Local History Collections

(Description ID: 595175)

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums

Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Ohio 

LH-247

Introduction
Agency History
Scope and Content
Inventory
Addenda

Introduction
The records of the General Society of the Mayflower Descendants in the State of Ohio were donated to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in 1991 by the organization. The Toledo Colony of the Mayflower Descendants added their records, a single volume, to the state's records in 1998.

Agency History
The General Society of the Mayflower Descendants is a lineage organization devoted to the perpetuation and preservation of the memory of the Pilgrims of the Mayflower. The Society of the Mayflower Descendants in the State of Ohio was chartered as a state chapter in 1898. Membership is limited to proven lineal descendants of passengers aboard the Mayflower who landed in December of 1620 at Plymouth, Massachusetts, Six colonies presently exist within the state of Ohio: Western Reserve, Cincinnati, Toledo, Marietta, Columbus, and Cleveland.

The Toledo Colony of Mayflower Descendants organized and petitioned for its charter in 1940. Toledo, at the time of its formation, was the fifth colony in the state of Ohio. Thirty-two charter members met for the organization's first meeting. Membership included residents of Toledo and Lucas County as well as those who lived in neighboring counties. Shortly after the chapter's formation, members selected two projects to which it remained committed for the next twenty-five years. Members successfully distributed copies of the Mayflower Compact to schools, churches, and libraries throughout northwest Ohio. Each year, the colony purchased and donated genealogy and local history books to the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library. Although, the organization's membership remained small, members maintained a strong commitment to the state and national societies. The Toledo Colony hosted several state conventions. Several of its members became state officers while others served as state delegates at national conferences.

Scope and Content
The records consist primarily of the organization's membership rosters (1898-1973), minutes (1936-1984), correspondence (1981-1984), and newsletters (1965-1981). The rosters, complete from 1898 through 1973, list members' names, addresses, status, and state and local application numbers. The ten volumes of minutes contain annual reports of the individual colonies, names of applicants to the colonies, news clippings, newsletters, constitutional changes, and treasurers' reports. The single volume of correspondence represents the incoming and outgoing letters of the state corresponding secretary. Newsletters, The Buckeye Mayflower, range from 1965 through 1981.  A 1998 addenda, included a single record volume containing meeting minutes from 1940 through 1963, membership rosters, and a short history of the organization, covering the years from its formation to 1978.

Inventory
Ac. 5156; 5894

Records, 1898-1984 

Minutes (10 volumes)
     1936-1937
     1937-1943
     1943-1949
     1949-1954
     1954-1960
     1960-1966
     1966-1971
     1971-1976
     1976-1980
     1981-1984

Correspondence (1 volume)
     1981-1984

Membership Rosters (4 volumes)
     1898-1929
     1929-1941
     1941-1954
     1954-1973

Newsletters (1 folder - loose)
     1965-1981

Addenda

Ac.5894

Box 2

Minutes

     1965 - 1981

     1984 - 1987

     1990 - 1992

     1992 - 1995

     1995 - 1998

     1998 - 2001

Box 3

Minutes

     2001 - 2004

     2004 - 2006

     2007 - 2009

     2009 - 2012

Addenda
Toledo Colony Mayflower Descendants
Ac. 5460

Records, 1940-1978

Minutes and membership rosters (1 volume)
     1940-1963

Organizational Sketch (loose papers)
     1940-1978

Addenda

Toledo Colony of Mayflower Descendants

Ac.6139

Meeting Minutes (1963 - 1998)

Toledo Colony Chronicle Newsletter (1991 - 1996; 2006 - 2019) binder

Folder 1. Toledo Colony Chronicle Newsletter (2020 - 2024) loose