Atlantic Loyalist Connections

The real, daily interactions between indigenous people and setters of European ancestry in British colonies was an ongoing process and often involved a clash in lifestyles. Formation and negotiation of relationships between colonial groups were recorded through petitioning and court cases initiated by both indigenous and settler populations. The rough construction of these relationships can be observed within the court records of Northumberland County, New Brunswick.

Siobhan M. Carlson is a master’s student at the University of New Brunswick in Interdisciplinary Studies. Her research focuses on the use of biomedical models in gothic and cult fiction. Siobhan has worked in libraries for three years—including the Harriet Irving Library on the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton campus. While at the Harriet Irving Library, she has worked in three department: Archives and Special Collections, Reference, and The Centre for Digital Scholarship. Presently, she works as a Research Assistant for Dr.

“That at a very early period of the late Rebellion, being greatly persecuted by the Kings Enemies he was obliged to abandon his property and seek protection within the British Lines. That he joined the New Corps and cheerfully served during the whole war, exerting himself to the uttermost to prove useful, and was in the course of such service taken Prisoner, and while in Captivity treated with great inhumanity.

Remarkable Baptisms

There are many interesting tidbits to be found among baptismal and burial records besides names and dates. For instance, the baptismal records of St. John’s Church in modern Port Williams, Nova Scotia, lists an individual as a “natural child,” who would have been born outside of marriage and publically labelled as such.

The crucial interactions and key events of a community in colonial North America were often played out within the confines of the church. The Loyalist Collection includes a wide range of church records from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec which hold very useful information for locating and identifying individuals, such as baptismal, marital, and burial records. They also contain some fascinating documents that give a vivid picture of life in the colonial Atlantic World.

Acts of espionage and covert operations were widespread during the American Revolutionary War, being utilized by both the British and their North American foes. However, it is the latter group that greatly depended on such stealthy tactics as they were outnumbered in infantry, equipment, and funds. It was at this point in time that the adventures of Silas Deane began, a man who helped achieve victory for the struggling Patriots.

Please take a look at the most recent post from our colleague Andrea Eidinger at Unwritten Histories: The Unwritten Rules of History entitled A Guide to Online Resources for Teaching and Learning Loyalist History.

To further our blog post from last week on the “Lost Loyalists” of York County, New Brunswick, we wanted to walk you through the research process and variety of sources used for this biographical project. Most sources were accessible from within the Harriet Irving Library in either microfilm, print or electronic form.

There are many prominent loyalists who have been the subject of extensive research, such as Edward Winslow, John Saunders, and Johnathan Odell; however, there remains much to uncover about a myriad of loyalists that came to New Brunswick as refugees as a result of the American Revolution. We challenge you to engage in the recovery of these “Lost Loyalists.”

During the War of 1812, an estimated 2,000 slaves escaped America and arrived at Nova Scotia.

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.

The poem now commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas” was originally published anonymously in 1823 by the Troy Sentinel (New York). It has been integral in the formation of the modern North American vision of Christmas; in particular, the appearance and role of St. Nick or Santa Claus.

Following from last week’s post, you will find in this entry a listing of practical “Tricks” to help in identifying surnames in primary documents, as well as a collection of resources which will aid in this undertaking.

As a continuation to the last post, Who is That?!: Help with Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Given Names, here are some “Tips” to assist in the interpretation of last names with a focus on Maritime Canadian resources, although many of the following suggestions are applicable elsewhere.

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.

Our readers will be interested in the Morristown National Historical Park Museum & Library's blog which recently included a web series addressing the challenges of palaeography:

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.”