Who were the Loyalists?

Contrary to some previous ideas, the up to 100,000 Loyalists were a diverse group, with heritage from cultural and religious groups including German, Dutch, French, Huguenot, Native, Black, Methodist, Catholic, Quaker, Jewish and mixed origins. They were clergy, clerks, lawyers, printers, craftsmen, farmers, slaves, millwrights, metal smiths, soldiers, and wives, mothers, businesswomen, tavern keepers, and ferrymen. They left the Thirteen Colonies having had their property confiscated and they arrived with little. In the new land they learned new roles and trades to survive. They arrived in the Maritimes, Lower and Upper Canada, often settling on what looked to be wild lands, and often on land newly taken or purchased by the British from the Indigenous peoples.

Upcoming Events (2025)

SPRING and SUMMER & Future Events:

• June 12 United Empire Loyalists’ Flag Day in Kingston
• Mid June Adolphustown Reenactment, St. Alban’s Loyalist Church Service,  UE Loyalist Park Adolphustown Flag Raising
• July 1 Canada Day Celebrations in Bath
• July 10 – 13 ANNUAL UELAC CONFERENCE: Saint John, New Brunswick
• September 27, 2025 Regular Meeting, Topic TBA.
• November  22, 2025 Regular Meeting, Topic TBA.

Participation and Membership

Everyone is welcome and invited to join and participate regardless of age or heritage! Join in our interest in learning, sharing, researching, preserving, and educating others about the history of the Loyalist era. If you think that you may have a Loyalist ancestor, you will be offered guidance in tracing your family line back to your Loyalist forebear.

With Membership you gain access to:
• Support in the UELAC Certificate application research process
• Regular meetings 4 times per year
• Our Newsletter, The Cataraqui Town Crier, 5 per year by e-mail or mail
• The National Journal, The Loyalist Gazette 2 per yr., online or by mail
• Lineage resources in our cabinets
• Regional & National events and the Annual UELAC Conference info.

The Kingston and District Branch

We are one of 25 branches across Canada that comprise the United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada. We meet five times per year, produce 5 newsletters with articles of interest and announcements of the meetings. You can receive that newsletter by e-mail or by regular mail. We commemorate Loyalist Day in Kingston on or near June 12th, often by raising a Loyalist Flag in Confederation Basin. We ride a float in the Bath Canada Day Parade, and our booth is found among the vendors that day. Our goals are to Preserve, Promote, and Educate about the Loyalist Heritage in the area.
Our leadership team has opportunities for your expertise or an interest to learn. Roles rotate when there is a need or an interest

Mark of Honour: “U.E.“

Proven descendants of United Empire Loyalists are allowed to use the mark of honour “U.E.” at the end of their name.

Granted by Government decree, as recommended by Lord Dorchester, Sir Guy Carleton in 1784: “…those Loyalists who have adhered to the Unity of the Empire, and joined the Royal Standard in America before the Treaty of Separation in the year 1783 and all their children and their Descendants, by either sex, are to be distinguished by the following Capitals affixed to their names U.E.”

The UELAC presents a U.E. certificate to those persons who present acceptable proof with citations showing their lineage connecting them to their Loyalist Ancestor

Armorial Bearings