Why Mayflower Membership?
We are all proud of our ancestors, and perhaps a little proud of ourselves for having found them. Tracing back over almost 400 years of one’s lineage is not an easy task. It takes a great deal of tenacity and can often be challenging. There is something extremely satisfying and fulfilling about researching your family history, filling in the blanks in your family tree and finding out all you can about the people from whom you are directly descended. When it comes to our Mayflower ancestors, we are fortunate that we know a great deal about their lives.
Most people join the Canadian Society of Mayflower Descendants (CSMD) to keep the memory of their Pilgrim ancestors alive. They are remembered at our Society meetings, through our newsletters and in our communication with each other.
Member Benefits
CSMD is a Member Society of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, thus you become a member of both when your application is approved. Membership is approached through each Member Society directly, not through GSMD. CSMD members meet once or twice a year, including the Annual Meeting and Compact Luncheon, held in the Greater Toronto/Hamilton Area in October.
Our members have had their Mayflower lineage approved using strict guidelines and reliable sources. Upon approval, members receive a membership certificate, suitable for framing, which names their Mayflower ancestor.
Members are entitled to purchase GSMD insignia to honour their Mayflower ancestor(s). Members are entitled to purchase from GSMD a bronze gravestone marker which signifies their Mayflower descent.
Members receive The Canadian Pilgrim from CSMD twice yearly.
Members receive from GSMD, The Mayflower Quarterly Magazine.
Members have free access to the extensive genealogical collection.*
*General Society`s genealogical library and staff researchers is located at their headquarters in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Membership Dues
The CSMD depends on membership dues and other donations to operate. Annual Society dues of $75 are due by November 30th each year, for the following year. The $75 annual Membership dues you pay include the $35 USD per member assessment that we pay to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants annually effective 1 January 2021.
Effective 1 January 2021 GSMD no longer allows individual applicants to pay the GSMD application fee of $125 USD when their application is sent to Plymouth. Henceforth these payments must be made by CSMD after the applicant has paid the fee to CSMD using the same options available for payment of membership dues. The charge for the application fee payable to CSMD will be $175 CDN.
If you’re unsure whether your dues are paid up, please contact our Acting Treasurer for verification. Membership dues may be paid by PayPal, using any credit card, by clicking the button “Pay Now” below or by e-transfer from your bank account to treasurer@csmd.org. You do not have to create a Pay Pal account, simply click “continue as guest”, and for payments from members in the United States or elsewhere outside Canada you can chose payment in Canadian dollars for which PayPal will automatically calculate the exchange rate and charge your credit card accordingly. Please email the Acting Treasurer at treasurer@csmd.org if you have any questions. Membership dues can also be paid by cheque made payable to Canadian Society of Mayflower Descendants and sent to the Acting Treasurer, 1366 Plante Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 9G3
CSMD Fees
Note that these fees are non-refundable and in CAD unless specified.
FEES
AMOUNT
Annual Society Dues (including $35 (USD) per member assessment)
$75.00
Preliminary Administrative Review Fee
$70.00
Application Fee
$175.00
Family Member Application Fee
(available for the children or grandchildren of a current member whose
previously approved lineage meets today’s documentation requirements)
$175.00
Supplemental Line Fee (per ancestor)
$70.00 for Preliminary Administrative Review
$175.00 payable when your application is sent for approval by the GSMD Historian General in Plymouth
First Certificate
FREE (included with application fees)
Replacement Certificates
$10.00
CSMD Lapel Pin (members only)
$15.00 – including mailing
Payments for membership dues, lineage review fees, supplemental line fees, replacement certificates and the purchase of lapel pins can be made by PayPal (by clicking the button to the right), cheque or e-transfer. Payments by cheque should be payable to CSMD or Canadian Society of Mayflower Descendants. Payments by e-transfer should be payable to treasurer@csmd.org.
Additional Information
Each Mayflower Member Society is an autonomous organization; if you live in Canada or elsewhere, you may apply to us for membership in the General Society of Mayflower Descendants
Our membership has risen from 29 members in 1980 to 789 in January 2023, with about 264 current members (January 2023). In 2022, 49 Certificates for new members or supplemental applications for existing members were approved and two transfers from other Member Societies were accepted. 40 applications were submitted to Plymouth for either new members or supplemental applications in 2022. There is a delay of approximately two to three months in processing applications in Plymouth so some of the applications submitted in late 2022 will not be approved until the first quarter of 2023. We have an active colony in Nova Scotia. Our colonies in British Columbia and Alberta are inactive at the present time as they are waiting for new members to help get them back up and running. If you are interested in helping or forming a colony in your province, please contact our Governor Bill Curry.
We have an active Junior Member program geared towards individuals under the age of 18. This program is administered for us by the Nova Scotia Colony of the Canadian Society of Mayflower Descendants. For more information on the Junior program, please click here.
