A Select Index to Names of Loyalists and their Associates Contained in the British Headquarters Papers, New York City 1774-1783 The Carleton Papers

The Papers

The British Headquarters Papers comprise about 30,000 manuscript pages and are available on microfilm at the National Archives of Canada. The collection of papers is referred to as the British Headquarters Papers, New York City 1774-1783 or the Carleton Papers. The records were kept by successive Commanders-in Chief of the British Army in North America during the American Revolution. They document the conduct of the war, the civil administration, and the lives, not only of the British Military, but also the civilians and loyalist soldiers who passed through New York.

The Project

The King's Name Project was a project of the Sir Guy Carleton Branch, United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. The purpose of the project was to index, selectively, names of loyalists and associated people found in the British Headquarters Papers. The project involved several researchers reading the microfilm and creating an index card, containing pertinent information, for each loyalist name. There are about 50,000 index cards available covering names from A to Z.

Importance of the Index

This index is an exceptional guide to information for anyone interested in the Loyalists (white or black), soldiers and civilian refugees, or German soldiers who passed through New York during the American Revolution. It will be especially valuable for genealogists as well as historians, ethnographers and other specialists who formerly had only a short-entry, general index to help them research. Now specific data will be easy to locate and manipulate.

Which Ancestors?

The index can be used to find ancestors who passed through New York City during the Revolution, ancestors who fled or were evacuated, ancestors sent to Canada under specific orders, ancestors who were soldiers of a British Regiment demobilized in Canada, ancestors who were soldiers of a German Regiment, "rebels" who: wrote letters to Headquarters, whose property was confiscated, or who were imprisoned.

Documentation for Carleton's Loyalist Index

• Acknowledgements
• History of the Papers and the Project
• Explanation of information in Carleton's Loyalist Index
• Abbreviations for military ranks & terms, and for British, German & provincial regiments
• Calendar – lists the range of document numbers found in the British Headquarters Papers.
• Additional Information about regiments and people listed in the "King's Papers," giving references to other sources. NOTE: Document 3343 is found on LAC microfilm M-352.
• Carleton's Loyalist Index database example

• Index to Carleton's Loyalist Index: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, Given Names

Instructions for Searching Carleton's Loyalist Index

Please read the Instructions below before beginning your search of Carleton's Loyalist Index. This will make your search easier and help you to get the most information from the Index.

To find your ancestor:

• Click on the first letter of your ancestor's last name. A document will appear, similar to the Example, with the record for the first name in the file.
• To find the specific record for your ancestor, hold the "Control" key down and type "F". A search box will appear on your screen. Enter your ancestor's last name, and click "Next". NOTE: The search function does not support wild cards such as * or ?, as in Ostr*m.
• If you are unable to search the document, right-click on it and save it to your computer as a PDF file. Search the saved document as described above.
• To open a PDF file, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded for free from Adobe.

To get the most out of your search:

• Scroll down to the ID Code close to the bottom of the record. Enter this number in the search box to find all records for your ancestor. This will bring up records that may have a different spelling of the last name. NOTE: This may bring up more than just additional records for your ancestor, but the relevant ones will be shown first.
• Consult "Explanation of Fields" to understand the text on each line of the record.
• Consult "Abbreviations" to learn the full name of the Regiment your ancestor served in and to understand other abbreviations in the record. The first table of abbreviations are general, the next three tables link abbreviations with the full names of Regiments. There are three tables of regimental abbreviations: British, German and Provincial.
• Consult "Additional Information" which has more information on some people and on some regiments. This document can be searched as in 1. above.
• Also search the "Book of Negroes" to learn if your ancestor left with slaves or free Negroes. See Instructions for the Book of Negroes.

To find the original document:

• These records were taken from microfilms held at Library and Archives Canada (LAC). The microfilm number is on the last line of the record.
• Document and page(s) numbers are on the line marked "Page". The document number is first, followed by the page number in brackets.
• Visit LAC at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0N4, to view the microfilm.
• Contact LAC to request a copy of the document, providing the microfilm, document and page numbers. A scanned image may be e-mailed to you for a small fee. LAC does not lend microfilm or microfiche copies of archival documents.