Application Process

This explanation is so you are better informed about the process your application goes through on the journey for you to become a member. The average time for candidates is nine (9) months, but it can be as short as two (2) months, from this office's receipt of your application to your being mailed the acceptance of your membership.

First, you receive your prelimary application form. It can be mailed to you, emailed to you, or downloaded from this website. Fill it out completely and return it with a check for the appropriate amount for the options you have chosen for membership.

The Historian is normally in two days a week. Your application is usually processed and mailed out the same day the Historian opens the mail. The Historian will return a worksheet that details what is known about your lineage after researching in our library and membership files. If further primary documentation is needed, there will be a red star to the right of that line. This indicates that you will need to provide more documents to support that claim (of birth, marriage, or death).

When you are ready to return your documentation to support the red-starred items, you do not need to send in a copy of the worksheet as we will have one here. Please remember that you need to send two (2) photocopies of every item. You also do not need to wait until you have obtained every piece of information required -- especially if you are having a problem documenting some part of the lineage. You are urged to submit what you have with a letter explaining the area you are having problems with and list the things you have already done to try and solve the problem. It is not uncommon to send in more documents on several occasions.

The Historian will review all the documents you have supplied. If further documentation is needed, the Historian will return a revised worksheet with the remaining issues highlighted. There may be a letter explaining the different steps you can take to solve the problem areas. Please feel free to call or email with any questions you might have (anytime during this process).

Once all the documentation has been received to the satisfaction of the Historian, you will be mailed two copies of your "final" application form on acid-free paper. Please sign each form in black ink on the first page. Do review the document one last time to make sure there are no typographical errors. If you find one, on a separate piece of paper, (do not write on these final forms other than your signature), write out the correction you feel needs to be made and the Historian will deal with it when your final papers are returned. Include any fees outstanding as noted on the letter accompanying your final application.

When your signed final application is returned, one copy along with one set of documentation will be forwarded to the Historian General in Plymouth, Mass., where the application is reviewed one last time. The Historian General has the final say over what is approved. This review process takes about four to six weeks. When it is approved and returned to the office, our Historian will mail you a package, certificate, and a copy of your final application as approved by the Historian General.