UE Loyalist History

On 27 May 1914 the Parliament of Canada passed an Act creating  The United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada  (UELAC). Anyone with an interest in Loyalist era history can become a member of the UELAC by paying a fee and you can then, if you wish, apply for a UE Loyalist Certificate. The UELAC supports research into  the Loyalists during  the American Revolution and the aftermath of settlement in Canada through creation of the Loyalist Scholarship Fund and the Loyalist Endowment Fund.  The  2025 UELAC Scholarship Fund Challenge raised by the 4th of September the sum of $11,250.00. Some Branches of the UELAC also have  provided academic support.   Kawartha Branch supports research at Trent University and the Conservator & Museum Management / Curator Programmes at Fleming College in Peterborough, Ontario.    Nova Scotia Branch sponsored a bursary for students at the University of King's College in Halifax .   The U...

The refugees from the American Revolution who came to Canada included Black Loyalists.  Some travelled after receiving their freedom from the British for service during the conflict and others as property of white Loyalists.  Communities in Nova Scotia like  Birchtown and  Brinley Town  were founded by Black Loyalists.  However, due to discrimination and disadvantages many decided to leave for  Sierra Leone  .          Burial Ground in Birchtown Church Parish Records can sometimes assist in identifying Black Loyalists and describing their experiences.  A burial record for Parish of Wilmot dated 4 November 1857 indicated: " At Trinity Church Jeffery Jenkins, coloured, originally a slave, liberated since he came to Nova Scotia with the Loyalists of 1783. He was one hundred years of age. " Land Records also reveal interesting information.  Those for Digby County, Nova Scotia indicate female, as well as male, B...

The Mohawks, under leaders like  Joseph Brant   were a significant group of indigenous people who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution. Many lost their lands in the Mohawk Valley of New York and moved to Canada as refugees.  At  Annapolis Royal  , Nova Scotia is a monument that demonstrates this connection to the British had gone on for many years prior to that time.     Annapolis Royal Monument with Plaque Some Mohawk served with the British at Annapolis Royal against the French and their allies between 1712 and 1713.    The plaque on the Monument states:  Iroquois at Annapolis Royal In 1712, two years after the British captured the Acadian capital, Colonel John Livingston returned to New York with about 50 men recruited among the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the League of Five Nations. During the last months of the War of the Spanish Succession (1702- 1713) these men carried out scouting duties...

The Battles of Saratoga have been described as among the most crucial events of the American Revolution and Loyalists were there. Approximately 8,300 British troops including Loyalists and around 12,000 - 15,000 American soldiers were involved.  On a recent visit to  Saratoga National Historical Park   in New York I walked the area and observed information signs marking where events happened and describing the participants.                                                                                                   Loyalist information sign  The Loyalists in the British force included members of the following groups:  - King's Loyal Americans (Jessup's Rangers)  - Queen's Loyal Rangers (Peter's Corps)...

During the second week of September I visited Ontario and on my return drive to Nova Scotia travelled through New York State and stopped at Lake George which I learned has a connection to my UE Loyalist ancestor James Humphrey.  Before entering the USA from Ontario I went to the  Gravesite of Samuel Humphrey  , son of James, in a rural cemetery in Brock Township.  Born in 1788 he is my first ancestor born in what became Canada.                                                                                          Beside gravestone of Samuel Umphrey, UE                                                       ...

Over forty churches were built under the leadership of Bishop Charles Inglis, a United Empire Loyalist, who was the first Anglican Bishop appointed for British America in 1787. There are seven still standing. Among them   Old Holy Trinity Anglican Church  in Middleton, Nova Scotia is known as the “only unaltered church of its’ kind”.     Old Holy Trinity, Middleton, Nova Scotia In New Brunswick the oldest Loyalist church, and also the oldest surviving Anglican Church in the province is  Trinity Anglican Church  in Kingston. It was built in 1789. The oldest church building in Ontario that has Loyalist connections is   Her Majesty’s Royal Chapel of the Mohawks , built in 1785 for the Mohawks that supported the British during the American Revolution. It is also the first Protestant church in Upper Canada and a National Historic Site. Old Hay Bay Church   in Adolphustown, Ontario was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1999...

  A gravestone for Mary Getcheus who died on 17 November 1785 is one of the oldest in Nova Scotia if not Canada for a female Loyalist.  It is located in the graveyard at  Trinity Anglican Church   in Digby,  a national historic site which holds the graves of over 200 United Empire Loyalists.  Jacob Getcheus, wife of Mary, was Captain of the Sloop Silas , one of four ships mentioned in the Book of Negroes ,. that brought Black Loyalists from New York to Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.     Gravestone of Mary Getcheus Finding the location where any of the estimated 50,000 Loyalists who came to what is now Canada is not easy.  There are several reasons which include that many were not buried with markers nor gravestones that have lasted and others on private land and not in cemeteries making their discovery difficult.  Across Canada only approximately 1,300 have been identified.                 ...

 Several years ago I obtained a pin which has a special meaning  It has on it the letters UE. The letters signify descent from a United Empire Loyalist.  They were recognized by Lord Dorchester in 1789 when he was meeting as Governor General of British North America to discuss distribution of lands to Loyalists who had supported the British Crown during the American Revolution.   It has become known as the Dorchester Resolution: At the Council Chamber at Quebec, Monday 9th . November 1789. Present, His Excellency the Right Honble. LORD DORCHESTER. The Honble. WILLIAM SMITH, Efquire, Chief Juftice. HUGH FINLAY, ) GEORGE POWNALL, ) THOS. DUNN, ) HENRY CALDWELL ) EDWD. HARRISON, ) WILLIAM GRANT, ) JOHN COLLINS, ) FRANCOIS BABY, ) Efquires. ADAM MABANE, ) CHARLES DE LANAUDIERE, ) J.G.C. DELERY, ) LE CTE. DUPRE', )  His Lordfhip intimated to the Council, that it remained a Queftion, upon the late Regulation for the Difpofition of the Wafte Lands of the Crown, wh...

The first Masonic lodge in what is now Canada was established in    Annapolis Royal  , Nova Scotia in 1738 by Major Erasmus James Philipps. He was the father - in - law of   Major General Horatio Gates, commander of the Northern Continental Army ,  to whom Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne surrendered on October 17, 1777 at the    Battle of Saratoga .                                                                        Masonic Monument beside Annapolis Royal Town Hall Gates was born in Maldon, England in 1727. He became an Officer in the British Army and arrived in Halifax around 1749 as an aide to Governor Edward Cornwallis. He served in  the French Indian War in North America before selling his commission and starting a plantation in Virginia. During the Americ...

How is the Honourable Kody Blois, Member of Parliament for Kings - Hants, Nova Scotia connected to  Nova Scotia's first multi-racial refugees  ? He is descended from Abraham Blois who appears in the  Loyalist Directory  and has been proved as a United Empire Loyalist (UEL) four times by members of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada.. For those who believe they have Loyalist ancestry, after joining a branch of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada (UELAC), they can work with a branch genealogist to prove that ancestry and obtain a  Loyalist Certificate  . Abraham Blois, born in the Parish of St. Lawrence, Essex, England in 1747 took passage to America in 1774 and during the American Revolution in 1777 enlisted in the 4th Maryland Regiment of the Continental Army.  However, he deserted and was officially discharged in 1779.  Afterward he joined a Loyalist Provincial Regiment, the 2nd Battalion of the 84th Regiment, forme...

Greetings!  My 5th great grandfather was  James Humphrey, UE, a Private in Jessup's Rangers during the American Revolution who afterward settled with his family near Johnstown, Ontario.  I am an historian who has authored 6 books and over 40 articles about United Empire Loyalists. As well I volunteer with the  United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada . Monument to James Humphrey at  Johnstown Here I share some of what I have learned relating to the history of the United Empire (UE) Loyalists  in the hope it is useful to others and encourages their interest . I begin with an interactive map that I prepared. It includes details with links to images and videos about places, people, and events. "                                                                         ...