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
The CSMD is one of 54 partner societies of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. You become a member of both when your application is approved. Membership is approached through each partner society directly, not through GSMD. Presently, our annual general meetings are held virtually, as our membership lives from coast to coast to coast and beyond.
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) and a bronze gravestone marker that signifies their Mayflower descent. These are available at The Mayflower Society Shop.
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.
If you’re unsure whether your dues are paid up, please contact our Treasurer at treasurer@csmd.org for verification or if you have any questions. Membership dues may be paid by PayPal, using any credit card, by clicking the button “Pay Now” below or by e-transfer from your Canadian bank account to treasurer@csmd.org. You do not have to create a PayPal 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. Membership dues can also be paid by cheque payable to Canadian Society of Mayflower Descendants and mailed to the Treasurer, 34 Ballantrae Rd, Stouffville, ON L4A 1M5. Cheques drawn on US banks must be payable in US dollars. If you wish to use that option, please contact the Treasurer for the correct exchange rate.
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
Preliminary Administrative Fee
$70
Application Fee
$215
Family Application Fee
(Available to children/grandchildren of a current member whosepreviously approved lineage meets current documentation requirements.
Preliminary Administrative Review fee waived.)
$215
Supplemental Line Fee (per ancestor)
$70 for Preliminary Administrative Review
$215 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
CSMD Lapel Pin (members only)
$15 – including mailing
Junior Membership
$25
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 Partner 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.
