“Any man shall be eligible for membership in this Society who ..  is the lineal descendant of an ancestor  who was at all times unfailing in loyalty to and rendered active service in the cause of American independence, either as an  officer,  soldier, seaman, marine, militiaman or Minuteman, in the armed forces of the Continental Congress,  of any one of the several Colonies or States; or as a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, or as a member of a Committee of Safety or Correspondence; or as a member of any Continental, Provincial, or Colonial Congress or Legislature; or as a recognized patriot who performed actual service by overt acts of resistance to the authority of Great Britain.”

National Society SAR, 1000 South Fourth Street,
Louisville KY 40203      http://www.sar.org/
 

Flagon & Trencher: Descendants of
Colonial Tavern Keepers

Those who can prove direct descent from a person conducting a tavern, inn, ordinary or other type hostelry prior to 4 July 1776.

Flagon & Trencher, c/o Mrs.  Barbara Smith
850A Thornhill Ct, Lakewood NJ 08701
 

The Society of Mayflower Descendants

Descendants of passenger on  the Mayflower voyage of 1620 that terminated on the shores of New England at Plymouth
 

Florida Mayflower Society: Margaret H. Stover
1212 Yachtsman Lane,  Punta Gorda FL 33983-5929
http://www.mayflower.org/

Daughters of the American Revolution

 Any woman is eligible for membership who is no less than eighteen years of age and can prove lineal, blood line, descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence. She must provide documentation for each statement of birth, marriage and death.

The National Society accepts service, with some exceptions, for the period between 19 April 1775 (Battle of Lexington) and 26 November 1783 (withdrawal of British Troops from New York), as follows:

   Signers of the Declaration of Independence
   Military Service, such as participation in
 Army and Navy of the Continental Establishment
 State Navy
 State and Local Militia
 Coast Guard and Privateers
 Military or Naval Service performed by French nationals in the American theater of war
   Civil Service (holding office under authority of the Provisional or new State Governments) such as:
   State Officials
   County and Town Officials (Town Clerk, Selectman, Juror, Town Treasurer, Judge, Sheriff, Constable, Jailer, Surveyor of Highways, Justice of the Peace)
  Patriotic Service, which includes:
 Members of the Continental Congress, State Conventions and Assemblies
 Membership in committees made necessary by the War, including service on committees which furthered the cause of the Colonies from April 1774, such as Committees of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety, committees to care for soldier's families, etc.
 Signer of Oath of Fidelity and Support, Oath of Allegiance
 Members of the Boston Tea Party
 Defenders of Forts and Frontiers, and Signers of petitions addressed to and recognizing the authority of the Provisional and new State Governments
 Doctors and nurses and others rendering aid to the wounded (other than their immediate families)
 Ministers who gave patriotic sermons and encouraged patriotic activity
 Furnishing a substitute for military service
 Prisoners of war or refugees from occupying forces
 Prisoners on the British ship Old Jersey, or other prison ships
 Service in the Spanish Troops under Galvez or the Louisiana Militia after 24 December 1776
 

 Service performed by French nationals within the
colonies or in Europe in support of the American cause
 Those who rendered material aid, such as furnishing supplies with or without remuneration, lending money to the Colonies, munitions makers, gunsmiths, etc.

Local Contacts:
 Orlando Chapter: Estelle Griffith  (407) 834-8049
 Wm. Duval Chapter (Winter Park):
  Elizabeth Malchow (407) 628-9609
 

And if your relatives were less distinguished (and perhaps more interesting), you may want to check on:

International Black Sheep  Society
of Genealogists (IBSSG)   “includes all those who have a dastardly, infamous individual of public knowledge and ill-repute in their family...within 1 degree of consanguinity of their direct lines. This individual must have been pilloried in disgrace for acts of a significantly anti-social nature.”  (Internet only as far as I can see)    http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~blksheep/

 The purpose of the list is to discuss these individuals in order to learn more about them and share information about your "Black Sheep" with other members of the IBSSG!  If you have discovered in your family lines an individual who has been ostracized from the family or society for acts that are not acceptable in polite society, then you may qualify for membership in the IBSSG. (If the person was married to a direct ancestor that also qualifies.)  Weirdness counts. The public knowledge of these circumstances enhances the possibility of finding more about these ancestors.

Acts of automatic qualification are:

Murder   Kidnaping
Treason   Armed Robbery
Political Assassin Political Expatriate
Theft of any item of fame
Member of the FBI's Most Wanted List
Membership in a famous gang, well documented
Extreme Public Embarrassment
Involvement in Witchcraft Trials
Bigamy (outside the Mormon faith, which condoned it at one time)
Persons expelled from normal society
Convicted felons (documented)