How to Research Your Ancestors (an Overview)
Your family’s stories have led you to believe you have a United Empire Loyalist Ancestor, and you’d like to research it. In order to be certified as an official descendant of a Loyalist, you need to prove a direct ancestry line (UE Lineage line) from you to a specific UE Loyalist. Here is a list of United Empire Ancestors proven through members of the Kingston & District Branch. If your Loyalist Ancestor settled in or around the Kingston Region, our Branch can likely help you.
The United Empire (UE) Certificate Process is the formal process by which you can be certified as a UE Descendant. You will need to provide supporting documentation, known as Proofs. A suitable Primary Proof provides all the needed information, such as names and dates, with an official signature, from a legal source such as a church, registrar, or government office.
Note that typically all documentation will be sent digitally, so please don’t print out your proofs.
UE Certificate Process Overview
What to expect when you are considering working on and applying for a U.E. certificate through UELAC…
Step 1: Join a Branch, or renew your Branch membership as required. When a person joins a Branch, a notification is sent to the Branch’s Membership Chairperson. The Membership Chairperson then notifies the Branch Genealogist if the new member might be interested in researching a United Empire Loyalist ancestor. (Note that all Memberships end annually on December 31 of each year).
Step 2: Directly Contact the Branch Genealogist. You may be put in touch by way of the Membership Chair, OR you may need to check the Branch website or Facebook group. We encourage you to contact the Branch Genealogist whether or not you have done any advance research on your potential Loyalist Ancestor.
Step 3: The Branch Genealogist will digitally send you a Certificate PREPARATION Form for you to fill out. This form is a worksheet which will help you and the Branch Genealogist to document your ancestry and determine what Proofs are required.
Step 4: Collect your initial Family History documentation, including any research citations, to send to the Branch Genealogist to begin the process. Initial family history documentation includes whatever is in your family “story” that makes you believe there’s a United Empire Loyalist in your lineage.
As you move forward in your research and begin to collect Primary Proofs, please remember to store all Primary Proof documents, that are related to the UE LINEAGE LINE you wish to use, in a specific digital ‘folder’ on your computer.
Step 5: Complete the Certificate PREPARATION form and send to your Branch Genealogist along with descriptions of any Primary Proofs you have been able to source so far. Do not include the actual Proofs themselves at this point. If you require help as to how to proceed in your research, your Branch Genealogist can advise you.
Step 6: Share Primary Proof documents with your Branch Genealogist (in digital format). The Branch Genealogist will advise you if further Primary or Secondary Proofs are required.
Step 7: The Branch Genealogist will send you the formal Certificate APPLICATION form for you to fill out based on the data you have entered and verified on the Certificate PREPARATION worksheet.
Step 8: Assembly & preparation of the Proofs in the format required by the National Level UELAC Genealogist. The Branch Genealogist will guide you in this stage of the process. The Proofs will be submitted separately from the Certificate APPLICATION Form.
Step 9: Complete the formal Certificate APPLICATION form, along with descriptions of the Primary Proofs you have collected. Send the completed Form to the Branch Genealogist.
Step 10: Signatures. The signature page must be signed by both the Applicant and the Branch Genealogist. Once your Certificate APPLICATION Form is complete and ready to submit, the Branch Genealogist will print the signature page, sign it, scan the signed form, and send it to you by email. You will then print the page signed by the Genealogist, sign it yourself, scan it, and send it back. If at all possible, please scan the signed form at a high resolution (300ppi).
We are working toward being able to use digital signatures on out forms, but at this time time out technology does not allow for it.
Step 11: Payment. The Branch Genealogist will send you a link to an online payment portal. The Kingston Branch Certificate Fee is $50 CAD. (If online payments are not an option for you, please contact the Branch Genealogist for next steps)
Step 12: The Branch Genealogist will work through your submitted Certificate APPLICATION Form and submitted Proofs for completion and clarity. The Branch Genealogist may contact you during this period with questions. When the file is complete it is sent to the National Genealogist for verification. If your application is successful, your Certificate will be mailed to you.
Ready to Dive in? Proceed to UE Certificate Process DETAILS