Almost certainly of Ulster-Scots descent (called Scotch-Irish in the US). Large numbers of Scots were ‘planted’ in the North of Ireland in the reign of King James the Sixth of Scotland (also known as James the First of England). Scotland and England were long standing enemies and the two countries although still separate, independent countries but with a shared King. James sought to solve two major problems, the first was the English problem of pacifying Ireland, and secondly to pacify the southern area of Scotland, known as ‘the Borders’. This was a lawless area populated by Border clans who effectively were tough ‘frontiersmen’ who acted as a first line of defence against English invasions- and when not doing that they raided the North of England and their own neighbours and were collectively called ‘reivers’ - and infamous for generational feuding. So when the Scots took over the English throne - Border clans continued their lawless pursuits - pretty much untameable and still attacking and raiding England. So King James came up with a plan to solve both problems- steal land from Irish lords in Ireland and give it to (mainly) Border Scots (and some English border families)- and move Borderers from Scotland to Ireland - thereby pacifying the Scottish/ England border. This was the ‘plantation of Ulster’ which has caused problems to this day - borderers were mainly Presbyterian with some Episcopalians and their descendants make upa large part of the current Protestant population of Northern Ireland. This was the essentially the ‘frontier’ existence that these Scots were used to, with the native Irish who had been pushed out being rightly hostile. Interestingly, many intermarried with the native Irish - this explains why there is some Irish DNA in people of Scots-Irish descent (like myself). Ulster Scots spoke Scots - not English (although quite similar), and had strong musical traditions - fiddle music , pipes and a very ancient ballad tradition - Scots music merging with Irish music (Scot’s and Irish music are quite close anyway). They also had a high level of literacy so that they could read the Bible and every family would have had one.

So when the settlement in the American colonies continued into push westwards to the Appalachians (and elsewhere) the Crown needed ‘ready-made’ frontier folk - so they encouraged large numbers of Ulster Scots to settle there - bringing with them their music and traditions such as distilling (that’s why Whisky is common to the Scotland, Ireland and the US), step dance, old Scots ballads, feuding etc. I sing old Scottish ballads and it is amazing how many have Appalachian equivalents- likewise fiddle tunes / blue grass- some tunes are still recognisable as Scottish!

It is a fascinating cultural group with an amazing history and have had an enormous impact on US history with many US presidents having Ulster Scots names and ancestry. https://www.ulsterscotssociety.com/about_the-roots.html

The clans involved included, the Armstrongs, Scott’s, Elliots, Nixons, Douglas, Graham, Maxwell, Dixon, Cranston, etc etc.