What Goes On at a Mayflower Society Meeting?

I've met several people who were extremely curious about what happened at at Mayflower Society meeting.  We have no secret ceremonies, no secret handshakes or passwords. I describe it more like a family reunion, where you find out that the stranger sitting next to you shares a common ancestor - so that makes you cousins!

I've brought guests to the meetings, and sat at the same table as people who were seeking membership, and they all said "We wanted to see what happened at a meeting!"  Maybe you were wondering the same thing.  So here are photos of typical meetings here in New Hampshire with the New Hampshire Society of Mayflower Descendants.  Remember that both men and women, and children of all ages, can be members of the Mayflower Society.  We welcome guests, too.  There are chapters in all 50 states and Canada, and many states have several "colonies".

Welcome to the meeting!  Everyone wears a name tag
that lists their ancestors, so it is easier to find cousins

We always have plenty of time for schmoozing, but come
early so you can meet up with cousins and new members

Our Governor welcomes members and guests
We do the Pledge of Allegiance, an opening prayer,
and a reading of the Mayflower Compact.
The Governor calls the "Roll Call of Ancestors"
and we stand up for our Mayflower Passengers.
It is a friendly competition to see which passenger
has the most descendants in attendance at each meeting.

We hear reports from the secretary, treasurer and other board members.
The state historian's report includes welcoming new members!

In New Hampshire our May meeting is the scholarship luncheon.
We award several scholarships every year.  See the website for more information.
Here are out 2015 awardees

After a nice lunch, we always have a speaker.
At this meeting we were joined by
"Governor William Bradford" played by Rev. Michael Hall

We often have displays of photos, family trees,
and items for sale like Mayflower insignia and books

A member displays her quilt which is embroidered with
her Mayflower lineage back to Stephen Hopkins

Members examining a large family tree.
It looks like they found a cousin connection! 

So you see, we have a simple meeting, but it can be exciting to find new cousins!  Ask a member if you can attend a meeting as a guest, or even better, apply for membership today! 

Some useful links:

The New Hampshire Society of Mayflower Descendants  www.nhmayflower.org  

The General Society of Mayflower Descendants  https://www.themayflowersociety.org/  


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To Cite/Link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "What Goes On at a Mayflower Society Meeting?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 4, 2015, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/06/what-goes-on-at-mayflower-society.html: accessed [access date]).