American Loyalists

American Loyalists (United Empire Loyalists or UEL) are those residents of the British North American Colonies who did not join the American Revolution between 1775 and 1783 but remained loyal to the king of England. In the strictest sense, Loyalists are only those who served in a Loyalist military unit in the Thirteen Colonies. The American Loyalists who actually served the Crown must be distinguished from the more numerous "late Loyalists" who came from the United States beginning in about 1790 for land or other economic opportunities. During the war and especially at its close, some Loyalists went to Britain, Jamaica, or other colonies, but many fled to Canada. There is no master list of all the names of American Loyalists who came to Canada.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Great Britain. Exchequer and Audit Department, American loyalist claims, 1730-1835 Public Records Office, London, England. FHL 201 rolls

State Sources

 * W.H. Siebert, The refugee loyalists of Connecticut Pawtucket, Rhode Island : Quintin Publications, 199-? FHL 974.6 H2sw
 * Howard Bell Hancock, The Delaware loyalists Wilmington, Delaware : Delaware Historical Society, 1940 FHL Digital Images
 * Wilbur Henry Siebert, edited with an accompanying narrative, Loyalists in East Florida, 1774 to 1785 : the most important documents pertaining thereto 2 volumes. DeLand, Florida : Florida State Historical Society, 1929 FHL Digital Images
 * Robert Gary Mitchell, Loyalist Georgia Ann Arbor, Michigan : University Microfilms International, 1985, c1965 FHL 975.8 H2mL
 * Richard Arthur Overfield,The Loyalists of Maryland during the American Revolution [College Park, Md : Author, 1968 FHL  DGS 9077453]
 * M. Christoper New, Maryland Loyalists in the American Revolution Centreville, Maryland : Tidewater, c1996 FHL 975.2 H2ne
 * David E. Maas, comp. and ed., Divided hearts, Massachusetts loyalists, 1765-1790 : a biographical directory Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, c1980 FHL 974.4 F2m
 * Wilbur Henry Siebert, The Loyalist refugees of New Hampshire Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 1916 FHL Digital Images
 * Robert O. DeMond, The loyalists in North Carolina during the Revolution Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publishing Company, 1979 FHL 975.6 M2dr
 * Wilbur H. Siebert, The loyalists of Pennsylvania Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 1920 FHL Digital Images
 * Rhode Island Historical Society Loyalists and persons named in the Act of July 1780
 * Robert Stansbury Lambert, South Carolina loyalists in the American Revolution Columbia, South Carolina : University of South Carolina Press, c1987 FHL 975.7 H2Lr
 * Mary Greene Nye, edited, Sequestration, confiscation and sale of estates State papers of Vermont; v. 6 Montpelier, Vermont : Secretary of State, 1941 FHL Digital Images

For more information also see:


 * Loyalist Ancestors in the U.S. Revolutionary War
 * Revolutionary War Loyalist Records
 * Canada Military Records
 * Canada Land and Property
 * British Military Records
 * United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada
 * The Loyalist Collection
 * Loyalists in the Maritimes - Ward Chipman Muster Master's Office, 1777-1785
 * Loyalists (Library and Archives Canada)