Part One

BYLAWS

ARTICLE 1

NAME

The name of this Society shall be Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Georgia. It is a branch of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

ARTICLE 11

OBJECTS

The objects of this Society shall be:

Section 1. To perpetuate to a remote posterity the memory of our Pilgrim Fathers. To maintain and defend the principle of civil and religious liberty as set forth in the Compact of the Mayflower, "For the glorie of God, and advancemente of the Christian faith and honor of our countrie."

Section 2. To cherish and maintain the ideals and institutions of American freedom, and to oppose any theories or actions that threaten their continuity. To transmit the spirit, the purity of purpose and steadfastness of will of the Pilgrim Fathers to those who shall come after us, an undiminished heritage of liberty and law.

ARTICLE 111

MEMBERSHIP

Section l. All persons over eighteen years of age who are descended from a passenger on the Mayflower on the voyage which terminated at Plymouth, New England, in December, 1620, shall be eligible for membership; provided however, (a) that no person shall be eligible for membership - Regular or Life - who is pledged to or advocates the overthrow, by force or violence, of the Government of the United States, or that of any State or Territory; or who has been guilty of other treasonable practices.

Section 2. A Life Member is any member in good standing who shall have attained the age of sixty (60) years and who shall have paid to the State Society Treasurer the fee as set by the Board of Assistants, payable in a single payment. Such payment shall exempt the Life Member from payment of subsequent annual dues. A Life Member accepted prior to April 1994 shall be exempt from further dues. A transfer of Life Membership from the Georgia Society to another state society is prohibited. If after a reasonable search (two years) a Life Member cannot be located by the State Society, that Life Member shall be removed from the Society's rolls.

Section 3. Every application for membership in this Society shall be made on a preliminary application blank provided by the historian. Such application shall bear the autograph signatures of the candidate and two members of the Society, in good standing, who shall vouch for the applicant.

Section 4. Any applicant for membership in this Society, who shall make a request through the State Historian for a copy of any lineage paper or copies of documentary proofs in the office of the Historian General, shall be given information by the State Historian on proper procedure for the applicant to follow in securing this information directly from the office of the Historian General. Said fees for this information shall be paid by the applicant to the General Society through the Historian General.

Section 5. After the preliminary application has been approved, the lineage papers shall be issued. If the lineage papers are not filled out in duplicate and filed with the Society within twelve (12) months after the approval of the preliminary application, such application shall become void. However, an extension of time may be granted by the Board of Assistants. If the formal application is rejected by the General Society, the applicant may receive a refund of up to fifty percent of the current application fee.

Section 6. Any member may hold membership in more than one State Society, and, if so, shall be eligible to represent such State Societies as a delegate to a General Congress.

Section 7. Members of other State Societies residing in the State may become active members of this Society under the provisions for Regular Members, except that payment of the entrance fee shall be waived.

Section 8. Any member who can trace descent from more than one Mayflower ancestor or more than one line from any Mayflower ancestor, may file supplemental lines of descent, but shall pay a lineage paper examination fee set by the Board of Assistants, plus the General Society assessment, for each supplemental line so filed.

Section 9. Any member may resign from the Society on giving written notice to the Corresponding Secretary, provided the member's dues, including annual dues for the current year, are paid.

Section 10. The name and record of ancestry of each member who died in good standing shall be forever retained in the books of the Recording Secretary and Historian. The historian shall keep the records of deceased members for six (6) years.