Historical US documents relating to Upperlands native to make their way across the Atlantic

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has announced that original documents highlighting the deep historical links between the United States and parts of Northern Ireland, including Upperlands, will be coming here later this year.

The Minister visited the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, where he viewed the documents first-hand in specialist storage.

The Minister said: “I am delighted that my Department has secured the loan of some remarkable original documents that form an important part of America’s history. They will be carefully transported across the Atlantic to feature in an exciting new exhibition celebrating the legacy created by the many thousands who left these shores for America in the late 1700s.

“This will be the first time in history that the documents have been on loan outside of the USA. This has been achieved through direct engagement between my officials and the Library of Congress over several months, with my recent visit sealing the deal in person.”

Documents relating to the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence will be shown in the ‘Voices Across the Atlantic: The Ulster Legacy in America’ exhibition in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI).

Among the highlights that will form part of the exhibition are papers relating to Charles Thomson, originally from Gorteade, Upperlands, Co. Derry and Secretary to the Continental Congress that formulated the Declaration, and Andrew Jackson, the seventh US President, whose parents hailed from Carrickfergus.

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The Minister added: “I encourage everyone to come along later in the year to explore these documents and much more.

“The exhibition in PRONI is one of the events that will help Northern Ireland commemorate the deep historical and ongoing connections that exist between here and the USA.”

Dr. Kevin Butterfield, Acting Chief of the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress said: “The Library of Congress is happy to play a role in this exhibition by loaning materials that can help people in Northern Ireland learn more about the rich and complex history of the founding of the United States. It’s a history shaped in important ways by people from Ulster, as these documents bring to life.”

PRONI’s ‘Voices Across the Atlantic: The Ulster Legacy in America’ exhibition will take place at its headquarters in Titanic Quarter, Belfast this autumn. More details will follow.

To find out more about events across Northern Ireland marking the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence and its links with Ulster, visit here.

Read the Minister’s oral statement to the Assembly