Thanks, Shirley & Ellen. I did some pretty extensive research specifically on "Mayflower Council" which seems to be different from the Mayflower Society and related organizations. I have never heard that there was genealogy traced to the Mayflower passage in my family, but it's certainly not impossible, and I very much appreciate the specific information you provided me on researching that path. That will be for another day :) What I found out through Google (my lifeline)) on the "Mayflower Council" is that the American Mayflower Council was an interdenominational group apparently formed for the celebration of the Pilgrim tercentenary in 1920. There seem to have been delegates from the US, Great Britain, and Holland participating, and the celebrations took place in major cities on different dates throughout the year. What I can't seem to get a handle on is whether in fact the members of the council were culled from people who could prove their descendancy from a Mayflower passenger, or whether they were just individuals from various churches interested in the celebration of religious freedom inspired by the Mayflower passage. I can't figure out how to get in touch with any existing remnants of the Council to get specific information about members. Based on the obituary reference, it seems my great-grandfather was a member of Mayflower Council No. 159, and I imagine they were probably numbered based on geographical groupings. I did find a couple of pamphlets in university libraries on the history and purpose of the American Mayflower Council and even one specifically relating to the Pittsburgh tercentenary celebration on 11/18/1920, but unfortunately neither were in digital format. Now exploring the power of the inter-library loan! Many thanks for all suggestions Jill -----Original Message----- From: pawestmo-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:pawestmo-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of pawestmo-request@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2011 3:01 AM To: pawestmo@rootsweb.com Subject: PAWESTMO Digest, Vol 6, Issue 90 Today's Topics: 1. Re: Mayflower Council (MaeMay510@aol.com) 2. The Mayflower Society Info (Ellen Ballas) 3. Re: The Mayflower Society Info (MaeMay510@aol.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2011 08:36:55 -0500 (EST) From: MaeMay510@aol.com Subject: Re: [PAWESTMO] Mayflower Council To: pawestmo@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <3f844.54e7e11b.3c1368f7@aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" In a message dated 12/8/2011 18:48:01 Eastern Standard Time, jbhorner@comcast.net writes: My great-grandfather Jacob Ressler, who died in 1936 a resident of Jeannette, was referenced in obituary in the 12/27/1936 Jeannette News-Dispatch as "a member of the Methodist church and Mayflower Council No. 159." Despite my research, I can only find one other internet reference to a Mayflower Council, that appearing in an obituary as well. Can anyone help me with what this organization was/is? All thoughts appreciated! Probably like the DAR, etc. Some proved an ancestor was part of the American Revolution. They are divided into clubs, organizations, etc. SAR, CAR, etc. Or "The Welcome Society." Enoch Abraham of Chester Co., PA to Fayette Co., PA was descendant of Dr. Thomas Wynn, who sailed with William Penn on the ship Welcome. This is rather more exclusive, like the Mayflower, since a limited number could have sailed on one single ship on one single voyage. There are still debates on who sailed on The Welcome, but it has been proven that Dr. Thomas Wynne was with William Penn as his physcian.. Or "The First Families of Hartford." The Orange Hill family of Westmoreland are eligible to join the society based on Orange's mother, Lucy Ensign, something granddaughter of a first settler. Or "The Colonial Dames." There are a lot of them and my daughters are eligible for the Philadelphia and Hartford groups, while I'm eligible for the Hartford and Colonial Virginia groups. Even "First Families of the Twin Territories"...residents before Oklahoma became a state. I'm a member of that. Simply people with ancestors who shared a common historical event. Check with the Mayflower Society headquarters. Plymouth, Mass. Go to the top. They should have records. I contacted Free Mason Headquarters in DC and they tracked down the organization in Georgia where my great something grandpap earned his rank prior to the Civil War. I didn't even know which great something grandpap earned the Scots Ring, but they found his membership. Shirley Maynard Hampton, VA ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2011 10:48:32 -0500 From: "Ellen Ballas" <ellen@b-n-s.com> Subject: [PAWESTMO] The Mayflower Society Info To: <pawestmo@rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <00a801ccb68a$02638380$072a8a80$@com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hope this helps more than what I've seen on there. It does pay to use your google more too, but people do forget that. Ellen Ballas Look up the Mayflower Society Headquarters in Plymouth, Massachusetts & write to them to see how to get the info on the group this person belonged to. The address is Winslow & North Sts., Plymouth, MA, Ph. 508-746-2590. The have a very nice museum, library & headquarters there. It can be visited. He would have had to have provided the proof to his ancestor through his grandparents going back to belong. I have not joined because of other circumstances, but mine is William White & his family, who came on the ship. I join in to him through the Wheeler line connection. The lines have been proven from the ancestor through the fifth generation down & published in books. It is the sixth generation that causes most people their problem in collecting the proof. Of course some lines did die out. Other well established genealogical organizations that require proof in a specific way for membership besides the National Society Daughters of the American Colonists & the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution are: The Colonial Dames XVII Century Colonial Governors Ancient & Honorable Artillery The PA Huguenot Society ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2011 11:12:08 -0500 (EST) From: MaeMay510@aol.com Subject: Re: [PAWESTMO] The Mayflower Society Info To: pawestmo@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <45dea.5c4ca1b8.3c138d58@aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Excellent, Ellen. I hoped you would jump in with your knowledge., Shirley ------------------------------ To contact the PAWESTMO list administrator, send an email to PAWESTMO-admin@rootsweb.com. To post a message to the PAWESTMO mailing list, send an email to PAWESTMO@rootsweb.com. __________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PAWESTMO-request@rootsweb.com with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the email with no additional text. End of PAWESTMO Digest, Vol 6, Issue 90 ***************************************