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Membership Eligibility

The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America is made up of 44 Corporate Societies in 43 states and the District of Columbia, which is the Domicile Society, with more than 15,200 individual members nationwide. Membership is handled at the state level and is based on lineage and dedication to the Society’s mission.

The NSCDA Constitution, Article III, sets forth the eligibility of members as follows:

MEMBERSHIP. The Corporate Societies shall be composed entirely of women who are descended in their own right from some ancestor of worthy life who, residing in an American colony, rendered efficient service to his country during the Colonial period, either in the founding of a State or Commonwealth, or of an institution which has survived and developed into importance, or who shall have held an important position in a Colonial government, or who by distinguished services, shall have contributed to the founding of our nation.

DATE OF ANCESTOR’S SERVICES. All services which constitute a claim to membership must have been rendered before July 5, 1776, but this date shall be held to include all signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Article V,  Section 4, further explains the Corporate Societies role: The members of the Corporate Societies of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America at the date of the certificate of incorporation of the Corporate Society shall be elected members of the corporation at the first meeting of the said Society subsequent to the incorporation, and thereafter no person shall be a candidate for admission unless invited and proposed by one member and seconded by another member of the Society, to both of whom the candidate must be well known, and by whom she shall be recommended. The Board of Managers of each Corporate Society may decide whether to accept a candidate proposed by a member of another Corporate Society.

Additional information is found in Acts in Council, Article XIII, Corporate Societies:

SECTION 1. Admission to Membership. a. A candidate for admission to a Corporate Society shall be proposed and seconded by any two members of the local Society. A candidate may also be proposed by a member of another Corporate Society if the Board of Managers of the receiving Corporate Society approves. Each of the 44 Corporate Societies may have other requirements for candidacy including that a prospective candidate be well known to several members of their Corporate Society Board.