Are Anglo-Canadians descended more from Loyalists or directly from the UK? (university, moving)

[Mini-apple-less]

Are Canadians of British and Irish descent mostly descended from people from the 13 Colonies or did they mostly come during the Victorian era and later? Or would you say it's a fairly even mix of the two?

To any posters who are Scottish, English, Irish or Welsh were your ancestors American for a while or did they come straight from the Isles in a later time?

[hobbesdj]

Originally Posted by valsteele

Are Canadians of British and Irish descent mostly descended from people from the 13 Colonies or did they mostly come during the Victorian era and later? Or would you say it's a fairly even mix of the two?

To any posters who are Scottish, English, Irish or Welsh were your ancestors American for a while or did they come straight from the Isles in a later time?

There were far more immigrants from Britain who came compared to the loyalists. We are talking somewhere around 60,000 loyalists who went to Canada, most who returned to the US. within a few decades, nearly a million had come from the UK in what was called the "great migration". The population of loyalists remained strongest in Nova Scotia. The 19th century influx of non-loyalist Americans into Canada was far more important than the loyalists, and at times accounted for up to one third of the population in the prairies and western Canada.

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by hobbesdj

There were far more immigrants from Britain who came compared to the loyalists. We are talking somewhere around 60,000 loyalists who went to Canada, most who returned to the US. within a few decades, nearly a million had come from the UK in what was called the "great migration". The population of loyalists remained strongest in Nova Scotia. The 19th century influx of non-loyalist Americans into Canada was far more important than the loyalists, and at times accounted for up to one third of the population in the prairies and western Canada.

Would you say the Great Migration were overwhelmingly Scottish and Northern English or did they come more or less equally from all over the UK? I notice that the common surnames in Canada tend to also be common in Scotland and Northern ENgland. Lots of names starting in Mc or ending in son lol.

[hobbesdj]

Originally Posted by valsteele

Would you say the Great Migration were overwhelmingly Scottish and Northern English or did they come more or less equally from all over the UK? I notice that the common surnames in Canada tend to also be common in Scotland and Northern ENgland. Lots of names starting in Mc or ending in son lol.

Yes the Scottish gave a very disproportionate number of colonists, and large numbers of the Irish came in the wake of the Great Potato Famine. In a nutshell the primary groups were Scottish, English, Irish, and American settlers who often intermarried with each other and the already-present French speaking population.

[mikeinalberta]

Originally Posted by valsteele

To any posters who are Scottish, English, Irish or Welsh were your ancestors American for a while or did they come straight from the Isles in a later time?

I'm of Scottish and Irish decent. My family settled in Nova Scotia. The Scots were highlanders and they settled rural Cape Breton, leaving Scotland during the clearances.

The Irish side came at a similar time, but immigrated to Boston. A generation later, they too moved to Cape Breton. I'm not sure what the motive was.

So my Celtic ancestry is post colonial, but we've been here for a while.

I also have a small amount of Acadian blood. And I would guess that part of the Family has been in North America for a very long time.

But Acadian, Irish, Highland Scot....probably had more grievances with the crown than the average American!

[Natnasci]

Originally Posted by valsteele

Are Canadians of British and Irish descent mostly descended from people from the 13 Colonies or did they mostly come during the Victorian era and later? Or would you say it's a fairly even mix of the two?

To any posters who are Scottish, English, Irish or Welsh were your ancestors American for a while or did they come straight from the Isles in a later time?

My English Grandmother, who's mother was Irish, came over in the beginning of the 20th Century.

[Ken S.]

A significant number of Loyalists were ethnic Germans and from Five/Six Nations. In my area there were also a number of "American" landowners prior to 1812 and there was a serious concern about their loyalty during the war, but by and large they sided with the British. The thing with this part of Canada (southern Ontario) was there was a considerable amount of "transience" and there was limited land available (especially early on) and lines of transportation were not well developed, even into the early 20th century. People would come in from the British Isles - most moving on immediately down to the States - try their luck here, and then move on. Or they would come up from the States from the east, farm, and then moved on back to the States in a westerly direction.

[Ken S.]

If the OP has access to a good university library there's a monograph published by the Ontario Historical Society in 1972: "Ethnic Groups in Upper Canada".

[Acajack]

Only a small minority of them would be descendants of the Loyalists today but they were extremely influential in early Canadian history as they basically founded most of the anglo institutions and set up the original society in many parts of the country.

[anitra416]

My paternal ancestor (presumably originally from a Highland Scots family) came from a family indentured into servitude in the British army. His regiment was sent to the Americas to fight in the Revolutionary War. After being decommissioned, he settled in Canada in what is now the Eastern Townships of Quebec.