My Voyage Through a Mayflower Society Application
By Michele Norton Mattoon
I had suspected for some time that I might be descended from William Brewster, Edward Fuller and John Billington as I had found information about their descendants that dovetailed into the information I had discovered from working backward from myself, but had done little or nothing to confirm that as I suspected, correctly, that the approval process is long and involved.
In 2014, I attended RootsTech in Salt Lake City, and found representatives from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants; some dressed in period costume! Deciding that I really needed to find out the next steps in pursuing the project, I decided to talk to these ladies. Within a few minutes, one of the reps was able to tell me how far my Mayflower lines ran down from information in their database. I was given the most recent names of those in my lines who had already been proven. My job was to select which Pilgrim’s line I wanted to pursue and prove my relationships from those individuals to myself.
After much deliberation, I decided to pursue the William Brewster line, as it had been proven as recently as my 4th great-grandfather, Aaron Paddock. That left me to prove six additional generations, including myself.
My first step was to submit a preliminary application form, which lists all couples by generation, who are descended from the Mayflower ancestor. I contacted the Historian for the Washington State society, as this individual is the critical contact who guides you though the process. I submitted mine, via e-mail, in May 2016 and immediately received a letter outlining my next steps, of which there are many.
Every claim of descent must be proven with primary and/or secondary sources. Documents outlining the requirements and standards of evidence, including primary, secondary and circumstantial sources, as well as unacceptable sources are provided to the applicant, leaving no doubt about what evidence and documents are and are not acceptable.
One of the main requirements is that for the three most recent generations (me, my parents and my grandparents) I needed complete documentation, including certificates for births, deaths, all marriages and divorces, and I needed to provide primary evidence. This part was easy as my immediate family had been good record keepers and I only had to find an official copy of my parents’ divorce record, which was easily obtainable through the Washington State Department of Health.
Then it got a little harder. I had to find for all previous generations prior to the three most recent, certificates, if they were available, for births, marriages and deaths that occurred after about 1907. My paper trail took me from New York to Wisconsin to Washington.
New York’s records are notoriously poor and most of the information I found for those individuals was found in books and published genealogies. No certificates were available there from the 1820s, but my sources were acceptable.
Fortunately, they left New York for Wisconsin in the 1830s and I spent a lot of time, and a bit of money, tracking down the records for these earlier generations. The great news is that WisconsinHistory.org has so much information, it’s easy to find if these records on line. I acquired many documents that way, as they will either e-mail or mail them to you, depending on your preference. Then I got stuck on a death certificate for my 2nd great grandfather, George Norton. I took a shot and contacted the State of Wisconsin Vital Records Office. Armed with only his name, where he lived and a pretty strong hunch that he had died in 1913 I requested the document. Happily, I received it in the mail a short time later. Since then, I have been saying to go after documents as if you know they exist, and you might just find out they do!
Finally, after completing my Membership Application, I submitted it, along with a pile of photocopies of documents and photos in September 2016. Then the wait was on! In April 2017, I received a letter with a copy of my formal application, on acid-free paper, which I then had sign and return to the Historian. I submitted my fee of $129 ($100 for the application cost and $29 for one year’s dues). Approved in June 2017, I was elected into the Washington State Society of Mayflower Descendants in September 2017. I am William Brewster’s 11th great-granddaughter.
What did I do next? I submitted another application! Deciding to follow the Edward Fuller line this time, I sent in my preliminary application in May 2018. I had a whole different line to follow this time, and it took a bit longer as I had to dig my way through records from 1690s Massachusetts, 1700s Connecticut and Vermont and finally, Wisconsin again, as that’s where my Fuller and Brewster lines intersected. I submitted my final application in October 2018, and the wait is now on!
Already anticipating my next move, I was going to get to work on Billington, but the records
I need to prove that are a little sketchy (nonexistent) at this time, so I decided to let it go. However, just by accident, because I subscribe to Ancestry’s mobile app, “We’re Related”, I’m now setting my sights on Richard Warren and Francis Cooke, respectively, as potential future projects. You never know where you’ll find hints!
So, what do I get for all my trouble? More interesting research opportunities, if Warren and Cooke pan out, a ton of new distant cousins (including a dear friend from college, who is also descended from Brewster), access to their website and publications, meetings, brunches, picnics and getting involved at such an interesting time in the society’s history.
Next year, 2020 is the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower. There are many events planned in Plymouth, MA and in England and it might be a great time to head back to the “mothership” next year!
For further information on the application process, see WashingtonMayflower.org, then click the “application” link.
For further information on the 400th anniversary, see TheMayflowerSociety.org, click on “News & Events” then click “2020 Commemoration”.
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| Michele Norton Mattoon |
What a fascinating journey! Thanks for taking us through it.
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