Interested in Joining The Wyoming Mayflower Society?
Let's Get Started!
If you can prove direct lineal descent from one of the Mayflower passengers, we invite you to join!
The Membership Process
Membership starts by applying through our Society and then proving your Mayflower heritage to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Once you are approved for membership, you can be assigned to the Wyoming Society.
The following information should be considered in your decision to proceed through the membership process. Most applicants start by either:
1) applying for a Mayflower Lineage Match through the GSMD website, https://themayflowersociety.org, by clicking the ‘Research’ button, (for more details see step #3 below) OR
2) contacting the Wyoming Mayflower Historian directly by email to express your interest in membership, through emailing [email protected]
*Please note, if you begin with the second option, the Historian will still have you complete the first option.
3) If you have not already done so, the Wyoming Historian will direct you to go to the website: https://themayflowersociety.org. Click on ‘Research’, then Mayflower Lineage Match (MLM) and complete the application for that process.
You will be required to pay a nonrefundable fee of $75 per lineage requested to the GSMD. The rest of the application will require you to fill out a preliminary lineage, names only, starting with a Mayflower passenger to whom you believe you are related. There are 51 possible Pilgrim Ancestors through whom you can claim lineage.
You can gather this information from such sources as family histories, or computer programs such as Ancestry to build family trees, etc. You will be required to show direct descent which means you descend directly from a Mayflower passenger through their child, grandchild, great-grandchild, great-great-grandchild, etc.
4) The results of your Mayflower Lineage Match will be emailed to you and to the Wyoming Historian if you live in Wyoming, who will then contact you.If you find they have approved your basic lineage, then, if you decide to continue, you will need to send our Treasurer a $200.00 up-front non-refundable fee.
*Please note, this does not cover your first year’s dues, should you be approved; you will pay that amount to the Treasurer after approval.
Once you are ready to start, the Wyoming Historian will help you determine what documentation you will need to provide and will work with you to prepare your application. While it is up to you to locate these documents, the Historian is there to assist you to various resources and can help you with your resource efforts.
A lot of the search includes obtaining vital records (birth, death, and marriage certificates) which include various fees which are the responsibility of the applicant. In some cases, this can be a significant sum, even several hundred dollars.
You will have up to one year to complete your application.
5) Once the application has been deemed complete by the Wyoming Historian, the application and supporting documentation will be submitted to the Historian General of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in Plymouth for review and verification by a staff of genealogist.
6) Once Plymouth notifies the Wyoming Historian of the verification and approval of your application, you will receive an email notification from the Historian. This will include a welcoming letter, and a copy of the verified application and a Membership Certificate, which will include your Wyoming Membership number and your General Society membership number!
7) The Wyoming Mayflower Society does not offer life memberships. Like all lineage societies, one is a member as long as one pays their annual dues. Currently, the Wyoming Mayflower Society annual dues are $70.00, with $35.00 of that amount going to GSMD in Plymouth and $35.00 staying in Wyoming. If, in the year you are joining, you become a member after July 1, then your first year’s dues will be only $35.00.
