Thanksgiving and Lineage Societies

By Connie Lenzen

A column written for the 27 November 2003 issue of the Vancouver Columbian.

Taylor, my nine-year-old granddaughter, drew a Thanksgiving poster for me. It shows a colorful turkey and says, "Happy Thanksgiving."

Holidays are special for the grandchildren. They love the commotion and the food and the games that they play with their cousins and aunts and uncles.

Someday, I will tell them about their ancestors who came to the New World in colonial times and who gave thanks for new beginnings.

There are a number of lineage societies that descendants of colonial ancestors can join. A lineage society is an organization whose members can prove descent from a qualifying ancestor. At Thanksgiving, I am reminded of the Mayflower Society. I'd like to join, but my ancestors came on the second ship.

There are hundreds of other societies. All honor different groups of historical individuals

I like the sound of "The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts," founded in 1637 and "The Society of the Ark and the Dove," a ship that arrived in 1634. I really should see if one of my ancestors was a colonial tavern keeper so I can join the "Flagon and Trencher, Descendants of Colonial Tavernkeepers."

Membership in a lineage society requires a lot of work, but it is a great way to organize and to preserve your genealogy. The applications and documents are kept in the society's archives and can be a back up if your files ever go missing.

Lineage societies require that each and every birth, marriage, and death will have a document to prove that it happened. They also require conclusive proof that the generations are linked.

The societies have lists of "best proofs." Best proofs are vital records (birth, marriage, and death certificates), courthouse records (deeds and probates), census records, and cemetery compilations. A family Bible, if the information was recorded at the time of the event, is a good source.

Records that are sometimes OK, but they need additional verification include published county and family histories.

At the very bottom of the list are old lineage society applications, family stories, and undocumented lineages like those found on the Internet. These are best used as clues, and they need much additional work.

There is an online directory of hereditary societies at http://members.tripod.com/Historic_Trust/society.htm. An overview of lineage societies is found in Chapter 20, "Tracking Through Hereditary and Lineage Organizations," in The Source (Ancestry, 1997).

 

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© 2003

Connie Lenzen, CGSM

CG, Certified Genealogist, is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certified genealogists after periodic evaluation, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.