Hereditary and Lineage Societies -- Who Knew? (September 30, 2014)

I recently received the latest issue of The SAR Magazine, the quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR). I have been a member of NSSAR for several years, but I have to admit that I have never paid close attention to the contents of the magazine other than articles of interest to me. With the latest issue though I found some time on my hands on a rainy day and sat with a cup of coffee for a leisurely and thorough read of the publication. And for the first time I really noticed the advertisements and notices in the magazine.

Inside the NSSAR magazine I found notices for four different hereditary/lineage societies other than SAR.

There was a notice about the National Society Sons of the American Colonists . . . 

And there was the more specific National Society Sons of Colonial New England . . . 

Then there was the Order of the Founders of North America, 1492 - 1692, which was seeking charter members . . . 

And finally there was The Order of the Founders and Patriots of America . . . 

I knew, of course, that there were other hereditary/lineage societies out there, but seeing these four society notices made me curious about just how many more there might be and what kind of hereditary and lineage connections they might be honoring. This naturally led me to the Google -- and from there to Wikipedia. The "List of Hereditary and Lineage Organizations" entry in Wikipedia has some 238 such organizations more or less. Who knew?

There are many recognizable Societies, National Societies, and Orders made up of various Sons and Daughters, but there are also some surprisingly specific and perhaps esoteric organizations.  For example, there is the Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors, the Cleveland Grays, the Order of Daedalians, the Aztec Club of 1847, the Bloodlines of Salem, the Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons & Daughters of the Kings of Britain, and -- perhaps my new personal favorite -- the Flagon and Trencher, which is a hereditary society comprised of women and men who can "trace ancestry to one or more licensed operators of an ordinary tavern, inn, public house, or hostel prior to July 4, 1776".  Have a look at the more than 200 other known hereditary/lineage organizations at the link above . . . your genealogy research just might help you qualify for membership in one or more of these esteemed organizations!

If this subject interests you and you want more information about various hereditary societies, you should also check out the website of The Hereditary Society Community of the United States of America here. The Hereditary Society Community website also has lists of organizations and provides known addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses to contact many of the organizations for membership or other information!

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Scan of the SAR emblem and the four notices from the author's personal copy of the Summer 2014 edition of The SAR Magazine Sons of the American Revolution, Vol. 109, No.1.

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Copyright 2014, John D. Tew

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