Loyalists in the DeLong Family

This posting is concerned with ggrandmother Catherine Elizabeth(Libby)DeLong Daugherty's family. Many of the DeLongs were loyalists (Revolutionary War) and eventually settled in Canada. Some mention of these DeLongs were mentioned in my January 23 posting.

Eventually we'll get more specific about which descendents of Catherine's family actually were attributed the term, "Loyalist." In this posting I hope to learn more about the term myself. Much of this information was contributed by Ann MacKenzie, M.A.

"The Loyalists came from every class and walk of life. Some depended on the Crown for their livelihood and status and had considerable wealth and property. Many were farmers and craftsmen. There were clerks and clergymen, lawyers and labourers, soldiers and slaves, Native Americans, college graduates, and people who could not write their own names.

They had little in common except their opposition to the revolution. Some had strong ties with Britain; others had simply supported what turned out to be the losing side. Local incidents, fear of change, self-interest, political principles, emotional bonds - any of these influenced their decision to remain loyal to the Crown. The common thread that linked these diverse groups was a distrust of too much democracy which they believed resulted in mob rule and an accompanying breakdown of law and order. Loyalists believed that the British connection guaranteed them a more secure and prosperous life than republicanism would."

It's been estimated that 10-15 percent of the population of the Thirteen Colonies, some 250,000 people, opposed the revolution. Loyalists who remained in the Thirteen Colonies during the revolution were branded as traitors and hounded by their Patriot (rebel)neighbors.

Disbanded Loyalist Regiments settled along the St. Lawrence River upstream from Montreal and along the North shore of Lake Ontario. The majority of settlers had been frontier farmers before the revolution and they were used to wilderness conditions, but they had lost almost everything they owned when they fled from their homes. To my knowledge, the government Canadian, gave them free land.
Note to self: Research further this last sentence. By far the greatest numbers of Loyalist migration came to present-day Ontario. This is where Catherine Elizabeth's ancestors went.

Approximetely 70,000 Loyalists fled the Thirteen Colonies, beginning as early as 1775. The signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognized the independence of the United States, was the final blow for the Loyalists. Faced with further mistreatment and hostility of their countrymen, Loyalists who had remained in the Thirteen Colonies during the war now were faced with exile...either Nova Scotia or Quebec (Ontario-Quebec).

As with every subject that has been skimmed in this blog, more needs to be considered and written about the DeLong family Loyalists.