Resources below
Work backwards, generation by generation.
Begin with yourself and document each link as you go. Don’t leap to a Pilgrim and try to fill in the middle — most applications fail because of one missing link several generations back.
Repositories
Genealogy
Usually a good place to begin. Subscription. Note that the search menu includes a place called “catalogue.”
Free but requires registration. Maintained by the Latter-day Saints; international ancestor files and search engines.
Collection based on the Silver Books and documented Mayflower Society applications from 1896 to early 2019.
Over 75,000 categorized and cross-referenced links to genealogy sites.
Federal-level resource for family history research.
Research suggestions and links from the largest sister society.
Genetic descent
DNA
A GSMD partnership for matching genetic descendants to Mayflower families; includes Y-DNA and MtDNA projects.
A note on the internet
Useful for leads, not proof.
Online research is useful for leads. For the application, family records found online must be independently documented through primary sources. See the Documentation page for what counts.
Help is available
Stuck on your line?
The Chapter Historian will look at a working family tree and suggest where to search next. Write through the contact page.