Lineage Luck: How Applying to Societies Helps Your Research
I underestimated the value of joining lineage societies until I completed an application for one. I didn't think my ancestors had been in the United States long enough to qualify for any, thinking ancestors would have had to be in the United States for centuries to qualify. I wasn't aware of the wide range of lineage societies available. But once I took that first bite of that lineage society apple—I was hooked. And I see many more benefits now. First, joining a lineage society requires proper documentation , and not just for an individual's vital stats, like birth, marriage, and death, but also for the connections between those generations that form an unbroken line from the applicant to that specific ancestor or ancestral couple. Second, applying to a society might require acquiring new skills . This is certainly true for me. My very first application, to the First Families of Pennsylvania, required full citations for every fact stated. I had never learned how to do prop
