Seeing 2020

In three short years, it will be the four hundredth anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower in the harbor at Cape Cod in what is now the state of Massachusetts.

For those wishing to adorn their significance with timely documentation, an application for membership in the Mayflower Society dated in that very same anniversary year might be the perfect touch. After all, some of us sealed our acceptance into the Daughters of the American Revolution on its one hundred twenty fifth anniversary. Why not top that one with membership in this soon-to-be four hundred year old lineage society?

The main reason not to: I can't wait that long. I've been thinking about this genealogical research challenge for years now—blogged about it when I first discovered I have a connection, back in 2013—and it's about time I did something.

Another encouragement: I recently discovered that a state genealogical society I belong to is right across the hallway from the California offices of the Mayflower Society. Complete with a library of their own, this headquarters is a simple ninety minute commute from my home. I could use spending some time with the Society's "Silver books," which detail the first five generations of descendants from that original band of settlers.

Of course, it may take me up until 2020 to complete thorough documentation of my connection, just to reach back to generation number five. After all, my link to that fifth generation was a woman who died in 1759. There's a lot of life that happened between then and now.

Above: "The Mayflower Compact 1620," 1932 photomechanical print of original oil on canvas by American artist Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863 - 1930); courtesy United States Library of Congress via Wikipedia; in the public domain.