Yay! A genealogy group! [View all]

I've just begun the process of trying to research my ancestry in a more dedicated fashion after recently receiving scanned documents from a relative. I realize I need to investigate the validity of the documents (and just basically learn about them because I'm a complete novice), but it left off with the first ancestor here in the states. It says he was a Revolutionary War soldier in 1775, in NC, born in Ireland in 1751. The surname is Patrick and, oddly, his name is listed with "Sir" in front of it. Sir John Patrick, which seems like an extraordinarily common name and thus I'm not very hopeful about being able to progress. There is no record found thus far of his parents' names. No county of birth. Nothing else.

(I highly doubt that's accurate as far as peerage -- a word I just heard for the first time this week...lol), as this has been a family of poor farmers in the Southeast for as long as we can tell.)

I've read a wee bit and understand it's very difficult to find records in Ireland prior to the 1850s and that church records are the best hope. It has also been mentioned a few times that, given the early date, it's likely Ulster Scots.

Given the paucity of info, how would you proceed? Are there specific research databases re: Ulster Scots here in the US in the 1700s? Should I try to find some resource in NC that may have info? I did search a few Irish county-specific databases that were recommended and, amazingly, the surname Patrick was not common at all. But I still didn't find anything.

I went ahead and started an Ancestry.com free trial just now but thought I'd see if anyone here has suggestions. Thanks!