The Comet of 1811
“Witnesses described a glowing head with an enormous tail that seemed to spread across half the heavens. By October and November of 1811, the comet had become so brilliant that travelers could navigate by its light. Some accounts compared it to a torch suspended over the frontier.”
Why Border Families Left Scotland
“For many, the Atlantic crossing appeared to outsiders as the beginning of a journey. But in truth, it represented the continuation of one already generations old. The movement from Scotland into Ulster formed the middle passage between the western marches and the Appalachian frontier — linking the tower houses of Dumfriesshire to the valleys of Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and the American South.”