EXTERNAL RESOURCES
Major Sites
- The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick offers online databases of land grants, land petitions, newspaper vital statistics, probate records, House of Assembly Sessional Records, and government petitions covering the loyalist settlement period.
- Fort Havoc, digital documents and transcripts of material concerning the American Revolution and United Empire Loyalists (R. Wallace Hale).
- Nova Scotia Archives, includes digital and indexed items relating to loyalists: Township Records, the African Nova Scotian Diaspora, cemetery records, land papers, church records, poll taxes, etc.
- The On-line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies provides reliable, high quality material on the loyalists in the fields of military research, genealogy, and living history.
- United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada The Loyalist Directory lists the loyalists who have been proven by the Association members, and sometimes provides basic information.
- UNB Libraries
- The Winslow Papers hosts an electronic version of the Papers of the loyalist Winslow family, housed in UNB Libraries Archives & Special Collections.
- The Atlantic Canada Portal Virtual Archives features themed digitized collections on Black Loyalists, Loyalist Women, and The Edward Winslow Letters (Please note this site is archived).
- The Loyalist Research Network a central location for academics working in the field.
- Library and Archives Canada
- Ward Chipman Papers, Library and Archives Canada, digitized muster rolls of loyalists and their families.
- British Headquarter Papers, New York (or Carleton Papers) are digitally indexed on Library and Archives Canada’s website. The series includes a variety of documents about loyalist soldiers and civilian refugees as well as many British and German soldiers who settled in Canada later.
- British Military and Naval Records Index and digitized images.
- Land Petitions of Upper Canada (1763-1865) Index only.
- Land Petitions of Lower Canada (1764-1841) Index and digitized images.
- AmericanRevolution.ORG offers a variety of sources of information on the American Revolution and loyalists.
- Canadiana is a valuable digital preservation repository for historical Canadian documents including the collection "Early Canadiana Online."
- Archive.org (Internet Archives) has many useful out of print and early historical works on communities and families in the American colonies.
- Online Library of Liberty has primary sources discussing the philosophy and politics behind the Amerian Revolution.
Black Loyalists
- The Black Loyalists Digital Collections, explores the Black Loyalist experience in Canada.
- Black Loyalist Heritage Society (Birchtown, Nova Scotia)
- African Nova Scotians by the Nova Scotia Archives.
- Digital Library of American Slavery
- Black Loyalists by Mapannapolis, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia
- Finding Freedom by the Museum of the American Revolution
- Sierra Leone Collection, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Other Loyalist Groups
- The Abegweit Branch, U.E.L. Assn. and PEI Muster Rolls - 1784
- “The Palatines” general information on this group of German Loyalists.
Online Projects and Journals
- Journal of the American Revolution online magazine.
- Vocabularies of Identity / Vocabulaires identitaires : The evolution of collective identity in Acadian and Loyalist text published in New Brunswick newspapers from 1880 to 1940 is a bilingual research project which utilized UNB Libraries Microfilm Newspaper Collection.
- Loyalist Migrations is a partnership between the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada (UELAC), Huron University College’s Community History Centre, and Western Libraries’ Map and Data Centre.
- Maryland Loyalism Project has scanned, transcribed, and made searchable claims from Maryland Loyalists as well as entries from the Book of Negroes relating to former residents of Maryland. *currently down*
- America 2026 a four-year collaborative program of scholarly events, publications and resources centred on the histories and memories of the American Revolution in comparative European and transatlantic perspective.
- Early American Sources centralized listing of digitized materials for historical research in the early period of the United States.
- The David Rumsey Map Collection has a robust selection of digitized maps.
- Adams Papers Digital Edition one, easily accessible resource you will find the content of the previously printed volumes of the Adams Papers, a long-standing documentary edition prepared at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
- "Find a Grave" (www.findagrave.com) can be used to locate graves of individuals or family members in the American or British colonies.
- The United Empire Loyalists of Remsheg: Refugees from the American Revolution (Wallace and Area Museum/ Virtual Museum of Canada).
- British North American Legislative Database, 1758-1867 includes characteristics of all the legislation passed by the pre-Confederation assemblies of eastern British North America.
Blogs
- Atlantic Loyalist Connections shares research involving The Loyalist Collection and relations within the British colonial Atlantic world.
- “The Junto.” A Group Blog on Early American History.
- “Borealia” A Group Blog on Early Canadian History.
- Acadiensis. Blogging the history of Atlantic Canada.
- 100 Hidden Histories. Material history at the Kings County Museum, Hampton, New Brunswick.
- TURN to a Historian. offers historical analysis of "TURN: Washington’s Spies", a television drama about spies of the American Revolution.
- Boston 1775. "History, analysis, and unabashed gossip about the start of the American Revolution in Massachusetts."
- Age of Revolutions: A HistorioBLOG.
- Morristown National Historical Park Museum & Library, New Jersey.
- Unwritten Histories: The Unwritten Rules of History (archived).
Museums and Loyalist Heritage Locations
Canada
- Loyalist House, National Historic Site; an example of Loyalist architecture and life. (Saint John, New Brunswick)
- Kings Landing, outdoor "Living History Museum" which includes loyalist habitations and artifacts. (Prince William, New Brunswick)
- “Fredericton’s Loyalists,” exhibit at the Fredericton Region Museum. (Fredericton, New Brunswick)
- Fortress Louisbourg National Historic Site. (Louisbourg, Nova Scotia)
- Fort Beausejour - Fort Cumberland National Historic Site. (Aulac, New Brunswick)
- Cossit House Museum. (Sydney, Nova Scotia)
- UEL Heritage Centre and Park (Bath, Ontario)
United States
- Museum of the American Revolution, uncovers and shares compelling stories about the diverse people and complex events that sparked America’s ongoing experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Paoli Battlefield Historical Park. (Malvern, Pennsylvania)
- Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area. (Trenton, New Jersey)
- Monmouth Battlefield.State Park. (Manalapan, New Jersey)
- Fort Ticonderoga. (Ticonderoga, New York)
- Van Cortlandt House Museum. (Bronx, New York)
- Fraunces Tavern Museum. (New York, New York)
- Fort Stanwix National Monument. (Rome, New York)
- American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. (Williamsburg, Virginia)
- Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine. (East Granby, Connecticut)
Research Institutions With Loyalist Materials
Canada
- Archives of Ontario.
- Loyalist Collection Brock University.
- Niagara Historical Resource Centre.
- Public Archives and Record Office of Prince Edward Island.
- New Brunswick Museum Archives.
- Queens County Heritage. (Gagetown, New Brunswick)
- Shelburne County Archives and Genealogical Society.
United States
- David Library of the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society.
- Maine Historical Society.
- Massachusetts Historical Society.
- Connecticut State Archives.
- Morristown National Historical Park.
- New-York Historical Society.
- William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan
- The Rhode Island Historical Society.
- John Carter Brown Library.
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
- American Antiquarian Society.
- Germantown Historical Society and Historic Germantown.
- Bergen County Historical Society and Historic New Bridge Landing.
United Kingdom
Revised June 2024