MAYFLOWER SOCIETY ~ Episode 8–I received my Certificates for 2 additional passengers - Stephen Hopkins & Francis Cooke

 

Last year I wrote about my journey to join the Mayflower Society.  I had applied through a paternal line that I believed lead to passenger, Edward Doty.  You can read all about that journey, from application to receiving my certificate, here Mayflower Society.

Once I was able to frame and proudly display that certificate, I had my eye on submitting a couple of supplementals for additional passengers I’m related to.  I asked the California Mayflower historian (Dianna S.) who had helped me originally, what the process was.  She explained it to me and even offered to fill out the forms for me.  She said since she has done it many times it wouldn’t be a problem.  That is a kindness I can never repay.

When the filled out forms arrived at my house I checked them over, as I was told to do.  Once I determined there were no errors, I wrote a check, put everything in the mail, sent it back to the historian and waited. They were mailed 30 Nov 2020. 

I received my certificates May 21, 2021.  Yes, I did another little happy dance.

It was a dream to be able to join the Mayflower Society and finding one ancestor was amazing.  Finding out I was connected to 2 others, came as a surprise.  However, it shouldn’t have.  Most members can connect to more than one of the passengers.  Why? Because there were not many people in the colony and the children of one couple married the children of another couple etc.

So here is a list of my descendants from both Stephen Hopkins and Francis Cooke.

 

If your in the process of applying for the Mayflower Society, I’d love to hear about it.  Which passenger are you connected to?  Maybe we’re cousins?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2021   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MAYFLOWER SOCIETY ~ Episode 7–The final step–I’VE RECEIVED MY CERTIFICATE

I’m thrilled to tell you that I’ve received my “official” Mayflower Society member certificate.  It came in the mail 3 days ago.

I can now say that I am a proud member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

This has been great journey.  I was going to say a long journey, but I really don’t think it took that long, taking into consideration some of these things.

• It’s 2020 and this has been anything but a normal year.
• More applications were and still are being submitted due to this being the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing.
• The people that volunteer to process our applications and communicate with us are all working under unusual conditions.  I appreciate every one of them.
• The process itself is said to take a while, under normal circumstances.

All in all it was fairly seamless for me.  Again, I’ll publicly thank the historians who assisted me along the way, Dianna Saario and David Grinell.

• 22 Jun 2019 I mailed my preliminary Review Form 
• September 2019 I got word that I could proceed with my application
• December 2019 I mailed my application to the California historian
• Beginning of January 2020 my application was approved by the two historians who reviewed it separately
• End of January 2020 my completed application was mailed to Plymouth. They will have the final word
• July 21, 2020 – I’M APPROVED! by the General Society in Plymouth
• August 22, 2020 I’m approved and accepted in the California State Society and receive notice of both my state member number and by general society member number
• September 9, 2020 – I received my certificate

I’ve now joined the San Diego Colony and this morning attended a zoom meeting as a bonified member.  I’d been attending for the past couple of years with my friend Debby.  Hoping one day to be a “real” member.  And now……I am.

If you’re interested in reading a step by step synopsis about my journey, and the process it took to become a Mayflower Society member, please click HERE.

A salute to my Mayflower passenger Edward Doty and all those who came over on that ship.  How brave they were.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MAYFLOWER SOCIETY ~ Episode 6–I’M IN!

IT’S OFFICIAL – During the 400th anniversary year - I received an email from the California Historian, last evening at 5:20.  

My application has been approved by Plymouth!!

Talk about a happy dance  

Here’s the email I received from the California Mayflower Society historian, David.

Next step – Notify the San Diego Colony, if they haven’t already been notified.  They will officially add me as a member at a future meeting.  I prefer to have this done in person, rather than via Zoom, so I’ll wait.  I remember attending the meeting when my friend, Debby Warner Anderson was admitted to the colony.  I’m looking forward to it.

I’ve heard from another of the officials, today, that my certificate will be mailed to me.  Once I get it, I will be sharing it here on my blog.

I’m now a proud member of the DAR and the Mayflower Society.  What’s next?

 

Good question.  Those two memberships have always been on my “to do” list.  I have a LOT more ancestors to research and more than a few to find.  I will continue my research.  AND, I will likely begin another application process to add names to my membership in the Mayflower Society.  But, I will wait a year or so before going down that road.

 

To read about my entire journey, please click here Mayflower Society.

If you’ve been inspired by me or someone else to begin the application process, I’d love to hear about it in a comment or on your own blog.

Consider me “still smiling in Ramona”

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

My First Webinar Presentation happened last Saturday ~ Thank you to my co-presenter Debby Warner Anderson and the San Diego Genealogical Society

What fun.  I am honored to have been asked by the San Diego Genealogical Society to prepare a presentation about the Mayflower Society.  They asked my good friend and fellow blogger Debby Warner Anderson and I if we would prepare a presentation together about our experiences in applying for and joining the Mayflower Society  

What could be better than working with a good friend?  Debby and I have presented together one other time, on a much smaller scale.  

The presentation took place last Saturday, July 11 at 10 a.m. pacific time.  Since our society isn’t meeting in person right now, we presented via Zoom. 

I have attended webinars and church services via Zoom, but never been a presenter using this venue.  I’ve done quite a few classes in person, so this was a new experience.  However, since Debby has had to use Zoom for her work, she was quite comfortable with it.  (Side note – she retired on July 1st – Congratuations to her!)

The topic for our presentation was:

The Mayflower Society

Have you ever wondered what the Mayflower Society is all about?  How to find your Mayflower passenger ancestor, the application process, the events, the costumes?  This presentation will take you on our journeys as we researched, applied and hoped to become members of this unique group of men and women in order to help preserve their heritage and history.

We received a lot of positive feedback.  The attendees asked some very good questions.

Debby and I had a great time working together.  I hope we’ll be invited to speak again on this subject, perhaps by another genealogy society.

I am not able to put a link to our presentation here on my blog.  It is in the members only section of the San Diego Genealogical Society's website.

Here though, is a list of the resources that Debby and I included with our presentation.  The links won't be live, but you could download this list and enter the links manually.  Usually sites pop up pretty quickly without you having to type the entire URL.

Here is a link to upcoming presentations sponsored by SDGS. There are some good ones coming up.  All are free and most are for anyone, whether a member or not.

Here’s the link to the calendar page SDGS upcoming events 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MAYFLOWER SOCIETY –Episode 5–An update on my application process and a link to a presentation

I wrote my last post about my journey to join the Mayflower Society, in December 2019.  I thought I would give you a quick update.

If you want to read my previous posts about my journey to join the society please click here Mayflower Society

My completed application package was mailed on 27 Jan 2020.  The approval process in Plymouth is said to take 3-5 months in normal situations.  One thing we can say about 2020, it hasn’t been normal. 

The process for everything can be delayed in these unusual times we are living in.  Reviewing and approving society applications is no different.  It’s been over 6 months now and I still have no word. 

However, I completely understand.  I have heard that they are known to be up to applications that were submitted in December 2019.  Mine can’t be too far behind, since it should have arrived in Plymouth the last days of January or first days of February.

I’d like to say I’m waiting patiently…………but, I’m pretty much checking my mail all the time to see if there is an envelope from the Mayflower Society.  I even have our mail lady (who’s the best ever) on the lookout.  Our boxes are 3 miles from our house so we don’t check the mail each day.  She says she’ll text me if she sees anything from the Mayflower Society. 

I continue to be hopeful that I will hear back soon.

In the meantime, my friend and fellow blogger Debby Warner Anderson (Debby’s Family Genealogy Blog) and I are co presenting to the San Diego Genealogical Society this Saturday, July 11th at 10 a.m. via Zoom.  Our topic ~ How to Find Your Mayflower Passenger Ancestor.  This presentation is open to all, so if you’d like to register to attend, here is the link https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TCv4jvm1RyWqedWT42mZ-A 

You’ll be among the first to know, when I get that envelope in the mail.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MAYFLOWER SOCIETY ~ Episode 5–My Application is signed and ready to be sent to Plymouth–What happened along the way?

This has been quite a little journey so far.  However, thanks to the incredible help of one of the reviewers (DS, you know who you are), all is well and my application will soon be in the hands of the people in Plymouth.

My application has gone through and been approved by 3 historians.  While there were a few glitches along the way, I’d say the process has gone very well.

In spite of a missing maiden name, two missing marriage records and a death record or two without both parents names, we think there is enough proof to move forward.

How might you make up for those missing records?

• For the missing maiden name, we have the first name of the wife on other records, that connect her to the husband, as well as her first name being used on records relating to her children
• For the missing marriage records you might provide – death certificates naming the spouse, obituaries, census records showing the two living in the same household, birth, death & marriage records from the children that name both parents, often including the mother’s maiden name
• There are probate records that can also be critical in proving relationships – please see the post from June of last year that FINALLY got me going on my process to apply to the Mayflower Society.  FINALLY! Proving the father of my 3rd great grandmother, Olive Doten Hart (1805-1887–WHAT DID I FIND?
• A Note - All of the above are just suggestions and I certainly don't have the authority to say what will or will not be acceptable.

TIP: When or if you go through this application process, be extra sure you proofread everything carefully.  Even the final application returned from the reviewers/historians.  I found a couple of transcription mistakes and those were easily corrected.  After all, these reviewers aren’t only working on your application, but many others.
 
So, here is it – the official California Mayflower Society letter asking me to sign my application and return it with a check.  Once the application reaches Plymouth it could take as long as 3 to 4 months to complete.

I can wait it out…….with great anticipation.  Hoping that the next time I hear from them, it’s my membership certificate arriving in the mail.

To read my other posts about my Mayflower Society application process, please click here

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MAYFLOWER SOCIETY ~ Episode 4–Exciting news! I’m ready to mail my application package

WOW!  THE DAY HAS FINALLY COME AND I’VE COMPLETED MY APPLICATION PACKAGE

I’m very happy to be at the point of having put my package of proof/evidence together and being ready to mail it.

Long ago I set my goal to “someday” joining the Mayflower Society.  I had in mind which line might be the one.  However, I didn’t find that crucial piece of evidence I needed until June of this year.  I wrote about that BIG find here FINALLY! Proving the father of my 3rd great grandmother, Olive Doten Hart (1805-1887–WHAT DID I FIND?

Here we are 6 months later and I’m ready.

 

Included in my application package is evidence of my connection to passenger EDWARD DOTY.  The line of descent has been proven up to Generation 5, my 4th great grandfather, Isaac Doten, Sr. (1768-1852) and his wife Sally Nimblet (about 1766-1849).

My job was to provide evidence from Generation 6, my 3rd great grandparents down to me in generation 12.  THAT’S PROVING 7 GENERATIONS.

Piece by piece, generation by generation, I collected the documents.  Most of them were already saved on my computer and connection to each person in my Legacy program.

For the missing marriages of my 3rd great grandparents and my great grandparents, I needed to provide other evidence that showed they were a couple and that they produced children together.  Census records and birth and/or death records of their children, their own death certificates and obituaries helped to fill the gap of the missing marriage records.

As I wrote in a previous post, I was missing my own marriage certificate.  I went to our county office and got a copy of that.

Here are the generations from Edward Doty, Mayflower passenger to me.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

Here is a picture of the 2” thick application package.

Here is a photo showing the seven generations for which I provided evidence, all separated and displayed.

And finally…..here is the envelope on the scale at the UPS office, ready to be sent out.  100 pages of evidence, 3 pounds, an original and one copy.  

I mailed the package Monday and it was received last night.  There is only one other application ahead of mine, for revue.  Once it is reviewed and the information entered on the “official” application form, it will be sent to another person for final approval.  I understand that process can take months.

So, unless I am contacted by them for more information or further evidence all I can do is wait.

I’ll let you know if my package was complete enough or whether I missed something.

 

I’m excited that the process has moved forward and hope I’m accepted into the society.

Are you a member of the Mayflower Society?  If so, from which passenger do you descend?  Maybe we are distant cousins?

To read my other posts about my Mayflower Society journey, click here.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MAYFLOWER SOCIETY ~ Episode 3–Nearly ready to submit my application and attending the San Diego Mayflower Society Colony meeting with friends

I’ve been working hard to gather all the necessary vital records and other proof to take my application from generation 6 (Isaac Doten & Sally Follet) to generation 12 – me!

I’m doing pretty well, but I am missing some birth, marriage and death records.  The biggest surprise was that I don’t have a copy of the official county record of my own marriage.  What?  I have the record filled out by the Pastor and signed by our witnesses, but not the official record.  I’ll be picking that up this week at the San Diego County courthouse.

Most of the other records I’m missing I already knew I didn’t have.  That just means that I will have to provide other evidence of the connection of these family members to one another.  I should be able to do that.

In the meantime, I attended my 3rd Mayflower Society meeting.  My friend and fellow blogger, Debby Warner Anderson and friends Darlene Conner Sampley and Sally Inglis are already Mayflower Society members.  All of us sat at the same table at this meeting.  There were, I estimate, about 150 people who attended.  The meetings are held at the Green Dragon Tavern & Museum in Carlsbad, California.  That’s about an hour from where I live.
This meeting included a lot of members dressed in period clothing, including my friend, Debby.  What fun it is to see the men and women dressed as the early Pilgrim ancestors might have dressed back in 1620.

Here is a group photo taken just after the meeting.

There was society business conducted, then we had a delicious lunch (the food at this restaurant is always very good) and then we listened to Caleb Johnson’s presentation about recent discoveries involving the English origins of Mayflower passengers.  It was a very informative presentation.  Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us Caleb.

At the end of the meeting I was able to chat with one of the members and get some confirmation on questions I had about completing my application.

My goal is to be admitted to the Society during the year 2020 which is the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower arrival.  I also hope to be able to wear a period costume at the meeting next November.

Here are some other photos from our fun day.

Left to right - Me and Debby, a shot of how full the room was, Kathy (who made Debby's costume) and Debby

To read my other posts about this journey please click on the tab next to my Home tab at the top of the blog.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MAYFLOWER SOCIETY ~ Episode 2 – My Journey to become a member

As I wrote about on June 22nd this year, I am in the process of trying to join the Mayflower Society.  You can read my first post here THE MAYFLOWER SOCIETY ~ I’ve begun my journey to join–Come along as I take my first step

It’s been nearly four months since I submitted my Preliminary Review Form.  How much longer would it take until I heard from them either yay or nay?  They review the information you submit and then tell you if you can proceed with your application.  Oh my the waiting…………………….

Yes, that’s me, jumping for joy.  I received a phone call yesterday from the very nice lady who had reviewed my preliminary form.  She was happy to tell me that I could now proceed with my official application.  AND!!!!  That she is confident I should be able to join the society.  WOOHOO!!

Now what?  What is the next step and what do I need to do?

As with any society everything revolves around proving who you are and how you are descended from the patriot, the first settler or in this case the Mayflower passenger.
 
My mind was a whirl of thoughts as I started going over the documents and proof that I would need.

The very good news is that my 4th great grandfather has been proven.  His name is Isaac DOTEN (1768-1852).  I will need to provide proof of his marriage and everything down the line all the way to me.

(PLEASE CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

Look at that.  Everyone I need information on is already in my tree.  The red lines indicate the ancestors who lead me directly to the DOTEN line I'm trying to prove.

What does that entail?  First of all, I’ve been a researcher for a long while now, over 16 years.  During that time I have recorded everything I could find about my direct line ancestors.  I use Legacy as my database, as well as having a working tree on Ancestry.  One thing I have is LOTS of records.  Some I have downloaded from various websites and others I’ve ordered directly from counties or states.

Here’s the types of records you need to begin an application process such as this one.  I’ll begin with me and list all the ancestors for whom I’ll need to gather records and what type of records I might need.  This is just a list off the top of my head and there may be more.

Me – Birth, Marriage
My Dad, Harry Norman Gould – Birth, marriage, death
My grandfather, Harry Whipple Gould – Birth, marriage, death
My great grandfather, William V. Gould – Birth, marriage, death, obituary
My 2nd great grandmother, Sarah Hart – Birth, marriage death, obituary, census records
My 3rd great grandmother, Olive Doten Hart – Birth, marriage, death, obituary, headstone, probate record of her father
My 4th great grandmother, Sally Follett – marriage, death, obituary, headstone, probate record

Doesn’t seem so bad, does it?  After all, those are the records we try to collect for all of our ancestors, right?  We’re talking about mostly records from the mid 1800’s.  That shouldn’t be too difficult.  Plus, as a thorough researcher I really should have most of these records already recorded, along with the images of those records.

The answer is YES.  I should have all of that.  Once I began to review my files I found I did have many, if not most of those records.  But, oh my, do those records have the information I’m seeking?  Are they all complete?  Was the information recorded properly?
 
Stay tuned for my next post to find out how many ways things can be recorded and what might it mean to my application process.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

THE MAYFLOWER SOCIETY ~ I’ve begun my journey to join–Come along as I take my first step

Depiction of the signing of the Mayflower Compact

The Mayflower Society.  That name has always had bewitching attraction to me.  Who gets into it?  How do they get in?  Could I ever be so lucky?

When I began my genealogy journey back in 2000 I only hoped to learn more about my grandparents and great grandparents and maybe…..who knows, a little further back?

Somewhere along the way, I began to understand that I might be able to join the DAR.  After all, my maternal grandmother (our family historian before me), always said we could be members.

Mission accomplished – I was sworn into the DAR on 6 Feb 2010 under my Patriot, Anthony Bowen, my 5th great grandfather.

NOW, the next BIG step – could I prove a line back to the Mayflower?

Since I have several brick wall ancestors (yes, still) and since I have 4 great grandparents who came over from Europe in the late 1800’s,  how many do I have to choose from, who could have come from a line who came here in 1620?

I haven’t spent every waking hour doing Mayflower research.  I’ve only dabbled here and there.  I’ve spoken to their members at various conferences and watched my friend and fellow blogger, Debby Warner Anderson, go through her application and induction process.  I now attend local Mayflower Society meetings with her and another genealogy friend.  These meetings have gotten me more excited about being a member.

I will cut to the chase here.  I’ve always thought, given what few people I have to choose from, that my best bet would be my paternal 3rd great grandmother’s line.  I believed she could be connected to the DOTY/DOTEN line of Edward Doty, Mayflower passenger.

Who is she? 

Olive G. DOTEN (about 1805-10 Apr 1887) who married Henry Hart.  I have written about my long journey to find a connection between her and her alleged parents, Isaac Doten, Sr. & Sally Follett.  You can read about my big find here FINALLY! Proving the father of my 3rd great grandmother, Olive Doten Hart (1805-1887–WHAT DID I FIND? 

Is that big find, solid enough proof when taken together with other evidence?  I don’t know.  Will it stand up to the rigorous application process?  I don’t know.
 
Once I published that blog post I heard from a reader who is a descendant of the Doty/Doten line.  She sent me some great information which gives me hope.

As of today, I have downloaded the Preliminary Review Form, filled it out and it’s ready to go in the mail this afternoon.  WOOHOO!  It’s a start.

I’ll begin a spreadsheet for this project.  Hopefully the Historians at the California Mayflower Society will see a possibility that I might be a Mayflower passenger descendant.  All I can do is try, right?
I’ll keep you all informed as I take this journey.  Let’s hope it is a journey and not a dead end.

• Have any of you applied to join the Mayflower Society? 
• If so, how long did it take you to complete your application process? 
• Was it difficult?
• Did you succeed? 
• What advice would you give someone like me?
• Wouldn't it be great to be admitted in 2020 - the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION