How to Become a Member

Welcome. 

House of Burgesses Chapter of National Society of Colonial Dames XVIIC is an active, friendly chapter.  We are located in Central VA, but we have members all over America and in Norway; we value them all.  Your information will not be passed to anyone other than the Membership Chairman and Chapter Registrar.

To become a member:

Membership is by invitation.  To begin the process, contact the webmaster.  Give your full name, address, phone and email.  If you know your ancestor, add his/her name as well.  Remember your ancestor has to be born prior to 1680 in order to have documented service in America by 1701.

Our webmaster will give your information to the Membership Chairman, who will contact you by email.  Once you have been in contact with the Membership Chairman, you two will decide the best course for you. If you have documented your ancestor already and still need help, we will look at those areas that need attention.

In the meantime, when we learn of your interest, you will be added to our Prospective Member List, and voted on by the chapter at the next meeting; voting is required by the National Society.  Once that is completed, you will receive an application, instructions and the cost of becoming a member.

Your application must be complete and approved by the Chapter Registrar, as required by the National Society, before it can be mailed for final approval.   To complete your application be sure you meet each of the following requirements:

1. You must provide the documentation for the first three generations (you are generation 1) because these are accessible only to you; this includes:

a.    Birth certificates (BC) of both people in the generation with parents’ names.

b.    Marriage record (if applicable for Generation 1) for all generations.

c.    In case of a death, a Death Certificate (DC) may be used in place of the Birth Certificate.

d.    Connect each generation to the next with acceptable documentation, which includes: Census Records (1850 forward), Bible records, Baptism Records, published documented works with front page included, cemetery records (proves only dates), court records, town records, Church records. Each item on your application must have a documented source. All records MUST be legible or will be unacceptable.

e.    Documentation that is not acceptable includes: data including undocumented family histories, family group sheets, pedigree sheets, pictures and IGI (International Genealogical Index)[i].  If in doubt about the acceptability of a source, please check with the Membership Chairman.

The Chapter Registrar and Membership Chairman are ready to provide clear guidance and help, whenever needed. 

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Anne Winn, Membership Chairman 

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[i] The IGI is a family history computer file created by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.