Consider joining the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century (CDXVIIC). It's a lineage group for women (obviously) that has been around for 100 years and has 11,000+ members in chapters all over the US & Canada. If you have a provable Mayflower ancestor, you qualify, but if you are still looking for that elusive pilgrim and can get back beyond 1701 in any of the 13 Colonies, you also qualify. I joined on a New England ancestor whose surname was passed down as a first name (Lewis) among men in my father's family. However, if I had wanted to indulge my "Southern side" and take a break from New England, I could have joined as a descendant of either of my 2 Chesapeake Bay ancestors. Along with the various civic projects that all the lineage groups seem to partake in, CDXVIIC supports historical research and preservation in colonies other than Plymouth, which is (to me) refreshing. The photo (left) is of a fundraising pin to pay for repairs to their 130-year-old Washington, DC headquarters building, which is still suffering from the 2011 earthquake plus plain old age. If you are interested in looking for links to royal ancestry vs. the staunchly ordinary lineage of nearly all the Mayflower pilgrims, the group's documentation of armorial ancestors (those legitimately entitled to a coat of arms) sets it apart from other groups.
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