The Prebyterians
The Scots-Irish left
Scotland
(part of England) to live
in Ireland. However, they found harsh living conditions
and persecution in Ireland by English landowners. As a
result, many thousands of Scots-Irishmoved to this
colony in the 1700s. They brought the Presbyterian
religion with them. These settlers became known as the
pioneers
who settled the frontier parts of Pennsylvania.
They also startedmany colleges.
The Catholics
Thousands of Catholics came to Pennsylvania from
southern
Ireland
. Living conditions in Ireland were harsh.
In the early 1700s, several thousand Irish Catholics
emigrated to our colony. Even thoughmany Protestant
groups left the Catholic Church to form their own
religions, Catholics were still welcomed in the
Pennsylvania colony. This was a colony where religious
freedomwas guaranteed. Later, in the 1840s,
thousands of Irish emigrated here when their potato
crops were destroyed by a plant disease.
The Jews
People of the Jewish faith were frommany nations.
They were usually persecuted in the country fromwhich
they moved. People of the Jewish faith began to arrive in
Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. They settled in the
“cities” of our colony. Remember, however, that cities
were very small in the 1700s, not like what you are
used to seeing today.
Beth ShalomCongregation is one of
themany Jewish synagogues in
Pennsylvania. It was designed by
the famous architect Frank
LloydWright and is a
national landmark.
36
Understanding Pennsylvania
The Cathedral of St. Paul in
Pittsburgh is the head church of the
Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.
