The Importance of the Book of Negroes

On 1 Feb, 2017 0 Comments

With the scarcity of sources for people of African descent in North America during the eighteenth century, the Book of Negroes is an amazing resource—particularly for those individuals who immigrated to what was to become eastern Canada. The Book was produced at the end of the American Revolution in New York and it nominally recorded Black Loyalists during a time when people of African descent were all too often recorded as mere numbers.

Who is That?!: Help with Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Given Names

On 23 Nov, 2016 0 Comments

Dorcas, Nehemiah, Mehetabel, Eliphalet . . . If you have done any research with early North American documents, you have probably noticed that some names were fairly common in the past that are certainly not common today.  This change over time in naming traditions may leave the modern reader puzzled.  There are, however, some background knowledge and tricks that will help in the interpretation of early Canadian and American given names. 

Loyalist Lowdown: The John Saunders Edition

On 9 Nov, 2016 0 Comments

John Saunders was born and raised in Virginia from a well-established and wealthy family. Saunders’s staunch loyalism had a two-fold motivation: firstly, because of the economic considerations, and secondly, and even more importantly, because he strongly believed that being a loyalist would help determine the importance and influence of his family. Later in his life, he stated that he had been taught since infancy “to fear God and honor the King.”

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