This index covers the years 1776-84 and references 867 individuals who were in some way charged as a Loyalist during the Revolutionary War. These original documents are from various County & Superior Courts primarily from Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, New Haven, and New London Counties; Middlesex and Tolland Counties were created in 1785 and there is only 1 record from Windham County in the index. Please keep in mind that this index is not comprehensive and additional information may be found within the un-separated files and records of each court.
This index includes the surname and given name of the individual, residence, year of hearing, specific notes about the case, the Connecticut court where the case was heard along with drawer/box number where the original document is found. The bulk of the documents are either warrants for an arrest or a personal or Grand Jury complaint registered against an individual. Notes include such bits of information such as the person’s rank, the reason for the charge, the verdict in the case, or a petition to reduce the sentence. Of particular interest are three “Negro” men who were accused of treason, and accusations against several men who lived out of state but owned land in Connecticut. Loyalism, not surprisingly, also seemed to run in families.
For more resources about Loyalists in Connecticut, please see our Loyalist Research Guide.
People may request a copy of a file by contacting the staff of the History & Genealogy Unit by telephone (860) 757-6580 or email. When requesting a copy of a record, please include the name of the individual, date, and the specific court. Please understand that some files are extremely fragile and may not be able to be reproduced and/or read with ease.
For more information about the judicial records stored at the Connecticut State Library, please see the on-line guide to Connecticut State Archives Record Group 003, Judicial Records.
NOTICE: All Connecticut State Library indexes have been migrated to Connecticut Open Data; the previous indexes will no longer be available.
Searching works a little differently on the new site, but is just as powerful and customizable.
How to search by column in Connecticut Open Data:
1. Find the column you want to search, and mouse over the header. An icon with three parallel lines will appear on the right.
2. Click this icon to see more options, and then choose the filter icon.
3. Begin typing in your search term. The column will update automatically.
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