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The term "Loyalist" is generally applied to those colonists who sided with the British during the Revolutionary War. Also called "Tories," Loyalists came from all social classes and occupations and by some estimates made up as much as one-third of the colonial population. The Loyalist cause was strongest in the southern colonies, in Georgia and the Carolinas, especially, and in the mid-Atlantic colonies, particularly New York and Pennsylvania. Sentiment against the Loyalists led to various proscriptions and restrictions, but it was the confiscation of their land and property that led to the creation--unintentionally, of course--of some of the most useful Revolutionary War-era genealogical records available today.

The thirteen volumes of records produced in this Family Archive CD contain some of the most useful works ever published on Revolutionary War Loyalists. Originally published or reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Company, they cover a broad spectrum of information pertaining to the identification of individual Loyalists. From land records to pension records, from orderly books to diaries, from recruitment lists, muster rolls, and pay lists to biographies and lists of United Empire Loyalists, these volumes variously provide the following information: name, country or place of origin, occupation, names of family members and friends, location and value of confiscated property, civilian service rendered during the war, military service (rank, company, regiment, place of service, dates of enlistment and discharge, etc.), date of migration, place of settlement, certificates, petitions, and claims for compensation, evidence of character, statements of witnesses, and a host of other details that could lead the researcher to his Loyalist ancestor.

In both narratives and records, there is a profusion of genealogical detail, which is here presented in a convenient, easy-to-use CD, complete with an electronic name index. Listed below are the books included on this CD:

1. Loyalists and Land Settlement in Nova Scotia, by Marion Gilroy

2. The Loyalists in North Carolina During the Revolution, by Robert DeMond

3. Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution (2 vols.), by Lorenzo Sabine

4. Orderly Book of the "Maryland Loyalists Regiment," by Caleb Jones

5. Orderly Book of the Three Battalions of Loyalists Commanded by Brigadier General Oliver De Lancey

6. Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War (3 vols.), by Murtie June Clark

7. United Empire Loyalists. Enquiry into the Losses and Services in Consequence of Their Loyalty (2 vols.), by Alexander Fraser

8. The Old United Empire Loyalists List

9. The Loyalists of Massachusetts: Their Memorials, Petitions, and Claims, by Edward Jones

System Requirements: You must have a CD-ROM drive, and in order to read the CD you must use either the Family Archive Viewer (version 4.0 or higher), which is available as a free download at http://www.genealogical.com/content/dlfav6.html, or Family Tree Maker for Windows, version 4.0 or higher (Family Tree Maker software can be ordered from www.FamilyTreeMaker.com).

To access information on our Family Archive CDs using the Family Archive Viewer:

1. Install the Family Archive Viewer CD or download it from http://www.genealogy.com/dlfav6.html.
2. Start the Viewer if it is not already running
3. Insert the CD you wish to view into the CD-ROM drive. If you have 2 or more CD-ROM drives, the CD must be placed in the first one.
4. The CD should open automatically, but users of later versions of the Family Archive Viewer must click the CD/magnifying glass icon in the top toolbar (above the template in some versions) to read the CD.
5. When the screen entitled "About this Family Archive" appears, click OK where prompted.

To access information on our Family Archive CDs using Family Tree Maker:

1. Start your Family Tree Maker and open a Family File. (If the program is already running, skip to Step 2.)
2. Insert the CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive. (If you have 2 or more CD-ROM drives, the CD must be placed in the first one.)
3. From the View menu, select Family Finder, or select the Family Finder icon from the toolbar.
4. For FTM 2005, FTM 2006, or Version 16, you must go to the View menu, select Data CD, then View CD. For FTM 2008 or higher, you must download the Family Archive Viewer.

To search the CD for names, select the Search Expert button in the top right of your screen, then select "Search this archive for someone NOT from your Family File." You can also search for names by using the Index.

Note: If a window opens that contains a list of files on the CD, simply close it.