He probably left Newry, (County Down), Ireland, on June 19, 1773, and arrived at Charleston aboard the Elliott on August 18, 1773, along with his wife, Matilda Carson McGough. The voyage lasted three months. They arrived with a group of related Carsons and McDowells, and were not indentured.
Religious and/or economic persecution were possible causes for their emigration.
He bought 150 acres of land in Mecklenburg Co., NC, on both sides of McAlpine Creek in the Providence Presbyterian Church Community (near Matthews, just south of Charlotte) on 24 Oct 1773.
His will, dated 29 Oct 1778, was probated in Jan 1779.
