Finding Loyalists Claims Online

Back in 2014 I wrote a post about Online Resources for Your Loyalist Research Project and in several of my other posts I've touched upon using land records to help you in your genealogy research.

Recently I came across this query in the United Empire Loyalists Association  (UELAC) Facebook  group and decided to see what I could find using just online resources since, with COVID-19 restrictions, brick and mortar archives and libraries are pretty much off limits. I'm also going to look at other sources of information to see what also can be uncovered.

My Orange County, New York ancestor John Darrington settled in May 1783 in King's County, New Brunswick. Does anyone know where I would find details of his 1787 claim to the British Government for his losses as a loyalist? There is a very helpful paragraph in Dubreau's New Brunswick Loyalists - a Bicentennial Tribute (1983), but Dubreau didn't cite any sources beyond a bibliography. I've purchased a copy of the most likely item in that bibliography but it came up short. Any recommendations appreciated.

I took a look at Sharon M. Dubeau's book "New Brunswick Loyalists - a bicentennial tribute" published in 1983 by Generation Press to make sure no key details were missing from the query. The paragraph on John Darington does include the statement that he settled along the Kennebecasis River in Kings County along with the death of his wife, Joanna, in Portland (Saint John) in 1840 at the age of 95 years. What is interesting to me is that the New Brunswick Genealogical Society's "First Families" sources Dubeau's book for their entry but spells the name "Darlington".

For the various claims made by Loyalists we have to look at the Audit Office AO 12: American Loyalist Claims, Series I and AO 13: American Loyalist Claims, Series II to see if we can locate the documents. These are held by The National Archives in England but fortunately Library and Archives Canada have a microfilm copy of the files. Even better, LAC has had the microfilms digitized as part of the Héritage Project. The challenge for us is that AO 12 and AO 13 on the Héritage Project site aren't really indexed for searching. We can manually review the various pages in the microfilms but there is an easier way.

On Ancestry there is the "UK, American Loyalist Claims, 1776-1835" collection which has name indexed both AO 12 and AO 13.

A search of that collection returns three possible records:

Screen capture of Ancestry search results from the UK, American Loyalist Claims, 1776-1835 collection for John Darrington.

Yes, there is a name difference but that is often not unexpected.

There is also another challenge we face with the collection on Ancestry. When I viewed the first record the source citation stated:

The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; American Loyalist Claims, Series I; Class: AO 13; Piece: 025

However, on the side of the image it states A.O.12 /25

Screen capture from Ancestry image from UK, American Loyalist Claims, 1776-1835 collection for John Derington, Account of Losses.

I've actually verified that it is from AO 12/25 by checking the same entry from the Héritage Project. Please bear with me since, as I mentioned, the microfilms that have been digitized by the Héritage Project are indexed by name and I'm going to use their images..

First I had to find volume 25 in AO 12. After a bit of jumping around in the images I found that it started on image 404 on microfilm C-12904. The index started on the next image and that is where I found John Derington listed.

Extract of index from AO 12/25 on Library and Archives Canada microfilm C-12904, image 405.

The first number is the page for the Memorial with the next number being the page for the evidence.

Here is his claim for £209 and 12 shillings.

Claim of John Derington, p 389, AO 12/25 Claims, American Loyalists - Series I, Evidence, New York, 1786-1787; citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm C-12904, image 757.

The next page was the sworn statement by John Derington stating his service to the crown.

Evidence for John Derington claim, p 389, AO 12/25 Claims, American Loyalists - Series I, Evidence, New York, 1786-1787; citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm C-12904, image 758.

Here we learn that according to John, he joined the British soon after Fort Washington was taken. That event took place November 16, 1776 at what is now Manhattan, New York City. So we know approximately when he joined the forces on the side of King George III. He served in the 55th Regiment of Foot as a Private.

There is also the Minutes that Ancestry returned when we searched for John Darrington in the collection. Again, Ancestry's source citation references to AO 13/98 but, like the Account of Losses and Evidence, it is actually found in AO 12/98.

Minutes pertaining to John Derington Memorial, p 302, AO 12/98 Claims, American Loyalists - Series I, Various, Minute Book, Halifax and Nova Scotia, 1785-1888; citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm C-12904, image 2020.

One thing to note about the images I've shown above and those on Ancestry. These images from Library and Archives Canada appear to be transcriptions from earlier records. Below is the image from Ancestry for the minutes from AO 12/98 for John Derington that is taken fro mthe collection at The National Archives in the United Kingdom.

Audit Office., AO12: American Loyalists Claims, Series I, Piece 098: Minute Book, Halifax and Nova Scotia, 1785-1788, p 302, minutes pertaining to John Derington.

However, where else can we look? How about the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick? If we search using the Federated Database Search we will probably either want to search for all of the variations of the Darrington name we can think of, or we can with the Soundex Utility link on the Federated Database Search page to do some of the work for us. There the Soundex search finds 39 possible name variations based on the Soundex algorithm. Most don't apply to this name but there are some interesting possibilities.

In Daniel F Johnson's New Brunswick Newspaper Vital Statistics we find the entry for the death announcement of Johanna Darington, the wife of John, from the January 29, 1840 edition of The New Brunswick Royal Gazette:

d. Thursday morn., Short Ferry, Portland (St. John) age 95, Johanna DARINGTON relict of John DARINGTON, Hampton (Kings Co.), one of the British Loyalists. 

For the surname Darrington there several records concerning land that are of possible interest:
Index to New Brunswick Land Grants, 1784 - 1997 (RS686)

Name	DARRINGTON, John
Volume	NS-1
Page	9
Grant number	3
Place	Kingston Township
County	Sunbury
Date	1784-12-27
Accompanying plan	Yes
Acres	200
Microfilm	F16300
Comment	Re-registered NS Grant of 1784/07/15: Plan 150 Rs. *2/39

[This grant had 26 other names associated with it.]

Index to Land Petitions: Original Series, 1783-1918 (RS108)

Name	DARRINGTON, JOHN
Year	1796
County	Kings
Microfilm	F1039

[This petition has 4 hours names associated with it.]

Index to Land Petitions: Original Series, 1783-1918 (RS108)

Name	DARRINGTON, JOHN
Year	1798
County	Kings
Microfilm	F1040
See petition of	DICKIE, HECTOR

[This petition has 9 other names in addition to John Darrington.]

The first record from RS686 is interesting since that is a re-register of a Nova Scotia grant. Just to refresh your memory, until August 16, 1784, New Brunswick was known as Sunbury County, Nova Scotia. We are fortunate that the Nova Scotia Archives has digitized the early land papers in their collection Nova Scotia Land Papers 1765-1800. Even better, the collection is name searchable!

There I found the image of the grant along with the surveyor's report and certificate, all available for download for free. This was a grant for a total of 4509 acres on the River Kennebeccasis in the Township of Kingston. County of Sunbury (now Kings County, New Brunswick) for 27 people.

John Darrington (Gaynor, James and others  —  year: 1784  —  place: New Brunswick); Record Group 20, Series A, Land Petitions and other material; digital images, Nova Scotia Archives, "Nova Scotia Land Papers 1765-1800," Nova Scotia Archives (archives.novascotia.ca : accessed 31 Mar 2020).

What about those land petitions in RS108. I logged in to FamilySearch and looked at the catalogue for "Canada, New Brunswick" and came across an open set of digitized microfilms in the "Land petitions, 1783-1857" collection. Within the digitized microfilm "1793 Lee, Samuel - 1796 Knox, John" on DGS 8191398 (FHL 1288461) starting at image 738 I found  the land petition from the New Brunswick microfilm F1039.

Darrington, John et al, 1796; RS108, Land Petitions; Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, Fredericton; FHL microfilm 1,288,461, image 739.

The next page has an important note on it concerning John Darrington where it states "...In the survey made by Jno. Wetmore 25th Sept 1798 only John Darrington is included"

Darrington, John et al, 1796; RS108, Land Petitions; Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, Fredericton; FHL microfilm 1,288,461, image 740.

What about the second land petition from RS108? That can be found a few microfilms further down in the one titled "1796 Leonard, George Jr. - 1798 Raymond, Samuel". In this case you don't look for John Darrington but for Hector Dickie. There, starting at image 647, we find the file folder for that that petition. If you read it very carefully you will see that it is signed (yes, a real signature!) by John Darrington junior. So this is possibly the son of the John Darrington from New York that served in the 55th Regiment of Foot.

Yet another source of possible information concerning land, and even wills, are the Deed Registry Books for New Brunswick. In this case we want to check the New Brunswick, Kings County, deed registry books, 1785-1920; index, 1785-1992 also on FamilySearch.

"New Brunswick, County Deed Registry Books, 1780-1930," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6S6X-WX?cc=1392378&wc=M69X-RM9%3A13841801%2C16555201%2C22610502 : 21 May 2014), Kings > Index book, grantor-grantee > 1785-1880, A-L > image 314 of 781; County Office of Service, New Brunswick, Canada.

Here we see there are several instances where John is recorded as the grantor. The one that grabbed my attention was the will for John Darrington Senior found in book G-1 starting at page 238 that was written on February 21, 1798. There a copy of his will has been recorded in the deed registry book since the will involved real estate. In the will John Sr. mentions his wife Johanna and his son John, most probably the John Jr. that signed that second land petition in RS108.


There is also Lorenzo Sabine's work "Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution, with an Historical Essay", published in 1864, where he records in volume I on page 359:

DARINGTON, JOHN.  He emigrated to New Brunswick at the peace, and died there. Joanna, his widow, died in Portland, in that Province, in 1840, at the age of ninety-five.

Finally, if we look at the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada web site in the Loyalist Directory we find an entry for John Darrington that referenced NYGBS; V36 N1 Jan 1905. That translates to the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society Record, volume 36, number 1, January 1905. You can find a copy on the Internet Archive and on page 27 you will find the one line entry about him.

There are many other resources that can be examined but I think we have answered the query in full and then some.

I hope that this helps in your own research into the Loyalists that settled in what later became New Brunswick, Canada.

Transcriptions and Their Sources...An Adventure

One the many challenges often faced by genealogy and family history researchers is finding the original source of those transcriptions we often use in our family trees. Over the past week that has been a consuming task for me as I prepare to work on updating and creating source citations for the entry of my 4th great-grandfather Joseph Starr (1757-1840), son of Samuel Starr and Abigail Leffingwell, on Wikitree.

Starr's Point Cemetery ( Kings County, Nova Scotia), Joseph Starr (died 8 Jul 1840) marker; personally photographed and read by Ken McKinlay, 17 Sep 2009.

Up until very recently one of the resources I turned to for early records in the area of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada that my Chipman and Starr branches originally settled in in the 1760s has been the "Township Books, Kings County: Aylesford, Cornwallis, Horton" compiled by Lorna Woodman Evans in 1996¹. It is still an important reference book for me since it lets me quickly locate information on the families I'm researching in that area.

On page 120 in the compilation by Lorna Woodman Evans she recorded:

"Joseph Starr died at Cornwallis in 8th inst. aged 84,
one of the oldest inhabitants of that port of N.S.
- Haligonian of 18 Aug. 1840."

This would mean he died on 8 Aug 1840 but his marker says he died on 8 Jul 1840. An ugly conflict that needs to be resolved.

With the digitization project by FamilySearch of the microfilms in their possession I've been able to find copies of the Horton Township book, 1751-1895 and the Cornwallis Township and church records, 1720-1920 on FamilySearch.org.

This is where my latest research adventure really starts.

When I reviewed² the digitized copy of the Horton Township book found on FamilySearch I couldn't locate that entry for Joseph Starr. Of course, what made it more of a challenge is the Township book isn't exactly in alphabetical order by family name. The older part of the book is mostly sorted by family name but later sections are a mishmash with family groups interspersed with pages listing deaths for a specific year. After much reading I was able to locate all the other Starr entries in Horton Township except for one...Joseph's. So I went back to the beginning, the beginning of the compilation that is, and read the explanatory notes by Lorna. There she wrote:

"The Horton Township records are preserved in copies of at least four slightly different books. Three copies are found in the K.H.S. Family History Library: one is a photocopy of an original book kept by the Horton Dyke Commissioner, another is a microfilmed copy of a handwritten book with added margin notes and the third is a microfilmed copy of a very neatly handwritten record with entries as late as 1895. In addition to these three copies Douglas Eagles mentions a transcript of the Horton Town Register held at the Public Archives of Canada³ in Ottawa."

"We want to thank Douglas Eagles for allowing the use of his Horton Township Records which he published in 1974. Nearly all of the Horton information recorded here came from his work, with the exception of a few details found in the third copy of the township book previously mentioned."

Based on the handwriting and the FamilySearch description that third copy of the township book appears to be the one that FamilySearch microfilmed and recently digitized. The beginning of the digitized microfilm states that it came from the "Public Archives of Nova Scotia, Halifax.Can." with the title recorded as "Horton Township MG-4 Vol 74." This matches the description found on the Nova Scotia Archives page for the Township book of Horton Township, Kings County.

Since I reside in Ottawa I figured I'd check if a copy of Douglas Eagles' book was available at Library and Archives Canada since it appears they heavily relied on his work. A search using LAC's Aurora system revealed that his "Horton Township records, Kings Co., Nova Scotia : register of births, marriages and deaths, 1751-1895" was available. I was doing this research from home but with the new Aurora system I could place my order without having to visit LAC. However, with it being a preservation copy it could take between 2 to 5 business days to be retrieved. To my surprise I received an e-mail the next day stating the book was waiting for me at Library and Archives Canada. A day later I popped into the Special Collections room and quietly began to check out Mr. Eagles book. This time I started at the beginning and came across this little but significant note on page iii:

"Notices of a few marriages and obituaries gleaned from the "Haligonian" and the "Nova Scotian" by Ross Graves of Upper Stewiacke, N.S., and 'bible' information on several families contributed by John Duncanson, 193 Queen St. Sarnia have been included and gratefully acknowledged."

I also came across the entry for Joseph Starr's death on page 77:

"Joseph Starr d. at Cornwallis on 8 inst aged 84 years, one of the oldest
inhabitants of that part of N.S. Haligonian of 18 Aug. 1840."

Could it be that those several days of reading and rereading the digitized microfilm was for naught? Could it be that Mr. Eagles added information not found in the Township book? It seems that way.

What about the Haligonian newspaper? Could I find a copy at Library and Archives Canada? No such luck. Maybe at Nova Scotia Archives? Well...sort of. They only have the 7 Aug 1840 edition of the Haligonian and General Advertiser. That's "annoying". A search using Worldcat reveals that both Acadia University in Wolfville and the University of Kings College in Halifax have copies. But they can only be consulted on-site and popping over to Nova Scotia, as much as I would love to, just isn't in the cards for the immediate future. So yet another to-do item goes into my genealogy research software.

However, if the notice was in one newspaper might it be found in other newspapers of the time in Nova Scotia?

On the shelves of the Genealogy Services room at Library and Archives Canada you can find a number of books with transcriptions and family histories. I found "Vital Statistics From Halifax Newspapers, 1840-1843" compiled by Jean M. Holder and assisted by Grace L. Hubley and published by the Genealogical Association of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society in 1985 in Halifax. There on page 27 I came across:

"A.R., Sat., 15 Aug. 1840
454. + 8 July at Cornwallis: Joseph STARR, 84"

From checking the list of acronyms at the start of that compilation I learned that "A.R." is the Acadian Recorder. I also know that Nova Scotia Archives in their Nova Scotia Historical Newspapers collection has placed online a digitized copy of that newspaper. Even better, they have the 15 Aug 1840 edition available. Here is the entry clipped from that edition of the Acadian Recorder.

"Died - Joseph Starr," Acadian Recorder, 15 Aug 1840, p. 3, col. 1; digital images, Nova Scotia Archives (https://archives.novascotia.ca/ : accessed 19 Oct 2019), Nova Scotia Historical Newspapers.

Hmmm, "8th ult."not "8 inst". This puts his death as occurring on 8 Jul 1840.

Now I at least have the information on the grave marker which states he died "July 8th 1840" matching up with at least one newspaper. That's a good thing. I still need to review the Haligonian at some point in the future to see if the transcriber made a mistake or the newspaper was in error when originally printed.

During this research escapade I also took the time to check Thematic Guide 1206 to Parish Registers⁴, Volume 1 found in the second floor Reference Room of LAC. I often consult that guide to see if there are parish registers held at Library and Archives Canada that might help me out in my latest quest. Unfortunately they haven't digitized this 2 inch binder so it can only be reviewed onsite. However, I did see that they have listed several entries for Horton, Kings County, Nova Scotia:

• C-3027: Civil registers BMD 1751-1895 (MG 9, B 9-7)
• C-3021: St. John's Anglican Church, Cornwallis, Annapolis Co. B 1783-1902, M 1783-1911, D 1830-1920 includes Horton, and Wilmot.
• C-3022: St. John's Anglican Church B 1823-1877
• H-1806: Eagles' Compilation of Township Registers, etc. BMD 1751-1895
• H-1806: Eagles' Cemetery Recordings for 19 Horton Township cemeteries BD 1767-1873

Could the "Eagles' Compilation of Township Registers, etc. BMD 1751-1895" be the same as the book I read in the Special Collections room?

It just so happens that the Héritage Project site holds digitized copies of a number of the C, H, and T microfilms from Library and Archives Canada. It isn't the easiest site to navigate but when it comes to being able to research from the comfort of your home I'm not going to complain too loudly. A quick check and I discover that H-1806 is in fact digitized and available on the Héritage site. After a few minutes of bouncing around the 810 pages of that digitized reel I found the start of Mr. Eagles book (explanatory notes starting on image 151). So now you too can review his material from your home.

A few lessons to take with you if you've made it this far in my post:

• If you have conflicting information then take the time and effort to resolve the conflict. You might be surprised at what you find.
• Always read the introduction pages to any transcription books. You may find clues as to where they got the information. You might even discover new facts and sources.
• If a book cites another book, make sure that you review that book also (repeat as often as necessary to get to the original source).
• Not everything is digitized and online but it is getting better over time.

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1. Evans, Lorna Woodman, compiler. Township Books, Kings County: Aylesford, Cornwallis, Horton.  Kentville, Nova Scotia: Family History Committee of The Kings Historical Society, 1996.

2. Not just once but I looked through that digitized copy for many hours over several days!

3. Now part of Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa.

4. Yes, I keep asking the Genealogy Services staff when they will have that guide available online since it is invaluable to those using the Héritage Project site.