Many people begin their search through genealogy hoping to join a particular lineage society such as the Mayflower Society. To join such a group you must provide proof that you are a direct descendant of someone who arrived in America on the Mayflower in 1621. When I really think about it, it seems amazing to me that that is even possible.
Even more amazing though, are the numbers and types of lineage societies. The Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution even have a branch for minors called the Children of the American Revolution. Cyndi’s List (www.cyndislist.com) provides hundreds of thousands of genealogy links which you can search by subject. The first page of links to lineage societies offers a breakdown by the following categories: Early America, First Families and Pioneers, Locality or Ethnic Specific, Mayflower, Military & War,
National Society Daughters of the American Colonists, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), National Society Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), Occupations, Royalty & Nobility, Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) and The Order of Founders and Patriots of America. If you click on “Early America,” you will see the expected entries as well as unexpected ones such as the “Chicago Colony National Society of New England Women.” Who knew? In addition to national societies there also local societies such as the Finnish Farmers Club in Monson.
The most common requirement of all of these societies is some form of proof that your ancestors participated in some event, or came from a certain background. This includes documentation of the births of your direct ancestors back to the event. Though some people are unaware that such societies exist, they are still searching for the same kinds of proof of their lineage for whatever reason.
Prior to the late 1800s, most states did not require births to be recorded. Before states required records, a church was most likely to have a birth or baptismal record. If the church is still in existence, a phone call may direct you to the records you need. And it never hurts to Google the name of the church on the off chance that someone has put church records online. Many cemetery records have also been indexed and may be online or recorded somewhere accessible, and headstones often have a birth year as well as the death date.
Births, marriages and anniversaries may be noted in the society/local activities pages in the days before most papers had birth and wedding announcement sections. Don’t forget that significant anniversary announcements (such as 25th and 50th) might have original wedding information and many of the guests listed may be relatives. So don’t be discouraged if original event was never recorded, there may still be ways to find the information that, even if not a primary record, can lead you in the right direction. Many of the groups requiring documentation will have suggestions for finding acceptable proof. If not, there are many magazines, books, and online sources to help you look for the clues.
Columnist Nina Brawn of Dover-Foxcroft is a longtime genealogy researcher, speaker and teacher. Reader e-mails are welcome at ninabrawn@gmail.com. Her semimonthly column is sponsored by the Aroostook County Genealogical Society which meets the fourth Monday of the month except in July and December at Cary Medical Center at 6:30 p.m.
