Esther Clark Wright’s New Brunswick Loyalist Index

The published index was transcribed and entered into an Excel file format by UNB Libraries staff to facilitate use by researchers. Where possible, Clark Wright’s abbreviations were expanded for usability. The index includes information on over 6,000 individuals. 

Some abbreviations were left as if there was no definition in the key and an educated guess could not be made. The list was sorted alphabetically by surname. Question marks indicate that Clark Wright was not sure if the information listed was correct.

Note: This index was made originally without the benefit of Internet or organizational software; errors and conflations do exist. 

Following is an explanation of each of the headings found in the document:

Surnames: Sometimes multiple spellings were found in historical documents.  This is indicated with a slash.  See the Notes field if surname falls under another listing. All possible versions of surname should be considered, as during the loyalist period, names were not standardized.

First Names: Numbers in brackets after names indicate more than one loyalist by this full name.  Often more than one option was found for given names, and this is indicated with a slash.              

Origins: Lists one or more places where loyalists lived before migration to New Brunswick, including the Thirteen Colonies (Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia) and locations in Europe and the Caribbean. Locations in the Thirteen Colonies often include county. If individuals had more than one known location of residence before migration, that is indicated with a slash.

Military Service: Lists service in loyalist or provincial regiments, general service for the British cause, or service in the British Regular forces.*  Loyalists could have served in multiple regiments. Companies were often included for regiments (e.g. 1^st New Jersey Volunteers).

Regiments found in the index: Royal Fencible Americans, Westchester Loyalists, DeLanceys, Prince of Wales’ American Regiment, Loyal American Legion, New Jersey Volunteers, Queen’s Rangers, King’s American Regiment, Maryland Loyalists, Kings Orange Rangers, Loyal American Regiment, Emmerick's Chaussers, Bucks County Volunteers, Loyal New Englanders, Guides and Pioneers, King’s American Dragoons, New York Volunteers, American Legion, South Carolina Loyalists/ Royalists, South Carolina Rangers, North Carolina Volunteers, North Carolina Highlanders, North Carolina Rangers/ King’s Carolina Rangers, Pennsylvania Loyalists, Garrison Battalion, Black Pioneers, Volunteers of New England, Armed Boatmen, Royal Nova Scotia Volunteers, Butler’s Rangers, Associated Refugees, and British Legion.

Loyalists also served in civil departments of the British Army during the war: Commissary-General’s Department (responsible for providing the army with stores, victuals, and transportation), Engineering Department, Barrackmaster-General’s Department (oversee the building, upkeep, and management of barracks and related structures), Ordnance Department (supplying weapons and ammunition to combat units), Hospital Department, and Quartermaster-General’s Department (highest-ranking general officer in the British army who is responsible for logistics).

Functions denoting general service included: “served in some capacity,” volunteer, driver, waggoner, garrison, intelligence, guide, pilot, surgeon, surgeon’s mate, chaplain, and prisoner.

*Regular British Military.  Members of the regular British Military forces are not considered loyalists unless they had retired and settled in the Thirteen Colonies prior to the American Revolution. Many British regulars, after having active roles in the war in North America, resettled in the British colonies alongside loyalist refugees.

Regular British regiments included: 8^th(King’s Regiment of Foot), 17^th (Regiment of Light Dragoons?), 38^th (1^st Staffordshire Regiment of Foot), 54^th (West Norfolk Regiment of Foot), 57^th (West Middlesex Regiment of Foot), 64^th (2^nd Staffordshire Regiment of Foot), 42^nd (Royal Highland Regiment of Foot),  70^th (Surrey Regiment of Foot), 71^st (Highland Regiment of Foot), 74^th (Highland Regiment of Foot), 76^th (Regiment of Foot), 82^nd, 84^th (Royal Highland Emigrants), and the Royal Navy.  Members of Hessian regiments are also included in the index.

First Grants: Dates in brackets after locations indicate the loyalist appears in that place on a historical document. Other text found in this heading include died, absconding debtor (someone who has left or had hidden themselves to avoid creditors), escheated (grantee failed to develop land so was taken and re-granted), and left (no longer at previous location).

• Blocks:  Plots of land numbered 1-14 along the upper St. John/ Wolastoq River assigned for settlement by specific loyalist regiments.  Settlement plan was largely unsuccessful and many members of regiments migrated elsewhere.
• Parrtown and Carleton listings include lot numbers and are now in the City of Saint John. (Note: Carleton is different than Carleton County.)
• The Schoodic area now known as St. Stephen.

Subsequent Grants/ Residence: Shows migration after original grants or settlement. Sometimes a third location is included, which is often Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Quebec), England, or Nova Scotia.

Other Notes: Often includes profession(s); the date in brackets indicates what year a historical record appeared indicating this profession/ occupation.  Other notes include when died; graduation from colleges (Yale, Harvard, Princeton); re-marriages; and roles in numbered (1-54) loyalist militia “Companies,” which were bands of loyalist administratively organized for migration from New York in 1783.