Hello, researchers and history lovers! My excuse for my delays remains constant…work, side work, client work, the occasional personal projects, travel and a social life, and a calendar that seemingly keeps speeding by faster and faster! However, I am still trying to keep things fresh on this blog with new topics as time goes by…
One of my biggest projects is now a published series and available to the public as of this past week. Related to my work with the NSDAR (Daughters of American Revolution), I have undertaken a tediously long project to identify individual acts of Loyalism and doubtful activities and behavior in New York City, Staten Island, and Long Island during the Revolutionary War. This new series, The Loyal and Doubtful: Index to the Acts of British Loyalism in the Greater New York and Long Island Area 1775-1783, is a first series containing 5 volumes (each between 480-520 pages), all in alphabetical order, outlining individual acts of Loyalism and doubtful behavior in these areas. It is a very helpful index for anyone trying to document their ancestor’s allegiances during the war, or even general actions and events in the same time – not everyone may have been a true Loyalist, but many residents did what was necessary to prevent any suspicions from the British army, or stave off any attacks from rebel parties.
It is an important topic for anyone who descends from residents of these three areas during the war; General George Washington failed to prevent the British Army and the Hessians from taking over the New York harbor during the battles and campaigns at New York in the summer and fall of 1776, resulting in the Americans’ retreat across the Jersey palisades and the British claiming New York City and Long Island as their own from the fall of 1776 until peace was restored on 25 November 1783. During that period, many families fled New York and Long Island, crossing the sound into Connecticut, or following the Hudson into upstate, or retreated westward into New Jersey. Many other families, however, remained on their properties. Remaining at home, however, was subject to the martial law imposed upon them by the British army from 1776 through 1783. It was not a peaceful time by any means; the British army imposed oaths of allegiance upon their American subjects in order to police their authority over the population. The army also drafted many of the men into working alongside the Royal army, building fortifications, carting provisions and forage, or even serving in the lines or militia with their own men (or the Hessians). Other families were drafted to house American prisoners of war; other families, particularly wealthier families, were displaced by British officers quartering in their homes (or shared them altogether).
Many families who remained in New York, Staten Island, and Long Island may not have been full-fledged Loyalists as many others across the colonies were, but their decisions to remain at home was, in itself, an acceptance of the state of war. A number of inhabitants in these areas had already established doubts about American independence, and many others outright opposed a Continental Congress representing them and imposing any laws or order; we are aware of these actions through a number of petitions in 1775. It may not have established an inhabitant with supporting the King, but at the same time, these seeds of doubt implanted in many residents also precluded many inhabitants of these areas from participating in the war. Some others participated in battle at New York and Long Island in 1776, but once the Americans retreated, they simply marched home and retreated into the British occupation.
All of it adds up at face value when all of these individual acts and events are put together in a singular source. Thousands of residents in New York, Staten Island, and Long Island subscribed their names to an oath of allegiance to King George III between July 1776 and November 1778. All of these names are now provided in this index. Furthermore, this series of 5 volumes culls through the following:
- Muster rolls showing those Americans who were working at British fortifications, magazines, garrisons, and depots
- Those persons ordered to build fortifications, or who were paid for their work at these forts
- Those persons who carted provisions for the British army
- Those persons who applied to the Royal Treasury or Loyalists Commission for reimbursement for services rendered or supplies furnished (as opposed to an American authority).
- Loyalists serving in any Royal regiment or company of militia
- Signing any petition in favor of a British officer or official (particularly those which contain strong language that favors the royal cause)
- Newspaper articles of persons expressing their favor towards the royal cause or outright condemning the rebel cause (and any other personal items, such as diaries, journals, etc.)
- Court martials from the summer of 1776 related to actions and events across New York, Long Island, and New Jersey to conspire against George Washington and his army
- Anyone indicted through the New York courts and deemed inimical to the state for any Loyalist actions, whether or not they were ever caught, imprisoned, or not.
- Loyalists who fled to Canada from 1780 forward
- Some free and enslaved blacks who left New York for Canada in 1783 (i.e., from the “Book of Negroes”).
Each entry in the book outlines an individual act of Loyalism or doubtful behavior. It is VERY possible one person may contain several events in the book; however, the author has not presumed any connection to any other entry through any background research. The researchers shall take this into consideration and perform any research to link any events for a person. Each entry, however, contains a description of the event or action, date and place if known, and also a source for either the published version of that activity (if widely available) or the original location of the document, if known (i.e., through historical societies, digital collections, archives, etc.).
This is a first series – so many sources were reviewed during the compilation of these books that it is necessary to continue the series in a second series in the future. The second series will continue to explore additional Loyalist resources found throughout the United States, Canada, and many specific repositories, many not having been published at this time. It will continue through the Loyalist claims (the first series outlines those claims for A-G surnames) and the rest of the Book of Negroes (only the first few pages were used for this first series). There’s so many sources and events I had to stop and get this first series out there! It is an ongoing project and one of immense need for Revolutionary War research, as well as those who are engaged in any lineage society related to the American Revolution (DAR, SAR, CAR, SR, etc.).
[Above: detail of a page from the series, showing the arrangement of the events. Each entry is an individual act. It is very possible for one person to be identified through multiple entries. The author did not perform any background research to presume the connection between any entries. It is the researcher’s responsibility to link the identities of multiple actions to one person or multiple persons.]
The series does acknowledge a few things: the definition of a “resident” in this series includes anyone who may have conducted business in the area during the war, or for a period of time, or anyone that called this region home during the war. This includes the thousands of Loyalists who fled from other areas outside New York; many Loyalist refugees called New York home during the war, even though many were subjected to living in burned residences or tents due to a lack of adequate housing and resources. It is also difficult in many ways to identify whether someone was a native (or resident) of New York or not. It is very difficult to look at the name William Smith and determine where he originated! However, for Loyalist regiments, for example, those that often recruited in a given area (whether or not the recruits were all from that area) are included when there are specific names that are found; examples of this include region-specific families that would otherwise signify a relation to the New York area. This includes many of the Dutch and German families that had been established in the New York region for generations prior to the war, and also many families on Long Island, such as the Reeves, Conklins, Jarvis, Sammis, and Tuthill/Tuttle families, to name a few. Additionally, NOT every muster roll is cited in this series – however, a selection of muster rolls are included for each regiment (if they are found to have stronger New York ties) to establish continuous service and loyalty for each individual. Important remarks from each event are also included – this very much includes the date and location of event. Details from muster rolls are also included, such as if someone died or was imprisoned or off at battle.
The books can all be published at Amazon and are available in both paperback and hardcover editions! The links to each are as follows (these links direct to the hardcover copies, but you can select “paperback” in the same link):
Volume 1 (Surnames Aabig – Cornwell): Click Here
Volume 2 (Surnames Corryheart – Hecht): Click Here
Volume 3 (Surnames Hedden – Millon): Click Here
Volume 4 (Surnames Mills – Henry Smith): Click Here
Volume 5 (Hezekiah Smith – Zohrbeich): Click Here
Stay tuned in the future for subsequent volumes to this series! Hopefully this will help anyone with ancestors in these areas prove whether their ancestor had patriotic ties or Loyalist ties!
The Ancestral Clark 