Membership

Over twenty million living persons have a Mayflower ancestor. If you believe that you may be one of those people, we encourage you to explore and claim that ancestry. ~ Perhaps a relative is already a member of The Mayflower Society. If so, it should be very easy for you to become a member, as well. ~ Perhaps family tradition tells of an ancestor aboard the Mayflower; or, you may know of a branch of your family that dates back to early colonial New England. If so, chances are that one of your family lines will lead back to 1620, the Plymouth Plantation, and one or more Pilgrims. This connection to the Mayflower and its Pilgrims is a significant part of your heritage and we invite you to join the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Tennessee. 

These are the 51 Mayflower passengers from whom lines of descent can be traced –

• John Alden Bartholomew Allerton Isaac Allerton Mary (Norris) Allerton

• Mary Allerton Remember Allerton Elinor Billington Francis Billington

• John Billington William Bradford Love Brewster Mary Brewster

• William Brewster Peter Browne James Chilton Mrs. James Chilton

• Mary Chilton Francis Cook John Cooke Edward Doty

• Francis Eaton Samuel Eaton Sarah Eaton Moses Fletcher

• Edward Fuller Mrs. Edward Fuller Samuel Fuller Samuel Fuller (son of Edward)

• Constance Hopkins Elizabeth (Fisher) Hopkins Giles Hopkins Stephen Hopkins

• John Howland Richard More Priscilla Mullins William Mullins

• Degory Priest Joseph Rogers Thomas Rogers Henry Samson

• George Soule Myles Standish Elizabeth Tilley John Tilley

• Joan (Hurst) Tilley Richard Warren Peregrine White Resolved White

• Susanna White William White Edward Winslow

Primary Documentation

Vital records of birth, marriage, and death (You, your parents and grandparents)

Bible and church records

Marriage bonds or licenses

Cemetery records and mortality schedules

Probate records

Land records: Deeds or property distribution

Guardianship and orphan records.

Contemporary family letters, diaries.

Tax list.

Pension and military records.

Federal and State census records, 1850 and after.

Gravestones and mortician records.

Steps Required for Membership

• Step One: Contact our Historian by email and express your interest in membership. You can reach the Historian by clicking here. (Notes: If your email does NOT include your email address, do not expect a response!  Spam prevention measures are active)  If you are unsure of your proposed lineage, the Historian will compare your proposed lineage with those of already approved members and try to determine if a match exists. This can often save hours of work trying to document an ancestor who has already been documented.

• Step Two: When you receive your Preliminary application form (a very simple one-page form), you will mail it back to the Historian with a non-refundable application fee. When our Historian receives your preliminary application and fees, a Worksheet will be mailed to you with clear instructions for completing the next step.

• Step Three: When you receive the Worksheet from our Historian, she will have filled in the first four or five generations from your Mayflower ancestor. The documentation for these lines is well-established and accepted by the General Historian of the Society. It will be your job now to submit documentation for the remainder of the Worksheet (More recent ancestors). Clear directions will be included in the worksheet.

• Step Four: After you submit your documentation, our Historian will review it and advise you if anything is lacking. When everything seems in order, the society historian will type the final Application and send it to you for review and signature. When the signed final Application arrives back to our Historian, it will be sent, with all your documentation, to the Historian General of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

• Step Five: Wait until you hear back from us! If and when approved and elected, you will receive a Tennessee membership number and General Society membership number and will be contacted by our society shortly thereafter.

This may sound like quite a bit of work, and to some degree it is, but membership in the Society of Mayflower Descendants is very prestigious. It is a great honor to obtain membership in our society and part of the reason for is the high standard we hold in verifying the accuracy of our candidates’ applications.