Lineage societies — a fun benefit

There are many reasons for individuals to become interested in genealogy and numbered at the top of the list is the desire to join a lineage society. I had been researching many years before I filled out an application for the Daughters of Union Veterans.

This application was approved in May 1992, soon to be followed by the approval of my application to the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). Since 1992 I have submitted applications to the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 (NSUSD of 1812) and the National Society of Colonial Dames of the Seventeenth Century (NSCDXVIIC). In total I have submitted 21 applications, to these various lineage societies, with one not being approved.

The qualifications for membership to the various lineage societies are different, but the application process is usually similar. Entries on all applications require supporting documentation and preferably primary source documents, if available. When lacking primary source documents then we must rely on secondary source documents.

The best supporting documentation for a birth date would be a birth certificate. We all know those are not always available and we must rely on other documents. Dates listed on census records can be used to support the age of an ancestor. Bible records are another source for births. Obituaries, cemetery records, funeral home records and tombstone pictures are sources that are considered as supporting documentation.

Church records and social security death indexes can be used to support birth dates. The Form 5-Application for Social Security number will provide the birth date for the person submitting the application, listing his birth place, occupation and the name of his parents, including the maiden name of his mother.

The marriage record, a primary source for the marriage date, cannot always be found because of various circumstances. Many times our ancestors did not marry in the areas where they lived, but were married on the way west or to a new area, while visiting relatives in a nearby city or in another state.

Sometimes the courthouse burned or was burned, such as the Hamilton County, Ohio Courthouse which held the records of my Hatt ancestors. There was a riot in the 1880s and the courthouse was destroyed, along with the marriage records.

The only document found that provided a marriage date for Joseph VanDoran Hatt and Eliza Compton was "The John Hyde Association With Notes," which provided birth dates, death dates and marriage dates for many of my ancestors and collateral lines. This document was compiled by a descendant of John Hyde (my ancestor) who had heard the story about the money that John was to inherit from his wealthy brothers, in England.

It has become a "joke," among those who research and are descended from this line, about where the line forms to collect the money. To date I have not received my share and do you suppose since I have two of John's daughters, Elizabeth and Orriminah Hyde, in my lineage that I would get a double portion.

There is a supplemental marriage record in Fountain County, Indiana that supports the marriage of Joseph VanDoran Hatt and Eliza Compton, but does not provide the date of marriage. Their son listed them as his parents when he married his second wife. I have used this marriage information on many lineage society applications and it has never been questioned nor disapproved.

Quakers were disowned if they married outside the church and having many Quakers in my lineage I find many of my ancestors were disowned. My ancestors, James Spray and Naomi Hollingsworth were married in the Quaker church, but most of the records for Bush Creek Monthly Meetings have been lost or destroyed and no marriage record has ever been found.

Elias Hollingsworth, the father of Naomi, is now one of my approved NSDAR patriots and the accepted supporting documentation, was a marriage consent signed by Naomi Spray giving her approval for her daughter's marriage. NSDAR also accepted the naming pattern used in the family when they named a son Elias Hollingsworth Spray. We do not have an actual date of marriage, but an estimated date based on the ages of their children.

Death records will provide the death date, usually the birth date and place. If the informant is really knowledgeable, we could get the parents names (including the mother's maiden name) and their places of birth. Cemetery records can provide birth and death dates and in more current times you will probably find additional information.

The staff members at the Duncan Cemetery, Duncan, Stephens County, have information on the computer and will give you a printout upon request. The information for some of the older burials is probably not as good as the more current ones, but you will have a printout of the information on the stone.

Obituaries provide good information if they are well written. There will be a birth date, death date and maybe a marriage date. The places of all these events should be listed and this is very important to the lineage society applicant. You not only have to fill out the dates, but you must include the places of these events, if known.

There are record copies, available from most national societies, for a fee. These records are copies of applications submitted by other descendants of an ancestor and can be used to guide a new applicant and/or to provide supporting documentation.

Currently, working on six supplementals for Colonial Dames, has required me to order six record copies. Four of the copies are useable, but two of them cannot be used for supporting documentation because the applicant cited a family history that is no longer acceptable by the society.

Using an undocumented family history is a no, no in today's lineage societies, and it was for this reason that my one application was disapproved by NSDAR.

When sending in queries or sharing information write to: Relatively Speaking, P. O. Drawer 1058, Norman, OK 73070 or e-mail Darlene Shawn at Djshawn636@aol.com.