PRÆSERVARE ET TRANSMITTERE
General description
The Winthrop Society is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to historical and genealogical research and the dissemination of educational material. The Society is philosophically aligned with the old unalloyed Congregational Church and the Liberties of New Englishmen (enacted 1641) but is not connected with any modern denomination or political group. The Winthrop Society is an international organization founded 25 August, 1995. At present (1 January 2007) it is unincorporated.
Purpose
Whereas, the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Company and their elected Governor, John Winthrop, emigrated to New England in 1630 to found a “City on a Hill,” the Winthrop Society: Descendants of the Great Migration, is dedicated to honoring and preserving their memory, philosophy and tradition and transmitting their example
of courage, strong faith, integrity, and civic duty. The Society is
open to all men and women of good character and proven biological descent
from one or more passengers of the Winthrop fleet, or of other early
settlers of Massachusetts Bay, as qualified below (in the section entitled
The Membership).
Our scope of study is the Massachusetts Bay Colony,
and not the Plymouth Colony, already ably handled by the Society
of Mayflower Descendants and others. Our goals are:
- To identify all these settlers (no complete list
of them survives), by consulting every source which can be found in
the United States and England.
- To make a bibliography listing all useful books and
resources on the history of the the Colony to about the year 1691,
and on the early history of Puritanism in England. As means permit,
a library will be collected.
- To locate the origins and family histories in England
of the first settlers.
- To make a genealogical database including all the
descendants of these colonists to the fourth generation, the reconstructed
biographies and ancestries of the colonists as well as can be established,
and lineages to the present day as submitted to us by the membership.
- To publish our research findings and historical articles
at our Web site. Articles and information submitted by Members and
all other researchers are welcomed.
BYLAWS
Office
The location of the principal office of the Society
shall be fixed by the Officers. It may be any location within these
United States of America. The Recording Secretary shall keep a copy
of these bylaws and minutes of all meetings of the Officers at the principal
office. Principal office as of 31 January 2003 is:
The Winthrop Society
70-200 Dillon Road #517
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92241-7646
General email address: csecretary@winthropsociety.org
World Wide Web site: http://www.winthropsociety.org/
Officers
All business and affairs of the Society shall be managed
by the Officers, consisting of a President, a Vice-President, a Corresponding
Secretary, a Recording Secretary, a Registrar, a Treasurer, a Webmaster,
and an Editor of Publications. Any number of offices may be held by
the same person, but each Officer shall have one equal vote in meetings
of Officers, regardless of number of positions held, and likewise in
meetings of the Board of Trustees. Therefore eight votes, among a total
of twenty in the Board of Governors, belong to the Officers. The eight
Officers are described below:
- The President shall set the Society's direction
and shall have preëminence in decisions concerning Society activities
and projects. In any tie vote of the Officers, the President's decision
shall decide. Should the President be absent or otherwise incapable,
the Vice-President shall assume the duties of that office.
- The Vice-President shall be assistant and
possible replacement for the President, and also have full and sole
responsibility to organize and oversee all elections.
- The Recording Secretary shall keep accurate
minutes of the conferences of the Officers, and shall monthly provide
copies of the minutes to each Trustee. The Recording Secretary shall
also maintain the membership records.
- The Corresponding Secretary shall be chiefly
responsible for correspondence with the Members and the general public.
- The Registrar shall review and verify applications,
and maintain standards of admission of new Members and Associates.
- The Treasurer shall be the Society's chief
financial Officer, and shall keep and maintain correct books of all
accounts and transactions of the Society.
- The Webmaster shall oversee and update the
Society's Web site, maintain the Society email account(s), and act
as liaison to the hosting company and domain registrar.
- The Editor of Publications shall oversee,
publish, and distribute the regular Society-based periodicals for
the Members.
Any Participating Member (as defined below in the section
entitled The Membership) of the Winthrop Society
may place his/her name in candidacy for any office, and all nominees
for office must be Participating Members of the Winthrop Society.
Officers have a term of one year, and are elected each
May (with the sole exception of the Vice President, who is elected in
July) by a majority or plurality vote of the Trustees or their proxies,
using the process described below in the section entitled Board
of Governors. When any Officer has served three terms in succession
in any one office, that Officer will be ineligible for all offices for
one year.
An Officer may resign at any time upon written notification
to the President. Any Officer may be removed at any time upon a two-thirds
majority vote of the Trustees or their proxies. Any office so vacated
can be filled by a majority or plurality vote of the Trustees or their
proxies, following the process described below in the section entitled
Board of Governors.
Adjutants
The Officers may appoint Adjutants for such duties,
titles and terms as they deem appropriate to manage Society projects.
Adjutants may be appointed in any number, dismissed or replaced at the
discretion of the Officers, and they will have no governing power over
the Society as a whole.
Trustees
The Trustees shall oversee the performance of the Officers
without taking part directly in the Society's day-to-day affairs. The
12 Trustees shall be called the Panel of Trustees. Each Trustee may
appoint and register a single proxy for such instances when they are
not available to vote on Panel decisions. Proxies may not be current
Officers of the Society.
A Trustee may resign at any time upon written notification
to the Chairperson of the Board. Any Trustee or Officer may be removed
at any time upon a two-thirds majority vote of the 12 Trustees or their
proxies. Any office so vacated shall be filled within one month by a
majority or plurality vote of the Panel of Trustees or their proxies.
Trustees will otherwise normally serve a term of office of three years
and, each year in June, four Trustees will be elected by a majority
or plurality vote of the Participating Members or their proxies from
a list of eight Nominees chosen by the newly-elected President. Trustees
may serve any number of terms in succession.
The Board of Governors
The Board of Governors will consist of the 12 Trustees
(the Panel) and the Officers. The Board of Governors will meet at least
once each year in June, by any form of communication deemed most convenient.
The Board of Governors, especially during its annual
June meeting, has the most extraordinary powers over the direction of
the Society. It may completely reorganize the Society and even dismiss
all Officers if it deems necessary.
The decisions of the Board will be decided by a majority
vote. There will be a possible 20 votes accorded as follows: one vote
to each of the 12 Trustees or proxies, and one vote for each of the
eight offices described above in the section named Officers.
For any majority vote to take effect, a quorum will
consist of at least 15 voters.The President shall each year in April
select a Nominating Committee consisting of five of the Trustees. An
Officer may not be a Member of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating
Committee shall, by their majority approval, name at least one nominee
for each of the Offices. The Officers, except the Vice-President, will
be chosen annually in May from the list of these Nominees by a majority
or plurality vote of the Trustees or proxies. The Vice-President, nominated
with the other Officers in May, will be selected in July by a majority
or plurality vote of the Trustees or their proxies
A Trustee may resign at any time upon written notification
to the Chairperson of the Board. Any Trustee or Officer may be removed
at any time upon a two-thirds majority vote of the 12 Trustees or their
proxies. Any office so vacated shall be filled promptly by a majority
or plurality vote of the Trustees or their proxies. Trustees will otherwise
normally serve a term of office of three years and, each year in June,
four Trustees will be elected by a majority or plurality vote of the
Participating Members or their proxies from a list of eight Nominees
chosen by the newly-elected President. Trustees may serve any number
of terms in succession.
Officers, Adjutants and Trustees will receive no salary,
pay, or compensation for their services other than reimbursement for
expenses as filed with and recorded by the Treasurer.
Meetings
The Board of Governors, including the Officers, shall
convene in May of each year and whenever else and in a manner they deem
necessary to conduct business, either at the principal office, or any
other place, or by any communication media as felt meet by the Board.
At least two-thirds of the Trustees or their proxies must be physically
present or participating via Internet or other means of telecommunication
for a quorum to be declared. Each Trustee or proxy has one equal vote.
The Officers will confer as frequently as needed to
manage the Society's business. Each Officer has one equal vote, and
in case of a tie vote the President decides.
The Officers will, in March of each year, select and
announce the time and place of an annual General Meeting of the Members
and Associates to be held the subsequent autumn. If fewer than 75 Members
communicate before June 1 their intention to attend, the Officers may,
at their discretion, cancel the General Meeting for that year.
The Membership
Applicants will be admitted to Membership solely upon
the discretion of the Officers. Prospective Members must be a biological
descendant of a qualifying ancestor, and will submit their lineages
and provide suitable documentation.
Qualifying ancestors will have arrived in the Massachusetts
Bay Colony before 31 December, 1633, Julian calendar. This includes
passengers of the Winthrop fleet and the passengers of the Mary &
John, 1630; also the earlier Puritan settlers who arrived in the
1620's with Mr. Thomas Gardner, Capt. John Endecott, and Rev. Francis
Higginson; also passengers of relief ships which arrived before 31 December,
1633, Julian calendar.
Included also as qualifying ancestors are a certain few Plymouth men,
such as Mr. Allerton, Capt. Conant, Dr. Fuller, and Gov. Winslow, who
made significant contributions to the early settlement of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony, and worthy non-Puritans who settled in the Colony between
1622 and 1633 who remained in New England, such as Mr. Blackstone and
Mr. Thomson, and likewise pre-1634 permanent settlers of Piscataqua,
Sagadahoc, and Maine, such as the Hiltons and Mr. Wiggin.
Included also as qualifying ancestors are the adventurers
of the Rev. John White's Dorchester Company, 1623-1628, and the adventurers
(investors) of the Massachusetts Bay Company, 1628-1633, whether or
not they ever settled in America.
Excluded are those settlers who were executed or expelled
from the Colony for felonious crimes.
The applicant's lineage of generations from the year
1700 to the present must be accompanied by copies of the applicant's
best (sufficient but not exhaustive) documentation for the birth events
and relationships. Published references and public records are preferred,
but family sources may be acceptable. For pre-1700 generations, any
and all evidence, sources and argument the applicant can provide on
his/her 17th century New England ancestors are requested. Lineages must
be complete and without gaps. Applicants with lineages showing descent
through an adoptive relative, steprelative, or other non-biological
relation will not be considered for full Membership, but may be eligible
to apply on other terms (see below at The Associates).
Applicants must state that their applications are submitted
as truth to the best of their knowledge. Applicants must affirm that
they are neither convicted felons nor dishonorably discharged from U.S.
military service. All applicants will also state that their personal
beliefs and lifestyle are not contrary to the U.S. Constitution and
Christian ethics as they sincerely conceive them. Applicants from Canada
and overseas are welcome, subject to the same conditions. Upon the Officers'
approval and verification of the application, the prospective Member
will be invited to join.
The Membership enrollment fee will be no less than the
equivalent of the 1996 value of US$30.00. All fees will be set by the
Officers and posted at the Society's Web site. Enrollment is permanent
but non-transferable. The Member will receive a personalized certificate
of Membership on golden parchment, suitable for framing.
Members enrolled before January 1st, 2001 and Honorary
Members are deemed Charter Members, and will retain their Rights and
Privileges for life, exempt from annual dues. For Members enrolled after
January 1st, 2001, their Rights and Privileges of Membership are maintained
by payment of an annual fee.
The Participating Membership shall consist of the Charter
Members and all other Members whose annual dues are paid and current.
A Member may not be expelled from the Society, except
by unanimous vote of the Officers for one of the three following causes:
- firm evidence of the Member's deliberate falsification
of his or her application;
- the Member's conviction of a felony within the borders
of the United States;
- the Member's dishonorable discharge from U.S. military
service.
Any such dismissal is open for the term of one year
thereafter to a single appeal to a majority vote of the Participating
Membership, to be handled in the manner of a petition as described below
in Changes to these Bylaws, Section 2.
Upon unanimous decision of the Officers, persons who
have rendered exceptional voluntary services to the Winthrop Society
may be awarded a special non-hereditary class of Membership, Honorary
Membership, "for extraordinary services rendered to the Society
and its educational purposes," with the same rights as those of
Charter Members. The number of such living Honorary Members shall not
exceed thirty.
The Associates
Other persons, upon fulfilment of certain qualifications,
may be awarded the status and certification as Associates of the Winthrop
Society for their voluntary donation of the worthy fruits of their researches.
Associate status does not confer the Rights of Members described below,
except as to the protection of their personal privacy.
Duties of Members
Members have the duty to occasionally inform the Society
of all information they discover about their 17th century Massachusetts
Bay Colony ancestors. Especially important to the Society is the bibliography
of sources — original 17th century documents, and results of research
drawn from original sources in England or New England. The Society also
seeks information on 17th century ancestors from family histories compiled
in the 18th and 19th centuries, which were often gathered from the memories
of persons gone before and from resources which have since been lost
or destroyed.
Rights of Members
All Members have a right to privacy. While a Member's
lineage might, with permission, be published by the Society, no other
information, including any addresses, will ever be disclosed to anyone
without their express permission, even to other Members. Credit-sensitive
information will always be held in strictest confidentiality.
Participating Members have a right to place their names
in candidacy for any Office of the Society or Trusteeship. Participating
Members will be called on to vote for the Trustees at the annual elections,
and all reasonable measures will be taken to obtain their votes. Participating
Members exclusively may participate in the Society's projects, including
the Lending Library. Participating Members, should they disagree with
the Bylaws of the Society have a right to petition the Society's Officers
for a change, as described below in the section entitled Changes
to these Bylaws.
Inactive Members
A Member will be considered inactive when:
- the Member does not pay his or her annual dues;
- for any reason the Member voluntarily leaves the
Society, and notifies the Officers to that effect; or
- the Officers find that the Member cannot be reached
by either postal mail or e-mail after due and diligent attempts to
do so. Such a Member will be called a "Lost Member" and
a list of all such Lost Members will be published at the Society Web
site in the hope that they might restore contact.
Changes to These Bylaws
The Winthrop Society is completely the expression of
its Participating Membership. The Participating Membership may change
these bylaws in any way, notwithstanding the objections of its Officers.
These bylaws may be amended:
- when, after a meeting of the Officers, the Officers
shall agree unanimously to the change, and shall submit the said change
to a vote of the Participating Membership. Also,
- upon a petition of the Participating Members. A petition
may be initiated by any Participating Member, and the Officers are
bound to notify all Participating Members (whose addresses are held
in confidentiality), giving and accurate copy of the petition along
with the Officers' position on the proposal. Any one Member may not
initiate or participate in the initiation of more than one petition
per calendar year. Within six weeks of the receipt of said initial
petition, the proposal must be duly and completely distributed by
the Officers for a vote of the full Participating Membership, with
a due and diligent attempt to obtain the votes of all Participating
Members. The tally of said vote will be taken within three months
of the receipt by the Officers of the said initial petition. The Officers
will publish the results at the Web site.
In either case, Participating Members must individually
sign and post by air-mail their positions to the Society when voting
on a change in the Society bylaws. No petition initiation by proxy or
vote by proxy will recognized. A quorum for any vote on a change in
the bylaws will be three-quarters of Participating Members.
After a two-thirds majority approval by a quorum of
the Participating Membership, notwithstanding any objections of the
Officers or Trustees, the changes duly petitioned will be written into
this Charter and will take effect immediately.
Certification
This is to certify that this is a true and correct copy
of the Charter of the Winthrop Society, as duly adopted and amended
by the Officers and Members.
Date: 31 January 2003
Signed: Prof. Timothy Jacobs, Winthrop Society President
