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ABOUT US

HISTORY

In 1620, the small sailing vessel Mayflower set out across the uncharted waters of the Atlantic Ocean from Plymouth, England with a patent for the northern part of the Colony of Virginia.  Blown off course, it finally dropped anchor off Provincetown on Cape Cod early in November.  Most of the 102 Passengers were of English origin seeking a new home free from religious persecution where they might retain their English identity and customs.  Some, however, had been hired to supply much needed expertise essential for founding a new community in a new land.

 

In remembrance of those God-fearing and dauntless Pilgrims, the first English settlers of New England, their descendants founded the General Society of Mayflower Descendants on January 12, 1897.  The original Societies were New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

The General Society is a federation of 53 Member Societies, consisting of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and new European Society.

The Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of North Carolina was chartered in 1924.  To see a list of the Charter Members, click here.

MEETINGS

Annual Meetings of the North Carolina Society are held in November, the anniversary of the signing of the Mayflower Compact.   Each year the Annual Meeting is hosted by one of the colonies.

COLONIES

The Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of North Carolina is divided into six colonies (listed east to west) - Northeast Colony, Southeast Colony, Central Colony, Piedmont Colony, Charlotte Colony, and Western Colony.

 

Names of new members coming into the State Society, residing within the State, are passed along to the officers in the Colony area in which they reside for addition to the Colony rolls.  Each Colony generally holds one or two meetings a year, one in the spring and the other in the autumn prior to the Annual Meeting of the State Society.

 

From time to time one or more of the Colonies undertakes a worthwhile special project, a principal one of which has been the widespread distribution of copies of the Mayflower Compact to the school children in their areas.  Currently each Colony is working on a project to make lineage sheets and instructional materials available to help interested individuals and prospective members in tracing their ancestry.

 

Each colony places Mayflower Families genealogy books in local libraries.  These volumes are 5 generations of a Mayflower Family published by the National Society in Lynn, MA.  These books are used when proving Mayflower lineage, a necessary step in joining  the society.

PUBLICATIONS

Members receive the Mayflower Quarterly published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and the twice yearly NC Mayflower newsletter, the Tar Heel Pilgrim, sponsored by the State Society.

 

A separate booklet of the Constitution and Bylaws is published periodically as changes dictate.

NC STATE OFFICERS

ELECTED OFFICERS

 

                  Governor                                          Stephen Earle Pike

                                                                      (919) 698-5881

Deputy Governor                           Jill Chapman

Recording Secretary                     Sallie Bardelas   

Corresponding Secretary            Franklin Horton

Treasurer                                         (TBD)  

Historian                                          Cheryl Vislay        

Co-Historian                                    Franklin Horton      

Elder                                                  Bishop Graham Rights

Counsellor                                       Wade Alley

Surgeon                                            (open)

Captain                                            Ray Maxson

Co-Librarian                                    Susie Rights Gatland

Co-Librarian                                   Carolyn Crist-Schwab

GENERAL SOCIETY OFFICERS OF NORTH CAROLINA

 

Deputy Governor General           Michael Cassat Keleher

                                                            (828) 772-4611

                                                            mayflowerwest@charter.net               

Assistant General                          Martha Ellen Ward

                                                            (336) 882-2760

                                                            mewsdsg@aol.com 

COLONY OFFICERS

 

Northeast Colony                          (open)

Southeast Colony                          Paul Tompkins

Central Colony                             Meg Averett and

                                                          Martha D'Alessandro

Piedmont Colony                           Sallie Bardelas

 

Charlotte Colony                            Courtney Lane

 

Western Colony                              Jill Chapman

APPOINTED OFFICERS & STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Archivist                                          Frances Emory

 

Constitution / By-Laws                Franklin Horton

 

Editor, Tar Heel Pilgrim                Jennifer P. Keleher

 

Education / Jr. Membership       Carolyn Crist-Schwab

 

Lapel Pins                                        Martha Ellen Ward

 

Membership                                   Ray Maxson

 

Nominating                                    Stephen Earle Pike

 

Parliamentarian                            Paul Tompkins

 

Scholarship                                     Lorie Koontz Maness

Scrapbook                                       (open)

 

SOCIETY MEMBER HANDBOOK
WELCOME MESSAGE

More than one hundred years ago, a group of descendants of the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620, saw the need for a national society to honor their memory. The intention was to remember these Pilgrims who established Plymouth Colony.

Today there are tens-of-millions of individuals descended from these brave souls. It is the goal of The Mayflower Society to join together people who share this heritage and to carry on the memory of our Pilgrim ancestors.

Each state society is an autonomous organization.  If you live in North Carolina, you can apply to us for membership in the NC Mayflower Society.  If you live elsewhere and wish to join locally, follow the link to the General Mayflower Society web site, where you will find contact information for other state societies.

 

However, if your roots are in North Carolina (or, even if they aren't) and you want to join our state society, you are certainly welcome to join us

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