Hastings, Prince Edward and Northumberland County Militia Records

Hastings, Prince Edward, Northumberland, Lennox

County Militia returns and rolls

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WHY I AM INTERESTED IN THIS SUBJECT
The militia regiments of the counties surrounding the Bay of Quinte (Northumberland,  Hastings, Lennox and Prince Edward) were formed around 1800. The militia returns and rolls that have survived are a form of census substitute. For background visit the Militia Acts of 1787 and 1793.

In 1920 the Hastings and Prince Edward units joined to form the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment. They are well known as the Hasty P's and the Plough Jockeys. See Wikipedia for a short history.
ROLLS, RETURNS, PAY and PENSION LISTS
I will try to not do records that are already transcribed somewhere else.

Militia - general items
 Prince Edward County
Hastings County
Northumberland County
On other web sites

ROLLS OF 1828 - 1829
In 1828 the Adjutant General's Office of Upper Canada ordered that all regiments submit a nominal roll for men age 19 to 39. All but four of the sixty rolls survive and name about 24 000 male inhabitants of Upper Canada. In an 1829 order, regiments were reorganized to create a second battalion for men age 40 to 60. A return a few years later for these men provided 1137 more names. These rolls are as close to a census for the period that we have. The returns reside at the LAC and have not been microfilmed [RG9, IB2, Vols. 29-31].

These above rolls are transcribed and published in the excellent Men of Upper Canada, Militia Nominal Rolls, 1828 - 1829. edited by Bruce S Elliott, Dan Walker and Fawne Stratford-Devai, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1995, 356 pages.
Other books containing militia rolls and indexes
  • Soldiers of the King: The Upper Canadian Militia 1812 - 1815, William Gray, Stoddart, 1995. [This has an excellent overview of the structure of the Militia.]
  • Early Militia Lists of Hastings County, 1799 - 1826, Don Kellaway, Quinte Branch, OGS, 1994
  • Hastings County Militia, 1799 - 1899, Don Kellaway, Thee Hellbox Press, 2000
  • An Index of the Land Claim Certificates of Upper Canada Militiamen who served in the War of 1812 - 1814, William R. Lauber, OGS, 1995 [Militiamen who served could apply for a land grant starting in 1820. The certifictes are found in RG 9, IB4, vols 18 to 25, LAC.]
  • Plunder, Profit, and Paroles, A Social History of the War of 1812 in Upper Canada, George Sheppard, McGill, Queen's Univ. Press, 1994. This book stands alone as an eye opener to the general lack of support by militiamen for the War 1812. Desertions and absenteeism was rampant.See this example of rolls for the Hastings Militia and note the revolving door of men who showed up each month.