UEL Certificate Process Details
(Notes from our Branch Genealogist)
These specific steps should help you prepare, research and work with the Genealogist of your UE Branch to develop your application submission.
Certificate PREPARATION Form (worksheet)
As Branch Genealogist, I have received the Family History materials that you sent to me. You have included much research and citation information.
I have sent a Certificate PREPARATION Form (worksheet) to help you focus on the straight line from you to your UE Ancestor (aka the UE Lineage).
And I have also sent a Membership (Renewal) Form so you can enjoy the benefits of membership during your search.
PROOFS:
Gather your proofs, some that you may have on ‘paper’ or in family files, and others online from websites such as Family Search, and Ancestry.
It is up to the applicant to determine IF they have ONE Key proof for each generation connection. That said, generally assistance is available.
If there is NOT one SINGLE suitable Primary Source Proof, then the applicant can, with assistance from the Branch Genealogist, prepare a Genealogical Proof Argument, that shows how a collection of lesser proofs comes to the same conclusion that one key proof would prove.
Additional items, such as family photos, are not required. (See Below)
Our goal is to accept ONE good PROOF, a Primary Proof per generation if it 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.
Census, indexes and newspaper clippings are not Primary Sources, and are not KEY documents. If a Primary Proof document exists, then any such extra items need not be submitted with the application.
You can determine which of the proofs are suitable using the information on the Certificate Guidelines document (ADD LINK). Ask for that if you do not already have it. Perhaps you have these PRIMARY PROOFS already.
Keep individual electronic images of all your proofs. Save the complete image, and all of the document pages in a computer file.
Keep the source information including reel and image numbers. For a land petition there are nearly always at least 2 and up to 12 pages or more for one petition. There is ‘never’ a complete land petition on one page. The second page that includes the judgment or decision about the petition is always needed.
Do NOT print out any of these proofs unless directed to do so. These are generally handled electronically now and no print-outs should be needed.
Enter notes about the PROOFS into your Certificate PREPARATION Form. Later, these details will be added to the final Certificate APPLICATION Form. You will be sent that form after all else is worked out. It is not available online.
We suggest naming your Proof files in the following format:
YourLastName-UEAncestorLastName-WhatTypeofProof-YearofDocument. This will minimize confusion and prevent loss of documentation.
Send images of all proofs to your Branch Genealogist, without notes ON the images and WITHOUT highlighting but WITH all source information. Send each Proof as its own file. Do not collect them into a multiple-page document.
PRESENTATION FORMAT OF PROOFS:
I will work with you to arrange your proofs into the acceptable wording, layout and format of a single .pdf PROOFS document with multiple pages. I can send you samples to work from.
If working in a program like WORD and inserting your images is outside of your skill-set, there are helpers who can assist.
AS Branch Genealogist, I must approve the final proofs document and I am quite picky, as are the National Genealogists. We will keep the document in WORD or another similar program, sharing it back and forth in email, until we are certain that it is as perfect as possible.
If there is a pause while you wait for a proof that has been ordered, we can still work on the other pages.
LACK OF PRIMARY PROOFS:
Sometimes we simply cannot find the Primary Proofs to use. There are too many reasons for this to list. Only occasionally this becomes a dead end if there are also no Secondary or lesser proofs.
If there are good lesser proofs, we can develop and submit a “GENEALOGICAL PROOF ARGUMENT”. Again, I can send samples to you, or assistance is available.
In general this is a list with images of lesser proofs that arrive at the same conclusion that a good Primary proof would. This is where lesser proofs such as Newspaper items, Obituaries, Cemetery records, incomplete vital records and so on can be used.
The same diligence in recording the source details are definitely needed.
CERTIFICATE APPLICATION FORM:
Read the instructions page (We really mean it!)
Once the Certificate PREPARATION Form is complete and correct, sent to your Branch Genealogist and reviewed, with the Proofs reviewed and approved, the lineage information can be transferred to the actual Certificate APPLICATION Form.
It cannot be copied and pasted due to the different format.
When you are ready to work on the actual Certificate APPLICATION Form, I will send it to you. It is NOT online.
You will need the FREE Adobe Acrobat READER, (get.adobe.com/reader/) and you MUST use “OPEN WITH” (RIGHT CLICK), to get it open in that program each time you work on it. Failing that, it will not work correctly. It will be quite easy to transfer your information. The form has fillable fields, with prompts or clues included to help you put in the information that you have gathered.
Start at yourself, and follow along on the available pages for a couple generations.
THEN, skip to the end of the form (Pg 7) , and insert the details for your ‘Original LOYALIST’, the U.E. Add all and any known children to the lower part of the form.
THEN move UP one generation (Pg 6B), and add the information for the Lineage Child of the UE. They would be a Son of a Loyalist (SUE) OR Daughter of a Loyalist (DUE). These abbreviations may appear on their land petitions. Again, include any and all of their known children.
REPEAT this one more time (Pg 6A) for the GRANDCHILD of the Loyalist, again, using the spaces for children.
Add in any remaining middle generations on the pages in between.
In the Proofs left Field, state if it is a Birth, Marriage, Death or Petition document, (or other) without details. Include the YEAR. Example: “1869 BIRTH”.
The Format for the next larger field is as per this example:
WALKER, Mary Jane, b(orn) Aug 14, 1890 (is the) dau(ghter) of EVANS, Emma Jemima & WALKER, Stephen Daniel (as shown on the) Belleville, Hastings, On(tario), Reg (istration), of Oct 02, 1890. (EXAMPLE ONLY) Bracketed letters can be omitted for brevity.
Email the form in progress to the Branch Genealogist, as you make progress. Like the Proofs Document, we can share it back and forth until the details are all correct to the best of our knowledge.