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Lineage (or hereditary) societies are made up of descendants of specific ancestral groups. They exist to honor their ansectors who shared in a common event (like a specific war) and to remember the contributioms of their ancestors to society. Ancesters are honored for any one of several reasons, including military service, profession or trade, immigration on a specific ship, and early settlement of a geographic area.
Lineage societies may have slightly different application procedures, but they essentially share a few common requirement that the applicant provice documentation of the ancestral line (pedigree) to his or her ancestor. Most have a membership officer of liaison and specific membership application forms and dues. Some have Associate Memberships for individuals whh are not direct descendants, but have a deep interest in the event or goals of the society.
Benefits of membership vary from one society to the next, but they generally provide free research assistance and networking opportunities for researchers with a shared interest. Family historians, whether members or not, can often garner information from the records of these societies because they maintain and preserve records related to the specific ancestral group from which their members descend. Some even provide a "look up" service for non members for a nominal fee.
There are dozens of lineage societies all across the country. Many of them have chapters at the regional, state or county levels. Two such societies, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) and the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), have chapters located in Lenawee County.
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is divided into Departments and Camps. Camps are the local units (i.e. chapters) and Departments are the state level unit made up of the Camps in that specific state. In Lenawee County it is the Nash-Hodges Camp No. 43. Click here for more informaton on the Nash-Hodges Camp No. 43. You are invited to visit the Camp's Facebook page where members and visitors can stay abreast of the Camp's projects and events, as well as network with one another.
Th Lenawee County-based chapter of the NSDAR is the Lucy Wolcott Barnum Chapter located in Adrian. Click here for more informaton on Lucy Wolcott Barnum Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
Click here for a comprehensive alphabetical list of national lineage societies.
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