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Hi! I'm Denyse Allen, Founder of PA Ancestors

3,000 Pennsylvanians left with the British. Was your ancestor one of them?

Published 2 months ago • 1 min read

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Loyalist Records: The Pennsylvania Ancestors Who Chose the Other Side

Hello Reader!

When the British evacuated Philadelphia in June 1778, approximately 3,000 Loyalists left with them. Some went to New York, some to Nova Scotia, some to England. Many never came back. Their property was seized, their names published on attainder lists, and their families scattered.

If your Pennsylvania ancestor disappears from the records between 1778 and 1785, Loyalist records are worth checking — even if your family story says otherwise.

The key sources: Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council published lists of people accused of treason, available in Colonial Records volumes 11-16 and Pennsylvania Archives 1st series, volumes 6-7. The Forfeited Estates records document seized property — names, locations, inventories of what was taken. These are at the Pennsylvania State Archives.

The British side: Loyalist claims filed with the British government are held at The National Archives in Kew, England. These are available on microfilm and increasingly online. Claimants had to document what they lost — property, income, social standing — making these files rich with detail about pre-war life in Pennsylvania.

The people who stayed: Not every Loyalist left. Some took oaths of allegiance, paid fines, and rebuilt. Test oath records — lists of people who swore loyalty to the new state — survive in county records and in Pennsylvania Archives 3rd and 6th series. Finding your ancestor on a test oath list doesn't mean he was a committed Loyalist. It means the state required proof of loyalty, and he provided it.

​Full post with source locations on the blog​

Happy researching!

Denyse Allen

Founder, PA Ancestors

P.S. Loyalist families are among the most compelling stories from this era — divided loyalties, seized property, exile and return. If you're writing your ancestor's Revolutionary-era story, Revolutionary War Writing Workbook can help you structure that narrative. My writing sprint can get you started.

​Register for the June Starter Sprint →​

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Hi! I'm Denyse Allen, Founder of PA Ancestors

I help genealogists research their ancestors in Pennsylvania through books, workshops, and a membership community.

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