U.E. Loyalist History

Some may be of the mistaken belief that the United Empire Loyalists' Association is only open to  membership by descendants of white United Empire Loyalists. As we are in Black History Month in Canada, I am sharing this photo of David Peters and myself.  We were both attending a Christmas celebration in Saint John, New Brunswick of the New Brunswick Branch of the United Empire Loyalists' Association (UELAC) in December 2019.    He, as a member of that Branch and I from Nova Scotia, were both elected to serve on the Dominion Council of the UELAC  earlier that year. David had as his 7th great grandfather Thomas Peters ,  prominent Black Loyalist.   David Peters & Me Thomas Peters was born in Nigeria sometime around 1738, captured by slave traders as a young man, and brought to North Carolina before he fled and enlisted in the British Army.  He gained the rank of Sergeant in the Black Pioneers, an all black regiment.  At the close of th...

Born on 28 June 1977 in Fredericton ,  New Brunswick, award winning soprano Measha Brueggergosman - Lee is a descendant of a Black Loyalist mentioned in the Book of Negroes .  In 2017 she was awarded the Order of New Brunswick following upon several other recognitions. She was awarded the Grand Prize at the 2009 Jeunesses Musicales Montreal International Musical Competition and won First Prize at the International Vocal Competition's - Hertogenbosch in 2002.  She performed the Olympic Hymn at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. Measha Brueggergosman - Lee She is the daughter of Anne Eatman and Stirling Gosman. When she married Markus Bruegger they combined their last names.  They met in high school and he was a student from Germany.  After her divorce in 2018, she married jazz guitarist Steve Lee in 2021.  In 2007 Brueggergosman - Lee learned she descended from a Black Loyalist while on CBC televison in a segme...

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...

In 1984, the town of Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia elected the first female Black Mayor of Canada. Her name was Daurene Elaine Lewis, and she was a seventh generation descendant of Black Loyalist  Rose Fortune .  She first became involved in politics in 1979 when she ran for Town Council in Annapolis Royal and in 1982 was appointed Deputy Mayor. A bronze busk of Lewis by sculptor Ruth Abernethy was unveiled in 2018 when the town of Annapolis Royal renamed a downtown plaza after her. She was active in development of the Farmers' Market, the boardwalk,  and the Historic Gardens.  Bronze busk of Daurene Lewis Lewis was born on 9 September 1943 in Annapolis Royal and trained as a registered nurse. She earned a diploma in teaching in Schools of Nursing from Dalhousie University and a Master of Business Administration from St. Mary's Universit y. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from Mount Saint Vincent University in 1993.  Daurene E. Lew...