Please carefully read these instructions and the documentation required:

  1. Fill out your Preliminary Application and Line of Descent forms.
  2. Send these forms to the Deputy Historian, Lee Bennett, at the address on the Preliminary Application form, along with a check for $212 payable to SMDM (Society of Mayflower Descendants in Michigan.) This fee covers: $150 General Society application fee + $10 Michigan application fee, $52 prepaid dues.
  3. Please scan your documentation in JPG or PDF format. Then email Lee Bennett at SMDM-Applications@comcast.net  when you are ready to send your document files, and he will send you a link to our Dropbox account. Or, you may provide him temporary access to download files from your Dropbox or other similar cloud storage.Note: If you do not have the ability to scan and/or send files electronically, please contact Lee directly to work out an alternative solution.

Additional Notes

  • If an application is found to have a broken lineage before being submitted to the General Society, only the $150 app fee and the $52 prepaid dues is refundable. Once an application is submitted to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) in Plymouth, MA, only the prepaid dues ($52) can be refunded.
  • Deputy Historian Lee Bennett will prepare your file and you will be contacted by one of our other Historians to work with you on your application.
  • A Lineage Match will be ordered from GSMD to determine if any of your generations have been previously proven by an earlier application. If so, and these proven generations are current to today’s standards, you will not need to reprove them. You will only need to provide the remaining documentation to connect yourself to the last proven generation. Your Historian will be happy to guide you through the research process.
  • Prospective Members have two years to complete their applications for submission to the GSMD. A partial refund is available to anyone who cannot complete his/her application in the designated time frame.
  • The process for Supplementals is the same. The cost of each Supplemental is $160.

Application submission

  • When all records have been received and are free of any potential issues, your application will be sent to GSMD. The GSMD is currently taking 2 months to process applications.
  • Once your application is approved you will receive notification from the Historian. Your certificate and membership packet should arrive within four weeks.