ALABAMA PILGRIM A Newsletter for the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Alabama November, 2013 ANNUAL MEETING November 23 rd, 2013-11:00 a.m. Board of Assistants Meeting 10:00 a.m. The Club, Birmingham, AL Guest Speaker Governor General Bruce MacGunnigle We have a great meeting scheduled at The Club in Birmingham on Saturday, November 23 rd, 2013, and it will not be the same without you. Come and be a part of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Alabama! I am pleased to announce that our speaker for the upcoming meeting is our Governor General Bruce MacGunnigle. Bruce Campbell MacGunnigle is our 32 nd Governor General. He has been a member for over 40 years, joining the Rhode Island Society at the age of 24, the first in his family to do so. Governor General more General Society Offices than any other member in our 115 year history. He is a descendant of Elder William Brewster, James Chilton, Francis Cooke, Edward Fuller, Stephen Hopkins, Thomas Rogers and Richard Warren. Bruce was elected governor of the Rhode Island Society at the age of 39, becoming the youngest governor in that state society s history. He has been elected as Member at Large of the Executive Committee, Captain General, Assistant Governor General and now Governor General Bruce MacGunnigle
Bruce is the author of Mayflower Families, Volume 4 Edward Fuller, and served as Congress Planning Chairman at four General Congresses. After he retired as a jewelry manufacturing company executive, he worked part time for his home town as the Main Street Manager, working with 200 small businesses, and, among other things, organizing award winning street festivals on Main Street. He is now writing a column on historic houses in his local weekly newspaper. He is a past president of the R.I. SAR, Colonial Wars and Huguenot Societies, and a member of the R.I. Founders and Patriots and the SR. Bruce and Kate, his wife of 40 years, are the parents of Douglas and Alison, both members of the Rhode Island Society. Governor General MacGunnigle is extremely busy with his duties, nationwide, and we are honored that he is coming to Alabama. DELICIOUS MEAL ON SAT., NOV. 23 rd : Chicken Scaloppini with Herb Roasted New Potatoes and Tiny Green Beans. Either Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfait or Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cake for dessert. The total cost is only $26.00!!! Please join us!! CURRENT OFFICERS Governor Rich Hobson, hobsonschoice@knology.net, 334/328-5357 Deputy Gov. General - Alan Davis, 334.270.8657 Assistant General Ann Ferguson, 256.234.4460 Deputy Governor Ellie Lienau,256.655.9452 Secretary - Alan Davis, 334.270.8657 Elder Ruby Hassell Captain Anne Kilgrow Historian - Charlotte Hobson, 334.897.3510 Librarian - Carol Kitchens Assistants Ann Ferguson, 256.234.4460 Monte Horton, 205.798.9987 Pam Pittman, Deen Rice, 256.533.4991 We are here to serve The Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Alabama. Anytime that we can assist you please let us know. We need your help, input, suggestions, and support. Please feel free to contact us with any concerns. Thanks WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Please make plans to come to the meeting, AND BRING FAMILY the easiest and most effective way to increase our rolls and preserve our heritage. You are part of this tremendous heritage and we would like to fellowship with you during the upcoming State meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. The reservation form is located within this newsletter. I hope to see you on Saturday, November 23rd! God bless you, Rich Hobson MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNOR This Fall we welcome 9 new members! They are Deborah Edna Johnson, Norma L. Pogue, Sandra Dale Carter, Laura Elizabeth Patterson, Fontaine Henriette Haskell, Carol Huett, Jane Marie Andrews, Meredith Miles Copeland, and David Robert Copeland. Welcome to each of you and we hope to see you on November 23rd. IN MEMORIUM Ruth Stong, our oldest member from the Gulf Coast Colony, passed away in July. She was 99. We we able to fellowship with her during the last Gulf Coast Colony meeting in May.
The Mayflower Society General Society of Mayflower Descendants Founded at Plymouth, Massachusetts 1897 Any person able to document their descent from one or more of the following Mayflower Pilgrims is eligible to apply for membership in the Mayflower Society: John Alden Isaac Allerton Mary (Norris) Allerton John Billington William Bradford William Brewster Peter Browne James Chilton Francis Cooke Edward Doty Francis Eaton Moses Fletcher Edward Fuller Samuel Fuller Stephen Hopkins Elizabeth (Fisher) Hopkins John Howland Richard More William Mullins Degory Priest Thomas Rogers Henry Samson George Soule Myles Standish John Tilley Joan (Hurst) Tilley Richard Warren William White Edward Winslow Many families hold a tradition that they are descended from the Pilgrims, which often kindles an interest in finding out more. Sometimes the stories of a Mayflower heritage are true and it is easy to document a descent. More often the documentation is missing and must be researched and supplied to prove your line. The good news is it that advanced research techniques, improved genealogy library collections and computerized resources have made it easier to track down your Pilgrim roots. The best documentation to look for is vital records such as the birth, marriage, and death certificates for each person. Other documentation might be published genealogies, family documents and other official records. If you have a relative who is a member of the Society, you may be able to use their lineage documentation to help you with your research. Memberships are handled through individual state societies. As a first step, you may contact your state society or you may inquire about a possible Mayflower line using the Preliminary Review Form found at www.themayflowersociety.com. If you would like to make an inquiry about membership, please call 334/897-3510, Charlotte Hobson, Alabama Society Historian, or the national office at 508-746-3188. www.themayflowersociety.com 3
RESERVATION FORMS ON LAST PAGE We are publishing these unapproved minutes of the Annual Meeting for 2 reasons. The most important is so that those who are unable to attend will learn of the activities of our Society at our meetings. Hopefully you will find something of interest and will decide to make the effort to attend. The other reason is so that those who attended might be better prepared to approve the minutes without having them read at the meetings. This will save time at the meetings. SOCIETY OF MAYFLOWER DESCENDANTS IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA STATE SOCIETY ANNUAL MAY MEETING MINUTES The Society of Mayflower Descendants of the State of Alabama met on Saturday May 4th 2013 in Spanish Fort at Westminister Village. The following Officers were present: Governor Rich Hobson Deputy Governor Ellie Lienau Secretary Alan M. Davis Treasurer Historian Elder- Librarian- Board of Assistant 1-Ann Ferguson Board of Assistant 2- Board of Assistant 3- Deen Rice Deputy Gov. General. Alan M. Davis Assistant General Ann Ferguson Lt. Gov. Gulf Coast Col: Robert Howell Lt. Gov. Cap Col- Alan M. Davis Lt. Gov. TN. Val. Col: Deen Rice (Acting) Governor Rich Hobson called the meeting to order at 11:00 o clock a.m. Alan M. Davis, Secretary, read the Elder s Prayer, The Mayflower Compact, and Objects of the Society and led the meeting in reciting of The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag. Roll call was held and the members who were present introduced themselves, their guest and listed their ancestor(s). We did have the pleasure of having our oldest member ever in attendance, Mrs. Ruth Stong, who is ninety-nine (99) years old. Ancestors represented: John Alden-4, William Bradford-1, William Brewster-3, Francis Cooke-4, Peter Brown-1, Edward Fuller- 2, Samuel Fuller-3, Stephen Hopkins-1, John Howland-4, George Soule-2, John Tilly-2 and Richard Warren-2. Gov. Hobson welcomed and thanked everyone who attended today. The Minutes of the Compact Day Meeting held on October 20th, 2012 in Birmingham were sent out in the Newsletter and Gov. Hobson asked if there were any corrections to be made. They were corrected, voted on and approved. The Treasurer s report was read by the Secretary, Alan M. Davis for Mary Helen Mahan, (A copy was dispersed among the members) (A copy of the report is attached). There were no discussions on the report. It was voted on and approved as presented. Governor Rich Hobson mentioned that dues are due to those who have not paid them. Gov. Hobson reported the Kingdom is Well and noted that there are three Colonies across the state and said there is a need for participation for members to attend the meetings and asked everyone to push for applicants. It was mentioned that there are some thirty million people in the United States who are descendants of one of the Pilgrims. He implored everyone to encourage participation of our members. He also reported that he attended the Gulf Coast Colony meeting last November. He also reported that he still yet to purchase and will purchase soon the hard drives to store the scrapbook information on. 4
Dep. Gov. General Alan M. Davis reported that he has received E-mails from the General Society concerning agreements with Dr. Jeremy Bangs who does research on the Pilgrims in the Netherlands. He did not sign them because he did not want to consider himself an employee of the Society. Also in the E-Mails were issues concerning with him being overseas and that funds transferred to him would come under scrutiny with Homeland Security. He also reported on the Attorney General of Massachusetts scrutiny of non-profit charities. He reported on the GBOA Conference calls held on April 16th and one is to be in May and in June. He briefly mentioned some actions done by the Gen. Society s Executive Board. He reported the General Board of Assistants will meet in New Orleans on September 13-14th, 2013, and that he plans to attend that meeting. Asst. General Ann Ferguson in her report mentioned that three years ago here in Mobile the State Society voted on to purchase ribbon medallions for the Deputy Governor General and Assistant General, (who are General Society Officers), that they have been purchased. She reported that the brick purchased by our society had the wrong inscription on it and that it has been corrected and replaced and through the time while it was being replaced we wound up with an extra brick. She also mentioned the conference call held in April and that they made a recording of it to those who wish to hear it if they missed the live call. She mentioned some fund raisers held by the General Society. She talked of some of the various projects the Gen. Soc. could use the money on and the majority voted on using the money where needed most. She discussed the silver generation books funding. She discussed as well a new position of an executive director to be hired as a more permanent person to remain in Plymouth to direct the General Society s business. Ann also discussed on how the Attorney General of Massachusetts said the Gen. Soc. s Historian could not be a paid position with our Society being a non-profit entity. She said there were discussions on hiring a paid genealogist who could be overseen by the Gen Historian. She added some comments on Dr Jeremy Bangs. She mentioned three scholarships were giving out this year. She reported that after the meeting in New Orleans the General Congress in Plymouth will be next year, 2015, and that in 2016 the GBOA meeting will be in Indianapolis. Dep. Gov. Ellie Lienau thanked the Gulf Coast Colony for hosting the May meeting and helping her with the arrangements. She made favorable comments on Westminister Village. She asked for input if anyone had any ideas for future meetings. She also announced that we will tentatively plan on having our Compact Day meeting at The Club in Birmingham on November 2, 2013. Rich added that he will invite Gov. General MacGunnigle to see if he will come to Alabama. Gov. Hobson reported for his Mother, Charlotte, our Historian. He reported that there are ten to twelve working papers she is working on and there are three sets of applications in Plymouth. He added that there seems to be interest in the Society with that many applications being worked on. Sect. Alan Davis reported for the Elder that Mary Ann Sledge Weems, who lived in Houston Texas, died on April 1, 2013. He also reported that our past Captain, Gilbert Chris Gender died on November 17, 2012 right after our last meeting. Alan Davis, Lt. Gov. of the Capital Colony, announced that their meeting is tentatively planned in late July or early August speaker to be determined and will likely be at Wynlakes Country Club. He also apologized for not having a meeting in January. Deen Rice, Acting Lt. Gov. of the Tennessee Valley Colony reported that Marie Karlson resigned as Lt. Gov. due to health problems and that they haven t had a meeting this year but at their last meeting in October they met at the Burritt Museum on top of Monte Santo Mountain and afterwards had lunch at a local restaurant. Robert Howell, Lt. Gov. of the Gulf Coast Colony, extended a warm welcome to all those who are attending this meeting today. That they had a great meeting last October and had Sid Leak as their speaker. He added that we will have a good lunch planned today and that our speaker Dr. James Morris will be a good one. OLD BUSINESS: Gov. Hobson said that he will purchase the hard drives to store the information in the year books. 5
NEW BUSINESS: Discussions were held on getting the year books for the State Society. He also announced that our DGG and Assist. Gen plan on going to the GBOA in New Orleans. Ellie Lienau discussed to the members Societies that are for the individual Mayflower Pilgrims i.e. Alden, Bradford, Brewster, Fullerton and so forth. There being no further business before the Annual Meeting, it was adjourned at approximately 12:00 noon for lunch by Governor Rich Hobson. He asked Sid Leak to pray and ask the Lord to bless our meal. After the meeting a delicious meal was served and our speaker was Dr. James Morris who spoke on: SECESSION-THE CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION Dr Morris discussed the question of the interpretations of the Constitution that, in the long run, led to the several States of the South to the creation of the Confederate States of America and its secession from the Union. He cited five major causes for secession: living memories of the War for Independence, the expansion of slavery, economic sectionalism between the North and South, abolitionism, and political weaknesses on the national level. Alan M. Davis, Secretary The General Society of Mayflower Descendants Organized 12 January 1897, Plymouth, MA The 400 th Anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims Celebration Committee GSMD Headquarters & Museum 4 Winslow Street PO Box 3297 Plymouth MA 02361-3297 508.746.3188 F-AGG Harry P Folger 3 rd, Chair 346 Marshallville Road Woodbine NJ 08270-9723 hfolger@comcast.net 609.628.2251 Your State Society and members are invited to join a competition organized by the GSMD 2020 Committee to create a national logo for the GSMD celebration of the 400 th Anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower, the landing in Plymouth and the establishment of the Pilgrim colony. Incorporate your ideas for both the celebration of this event and perhaps the future marketing image of GSMD into a design that you believe would be an appropriate symbol. You may organize your effort in any manner you see fit. In order to insure that good ideas are not excluded, there will be no limit to the number of entries a state or its members may submit. All entries for the contest should be received by the Chair of the 2020 Committee Logo Contest before April 15, 2014. An independent jury of marketing professionals will review each entry and recommend a base group to the committee. Five of those entries will be published in the June Issue of the Mayflower Quarterly and those who wish to vote may do so. The winner will be announced at the triennial meeting of the General Congress in September 2014. All entries will become the property of the GSMD unless the applicant is notified otherwise. More than one logo may be chosen for use by GSMD for special marketing applications for the 2020 celebration. If chosen as the winner, your submittal will be trademarked as a national GSMD logo. Prizes will be awarded to the top three logos selected. You will not be entitled to any other compensation. The winning logo will serve as the identification and basis for all GSMD marketing for this event. You will receive recognition in both the Mayflower Quarterly and at certain select GSMD events. More information will be in the December Mayflower Quarterly. GENERAL SCHEDULE: December Mayflower Quarterly more detailed contest information; April 15, 2014 logo submission deadline followed by jury review; June Mayflower Quarterly five selected logos published for voting; Winner announced Sept. 2014 6
General Society of Mayflower Descendants General Board of Assistants Meeting New Orleans, LA September 14, 2013 As Assistant General, I represented our Alabama Society of Mayflower Descendants at the General Board of Assistants (GBOA) meeting held in New Orleans September 14, 2013. Our Deputy Governor General (DGG) Alan Davis was not able to attend so, in addition, our Deputy Governor (DG) Ellie Lienau attended in his place. My husband John accompanied me as my guest. This was the Louisiana Society s first time to host a GBOA meeting and they did a magnificent job. Although the main meeting was September 14, there were events scheduled over four days available to attend several committee meetings, tours to the National WWII museum, Houmas House plantation and Chalmette Battlefield via the Creole Queen Riverboat, as well as a Ghosts and Spirits walking tour. You could attend mass at St. Louis Cathedral in famous Jackson Square or enjoy beignets and café au lait at Café du Monde. The Louisiana Society hosted a Welcome Party with taste of New Orleans hor d ouevres and there was a luncheon and then cocktails and dinner at the iconic restaurant Antoine s, which was the site of the Louisiana Society s charter meeting in 1945. Our host hotel was the Omni Royal Orleans in the heart of the French Quarter. A typical agenda for a GBOA meeting is two pages long, single-spaced, which includes numerous reports from General Society officers and committee chairs (at least 28). However this year the agenda also included the New Business of voting on 25 proposed amendments to the constitution and by-laws. Due to time constraints, the agenda was modified and most of the committee reports were not presented but will appear in the minutes to be published in the Mayflower Quarterly. This was unfortunate as listening to the work going on in the committees is a good way to learn what is being accomplished by our Society and also to learn of any problem areas that might have come up. We will just have to wait until these reports come out in the Mayflower Quarterly and all learn together. Only at the Triennial Congress can amendments to the constitution and by-laws be officially voted on. The proposed amendments that were voted on at this GBOA meeting were only to decide which amendments (of the 25) should be presented at Congress next year for the official vote. Of the 25 proposed amendments, all but one were voted affirmatively to present to Congress next year. The wordings of a few amendments were modified slightly. I think the main reason for this majority consensus was because the amendments were for the most part not controversial. They basically were proposed for two reasons: clarification and inclusion of existing procedures and re-numbering sections. Our DGG Alan Davis brought up at last year s GBOA meeting that the duties of all of the General officers are specified in the constitution except for the Assistant Governor General (AGG). One of the proposed amendments was to add the AGG duties. So his recommendation was acted on. One of the biggest accomplishments of the current administration is the hiring of an Executive Director, Walter Powell, for GSMD. Mr. Powell, who started work 7-15-13, was also a presenter. We were reminded that 2020 is fast approaching the 400th anniversary year of the sailing of the Mayflower. We all should be brainstorming ideas to celebrate and publicize this approaching momentous event. Following our banquet dinner, we learned from a presentation by two forensic anthropologists from the Smithsonian a sampling of the tremendous amount of information that can be learned from 400-year old skeletal remains. Our GSMD has been coordinating with the Smithsonian and the state of Massachusetts on the possibility of on-site studies of Cole s Hill or Burial Hill in Plymouth. 7
Next year is the Triennial Congress in Plymouth. The GBOA meeting for 2015 will be in Connecticut and 2016 will be in Indiana. Governor General Bruce MacGunnigle is to be commended for being very transparent and communicating the work of the Executive Committee (EC) between GBOA meetings through three conference calls with GBOA officers followed by transcripts of the meetings, emailing the actions of the EC after each of their meetings, as well as publishing updates in the Mayflower Quarterly. We officers were well prepared to conduct business knowledgeably and efficiently in New Orleans. As is my custom, I would like to share with you a little something of our trip outside of the official meeting. Last year I told you about the several historic sites we toured across Pennsylvania on our way to the GBOA meeting in Mt. Laurel, NJ. This year we did spend most of one day at the National WWII Museum and I would definitely recommend it. But I would like to offer you something different a New Orleans tasting as experienced and enjoyed by John and me. Bon Appétit!... Crab cakes, crab omelette, crabmeat salad, mini-crawfish pie, shrimp omelette, shrimp remoulade, shrimp and sausage gumbo, oysters Rockefeller (Antoine s-style), clam pizza, sautéed drum, trout amandine, pralines (which we learned is pronounced prah-lines), brie stuffed with praline, bread pudding with rum sauce, beignets, café au lait, a flaming Mayflower Baked Alaska, and as our Pilgrim forefathers (and mothers) would have appreciated, Abita and NOLA beer. And one last additional item courtesy of the Louisiana Society - pink (GSMD s signature color) M&M s with tiny circular Mayflower logos printed on each one! Looking forward to Congress in Plymouth in 2014! Ann Ferguson Assistant General Alabama Society of Mayflower Descendants 8
ANNUAL MEETING RESERVATIONS I will attend the Annual Meeting and Luncheon Nov 23rd, 2013 at 11:00 am. The Club, Birmingham, ALABAMA (1 Robert S. Smith Dr., 35209 (205) 323-5821) Cost - only $26.00 per person Yes, I plan to attend # Guests I am bringing (Please include their names),,, Check enclosed Return to be received by November 18 th, 2013 to: Ellie Lienau 12006 Northgate Dr. Huntsville, AL 35810 Phone: 256.852.4802 Email: elienau@mchsi.com (cell) 256.655.9452 WE LL SEE YOU IN BIRMINGHAM ON SATURDAY, NOV. 23rd, 2013!!!!! ************************************************************************ ****************************************************************************** ************ Rich Hobson 7436 Old Barn Rd. Montgomery, AL 36117 334.328.5357 9