REVOLUTIONARY WAR DEVASTATED AMERICAN SOCIETY
(Please be aware this post was written in 2003 and published at that time in the Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) newspaper. Some of the news in this post, therefore, may not be current. Current and future posts on this blog may revisit and update news on this and other posts on this blog. If you have questions and/or suggestions, please send Mic a note using the comment page -Don’t forget to use the orange “subscribe” button to receive new posts-Thanks, Mic)
Historians tell us the American Civil War tore families apart and brother fought brother on the battlefield. While it would be ludicrous to dispute that war was a very horrific one, an earlier war, the American Revolution, may well have been even more devastating to the thread works of American society.
Beginning with the Stamp Act in 1765 through the 1780s turbulence quaked throughout America. Individuals, families and even entire towns of Patriots and Loyalists were affected. Fathers, sons and brothers disagreed, fought and disowned one another. Vigilante style groups attacked others on the street and pillaged, confiscated and burned the homes, businesses and other property of their adversaries. Many individuals and their families moved to other areas of the country for safety and solitude from the violence.
In the end Loyalists, those American, British and foreign born civilians and soldiers who supported their (British) government and King, were moved for their own safety and a new life to Canada or other British possessions. In many cases they left behind their homes, worldly possessions and in some cases their wives and even children.
Two titles published by the Genealogical Publishing Company, 1001 North Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 tell, through their compensatory claims, the melancholy story of those citizens of Colonial America who supported the British Crown during that frightful period in history.
American Migrations 1765-1799: The Lives, Times and Families of Colonial Americans Who Remained Loyal to the British Crown Before, During and After the Revolutionary War, As Related In Their Own Words and Through Their Correspondence by Peter Wilson Coldham ($78.50, postpaid) and United Empire Loyalists: Second Report of the Bureau of Archives For the Province of Ontario, a two volume set, edited by Alexander Fraser, Provincial Archivist, in 1905 ($64.75, postpaid).
The migration of Loyalists began about 1765 and may have consisted of upwards of 70,000 people from one colony to another and to East and West Florida . Migrations outside the American colonies to Canada, England, Jamaica and other places in the King’s Realm commenced about 1774 and continued until about 1789, eight years after the close of the war and six years after the signing of the treaty of peace.
By the terms of the treaty ending the Revolutionary War creditors of both sides of the conflict were to meet no impediment to recover all good debts in sterling money. The Congress of the United States recommended the States restore the rights and possessions of real British subjects and of Loyalists who had not borne arms. All other Loyalists were to be given twelve months to adjust their personal affairs and recover confiscated property. In addition the treaty assured there would be no further confiscations and persecutions and imprisoned Loyalists were to be released from their confinements.
Instead of due process and restitution Loyalists were faced with petty annoyances and persecution by severe ordinances and statutes. Exodus from the United States was the only relief open to them.
Included among the American Loyalists and British subjects who left the United States were former slaves, soldiers, farmers, merchants, professional men, men of professional trades and those with no trade at all plus low ranking government officials and Royal Governors.
Ships transporting Loyalists sailed mainly from New York, Georgia, Charleston, and East and West Florida to ports in England, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Jamaica.
The American Loyalist Claims recanted in the above named books were paid by the British Government and contain a treasure trove of biographical information and history. In their claims the Loyalists described their American residences, their locaton, how they obtained them whether by purchase or inheritance and their value. They told of other lost property, its value and the circumstances of the loss. Their lost property often included slaves, land, residences, furniture, crops, merchandise, other goods for sale, farm equipment, and other property confiscated or destroyed as a result of their fidelity to the Crown. They described the indignities and hardships suffered at the hands of their American adversaries and often spoke of family members in and outside America.
Reading the claims of Loyalist Royal Governors, government officials, military leaders and merchants enables historians to continue the biographical story of an individual after the Revolution particularly when the part they led on the opposing side of the American Revolution is historically memorable.
LEARN WHERE AND HOW TO LOCATE VITAL RECORDS
The research of many genealogists is stymied or faulty due to incomplete or incorrect information concerning ancestral the births, marriages and deaths. Because most states did not begin keeping birth and death records until after 1900 researchers usually do not know where or how to locate good and reliable substitute vital records source information.
To help researchers understand and learn how to locate acceptable vital records data I will be teaching a class on locating Birth, Marriage, Divorce and Death Records through Leisure Learning. The class will be held at Leisure Learning’s 2990 Richmond Avenue campus on Tuesday July 22 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.. Cost of the class and materials is $30. For more information and to register for the class contact Leisure Learning at 713-529-4414.
