Membership Process

The Society of Mayflower Descendants of the State of Illinois welcomes you to apply for membership to our organization. Any person, eighteen years of age or older, who is able to document their lineal descent from one or more of the Mayflower Passengers is eligible to apply for membership in the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Illinois. Children who are descendants of Illinois Mayflower members may apply for a Junior Associate membership by completing the Junior Associate Application form.

Proof Requirements & Standard of Proof To become a member of the Society, you must be able to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” your direct lineage from one of the Mayflower passengers using primary or secondary source documentation. (See Genealogy Research for further explanation regarding acceptable documentation.) The documentation submitted should substantiate 1) the date and place of the birth, marriage and death of each of your ancestors in the Mayflower line and 2) the parent-child relationship between each of the successive line carriers in the Mayflower line. The General Society also requires that certified vital records--which name the parents--be provided for the three (3) most current generations (you, your parents and your grandparents).

Application Process Here are the steps in the application process:

1. If you have a reasonable basis to believe that you are descended from a Mayflower passenger, feel free to send a Preliminary Application Request Email to the Illinois Membership Secretary. There is no charge for the issuance of a preliminary application.
2. The Membership Secretary will issue you a preliminary application.
3. You are asked to return a completed preliminary application to the Membership Secretary along with a non-refundable fee of $100 within six months of the issuance of the preliminary application.
4. The Membership Secretary will forward your preliminary application to the State Historian.
5. The State Historian will contact you to offer you his/her assistance. Although Historians are not able to perform research for you they will be happy to offer you helpful and instructive suggestions, advice and direction in genealogical research. The Historian will prepare and send you an initial worksheet application for you to complete.
6. You are asked to return your completed worksheet application and acceptable documentation to the State Historian for his/her review. The turnaround time for this review may be up to two months.
7. The State Historian will approve or reject your application. If approved, you will be asked to sign a final version of your application which will be forwarded to the General Society in Plymouth. If rejected, you will have up to two years from the issuance of your application worksheet to submit an acceptable application.
8. The General Historian will approve or reject your application. The turnaround time for this review may be up to two months. If your application cannot be approved without additional documentation, the Historian General may alternatively keep your application in a "pending file" for six months at the end of which time the application may be rejected as "unproven." The State Historian will inform you of the decision of the General Historian.
9. If approved by the General Society the Illinois Board of Assistants (the governing board of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Illinois) will provide the final and formal approval for you to become a member.
10. Upon payment of a membership fee (see below) you will be issued a certificate of membership.

Illinois Membership Fees & Dues