All lineage societies require some documentation of births, deaths, and marriages (if they happened). In most cases, the society requires only the record of the marriage that produced the child. The Mayflower Society is a bit different : in general, you will be asked to provide all marriage records for the “line carrier.”
Who is the “line carrier”? The line carrier is the person whom the person lines through. Say the Mayflower passenger is on your grandfather’s mother’s side. Your grandfather is the line carrier. You’ll be expected to provide copies of any and all marriage records he might have.
Does this mean you’ll only need to provide your grandmother’s marriage certificate to your grandfather? Maybe. There are two additional factors to consider:
- What does the member society request? Some historians will ask for all marriages for both spouses.
- Did your grandmother change her name again? If a woman’s death certificate is in a different married name, it’s generally best to get a copy of all marriages prior to death, just to document the name changes.
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