Lineages of Hereditary Society Members, 1600s-1900s

The 27 volumes reproduced on this data set were originally published by the Genealogical Publishing Company and contain detailed lineages for members of hereditary societies. This data set includes information on approximately 440,000 individuals.

Hereditary (or lineage) societies are organizations whose memberships are based on documented lineage. Societies require prospective members to complete an application that proves, beyond any doubt, direct descent from a certain type of ancestor. Generally, there are seven types of hereditary societies:

• War societies
• Early settler and ship societies
• Colonial societies
• Nationality/ethnic societies
• Religious societies
• Royal and baronial societies
• Family organizations.

Because their membership is contingent on exceptional documentation, hereditary societies' lineage records are especially valuable. Generally, you'll learn the following information about an individual included in society lineages: dates/places of birth, marriage, and death; name of spouse; names of children; and similar information about other members linked to that ancestor.

Lineages collected in the Register of the General Society of the War of 1812 are examples of those collected from war societies. The oldest and largest of the hereditary societies, war societies base their membership on the military service of members' ancestors.

Here you'll also find lineages from early settler and ship societies such as the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America and the National Society of the Sons and Daughters of Pilgrims. Early settler and ship societies base their membership upon documented descendency from the earliest settlers of an area.

Colonial societies, such as the Colonial Dames of America and the Orders of Armorial Ancestry, involve descent for ancestors who were residents of the American colonies. Generally, members of colonial societies should be able to prove that they are descended from an ancestor who lived before July 4, 1776.

While most of these volumes focus on American lineages, you'll often find information about an ancestor's country of origin (for example, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and France).