The second in an eight part series to help people with potential UE Loyalist lines access the wealth of documentation available online for free, as well as offline sources that can provide further evidence linking generations.
Step 1. Search FamilySearch.org, look at Canadian censuses online
FamilySearch has indexed all Canadian census records through to 1911, in addition to US censuses indexed through 1940 (with some US censuses viewable on the site). For American descendants the process will probably start by finding an ancestor listed on a US census with Canada as birth location; use the censuses to try to identify when they left Canada for the US and whether they should appear on an earlier Canadian census. Search there first (if you do not get hits, also try searching the LAC indexes at the links below as a back-up).
If you get likely hits in Canadian censuses, go to the LAC site and search (under the exact name listed on the FamilySearch index record) to view and download the census form for that person and their family (if the family extends to the previous or next page, adjust the image number at the end of the URL plus or minus one, to go forwards or backwards in the image bank):
- 1911 (you can also search the FamilySearch index for this census directly)
- 1901 (FamilySearch index)
- 1891 (FamilySearch index)
- 1881 (FamilySearch index)
- 1871 (FamilySearch index)
- 1861 (Dominion of Canada was not formed until 1867. FamilySearch index for Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI)
- 1851 (FamilySearch index) warning: several Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia townships, including many UEL settlements, did not survive
If you find your ancestors, download the census form and make special note of the County and Township (often called the Sub-District) they were residing in. Trace back through as many censuses as you can and get as specific with the location as possible. Township location is key to using more sophisticated research methods to find detailed information.
Warning: Be careful to align the details of spouses, siblings, children, birth dates (+/- up to 4 years) with any details identified in your existing research for the succeeding generation. Given that this is a group with an endogamous founding population, it is not uncommon for multiple people to have the same name, even if the name appears to be rare at first glance. Working through other record sets described here as well as cemetery records can help you ensure the links are solid (to start: Findagrave, Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid - index only, but covers 3 million burials in Ontario, CemSearch, etc.).
Continue to Step 2...
SERIES INDEX
PART I - BackgroundPART II - Step 1: Search FamilySearch.org, look at Canadian censuses online
PART III - Step 2: Search FamilySearch again, access Canadian vital records
PART IV - Step 3: Google, using township name
PART V - Step 4: Take stock, seek advice as needed
PART VI - Step 5: Access free UEL record indexes and records online
PART VII - Step 6: Search wills, obtain evidence linking to later generations
PART VIII - Future possibilities
PART IV - Step 3: Google, using township name
PART V - Step 4: Take stock, seek advice as needed
PART VI - Step 5: Access free UEL record indexes and records online
PART VII - Step 6: Search wills, obtain evidence linking to later generations
PART VIII - Future possibilities
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