WELCOME

By

Greetings!  My maternal 5th great grandfather was James Humphrey, a Private in Jessup's Loyal Rangers during the American Revolution who afterward, in 1784, settled with his family near Johnstown, Ontario. He is my earliest identifed ancestor to live in what later became the country  of Canada. I am a retired lawyer,  genealogist, and historian who has authored 14 books, seven about United Empire Loyalists. As well I have been a volunteer with the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada and several other heritage groups. 


Monument to James Humphrey at Johnstown

There is monument, pictured above,  in a small park at Johnstown,  Edwardsburgh / Cardinal  Township, Ontario with a plaque listing the names of United Empire Loyalists who settled in the area including my ancestor James Humphrey. 

Here I share some of what I have learned relating to the history of the United Empire Loyalists in the hope it is of interest and useful to others.


Further Reference:

Books by Brian McConnell on Amazon in Kindle,  Paperback,  and Hardcover format




Popular posts from this blog

THE LOYALIST DIRECTORY

By
Image
The   Loyalist Directory  serves  as a key resource for genealogists and history enthusiasts to research ancestors who remained loyal to the British Crown and settled in Canada after the American Revolutionary War. It is a growing online database maintained by the UELAC. It is built from submissions and historical research.  There are over 7000 entries. I regularly refer to it to assist with my research.  First Page of Loyalist Directory You begin by entering a name you wish  to find. After I proved my ancestor James Humphrey, I submitted his information to  the Loyalist Directory. When his name is entered in the search field it appears. J ames Humphrey in Loyalist Directory   Some of the names in the database include links to copies of the Application for a Certificate of Loyalist Descent. These commonly include birth, death, and marriage dates for them and their families and basic biographical details like places of residence and service in...
Read more

DWAYNE 'THE ROCK' JOHNSON

By
Image
Actor and former professional wrestler Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was born on 2 May 1972 in Hayward, California and is a seventh generation descendant of a Black Loyalist mentioned in the Book of Negroes who settled in  Amherst , Nova Scotia. He holds dual American and Canadian citizenship.   'The Rock' The Rock is descended from James Bowles who arrived in Annapolis Royal from New York on board the ship named Joseph on 9 November 1783. His name appears in the Book of Negroes, spelled as James Bowels of age 28 . It was a ledger of approximately 3,000 Black Loyalists made by the British before their evacuation from New York in 1783 which included names, ages, and origins. Record in Book of Negroes   During the American Revolution, James was a member of a unit called the Black Pioneers which served with the British. The force was a crucial, predominantly Black Loyalist military unit, formed in 1776, comprising formerly enslaved people who escaped to British li...
Read more

THE LOYALIST TOWNSHIPS

By
Image
My ancestor James Humphrey who served with Jessup's Rangers during the American Revolution was granted land after the conflict to settle in   Edwardsburgh Township.  There is a monument to him and other United Empire Loyalists at   Johnstown within the township, which I visited as appears in a YouTube video near the bottom of this page.  Other Rangers received lands in   Augusta  ,  Elizabethtown  , and  Ernestown  Townships.  These were four of the initial thirteen Loyalist Townships created in Upper Canada, now Ontario.  The Loyalist townships in Ontario  The original Loyalist townships created in Ontario for Loyalists were established beside the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. The first survey marker was placed on 27 October 1783.  Eight of the townships were along the upper St. Lawrence River and five along the Bay of Quinte. They were given names associated with King George III and his childr...
Read more