On 9/23/08, Betty <[email protected]> wrote: > Archives of Canada and are usually called the District Loyalist Rolls of > 1796. > No one list of Loyalists can be considered "the" List. There is no simple definitive and accurate list. You must consult them all, from the Old UEL list to Reid's book to all the variant lists made. After 1796 the Executive Council kept a list of Loyalists based on District Rolls. This became the Executive Council UE List and contains about 3,500 names. It is not considered a complete list, but it is considered more accurate than the Crown Lands (Old UEL) list. The Crown Lands Dept. created a second list, based on other records. This became the Old UEL List and contains approximately 6,000 names, but not all qualified. When searching Loyalists you also need to consult pay lists, muster rolls, and the land records. For a good reference to what is available, see Brenda Dougall Merriman's book "Genealogy in Ontario: Searching the Records" Look under Brenda's chapter on Loyalists. For those interested in this time period, and what clues the OC date offers, you can always refer to the Loyalist Section of Olive Tree Genealogy http://olivetreegenealogy.com/loy/ One thing I think is very important is to recognize that the Petitions of Loyalists for land are not uniform. You may find one small petition, giving just enough facts to persuade the Crown to give that person a free grant as a Loyalist. You may find page after page of affidavits, testimonies, and so on, all documentation to prove the petitioner's claim. For example in my own Loyalist research, one of my Loyalist ancestors' files has an affidavit from a well known judge of the Niagara area, testifying to his Loyalty during the 'troubles' - this document providing his former place of residence in the United States. Another Loyalist file included a document signed by his commanding officer in Butler's Rangers (providing his unit), describing the petitioner's hardships including being imprisoned 3 times in Albany NY. A second document gave great detail about the petitioner's wife (including the number of children) and her hardships in NY, including a description of the night the "rebels" came to her home in the northern part of NY and burned it to the ground. This document went on to describe her ordeal as she and her children attempted to make their way north to "Canada". I would not want anyone to overlook these petitions as a wonderful source of detail as well as genealogical material. Until you find them you have no way of knowing how much or how little information may be contained in the file. For more info on these petitions and how to obtain them on microfilm, see "How to Find your Loyalist Ancestor" at http://olivetreegenealogy.com/loy/loyfind.shtml Reid's book on Loyalists was never intended to be the Bible of Loyalist families. Reid simply organized index cards into what he thought were family groups. *Many* if not most families are incomplete. Some individuals are incorrectly placed. Reid's book is a wonderful resource, and a great starting point for your Loyalist research, but you should verify independently that a child he places in a family group does belong there (by looking up ALL petitions for that family), and never never assume that because an individual isn't in the family group he/she doesn't exist or isn't a Loyalist. There are many terrific online sites too, while I don't want to overlook all the great sites, my favourite is at http://www.royalprovincial.com/ Lorine -- Olive Tree Genealogy http://olivetreegenealogy.com