blue Ridge and I have a wonderful view of the second tallest mountain in Virginia from my front porch. I've lived here my entire life and I wouldn't trade it for a bag of speed (if you know you know, lol) or the world.
As an Appalachian, I have never felt so accurately represented. Great video and accurate research!
I appreciate it! Thanks for watching!
I've been trying to find my long lost family, I found out they are from and might still be in the area.
I considered moving out west, but I would miss my misty mountains too much. She is my home and the reason our country exists at all. God bless Appalachia and her people.
I’m Appalachian and I spend alot of time out west. I love the desert but I can’t stay too long, it’s beautiful but it feels dead. We have so much life in our mountains. I live at the ocean on the east coast now and it’s fine with me. I’m not far from our mountains and still spend alot of time in them.
I am an Appalachian American, and I approve this message. Now ya’ll git on outa here!
Peter Santenello has a great ground level series on Appalachia and he meets fascinating people. I'm only in the episode about Cherokee country but it is top notch and good for continued watching after this one. 👍
💯💯💯 brother Titus is doing good things
Yes, I saw that and remember you. It’s so beautiful there. Wish I could visit.
Titus is very interesting @@JefferyGoines98
I leave no room for doubt HILLBILLY is the ultimate compliment that you can say about me.
Unless it’s spoken by someone who isn’t also a “hillbilly” then that’s how you start a fight
@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606 oh no I thank them profusely for being so sweet and kind to point it out to others that might not be aware that I am a HILLBILLY!!!!!
How about colonizer?
@user-6K38d95gfH I ain't colonized shit. I wuz born in these here mountains.
I am foreign born and lived much of my life in southern California. Believe or not though, I can relate to this. When my neighbor across the branch of our spring, who was born across the road and lived all his life in this holler, told me I was a Hillbilly now, I knew I was alright with my adopted people in my adopted Homeland. I just had to laugh and tell him, " You say it like some would think it was a bad thing and I tw'ern't so already."
I am an Appalachian by marriage, but more importantly by intent and choice. The future of my branch of the clan is a strange, new, American and Appalachian one and I'd have it no other way.
If this topic was interesting to you read American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard. It was my largest source of information for this video.
African, Cherokee and European (Scottish) here. I never knew ther was a term for my triracial heritage...Melungeon❤❤
It's a really good book. "American Nations" was a revelation in many ways.
Excellent source 👏
I've never been to Appalachian but I've heard many great things, I used to work with a lady about 12 years ago and she told me she was born and raised in Appalachian, she told me she grew up dirt poor without lights and running water, and I told her, you and my dad have something in common, when they met they quickly became good friends, she was one of the nicest people I've ever met, and that's all I've ever heard about people from Appalachian, that they are some of the nicest people that you ever want to meet and talk to .
Melungeon Appalachian here ❤, thanks for talking about the region
The story of my ancestors! If anyone cares to hear some folk music from the area, I encourage you to look into Bluegrass music. I personally dont like country music, but Bluegrass has a very authentic feeling and is genuinely beautiful.
I'm from a long line of bluegrass players although I lean more towards southern blues, I'm from Campbell County but got family out up I the hills.
The best music!!
Like many UK fans of bluegrass and Appalachian music, I've always been intrigued by this area and the people who gave the world this very special sound, and this video has been great to see. I've only visited twice, in 1983 and 1984, to visit my friend bluegrass star Bill Clifton, who taught us so much when he lived in England in the 1960s and 1970s: he showed me the land and rivers, the place in Bristol (Tennessee/Virginia) where the Carter Family recorded some their first songs, and the Carter Fold in Hiltons where their descendents set up a music venue - brilliant!
Bill gave me a copy of Harry M Caudill's 'Night comes to the Cumberlands' which gave me a lot of background, but - as you say - the music expresses a lot of the truth about the mountains and the people.
A genealogy expert told me that 80% of people in The USA in the 1600s were indentured servants. Somebody paid for their passage to the colonies. They were treated bad ,so when their servitude was over they left the area cause they were looked down on. So they settled in the frontier of Southern Appalachian. The land was cheap and they could get land grants from lord Grandville in England.
Caledonia is a great band carrying out the tradition
“Tend to be violent” my family consisting of Hatfields. Me: “yeah, that checks out”
Having grown up and live currently in West Virginia I’ve become accustomed to the independence and freedom of living here, I don’t think I could move anywhere else I already struggle with the culture shock of the city when visiting my brother in Harrisburg PA.
Exactly bro there’s just something about these mountains that everywhere else can’t seem to beat in my opinion.
The way things are going in the big cities why would you want to live there? I feel like Appalachia is about the safest place left
I'm related to the Hatfields about 4 or 5 generations back. My dad's people are from the mountains of West Virginia. According to family lore my great grandfather left Kentucky during the feud.
🤔🤓🍻
@@jimc.goodfellas Harrisburg really isn’t a terrible place, I think it’s location being so close to the Amish community and rural central PA keeps it pretty tame, there are some things about it, but it’s the only city I know of that you can legally conceal carry in with a valid permit from PA or a state with shared reciprocity like WV. Went to the native festival they hold every year and was shocked at the amount of vendors carrying firearms.
Harrisburg ain't no city, not big city anyway; maybe Philadelphia, NYC, Boston now those are cities.
Originally from Florida, I moved here - via Texas - exactly because of the stereotypes you mentioned early on... self-sufficiency, distrust of authority, strong sense of family and community, and the promise of violence when you fuck with any of that.
I've just made it past the ad, but I gotta say it was the best ad I've seen in a while. I didn't know it was an actual ad until the end.
I grew up at the foot hills of the Great Smoky Mountains in east TN. I absolutly love this region and I am proud of it. I love the fact that after a week of work, I can go into the mountains, pick from hundreads of trails and just start walking and get lost. It is such a beautiful area.
I’m Scots/Irish-Cherokee West Virginian and I’m proud of my heritage. Thanks for making this video, real cool to see my peoples history and how we came about to this wonderful and mystical place I call home.
I’ve been all over the country and parts of West Virginia are as beautiful as anywhere in the US. Just a magical place
The mountains in wva are breathtaking !!!!
Except for the parts where the coal companies ripped the tops off many mountains!
Proud daughter of Scott’s-Irish descent here. It’s fascinating to learn more of our history and recognize how the experiences of our ancestors have shaped our own values, traditions and norms. For those interested I would highly recommend the book “Born Fighting” by James Webb.
Gave your channel a follow a fellow Appalachian here in Washington County Virginia.
Closer to TN my home town was discovered by Daniel Boone and first named Wolfe Hills.
I am also Scots-Irish and got some Pennsylvania Dutch in my bloodline.
My family is similar Bucks and Lancaster counties in PA, then on to upper appalachia i n Washington Co, PA. My imgrant grandparents entered the port of Philadelphia in the 1720's and stayed in the two counties mentioned long enough to have 17 children, then Great-Grandpa 6 or 7x got itchy feet and moved his family to Washington County, PA. Which is where most stayed for a couple generations. We might be cousins :)
Wow. How exciting. Gos bless.
Me too!!
My family is from NC via Germany and Switzerland. Scots and Irish too. And Scots Irish. Moore County in the early 1700s. Independence and freedom to do what you want. Self sufficiency. Distrust of government. Wariness of strangers. My dad was raised in north Alabama. Near the mountains. My family in north Alabama was from my great grandfather moving to north Alabama from Moore County. Long story. Others of my family moved there in 1820s. Land for guns made by my ancestors. For the revolution and 1812. Kennedy is an ancestor name. The Kennedy Rifle was my family. Gunsmiths and farmers. I’m an independent rebellious woman and I had no clue I had so much Scots in my DNA. I still have the German name. It explains so much. Personal freedom is what we wanted then and now. The mountains drew so many because it was like home. Moonshine and whiskey were commodities and was vital to Scots. And Irish. I was also curious about native DNA. I have none. Mississippi has a band of Choctaw.
There is something about the Appalachian Mountains that even city folk hide here. When the lockdowns for C started people poured out of the cities into rentals in the mountains. I’m glad to have been born here and can’t imagine being from anywhere else. The next best place is with Jesus.
As a N.C. girl, who has moved to the Blue Ridge Parkway of Virginia I can say these wonderful people would give you the shirt off their backs, once you’re accepted by them. A little stand offish at first but once they see you’re genuine they are a friend for life. Love this place.
Best region in the US
I completely agree
I third this agreement.
I'd love to retire there for sure
The Mountain West is better, there is less people and taller mountains
Isn't it the most impoverished, obese, and has like no jobs and everybody is on meth or pills?
Western Marylander here! We are also a part of Appalachian culture! Every year, Frostburg State University hosts an Appalachian Festival highlighting the culture and music of Appalachia! There are also many Germans,and Italians in Western Maryland! The Shawnee Native Americans also live in this part of Maryland!
I lived and worked as a forester in Bakersville, NC. The people were kind to me and I cannot say enough about them. Their history is long but let me summarize my experience as strong and kind people…
So true!
If you worked there then no doubt you are aware of the way the forest service has gradually tightened access to the pisgah national forest in yancey County. First the picnic grounds, then the slab camp ground, and then the forest service roads one by one to the point that there is only one real camping spot on the entire mountain that everyone is competing for. If you say anything about it they will claim that there is a camp ground just off U S19W which is nonsense there is not a single level spot there.
Bakersville and across the mountain into Avery County is where all of my family are from Scots Irish (watson) and dellingers from Germany
My 3rd g-grandfather settled in Patrick Co. Germans from Pennsylvania. My 2nd g-grandfather moved from Patrick Co. to what is now West Virginia. Enjoyed the video.
My 5th great grandfather settled in what is today's Patrick Co., VA in 1746.
It was the extreme frontier back then, and William Bird's survey between
VA & NC ended at Peters Creek near the Dan River in Patrick County, I am
related to the Lawson and Dodson who settled there. They later moved to
what is now Hancock Co., TN.
We did one of the DNA tests you can order. All four of my grandparents family's came back as "original settlers of the region". We are 100% hillbillies. I'm still in the region.
Grew up in and have family in Harrogate TN! Cumberland gap is such a beautiful place 😊 I live in SC now and miss it so much!!!
Grew up in Harlan County, KY just over the mountain from Rose Hill, VA. Miss the area terribly, but still close enough to make it back every month or two.
I have discovered part of my ancestry from this region recently and chuckled when he described the value if freedom and independence over wealth as well as being able to liquidate and move quickly. It’s amazing what we somehow receive from our family generations before.
What a beautiful region and peoples! Thank you for your excellent video.
I can definitely tell you’re from the south! As one of them, I’m very interested as I am Melungeon. Your giveaway for being Southern were 2 words, ten (te en) and defend (de-feend). I get it. Me too. 😂
I won't lie, I heard the accent and subbed because I definitely want a soft southern accent explaining cool maps to me
My roots are in Appalachia. I live in Northern Georgia and it is a beautiful place full of history!
I loved this video from the get go. I know that all the citizens of the USA, unless you are indigenous people, are from all parts of the world...But myself, I am Scottish/Irish descent. I am very proud of the 4th generation to be living in the western north Carolina mountains , known as the Blue Ridge Mountains. I would never, ever trade this region for any other birthplace, home or legacy of my ancestors and my own experience. I love my mountains and I love my people. Forever, the gentle, strong Blue Ridge Mountains.❤❤❤
The people who primarily settled in the Appalachia were mainly the Lowland Scots, Irish, Welsh, and Northern England, especially around the borders (these were called "Reivers" or River Reivers). Their origins also is key to how the Southern dialect developed.
Very interesting video. Thanks for sharing!
No problem! Thanks for watching!
This is literally my heritage and where my family came from. Living in southern Wv my family still resides to this day. My grandfather told us exactly that growing up that our family was primarily farmers because we could be on the move with all the assets at a moments notice. I have spent nearly 10 years tracing my ancestry and family history and it follows exactly what you said in the video. Well done!
My dad is from north/central WV. I wish my grandmother who was born in 1889 and died in 1987 would have shared more about her early life. She had 11 children, all of whom lived to adulthood, no stillbirths or miscarriages. The children all lived past the age of 70. My dad was the 9th child born in 1930. They were dirt poor, but strong and hearty hardworking people. He moved to New Orleans when he was discharged from the army in the 50s and only went back for visits. He had too many memories of being poor and struggling and actually broke the chain of generational poverty in his family.
What year did she die? Too many numbers.
@@patriciajrs46 Sorry about the typo - I can't figure out how to edit a YT comment. She died in 1987 she was 97 years old.
@@jeannewilson1655 Okay. Thank you. My fingers are too fat for these small letters. I make lots of typos. Ha.
To edit your own comment you can either move the cursor back to where the mistake is, just by tapping on the text, or you can add the comment, then act as if you're going to reply to your own comment. There is a choice there for reply, edit, or delete. The three dots on top right corner.
@@jeannewilson1655 each comment has 3 dots top right. Go in there to edit your original work.
Proud to be Appalachian.
Well, I should specify that I'm not a native American.
@ZINCr_aka_Q you are if you were born here
@@Winters_Folly I meant as in a Native, like Cherokee or Choctaw
@ZINCr_aka_Q Those are Amerindians, theyre not natives by ethnicity since theyre asians from asia.
@@Winters_Folly They're more native than the Indo-Europeans.
On behalf of those in Central Pennsylvania, I'll say that we see ourselves as and associate with Appalachia and its people generally speaking. I'm glad to see that you included us under the "disputable" category; to us though, it's not disputable. Great video!
i love this explanation, it goes into detail and simple explanation and easier to understand, thank u
To the site author, you have relatives in Hancock Co., TN through your Jefferson
Family. They moved there from Patrick Co., VA in 1835. At that time, the Cherokees
gave up there Hunting rights on the Clinch River, and the land became available for
land grants and settlement.
As a Melungeon, I can assure you my ancestors mixing started occurring in the first years of Jamestown Virginia and even before that in the late 1500’s when the Spanish freed slaves into the Carolinas due to a promise of freedom for anyone who fought for them. We have a lot of forgotten history and those who know need to speak up and educate our fellow Americans.
My families are from McDowell and Watauga counties NC and I went to ASU for undergrad. I had to laugh at how true it was when you called Boone a hippy town.
I live in McDowell. Did you notice the video misspelled "Asheville"?
Hey ya’ll 🙋🏻♀️ from over here in Burke Co. ✌🏻
@@cynsi7604out here on 181 neighbor
i mean thats what its known to be
@@mr.christopher79 Oh, they aren't wrong, it just made me laugh.
Great video! As someone who was born and raised in Henry County, VA (with a lot of kinfolk from Patrick County), I enjoyed learning about the region I grew up in. Hope to return to live there someday.
Never realized it was such a big Scots Irish population in these parts! That's where my family ancestry has been traced back to, and weve been living around west virginia and southern PA for like 300 years
Yeah, it was mostly Scots-Irish & Germans, along with whatever slaves they brought in West Virginia for quite a while.
Fellow Scots Irish Appalachian of Southern PA. Which county are ye from?
Same. Settled southern WV. Been here at least 3 generations by the Rev war, don't know for sure when we got here.
Scots-Irish from SW Virginia and SE Kentucky. We didn’t know where the majority of our ancestors originated, but we knew we were Scottish.
Hell yeah
Very well done! Thank you for making and sharing this.
Thank you!
Very interesting and educational video! I am from Murphy and I've traced my family's roots back to the early 18th century when they first arrived here. So, this video definitely hit close to home for me. Great job!
Thank you, well done.
I’m directly related to Field Jefferson as well!!! I am descended from his son Peter Field.
Dang I’m finding all of my cousins in the comments! lol
@@GeographyGeekmy Jeffersons settled in Pittsylvania county not too far east from you
I love watching these kind of videos
Thank you for pronouncing it correctly
What a beautiful heritage!! Thank you for this video!
Good video. Thanks it was very informative.
As a resident of Patrick county it’s always cool when we’re mentioned for something.
Great video on the most beautiful place on earth 🌍
My father's mother's people settled Scott County VA well before 1780. My grandmother once told me her grandmother was full Cherokee. I guess as a result I still have a full head of straight black hair at 63 years old.
Many Natives and Whites intermarriage, had children and lived a productive fruitful life.
We share some ancestry, Field Jefferson is my 5th GGF. I have ancestors in the same co. you where talking about.I was born in Botetourt co. an now live in Bedford co. I found this video very good .
Wow a geography geek video about my family and where i still live. You know me and my brothers hand dug our diddys grave? Lol. We are wild.
These are my people: independent, innovative, self-sufficient, and loyal to a fault.
Most of my ancestors are from Western Europe and they landed all over the east coast. But they all seemed to congregate in the heart of Appalachia. I was born and raised in southeast Kentucky but have moved away. No joke, looking at the names you have on your family tree, we may be distant cousins. lol I have Hall, Turner, and Cox in my family tree as well so you never know. I always love info on this area. Even though I no longer live there, those mountains are near and dear to me.
Don't get hung up on elevation people. The Cumberland Plateau with elevations that rarely exceed 2,500 feet is an example of "difficult terrain" that exceeds that of areas of the Appalachians at twice the elevation. You must consider this in the whole question of the influence terrain has on culture and human settlement and development. Elevation is relative. Think of the Ozark and Ouachita "mountains" of Arkansas and Missouri.
As a snowboarder from the east coast, I try and tell people this all the time that live out west. Elevation has little to do with terrain.
Ozarks, Boston's and Ouachita Mountains are, culturally/ ethnically speaking;
Part of Greater Appalachia
@Drwexter, Doesn’t take being from back east to understand this. We have plenty of difficult terrain in absence of high elevation here in the west.
@@brawndothethirstmutilator9848 didn't say it took being from the east, but people out west act like they're skiing 13000 feet down to sea level. We have resorts here with comparable vert and a little less acres due to our trails being narrower.
@@brawndothethirstmutilator9848 Does that make the Ecomony suck?
It's interesting to think about some of the regional stereotypes we assign to different parts of the US. For a long time I knew only the negative stereotypes of this unique place. It might be cringe but Fallout 76 got me interested in a few things, especially some great music. The game's surface level look got me doing my own research and it was very insightful.
Well done!
Thank you!
My ancestors were displaced minor nobility from Galloway. They followed McCulloch’s Traders trail off of the Warrior’s trail at Winchester and ended up in the upper Ohio Valley. Long story, but several of the characters in Zane Grey’s Ohio Valley series of three books were my ancestors, notably the Boggs’s and the McCollochs.
Hey man. We are cousins. My 7th great grandmother is Mary Jefferson Nichols, President Jefferson's aunt. I also decent from Melugeon Families Sizemore, Fields, and Sheppard. Ned "Cheif of all" Sizemore was a Cherokee adopted by white folks during the trail of tears days i think or just before it. They moved from Cherokee NC to Hawkins County Tennessee at some point. Great video with great editing and graphics.
That’s wild! Thanks for sharing and I appreciate the kind words. I tried some new things with the editing in this one and a lot of the footage is from a trip I took to the smokies last year.
Great video.
I moved to Appalachia 2.5 yesrs ago and love it. The people are awesome, the scenery is wonderful, and the rich history is almost too much to actually take in. East Tennessee, BTW.
Wow. Your Great Grandfather bears a striking resemblance to me. I trace family to Northern Alabama/Eastern Tennessee/Western N.C.
Appalachia stretches from Alabama to West Virginia and maybe southern Pennsylvania. North of there it's Appalaychia.
North of the Mason Dixon Line they are the Alleghenies.
@@penguinsfan251the Alleghenies are in western Pa. The ridge and valley region isn’t part of the Allegheny plateau. We also have a tiny part of the blue ridge mountains in south central PA
I grew up in Patrick county. I love the blue ridge mountains. 🩵
Southern west virginian and I absolutely agree that there is a spirit of rebellion here that is undeniable. We will absolutely take freedom over wealth any day.
Well done fellow Appalachian. Well done!
Thank you!
My great grandmother, julia mcclain hartman hensley lived in wise co, va.
Being from the Scottish Borders myself, Appalachia just speaks to me. It’s a dream to travel to Appalachia, for some reason it feels like home! Maybe I was a Scottish immigrant in America in my past life and that’s why I’m so obsessed with America 😂
I'm from Appalachia and have traveled to the Border region of Scotland. I 100% recognized it as home. Turns out they are, geologically speaking, the same hills.
@@HookingAndHiking dude, it’s a dream to fly over to Appalachia, there’s just something about rolling hills and miles of open forest that grasp me. Glad you came to the borders dude! Not many people get to experience this side of Scotland. The Borders are literally mesmerising if you’ve never glanced at them. Again, it’s the rolling hills and small pele towers and abundance of castles in the area that make me feel proud to be Scottish!
If Appalachia needs back up, Scotland will be there!
Great video! I'm from Patrick County as well.
i live in floyd co. Its amazing how these values and mentality still remain. Family and neighbors are kin, everyone else is up to something.
Thank you
The part you talked through, the Scotch-Irish taking unused land in PA made me think of the series Outlander. Was any of that show truly historical, about the Scottish people?
The show was based on the book series, and those books are absolutely historical fiction. Lots of great history in the books.
I really liked this one!
You gotta include SW PA especially Greene and Fayette Counties
It's Greene county. 😊 I live here
@@wandamontgomery6030 my bad yo
Before the first African slaves were sent to America, Scots Irish were exported by the Crown to America and sent to plantations throughout the South and the Caribbean. Some were actual indentation servants who wanted to leave the country, but most were criminals, troublemakers, and Catholics, who the Crown believed were trying to overthrow the Anglican Church. The is a video on TH-cam, which reveals this earlier era in Scots Irish history.
Scotch Irish are NOT by definition, Catholic.
Scots Irish were all Protestants, not Catholics.
@@baneofbanes That was true in the North, but the King was shipping the Southerners to the the colonies as stated above. Search for the video.
@@paulsullivan3501 those people weren’t scots-Irish, they were Irish. There’s a fucking difference between the two.
Irish were indentured servants as well.
Interesting! My dna results were majority ulster Scot too. But my ancestors mostly went to southern Quebec on the border of New York State and Vermont.
I’m just hyped that the Melungeons made it into the vid!!! We hardly are a footnote in most history books.
My dad’s side is from Washington County, the county beside or near Patrick County, they moved to Ohio where I currently live in the 50’s to find work. My mom’s side is mostly from West Virginia where she is related to both the Hatfields, and the McCoys.
I lived in the Appalachian mountain range up in Pennsylvania.Best place to grow up when you're a kid
My family settled in cataloochee nc from ireland not long after our country was born. Unfourtantly for my family the government eventually forced them off the land and made it a part of the smokey mountains national park. One of my familys houses the caldwell house still stands to this day. Even though it happened long before i was born i cant help but feel bitter about it since it was my familys land for generations.
Thanks for this video. Only one thought - Asheville has two "e"s in it.
The French, English, German & Nordics/Dutch were in Appalachia in most places 100 to 200 years EARLIER than Scotch & Irish --At least this is the case in the Cresson Mountain region... And 100 years later Italians came. JUST like movie "Gangs of New York" (typically I despise HollyWood, but they got that movie correct)
I did work in Patrick County. Good people.
My father, grandfather, and great grandfather were coal miners in WV. My great grandfather led a group of men on Blair Mountain in the mine wars. I am named after them. RIP John McGan buried in Ascoe Hollow in McDowell County, WV 🗿
My Patrick County ancestors go back through John Tuggle , (Tuggle’s Gap on Blue Ridge Parkway) who married Elizabeth Harrison which places us in Benjamin Harrison’s family. He was in the Revolutionary War, helped write and signed the Declaration of Independence, held many offices in our new government including President. I’ve also traced my family through my Grandmother’s family (Bolling) back to Catherine Parr’s sister. (Last wife of Henry VII) Also through the Bolling I’ve traced our heritage back to Charlemagne. There is strong possibility you and I could be related. My grandmother was Lilly Jathina Bolling was married to William Elmer Adkins. We are also related to Stephen Hopkins, the only person who arrived at both Jamestown and Plymouth as he returned to England after the starving days in Jamestown and then sailed to Plymouth for the Virginia Company stayed and raised his family. 👍 you have done a great job on this great video!
The best place to live for beauty and good people. My family goes 11 generations from the 1700s to me in the 1950s
We are Scots and Irish, Welsh. My Scots ancestors were Jacobites
From south Central, Pennsylvania to Northern Georgia Appalachia I believe it should be its own state. I feel at home even if I’m multiple states away as long as I’m still in the mountains. New York, Vermont and New Hampshire are still really similar, but not quite like the southern half
Me
My great gran died in the same house that she was born in up in there, my gran died a few miles away from that house, my mother a few more miles away from that. Me, probably a thousand or two miles away, the rustbelt is dying.
E: I have tasted the bathtub moonshine. Set yourself to maximum pucker is all I have to say.
My grandfather was a Hillbilly from Croatia. Was recruited by West Virginia coal company in 1912, and was in debt to them forever basically. Company script is what they got paid, not cash.
So he ran a still. Helped to feed 7 kids.
The story went that because of the still, he knew company cops well. They informed him it would be wise to leave town because of his involvement with attempted unionization.
Coal companies were ruthless.
Ended up in Chicago area steel mills/ quarry. Grandpa had a neighborhood smokehouse, and maybe a little still (prohibition) lol.
I like Bluegrass. The mandolin and dobro sound a lot like traditional Croation music.
I can just imagine all the different miners from different countries gathering for jam sessions.
Was also told a Scottish woman tried to steal my father because he was such a "bonnie lad".
My great great grandfather came from Austria to WV to work in the mines. I always wondered how that happened but maybe he was recruited as well.
@cwlj16 I saw grandfather's naturalization application, and he put down Austria as home country. (It was all part of the empire prior to WW1)
I think the ship was SS Breslau?
Do you know what town your grandfather was in?
Proudly born and raised in Carter County Tennessee!
It’s very interesting that the Appalachians are the same mountain range as the Scottish Highlands
I have an ancestor who was born in Virginia in 1730- it does not say where his parents were from. They lived there for a couple generations and moved to minnesota where I am from. The last name is lyons. It kills me that I can’t figure out where they came from!
Thank you, thank you for having the respect to call it App-ah-latch-a. I get so annoyed with people who do documentaries of Appalachia and can’t even get the pronunciation correct! I quit listening the minute they do because their ignorance is so annoying and when you attempt to gently tell them the correct pronunciation they look down their noses and assure you BOTH pronunciations are correct. I mean, really?? I am 4th generation Appalachian and definitely know how we pronounce where we have lived for over 150 years. Talk about being disrespectful, that’s it! If you want to document about an area, at least have the integrity to try to get it right.
On a better note, I really did enjoy this video. Thank you for posting it and for allowing me to vent just a little.
So glad he pronounces it correctly.
Johnson City, TN here