Order of the Founders and Patriots of America

Order of the Founders and Patriots of America
Name	Order of the Founders and Patriots of America
Formation	1896
Type	Hereditary society
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Membership	Lineal male descendants
Leader title	President General

Contents

Order of the Founders and Patriots of America is a hereditary lineage society established in 1896 that commemorates early English colonists and their descendants who fought in the American Revolutionary War. The organization connects genealogical scholarship, commemorative practices, and historical preservation across institutions such as the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, National Archives, Colonial Williamsburg, and regional historical societies. Its membership overlaps with societies like the Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution, Order of the Cincinnati, Society of the Cincinnati, and the Mayflower Society.

History

Founded during the era of Gilded Age antiquarianism, the society emerged alongside organizations such as the American Antiquarian Society, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Morgan Library & Museum, and the Peabody Essex Museum. Early figures associated with the society included veterans of Civil War lineage research who participated in commemorations at sites like Yorktown, Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, and Fort Ticonderoga. The society’s formation reflects broader movements that produced the Jamestown Tercentenary, the Boston Tea Party Centennial, and civic projects tied to the Columbian Exposition and the United States Capitol restorations. Prominent members over time have engaged with institutions such as the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, New-York Historical Society, Massachusetts Historical Society, and served as trustees for libraries associated with Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, and Columbia University. The Order’s archival collaborations have been noted in connection with collections from families linked to Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony), Puritans, and Planters of Jamestown.

The organization’s charter emphasizes preservation of lineage connecting Early American Settlers, specifically those who settled in British North America before 1687, and whose descendants served in the American Revolutionary War. Eligibility criteria require documented descent tracing through records akin to those held by the National Genealogical Society, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Ancestry.com (company), and repositories such as FamilySearch and Fold3. The Order’s mission statements reference the importance of primary sources from archives like the National Archives, manuscript holdings at the Bancroft Library, and published works by historians affiliated with American Historical Association and Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. The society aligns its purposes with preservation efforts seen in the stewardship of sites like Mount Vernon, Monticello, Montpelier, and Stratford Hall.

Structured with national officers including a President General, Vice Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer, the Order models governance similar to hereditary societies such as the Sons of the Revolution and the Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America. Leadership has included lawyers, bankers, and academic scholars from institutions like Georgetown University, George Washington University, Columbia University, Brown University, and University of Virginia. Annual meetings and triennial conventions are sometimes hosted in collaboration with museums such as the New-York Historical Society, American Philosophical Society, and state historical commissions in Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. The organization issues bulletins and proceedings akin to publications from the American Antiquarian Society and presents lectures drawing on scholarship from contributors to journals like the William and Mary Quarterly and The Journal of American History.

The Order sponsors commemorative events, patriotic observances, scholarly lectures, and preservation grants that have supported projects at Plimoth Plantation, Sturbridge Village, Historic Deerfield, and municipal preservation initiatives in Charleston, South Carolina and Salem, Massachusetts. Programs include archival fellowships modeled on awards from the American Council of Learned Societies and exhibition partnerships with the New-York Historical Society, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, and Winterthur Museum. The society participates in memorial ceremonies at Revolutionary-era sites such as Saratoga National Historical Park, Cowpens National Battlefield, Kings Mountain National Military Park, and Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. Educational outreach links to curricula developed by organizations like the National Park Service, Smithsonian Education, Teachinghistory.org, and local historical commissions.

Membership is male, by hereditary descent from early English Colonists who were progenitors of patriots in the American Revolutionary War. Applicants provide genealogical proofs similar to standards used by the Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Mayflower Society, citing wills, land grants, church records, and militia rolls found in repositories such as the British Library, Public Record Office (United Kingdom), County Record Offices (England), and colonial-era record collections. The Order’s regalia and insignia include badges, ribbons, and medals produced in the tradition of hereditary societies and comparable to decorations used by the Society of the Cincinnati and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Insignia are often displayed at meetings alongside portraits of ancestors similar to holdings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and private family collections documented in catalogues from the American Antiquarian Society.

The national headquarters located in Washington, D.C. serves as a coordinating center for records, library materials, and ceremonial functions, complementing regional chapters that maintain research files in state historical societies such as the Massachusetts Historical Society, Virginia Historical Society, Connecticut Historical Society, and New-York Historical Society. The Order has been involved in stewardship or supportive roles for commemorative plaques, monuments, and markers erected near sites like Plymouth Rock, Old North Church, Governor's Island, and Beacon Hill residences associated with colonial founders. Its activities intersect with preservation easements and partnerships common to entities such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, American Battlefield Trust, and Preservation Virginia.

Category:Hereditary societies of the United States Category:Organizations established in 1896