Monday, January 23, 2012

Do you have Loyalist Ancestors? Check out the UELAC Site

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I received an email last week from Oma Rose in Nevada saying that she would like to see "...some recognition of Loyalist research, and those who participate in it, mentioned in your blog.  It would help those who are new to the idea of having a Loyalist ancestor to know that resources are not only available but rich in content."

As many of my readers know, I have several Loyalist ancestors that settled in New Brunswick and Ontario, so this suggestion struck a chord in me.  Thank you, Oma, for the suggestion.

The link to the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada website (www.UELAC.org).


There is a link to the page on "Making the Loyalists" that provides information about them, links to other articles and lists of loyalists, and a list of the important dates in Loyalist history.


The UELAC has a near-weekly publication called "Loyalist Trails" online for FREE on the UELAC Newsletter Archive Page:


The newsletter archive has issues from 2004 to the present.  An interested reader can subscribe to receive an email with this newsletter.  If you do subscribe after reading this post, please tell them where you learned of this newsletter (I will not receive any remuneration!).

The current newsletter (for 15 January 2012) looks like this:


There is a wealth of information and helpful research aids in these newsletters.

The lead article in the 8 January and 15 January 2012 issues is




Have you ever read the transcripts of the Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists? Don't let the words "royal commission" or "transcript" frighten you. These documents are anything but dull. Want to hear the story of an individual loyalist's persecution, war service and resettlement? It can be found in the RCLSAL transcripts. Need to know how the common man and woman experienced the Revolution? The transcripts provide that perspective. Want to know the status of a given loyalist? Inventories of lost property and possessions are part of almost every claim. This amazing primary source should be in the library of every loyalist genealogist, UELAC branch, and loyalist historian."


Read the two articles published to date and note that these records are available on www.archive.org.  


I have not.  So now I'm curious about this resource and will try to see if any of my Loyalist ancestors appeared before this commission.  Even if they did not file a claim, there may be a member of the local area that they resided, or a member of their regiment, who did file a claim and gave testimony.  The experiences of my ancestors may have been similar.


The one thing I have done so far on this site is to do a site search using a Google search like ["john kemp" site:www.uelac.org] for my Loyalist ancestors.  I also tried "kemp john."  There were three matches which provided some family information.  


This UELAC website is well known among UELAC members, but for those of us that were unaware of it, the resources available and discussed on the site may provide excellent genealogical resources.


The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/01/do-you-have-loyalist-ancestors-check.html


Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2012

4 comments:

Lynn Palermo said...

I wish I had Loyalist ancestors, I live in an area rich with Loyalist history. Need to adopt one!

Geolover said...

For those who find archive.org extremely difficult to navigate, some background on the Loyalist claims process and some transcripts of the claims documents are available to read on the fabulous USGenWeb site for Herkimer Co., NY (so many thanks due Martha S. McGill and many volunteers):

http://herkimer.nygenweb.net/regiments/loyalistclaims.html

BDM said...

Randy, nice to see some promotion of the UELAC website and newsletter, thanks. I have an intermittent series of Loyalist posts on my blog, http://brendadougallmerriman.blogspot.com/. They are geared more to a newbie than my book on Upper Canada's (Ontario) Loyalists.

Kathryn Lake Hogan said...

Greetings Randy,
Great post! Thanks for promoting Loyalist heritage and UELAC.
Yes, John Kemp was a Loyalist. He is named on the UEL Executive Mark of Honour List. When are you going to join UELAC and get your Loyalist certificates? I am the branch genealogist for the Bicentennial Branch, UELAC, and would be glad to help with more information if you are interested.