Membership in the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada must be through one of the 29 branches of the Dominion Association in Canada (every province except Newfoundland). While many folks join a branch located nearby, there is no rule as to which branch a member must belong. [In addition, membership may be held in more than one branch at the same time, usually for the nominal fee of $10 per year each for additional memberships. That is the fee for those from other branches wishing also to join the Bay of Quinte Branch. Proof of membership must be forwarded by the home branch's membership secretary or genealogist to the Bay of Quinte Branch Treasurer.]

To join the UEL, one must provide documentary proof of descent from a United Empire Loyalist (see definition below). Many individuals come to the Association with fairly complete genealogies, but others are just starting their family research. In some cases, the documentation is fairly simple if relatives have already established their descent. In any event, the research provides an exceptional opportunity for a family to establish and celebrate its past.

Founded in 1956, the Bay of Quinte UEL Branch is one of the largest in Canada. We welcome new members almost every month of the year. Membership in our branch and other branches is available to anyone wishing to join, but certified UE status is conferrable upon only those who can prove direct lineage from a bonafide 18th century United Empire Loyalist. This 211-year-old designation remains Canada's only hereditary title and descends through both male and female lines.

Annual membership in the Bay of Quinte Branch includes five issues of our newsletter, The Quinte Loyalist Muster, and Spring and Autumn issues of The Loyalist Gazette, a wonderful magazine published by the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada. As well, our branch is proud to operate Adolphustown U.E. Loyalist Park on the very site where many of our Loyalist ancestors 'landed' in June 1784, finding an untamed wilderness. Today, you can camp where they camped 218 years ago, before building their first log houses on nearby forested homesteads.

Starting with yourself, show evidence of your parentage using birth registration or Baptism certificates, then do the same for each ancestor all the way back to the Loyalist from whom you have descended. You must have primary or acceptably authoritative secondary documents to prove the connections.

Use books such as William Reid's 'Sons & Daughters of American Loyalists' or 'Loyalist Lineages' (published by Toronto UEL Branch) to point you in the correct direction. Look for church records of baptism, marriage, death, etc. Look in family Bibles. Look on the internet and elsewhere for Muster rolls of regiments and other leads. Our branch has a genealogist who can offer advice and assistance, but you must do the research yourself (or hire a professional to help). Look at land records in the area where your ancestor settled. Go to the library and look in a 19th Century community atlas. Don't depend on family anecdotal accounts, which can lead to 'mythinformation', but instead use them to explore and find new insights and relatives.

Sometimes you may find evidence in old newspapers. Useful evidence can be 'anything that states a relationship between two or more people'. A census comes into that category; however, before 1861 there is no census of use for ascertaining families, since the first Ontario census in 1851-2 was for heads of household only.

When you have 'made' and documented the direct lineal connection with your believed UEL ancestor, you can apply for full membership:

1. Collect all of your evidence.

2. Contact our Branch Genealogist, Brandt Zatterberg by email for an official application form. OR, you can download the form from here.

3. Send TWO copies of the application and all of your evidence to our Branch Genealogist (address is on the application). One copy (of your application and evidence) is forwarded to the Dominion Genealogist in Toronto, the other is kept by the Branch genealogist.

4. The two genealogists check the information, cross-reference with existing proven records and compare their evaluations of their information. If things don't check out, applicants are asked for additional evidence and clarifications.

5. If everything checks out, a certificate is issued, and either mailed to you or presented to you at a branch meeting, according to your wishes. You are then a certified UE and can proudly place those historic letters following your name.

Regular membership, with voting rights in the Association, is restricted to members who can prove they have a Loyalist ancestor who meets the following criteria:

1. Either male or female, as of April 19, 1775, a resident of the American colonies, and joined the Royal Standard prior to the Treaty of Separation of 1783, or otherwise demonstrated loyalty to the Crown, and settled in territory remaining under the rule of the Crown; or,

2. a soldier who served in an American Loyalist Regiment and was disbanded in Canada; or,

3. a member of the Mohawk Six Nations of either the Grand River or Bay of Quinte reserve who is descended from one whose migration was similar to that of other Loyalists.

To join as an Affiliate or Associate Member, one must signify support for the Association's aims and objectives. You can become an Associate member while doing your Loyalist lineage research, if you wish. This route is highly recommended because of the wealth of formal and informal contacts you immediately tap into.

For further information, please contact our Branch Genealogist, Brandt Zatterberg by email.





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