U.E. Loyalist History

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...

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...

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...

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 a 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 inter...