How to Register Your Family History

Register your family history to be included among those of a specific lineage.

Family historians conduct research many times for the love of the hunt, to learn more about their family, prove a family story or for a school project. There are some family historians who conduct research with the intent of registering it in the future. Registering your family history is not a requirement for genealogists. It is only a requirement if you want to be acknowledged as a member of a specific lineage organization like the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sons of the American Revolution or the Mayflower Descendants. Each society has a specific set of guidelines to follow, but all require you to prove your lineage.

Instructions

1. View the membership requirements for the specific lineage society you wish to join. Requirements vary but you will be required to provide a family tree with sourced documentation proving you are a descendant of a specific group of people. For the Daughters or Sons of the American Revolution, this means in general, that you can trace your line back to an ancestor who supported the Revolutionary War. For the Mayflower Society, you have to prove your line back to a specific individual out of the original Mayflower pilgrims.

2. Complete the society application thoroughly. Specifically write your lineage report to the specifications provided in the application. Provide all documentation to support all the facts written in your lineage.

3. Mail your completed application and supporting documents to the lineage society. Submit dues and fees with the application. Each lineage society requires a separate and varying application fee and yearly dues.

4. Wait for a response from the lineage society. Provide any additional documents supporting your lineage if requested.

References

• Sons of the American Revolution: Membership Process
• Daughters of the American Revolution: Become a Member
• The Mayflower Society: Membership