· ALL applications and supplements must be on only two sheets of 8 ½ X 14 Acid Free paper; pages 1 & 2 on the first sheet and pages 3 & 4 on the second sheet.
New distribution method for approved applications and supplements:
• DO NOT send copy; send ONLY original application or supplement with all appropriate signatures and documents as usual. Once verified the VA Branch Registrar will Registrar will receive the approved application or supplement electronically. The Branch Registrar will print a copy for the VA Branch Records, and a copy for the new member (It is the custom of the VA Branch to furnish an approved copy for all new members).
· With this new distribution method the time from mailing the application to notification of approved status is enhanced.
· This means only two pages to mail along with the documentation, which saves postage for both the Branch and Registrar General, and Prospective Member will be notified more rapidly.
· The new member certificates, welcome letter from the Governor General and insignia order form will still be mailed via USPS. (It is the custom of the VA Branch to honor new members at the next meeting with these items and a copy of their approved application.) If you need yours earlier than the next scheduled meeting, please let the Branch Registrar know.
Additional tips for applications and supplements: Qualifying ancestor – Double check the birth place of the qualifying ancestor. The National Bylaws state “….the term “Pilgrim” shall denote any Immigrant (emphasis mine) who settled before 1700 within the territory which became the forty-eight contiguous states ….” An Immigrant by definition, migrates to another country, therefore the qualifying ancestor cannot have been born in the United States, ie., must have been foreign born.
· Documentation Copies – only one set of documents is required per applicant. If there is more than one applicant in the same family, using the same lineage, only one set of documentation will suffice.
· Documentation for each generation of the lineage must identify the individuals named (including spouses) and must establish the relationsip from one generation to another. All documentation submitted shall conform to the present day standards of evidence.
· Full dates with proof of birth, marriage and death (when applicable) must be furnished for generations one through three.
· Birth certificates, marriage licenses, and certificates , death certificates, wills, deeds, probate records, family Bibles and some census records (documented at the time of the event)m are considered legal records of evidence.
· Generations without dates and places or other supporting documentation, may be considered with additional supporting information. If document cannot be provided for a specific date for example, 4 Jul 1775, use “ca” or “About” 1775.
· All references cited to support the linage and service must be accompanied by a copy of the record. If from a published source (public or private), the title of the book, author, date of publication, volume and page or pages must be stated.
· Unsupported statements in a county history, family genealogy or newsletter, are not valid proof to establish a line of descent.
· Write on each piece of documentation the generation to which it applies.
· All signatures are to be original and in black ink.
· All documents have to be legible; if you can’t read, I can’t read.
· Typing application, include all generations and references for each back to the qualifying ancestor on every application.
· If utilizing a verified application from a different lineage society or from NSSDP as documentation, the approved reference of authority must be typed exactly as the referenced approved application with the exception of adding/correcting additional data/documents. Do not show only a reference to a previously approved application from another society as the reference authority; the application will be returned unexamined
• Use only full mailing address with all zip codes five digit + addition 4 digit.
• If any problems or questions, your VA Branch Registrar is always available to help;
Please contact by email, Branch Registrar Virginia Hurts Rouse at [email protected].
