Surveyor General - Commissioner's and Minister's Office
Schedules and Land Rolls
series RG1, A-IV, Vol 80
Ontario Archives MS 400 Reel 16

Many thanks to Bruce for his time and effort in making the photocopies.  All errors in the list were made by me.  This list was made from an index of the actual muster rolls which we have not been able to locate.

It is possible that  a general muster of Loyalists was taken in 1785.  Inhabitants were probably  questioned in regard to buildings and improvements and may have been  required to take the oath of allegiance...   If this is the case, then these musters do not refer to militia units but simply to heads of households reveiving government aid for resettlement.  This possibility is consistent with what occurred in Nova Scotia ( see the e-mail ref at the end of this page).  Like in Nova Scotia,  former military personel from the UK were included these musters.

There can be some errors that were made when the index was compiled in the 18th century especially due to poor handwriting, illiteracy, and a lack of standardised spelling. Douglastown corresponds to township number 20 and New Carlisle corresponds to township number 21. This list was last revised 2000-01-28 with the help of Aldo Brochet.
 

To: NOVA-SCOTIA-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [NS-L] about Loyalist Muster Rolls
From: Marian Elder <marian_elder@telus.net>
Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 16:40:09 -0700

Thank you, Jay, for your clarification, it was very useful and
interesting! Marian E

jay wrote:
>
> Hope this isn't now redundant, I'm behind on my lists.
>
> The Loyalists were mustered in 1784 to estimate necessary provisions and
> plan their distribution.  The general return was sent to Britain in Oct,
> 1784, the completed muster in Nov. Loyalists were again mustered in 1785 in
> an effort to stem abuses. Provisions were in dangerously short supply and
> many endured extreme hardship. Quantities distributed were often less than
> entitlements, including those to disbanded troops. The situation was so
> grave the NS govt. advertised for provisions and permitted small ships from
> NE to enter with "provisions only."
>
> The number of loyalists, disbanded troops and dependents mustered in 1784
> was about 17,000 - in 1785 about 15,000.  This for mainland NS.  It was
> thought some abuses were in NB and also many who came to NS, not as
> refugees but as individuals exploiting an opportunity, were also abusers.
> All listed on the 1784 rolls were not entitled to victualing. Some
> loyalists not listed were "too affluent or too indolent to qualify for the
> bounty." Other loyalists failed to put in claims, removed elsewhere or
> returned to the states. Entitlement required both loyalist claims and
> effort toward settlement.  There was a good bit of movement of the
> loyalists, many left their grants seeking better situations elsewhere or
> applied for grants in both NS & NB.  The govt of NB and PEI (then St Johns
> Island) were actively soliciting loyalist immigrants during this period.
> Most Halifax loyalists (some 1,200) were not mustered.
>
> Above is *very* simplified, derived from an interesting discussion in Neil
> MacKinnon's "This Unfriendly Soil, The Loyalist Experience in Nova-Scotia
> 1783-1791." Among his citations: General Return, MG 23, D1(1), vol. 24,
> Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa. I don't seem to find a citation for the
> complete muster rolls.
>
> Jay