Muster Rolls : 1775-1837.

            Ward Chipman was a graduate of Harvard, a lawyer and a native of Marblehead, Massachusetts, who supported the Loyalist cause. He was appointed deputy muster master general of Provincial forces at New York, 1777-1783, serving under Edward Winslow. At the end of the Revolution he went to England to press his claims for compensation, and although he was not successful, when New Brunswick was created in 1784 he came to the new province with Governor Thomas Carleton as solicitor general, holding that post until 1808. In 1785 he and eight other lawyers founded the New Brunswick Bar. He established a law practice in Saint John and trained many lawyers who later became prominent figures in the province. Several of his students were Jonathan Sewell Jr., later chief justice of Lower Canada, Ward Chipman Jr., chief justice of New Brunswick, Stephen Sewell, William Botsford, Charles Jeffery Peters, Thomas Wetmore, and William Franklin Odell. He served as surrogate general and recorder of Saint John and member of the House of Assembly. From 1796 to 1798, and again in 1816, he was the British agent or legal counsel to the Boundary Commission, and in 1806 he was named to the Executive Council. In 1809 he was appointed to the Supreme Court and held that position until he became Administrator of the Province in 1823. Ward Chipman married Elizabeth Hazen, daughter of pre-Loyalist William Hazen of the firm Simonds, Hazen and White. This marriage assured his position among the social elite and established connections with many influential families, including the Murrays and the Botsfords.
The complete series of Chipman papers (also known as the Lawrence Collection) contains the papers of Ward Chipman, Sr. and Ward Chipman, Jr. (1787-1851) who succeeded his father as surrogate general of Saint John in 1813, and recorder in 1815. From 1816 he served on the Boundary Commission  until it terminated in 1828. He was elected to the House of Assembly in 1820 and named speaker in 1824. In 1825 he was elevated to the bench which also earned him a seat on the council, and from 1834 to 1850 was chief justice of the province.            

            
Online:  Some or all of the material has been digitised; see Finding Aid section.

The records provide access to Series 1 of this collection and contains documents from the Muster Master's Office, 1777-1785 (Vols. 24-27) and Regimental Papers, 1778-1804 (Vols. 28-30). These relate to Ward Chipman's official role as deputy muster master general of provincial forces at New York, and include as examples the following types of documents:  abstracts of the states of regiments; muster rolls arranged by regiment; returns of settlers in different locations; muster master's correspondence; instructions; memoranda; accounts of stoppages, subsistence, and bounty money; receipts and returns of provisions, rum, forage of horses, and fuel; casualty returns; returns of prisoners; and lists of provisions. The bulk of the material pertains to American provincial regiments during the American Revolution (1775-1783), also includes a few returns or lists of men at the end of the war (1783) relating to British regular army units, such as the 23rd and 57th Regiments, as well as to the armed schooner Greyhound at New York.  These records refer mostly to Loyalists who eventually settled in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island. They include references to wives and children of Loyalists, and Black people (slaves or free individuals) of Loyalist regiments General topics of interest to researchers include the military in America (organisation, demographics, movements), war, and loyalists and resettlement to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, including black history.
            

            
Online:  Library and Archives Canada has available online a searchable database for the muster rolls on Volumes 24-27; searchable by name, place and regiment; includes a digital image.

A  table of contents and microfilm shelf list for the Muster Rolls in the Ward Chipman Papers, Volume 24-30, is available in print with The Loyalist Collection red binders and online; see Electronic Finding Aid section.

LAC (previously NAC) Finding Aid 92, which provides access to the papers of Ward Chipman, Sr. and Ward Chipman, Jr. in the Lawrence Collection, is available on microfiche and in print, and both copies are shelved with The Loyalist Collection Finding Aids as well as a PDF in the electronic finding aid section.

The finding aid for the Ward Chipman Papers in the New Brunswick Museum Archives is available as part of the LAC (previously NAC) Finding Aid 92 on microfiche and in print.
            

The Chipman Papers as a whole are arranged in two series: Series 1 contains 81 volumes, the originals of which are held by Library and Archives Canada. Series 2 is arranged in a chronological sequence, and the originals are held by the New Brunswick Museum Archives, Saint John, New Brunswick. Both series have been microfilmed. The Loyalist Collection contains only the reels from Series 1.

For additional muster rolls of Loyalist regiments, researchers are advised to consult, Library and Archives Canada, Record Group 8, 1, "C Series," British Military and Naval Records. The Loyalist Collection contains the Index reels for the complete "C Series," as well as the reels which contain the original muster rolls of Loyalist regiments.