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Apparently the number of Scots-Irish have been dropping with each census. This is from Irish Central (which I don't value too highly for accuracy) but they do give a good selection of topics.
The term is first known to have been used to refer to a people living in northeastern Ireland. In a letter of April 14, 1573, in reference to Ulster, Elizabeth I of England stated, "We are given to understand that a nobleman named 'Sorley Boy' [MacDonnell] and others, who be of the Scotch-Irish race...” This term continued in usage for over a century before the earliest known American reference appeared in a Maryland affidavit in 1689/90.
The name Scots Irish is a misnomer. Ulster Irish, descended from Scottish settlers, is a fairer description as very few emigrated from Scotland to the US.
Scots Irish states by the numbers:
- Texas 287,393 (1.1%)
- North Carolina- 274,149 (2.9%)
- California- 247,530 (0.7%)
- Florida- 170,880 (0.9%)
- Pennsylvania- 163,836 (1.3%)
- Tennessee- 153,073 (2.4%)
- Virginia- 140,769 (1.8%)
- Georgia- 124,186 (1.3%)
- Ohio- 123,572 (1.1%)
- South Carolina- 113,008 (2.4%)
- North Carolina (2.9%)
- South Carolina, Tennessee (2.4%)
- West Virginia (2.1%)
- Montana, Virginia (1.8%)
- Maine (1.7%)
- Alabama, Mississippi (1.6%)
- Kentucky, Oregon, Wyoming (1.5%)
http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/an...-way-down.html
Anyway I'd just presume that as time goes on the proportion of the population that are Scots-Irish would decrease. I mean Scots-Irish wouldn't marry other Scots-Irish but would likely marry people of other ancestries. Also Scots-Irish came to the US centuries ago now so the amount of people identifying as such would be decreasing.
Another reason would be that people are just identifying as American.
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