Prospective Members

Iowa Mayflower Society Membership

We invite any person 18 years of age or older who can prove direct lineage from a passenger aboard the Mayflower to themselves to begin by completing the Mayflower Lineage Check form and submit to the Iowa Mayflower Society Historian.   This information will be used to check to see if your first five to six generations have been documented in a Mayflower Society Silver Book and to run your lineage through the General Society of Mayflower Descendant’s (GSMD) databases. This is done to ensure that your proposed lineage has not been previously rejected by the GSMD and to identify any previously approved applications that most closely match your lineage.

The state Historian will use this information to draft an application for membership for you and to identify reference documentation you need to find that will be acceptable proof for all your generations. 

You will need copies of certificates (sometimes called "long forms") that contain parents' names if they are available for births, deaths, and marriages that occurred after 1900.  The only time that vital records are not required for life events after 1900 is when a resided in an area that had not yet set up vital registration. If you need to obtain vital records, ask for a "genealogy copy of the record". They are usually less expensive and contain all the information that is on file.  At minimum you must submit vital records (birth, marriage and if applicable, death certificates) for your last 3 generations: yourself, your parents, and your grandparents.  You may incur costs to obtain vital records. 

For events occurring before 1900 other sources may be used. These are considered "secondary" sources, not recorded at the time of the event, and at least 2 sources are required.
Such documentation can come from:

• Wills and other probate records
• Land records
• Bible & Church Records
• Guardianship & Orphan Records
• Federal & State Census Records (1850 and after)
• Town vital records or town histories
• Court, parish, and military records
• Census records
• Published genealogies

Silver Books

"Silver Books" - Your first five or six generations may already have been proven.  The Iowa Mayflower Society Historian has a set of the Silver Books and can check lineage for you.  Email the Mayflower Lineage Check form to Iowa Mayflower Society Historian at iowahistorian@iowamayflower.org. 
Copies of the Silver Books are also available at the Iowa Historical Library and the Iowa Genealogy Society Library both in Des Moines, IA. 

You will need to provide a printed, pdf, or jpg copy of each document for each event (birth, marriage, death) for each person in each generation from yourself to any generations not previously proven. Do not write notes or make any markings on proof documents you submit.  Cell phone pictures of documents will not be accepted.

When your application is ready for submission you will need to remit the $200 application fee, made payable to the Iowa Mayflower Society, to apply for membership in the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Payment of the application fee does not guarantee approval for membership in GSMD.

Mayflower passengers with known descendants are:

The Alden Family	The Howland Family
The Allerton Family	The More Family
The Billington Family	The Mullins Family
The Bradford Family	The Priest Family
The Brewster Family	The Rogers Family
The Brown Family	The Samson Family
The Chilton Family	The Soule Family
The Cooke Family	The Standish Family
The Doty Family	The Tilley Family
The Eaton Family	The Warren Family
The Fletcher Family	The White Family
The Edward Fuller Family	The Winslow Family
The Samuel Fuller Family	Passengers Without Proven Descendants
The Hopkins Family

 

Membership Annual Dues

Annual Iowa Mayflower Society dues are $45, which includes membership in the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.  Dues collection for 2024 will begin October 1, 2023.  If dues are not paid by December 31, 2023, the member will be dropped from active membership.  A $5.00 fee will be added to the annual membership fee to be reinstated for 2024. Current Members may pay yearly membership dues by check payable to Iowa Mayflower Society mailed to Gerald Graves, Treasurer, 28249 360th St., Van Meter, IA 50261-6011

 

Iowa Society Junior Membership

Any member in good standing in the Iowa Mayflower Society may make application for a junior membership on behalf of any person under eighteen (18) years of age who is related to a member of the Society by blood through the line through which such member was approved by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Junior Members are not members of the GSMD and are not assigned a General Society or State Society number, only a junior number.

When a Junior Member turns 18, they can make application for regular membership by providing the required lineage proof documentation and paying the required application fee. If transfer is not completed by age 25, they will be dropped by the Iowa Mayflower Society. The fee is $15 one-time. No annual fee.

Click Here to download the Junior Membership Application

 Iowa Society Friends

We encourage family, friends, and those interested in the Mayflower Society to join as Friends of the Iowa Mayflower Society for an annual fee of $15. Friends of the Iowa Mayflower Society may include family members (spouses, parents, grandparents, stepchildren, adopted children and half siblings).

Click Here to download the Friends Membership Application