Yesterday, an overview of colonial geography and an overview of several immigrant groups to Canada were introduced.

Today, let’s take a look at some of my Canadian ancestors who fit into these immigrant groups. My experience is almost 100% in New Brunswick records, but these examples are universal to all Canadian provinces with Loyalist histories.

The main takeaway from this post is that a researcher must verify not only a potential Loyalist ancestor, but also verify that he/she qualifies as a United Empire Loyalist.

So, how did I document my Canadian ancestors? My research method wasn’t any different than the process I use for any person in my family tree. I worked my way back in time.

First, here’s a list of some of my Canadian ancestors. I’m American and my direct lines place the births of my great grandparents in the U.S. Things changed quickly after that and each ancestral story is slightly different.

At first glance, I thought I had a boat load of Loyalist ancestors, as all but Robert Carlisle had proven lives in the colonies before the war.

• John Adams
• Samuel Hicks
• Philip Crouse
• Benjamin Burt
• Robert Carlisle
• Robert Wilson
• Walter Stewart
• James Astle
• Jonathan Parker

John Adams was the impetus for hooking me on family history. My mother was an Adams, my grandparents lived in Massachusetts and family lore stated that, although we weren’t descended from the Presidents, the family origin was shared with them, meaning we were descended from Henry Adams of Braintree, Massachusetts – the immigrant ancestor of John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

However, although my grandparents lived in Massachusetts, they were born and raised in Calais, Washington, Maine, just across the border from New Brunswick, Canada.

A quick look at the U.S. census records showed my great grandfather, Charles Adams, was born in Maine, but his father, Calvin Segee Adams, was born in New Brunswick, Canada, as were his parents, Daniel and Sarah Adams, and grandparents, Thomas and Sarah Adams. This was problematic for someone who hoped to find a Revolutionary War patriot because Thomas and Sarah Adams were born in 1783 and 1787! In New Brunswick!

By contacting a genealogical society in New Brunswick, I learned that a huge portion of New Brunswick settlers were Loyalists and, in fact, my line connected to John Adams of Fairfield County, Connecticut. The family fled during the war and lived for a time in the New York-New Jersey area, working for the (British) Commissary General’s Department. My first Loyalist!

But what of the others on my Canadian ancestral list?

Samuel Hicks was a Pre-Loyalist, who left Rhode Island in the 1760s.

Philip Crouse was a Dutchman from Zeeland, Netherlands. He first appears in New Brunswick, petitioning land in 1789. He was reportedly from North Carolina, but appears in no records there, has no known military service and it is also unknown exactly when he arrived in New Brunswick. Was he a Loyalist or did he simply decide to emigrate for a different life, perhaps following friends or family?

Benjamin Burt was a Loyalist from Ridgefield, Connecticut. He and his family left for Nova Scotia in 1783, but Benjamin died there in 1785. His family remained in Canada.

Robert Carlisle‘s family origins are unknown. He has no known ties to any American colonies before the war, but was one of the defenders in the siege of Fort Cumberland, New Brunswick, against an American attack. His widow, Catherine, received a pension for his services. Interestingly, while he is my only Canadian ancestor who fought against Americans, he moved his family to Charlotte, Washington, Maine, where he died in 1834. Given that I’ve yet to find any pre-war American connection, I don’t really classify Robert as a Loyalist. He is the only one of my Canadian ties to have military experience, but he was living in Nova Scotia and defended his home. It’s possible he was a Pre-Loyalist, but I’ve had no luck identifying his parents, siblings, wife’s maiden name or any previous home. He might have been born in Canada.

Robert Wilson was a Sudbury, Massachusetts-to-Campobello Island, New Brunswick transplant who was a Pre-Loyalist, living on the island by 1766. He took part in pro-American activities during the war.

Walter Stewart was a Loyalist from Dutchess County, New York who chose to leave in 1783. He has no known military service and settled in Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada.

James Astle was a Loyalist from Schenectady, New York, who first appears in Sorel, Quebec by 1784. He then moved his family to Restigouche County, New Brunswick and finally to the town of Ludlow, Northumberland, New Brunswick in the 1790s. He has no known military service.

Jonathan Parker was from New Jersey and was an Anabaptist in religious belief. Like the Quakers, Anabaptists were against war. Jonathan is classed as a refugee Loyalist, but it is very possible that, because he refused to support the American cause – likely because of his religious beliefs – he found it prudent to leave for Nova Scotia at the close of the war.

Each of these men, on the surface, could easily be classified as Loyalists, absent further research. However, delving into their lives, the facts tell very different stories about how and why they ended up living in New Brunswick.

Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that, for most of these men, by the third generation (their grandchildren), many had returned to the United States.

How can you document Loyalists in the family tree? Next, I’ll provide both American and Canadian resource suggestions to help with your search.

One of my earliest forays into genealogy research was the quest to find a ancestor who fought for American independence during the Revolutionary War. Was I ever surprised to learn that my first discovery was a Loyalist who left for Canada in the Spring of 1783!

Back in the 1980s, when I found my Loyalist ancestor, the internet wasn’t around and most Canadian records were unreachable in the U.S. The FamilySearch Library had some microfilms, but there were really two choices for broad access. Visit Canada or hire a professional local researcher.

Today, there are literally tons of resources available online and many accessible for free. This short series will provide an overview of those resources. along with some historical background.

Today, let’s look at North America in the 1700s in the years preceding the American Revolution in terms of its geographical and historical context.

Although most today recognize American state borders and Canadian provincial borders on a map, North America displayed very different borders in the mid-18th century.

Notice the continental division in the pink and yellow sections. The thirteen colonies and the eastern half of Canada were the areas mostly settled. Unfortunately, the pixel quality of this map isn’t great and it blurs as it is enlarged. However, look at the area where North and South Carolina are today. The borders of those colonies continued west all the way to the bordering pink land. Canada was much more sparsely populated with most of the governmental control held by the King of England, aside from Quebec.

What did this mean for North American colonists in terms of the American Revolution? As with any political situation, there were strong proponents both for independence and in support of the King. There were those who were opposed to war on religious grounds, like the Quakers, and there were a good number of colonists who just wanted to live their lives and be left alone.

Most of the American colonial population lived near the Eastern seaboard in cities or towns. By the 1770s, though, many sought cheaper land and/or more open space. Thousands had already begun the Westward Expansion and were encroaching on Native American territory.

What about Canada? In this time period, all of what is today known as New Brunswick was part of Nova Scotia.

Near the center of the map, a vertical brown border line can be seen. That divided New England to the west from Nova Scotia on the east. Quebec, or New France, can be seen in the top left corner.

Who lived in Nova Scotia before the American Revolution? In addition to indigenous people, there were settlers who came directly from England, Scotland and even Ireland in this early time period. There were also British subjects heading north from the 13 colonies for a new life in Nova Scotia.

Like American colonists, when the threat of war appeared, there were those in favor of independence, those who supported the King and those who saw it as someone else’s fight. This last group likely had the most believers since the war was not being fought in what is today’s Canada, aside from several forays Americans made, attacking forts and trying to gain a northern foothold against the British soldiers.

This post will close with a look at three groups of people that researchers need to understand while researching Loyalist ancestry:

• Pre-Loyalists
• Tories
• Loyalists

Pre-Loyalists were, for the most part, American colonists who were drawn to life in Nova Scotia by land agents touting the benefits of northern life. They were offered lots of land for little cost, which was very enticing. The British government wanted more of its own people living in Nova Scotia so as to better keep the French settlers at bay.

My own family tree is filled with Hicks, Thornton, Boone and Hill families who left Rhode Island by 1760 to settle in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotians who sympathized with the cause for American independence were often those who had emigrated from the thirteen colonies and who still had friends and family sending them news about British actions. Some of them actively supported the Patriots through smuggling operations and border attacks along the waterways near today’s Maine-New Brunswick, Canada borders.

Tories were colonists who sympathized with and supported the King of England and the British government. All Loyalists, also called Royalists, were Tories, but not all Tories were Loyalists. Why? It’s a fine line, but there were many Tories who chose to “get out of town” by moving westward onto the frontier during the Revolutionary War. Not everyone supporting the King wanted to uproot their families to Nova Scotia – moving westward was more appealing. In fact, my husband’s Hamby ancestors from South Carolina were given a choice by locals – get hung or get out. They chose the Kentucky frontier! Generally speaking, when researching “Loyalists,” the term refers exclusively to those who went to Canada.

Loyalists were colonists who sacrificed their homes, friends and sometimes family members because of their support of the British government. They moved, en masse, out of the colonies.

Some returned to the British Isles. Many of those who left for Nova Scotia in the Spring Fleet of 1783 and later permanently settled in what quickly became New Brunswick. However, large numbers chose to settle in Nova Scotia, soon to set off the new province of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the Province of Ontario and a few English speakers even settled in Quebec.

What does this geographical and historical view mean for Loyalist researchers? Well, it basically means there are many places where an ancestor’s information might be found.

In Part 2, we’ll take a closer look at the types of Loyalist records to be found in North America.