Edward Charles Horton was born in Passaic, New Jersey, to Alford Laurance Horton and Jean Patricia Ruehl. He is married to the former Joyce Rudolph and together they have four children Trevor Edward Horton, Meredith Blair Horton, MD, Devon Elizabeth Horton, and Connor Alec Horton. 

Ed holds B.A. degrees in Accounting and Economics from Rutgers University where he graduated magna cum laude. His career began as a Certified Public Accountant. He is partner in the Accounting and Advisory firm of Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP and former managing partner of the New Jersey office and member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Ed was the Founder and Managing Partner of Horton & Company, LLC and was the Former Chairman of the Board of Xicom, Inc.

Memberships

• Baronial Order of Magna Charta (Marshal)

• Military Order of the Crusades

• Descendants of the Templar Knights (Co-Founder)

• Order of the Crown of Charlemagne (Assistant Treasurer General)

• Order of the Merovingian Dynasty (Assistant Treasurer General)

• Society of Colonial Wars (Governor, NJ Society)

• Society of the Cincinnati

• Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (Deputy Governor General)

• Hereditary Order of the Descendants of Colonial Governors (Treasurer General)

• Society of Mayflower Descendants (Deputy Governor, NJ)

• Order of the Norman Conquest (Co-Founder; President General)

• National Society, Americans of Royal Descent

• Most Venerable Order of Saint Louis

• Order of the Crown in America

• Society, Sons of the Revolution (Board of Managers, NJ)

• Sons of the American Revolution (Past President, Abraham Godwin Chapter, NJ)

• Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry

• Order of the Three Crusades 1096-1192

• Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company

• Huguenot Society of America 

• Society of the Descendants of the Colonial Clergy

• National Society Descendants of Early Quakers

• National Society Saints and Sinners

• Order of Descendants of the Justiciars

• Order of Medieval Women (2nd Vice President)

• Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain (Royal Bastards)

• Flagon and Trencher Society

• Descendants of the Knights of the Bath

• Society of Descendants of Knights of the Garter

• Society of the Descendants of Washington’s Army at Valley Forge 

• General Society of the War of 1812

• Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War

• National Guild of Saint Margaret of Scotland

• Descendants of Cape Cod and the Islands

• Order of the Monarchs of Rheims (Recording Secretary)

• One Hundred Living Descendants of Blood Royal

Authorships

• An Additional Child for Thomas5 and Mary (Tinkham) Tripp of Dartmouth, New Bedford, and Fairhaven, Massachusetts – The Genealogist, Vol. 33, No. 2 (Fall 2019)

• John Walker of Hopkinton Massachusetts and Livermore Maine – The Encampment, Vol. 42, No. 2 (Summer 2019)

• Thomas Foster of Plymouth, Husband of Mary Morton – The Mayflower Descendant, Vol. 70, No. 1 (Winter 2022)

• The Ancestry of Mary Dodson, wife of Thomas Richmond of Freetown, Massachusetts – approved for publication in The American Genealogist (but as yet unpublished).

Other 

• Member of the Board of Directors of the Joseph Campbell Foundation

• New England Historic Genealogical Society

• Park Avenue Club

• Social Register

• Saint David’s Episcopal Church, Kinnelon, NJ

Sumner Gary Hunnewell, Jr. was born in Portland, Maine, to Sumner Gary Hunnewell and Shirley Ann Mayo. He is married to the former Sylvia Beatrice Richardson and together they have two children Sumner Tristan Hunnewell and Rachel Elanor Hunnewell. 

Sumner and his wife are members of St. John’s Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Arnold, Missouri.

He has a B.S. Mathematics/Computer Science from Central Missouri State University and a Master’s degree in Telecommunication Management from Washington University in St. Louis. He is retired from software support, development, and project management for Southwestern Bell/SBC/AT&T.

Memberships

• Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts

• Ancient Heraldic and Chivalric Order of Albion

• Welsh Society of Philadelphia

• St. Andrew's Society of Washington, D. C.

• St. George's Society of New York

• Society of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick of Philadelphia

• Society of the Sons of Saint George of Philadelphia

• Society of the Cincinnati [New Hampshire]

• Veteran Corps of Artillery State of New York

• Society of the War of 1812 in Maryland

• Military Society of the War of 1812

• Aztec Club of 1847

• General Society of the War of 1812 (Deputy President General)

• Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (Council-in-Chief)

• General Society Sons of the Revolution (past State President)

• Centennial Legion of Historic Military Commands

• Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (Past Department Commander)

• Huguenot Society of America

• South Carolina Huguenot Society

• National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (past Chapter Vice President)

• General Society of Colonial Wars (Deputy Governor General)

• Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States

• Colonial Society of Pennsylvania

• Order of Indian Wars of the United States (Chaplain General)

• Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (Asst. Secretary General)

• Society of the Second War with Great Britain in the State of New York

• General Society of Mayflower Descendants (Deputy Governor General)

• Baronial Order of Magna Charta (Surety, Class of 2028)

• Wing Family of America, Inc.

• Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry (Auditor General)

• Sons of Veterans Reserve

• John Libby Family Association

• Piscataqua Pioneers

• Stetson Kindred of America, Inc. (Vice President; National Registrar)

• Order of Descendants of Colonial Cavaliers (past Treasurer General)

• National Society Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims (Organizing Secretary General)

• Willard Family Association of America, Inc. (Director)

• Shapleigh Family Association

• National Society of Old Plymouth Colony Descendants

• United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada

• Sons of Spanish-American War Veterans

• Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford

• Friends & Descendants of St. George's (Descendants of Knights of the Garter) 

• Society of the Descendants of the Colonial Clergy

• Military Order of the Crusades

• Jamestowne Society

• Order of the Crown of Charlemagne in the United States of America

• Central Region Association Allied Orders of the Grand Army of the Republic (Past Commander)

• National Huguenot Society (Historian General)

• National Society of Sons of the American Colonists

• The National Gavel Society (Secretary)

• Dutch Colonial Society (Vice President General)

• Flagon and Trencher

• Thomas Rogers Society

• Son of a Witch (Treasurer General)

• Society of the Descendants of Washington's Army at Valley Forge (Brigade Liaison Officer; Missouri Brigade Commander)

• Elder William Brewster Society

• National Society Descendants of Early Quakers

• Clan Galbraith Society

• Descendants of Founders of New Jersey

• Reverend Robert and Sarah (Winter) Jordan Foundation, Inc.

• Hereditary Order of the First Families of Massachusetts (Deputy Governor)

• National Society Sons of Colonial New England

• Order of Descendants of the Ancient & Honorable Artillery Company (Honorary President General)

• Descendants of Mexican War Veterans (Graves Registration Officer)

• Plymouth Hereditary Society (Genealogist General)

• Descendants of the Knights of the Bath

• Order of the First Families of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (Governor General)

• La Société des Filles du roi et soldats du Carignan

• Sons and Daughters of the Colonial and Antebellum Bench and Bar

• Presidential Families of America (Chaplain General)

• Delmarva First Families (Chaplain)

• Clan Campbell Society (North America)

• National Society Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Planters 1607-1861

• Order of the First Families of Maryland

• Order of the First Families of Maine 1604 – 1652 (Honorary President General)

• Pilgrim Francis Cooke Society (Director-at-Large)

• Order of the Merovingian Dynasty

• Guild of Colonial Artisans and Tradesmen 1607-1783 (Corresponding Secretary)

• The Order of First Families of Connecticut 1633-1662 (past Historian General)

• Pilgrim Hopkins Heritage Society

• National Society of the Descendants of Textile Workers of America, Inc.

• Order of the First Families of New Hampshire 1622-1680 (Deputy President General)

• Order of First Families of Vermont 1609-1791

• National Society of Saints and Sinners

• Descendants of Sheriffs & Constables of Colonial & Antebellum America (Secretary General)

• Order of Descendants of the Justiciars (Chancellor of the Exchequer)

• Order of New England

• Society of Descendants of Lady Godiva (Godiva Gazette Editor; Count General)

• Descendants of Fossors (Chaplain/Editor)

• Clan Colquhoun International Society

• Military Order of Agincourt (Lieutenant)

• Descendants of Cape Cod and the Islands (past 2nd Vice President 2020-22)

• Descendants of Early Postmasters 1607-1900 (Honorary Postmaster General)

• Founders Fellowship

• Order of the Monarchs of Rheims (Registrar General)

• Descendants of Colonial Mothers 1607 - July 4, 1776 (2nd Vice President General)

• Order of the House of Wessex

• Order of Kings and Queens in the Holy Lands (Keeper of the Purse)

• Order of El Cid

• National Society Descendants of Colonial Indentured Servants (Honorary President General)

• Order of Descendants of Native Americans and Friends (Historian General)

• Order of the Sovereigns of Ancient Scandinavia (Chaplain General)

• Society of the 1704 Virginia Quit Rents (Councilor)

• Order of Miners 1607-1907 (Vice President General)

• Logan’s Brigade (Chaplain)

• First Families of Quebec (President General)

• National Society Founders of Places of Worship in America (1st Vice President)

• American Patrons of St. George’s and the Descendants of the Knights of the Garter

Authorships 

"A Doleful Slaughter Near Black Point: The Battle at Moore’s Brook, Scarborough, Maine, June 29, 1677," The Maine Genealogist (May and August 2003).

Editor

• The Herald (2024-), Baronial Order of Magna Charta

• The Passage (2020-), National Society Descendants of Colonial Indentured Servants

• Kindred Spirit (2024-), Stetson Kindred of America, Inc.

• Godiva Gazette (2023-), Society of the Descendants of Lady Godiva

• Bravely for Country (2016-), Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Missouri

• Missouri Compact (2018-), Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Missouri

• The Bulletin (2018-), Lewis & Clark Chapter, Jamestowne Society

• Newsletter of the Missouri Branch—National Society of Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims (2020-)

• The Bulletin (2023-), Order of Founders and Patriots of America

• PFA Gazette (2025-), Presidential Families of America

• Rest in Peace (2016-), Descendants of Fossors

Past Editor

• The 1812 War Cry (2020-2023), General Society of the War of 1812

• The Post Rider (2018-20), Descendants of Early Postmasters 1607-1900

• The Lighthouse (2021-22), Descendants of Cape Cod and the Islands

• The Circular (2020-22), Missouri Society, Sons of the Revolution

• Fletcher Camp Newsletter (2019-2023), Gen Thomas C. Fletcher Camp #47, Department of Missouri, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

• The Pilgrims Newsletter (2021-25), National Society Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims

Websites

• Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry 

• New England Societies: Hereditary Order of the First Families of Massachusetts, Order of the Descendants of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, Plymouth Hereditary Society, Order of the First Families of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Order of the First Families of Maine 1604-1652, The Order of First Families of Connecticut 1633-1662, Order of First Families of Vermont 1609-1791

• National Society Descendants of Colonial Indentured Servants 

• Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Missouri 

• Missouri Branch, Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims

Other

• St. Louis Mercantile Library (board member)

• Royal Society of Saint George

• Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels (Missouri Chapter Secretary)

• Company of Military Historians (chapter secretary)

• Scottish St. Andrew Society of Greater St. Louis (board member)

• Formerly played vintage baseball for the St. Louis Perfectos and Lafayette Square Cyclones.

• J. R. R. Tolkien fan historian, working with Marquette University to collect secondary Tolkien material.

Peter Irving Channing Knowles II, Captain USAR (Ret.) a twelfth generation Virginian, was raised in Richmond. He and his wife Brantley Carter Bolling Knowles have been married for over 50 years. They maintain residences in both Richmond and Palm Beach, Florida, where they are active in both communities. The Knowles have two sons, one grandson, and three granddaughters. His wife was President General, 2018-2021, of The Society, The Colonial Dames of America, founded in 1890. 

Mr. Knowles is a graduate of St. Christopher’s School (Richmond), was graduated from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 1970, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, and was a Distinguished Military Graduate. Mr. Knowles is a retired Captain in the United States Army Reserves. 

Mr. Knowles is a retired general contractor specializing in historic preservation. His early career began at Taylor & Parrish, INC (Richmond) which he later purchased, retiring in 2002 after selling the business. He has worked on or been a consultant to numerous iconic properties and historic churches throughout Virginia and the eastern seaboard from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. In addition, he has built numerous churches, hospital additions, and buildings for schools, universities, and clubs. 

Memberships 

• Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors (Governor General) 

• Society of the Cincinnati in State of Connecticut 

• General Society of Colonial Wars (Registrar General; member of the VA, DC, NY, FL Societies; former Governor of the Florida Society; Council Member of the New York Society) 

• National Gavel Society 

• Order of the Indian Wars of the United States (Former Commander) 

• Order of the First Families of Virginia 1607-1624/25 

• Jamestowne Society 

• Sons of the Revolution (Virginia Society) 

• Order of Descendants Colonial Cavaliers 

• National Order of the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe 

• Ancient Heraldic and Chivalric Order of Albion 

• One Hundred Living Descendants of Blood Royal 

• Descendants of the Knights of the Garter 

• Preservation VA (Former State President)

Chivalric Orders

The Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Bestowed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, II), Commander - North America Priory 

Other Notes 

Mr. Knowles is former board president of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA)/Preservation Virginia, the nation’s oldest statewide preservation group. He is also a former Trustee of the Historic Richmond Foundation, as well as a former Trustee of Saint Catherine's School (Episcopal), Richmond, Virginia. 

In Palm Beach, Mr. Knowles is a former board member of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, and a retired Commissioner in the Town of Palm Beach serving on the Architectural Review Commission. He has served on the Building and Grounds Committees of both Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (Richmond), as well as The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, Palm Beach. Mr. Knowles is also a former vestryman of Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (Richmond). 

Mr. Knowles has been a keen student of military history since his VMI years. He is particularly interested in the War of Independence and the period of Colonial Wars.  

Patricia Porter Kryder, the daughter of the late Marguerite Patricia Porter and George Monroe Kryder, Jr., was born in Akron, Ohio. She was married to Albert Franklin Ganier, III of Nashville, Tennessee, with whom she had three daughters, Patricia Porter Ganier Zone, Alice Anna Ganier Rolli, and Kathryn Kryder Ganier O’Connor.

Patricia is the great granddaughter of Lucy Hubbard White Williams and Judge William Brown Williams of Lapeer, Michigan. Lucy was active in the lineage societies in Michigan as early as 1901, when she was a member of the Louisa St. Clair Chapter (Detroit, Michigan) of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her parents were Enoch J. White and Elizabeth Worthington Gaylord, early settlers of Lapeer and the Michigan territory. Her grandmother was Martha Lamb White, coming from South Hadley, Massachusetts in 1833 as a widow with six young children to join her two sons, Enoch J. White and Jonathan Ripley White, who left Massachusetts in 1831 to build a new family home in the Michigan territory. Lucy was one of eight women to serve on the Board of the General Federated Women’s Clubs in 1910, and as its treasurer, in the movement towards the 19th Amendment. Judge Williams, recognized for his comprehension of the U.S. Constitution as a living document in Haynes v. Lapeer Circuit Judge, 201 Mich. 138; 166 N.W.938; 1918 Mich. LEXIS 719 (January 22, 1918, submitted (Calendar No,28,152); March 28, 1918, Writ Denied, gave advice to the ladies to enable Michigan to become one of the first three states to adopt the 19th amendment six days after being sent out to the states by Congress.

Patricia’s childhood education was in Akron schools, and thereafter she graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio with high honors in 1970, and secured certification to teach high school civics in Ohio. She was one of four women in the Vanderbilt University School of Law, Class of 1973, and then graduated from the University of Florida, School of Law Graduate Tax program with an LLM (taxation) in 1978. Patricia became the first woman partner of a major law firm in Nashville, Tennessee in 1982. She is licensed to practice law in Florida (1973), Tennessee (1974), The District of Columbia (1979), and is admitted to practice in all courts in Tennessee, the U.S. Tax Court, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, with a primary focus on tax planning and general business law, including non-profit 501(c)(3).

Memberships

• Daughters of the American Revolution (Recording Secretary General Francis Nash Chapter, Nashville Tennessee; member of the Nipissing Chapter, Lapeer, Michigan, Nipissing+-100th anniversary-2017; Great Grandmother-Lucy Hubbard White Williams, Founding Regent)

• National Society Colonial Dames of America+ (Registrar; Nashville Town Committee)

• Society of Mayflower Descendants- (Michigan Chapter+)

• Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors+ (Councillor General)

• National Society Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America (Michigan Chapter+)

• Order of the Crown in America+

• National Society Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede+ (Corresponding Secretary; Treasurer)

• Society of Descendants of Knights of the Garter+

+ Indicates Membership follows Great-Grandmother, Lucy Hubbard White Williams.

• Friends of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor (Descendant Member) 

• The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (Hereditary Descendant Member)

• Ancient Heraldic and Chivalric Order of Albion 

• National Order of the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe (Chancellor General)

• National Society Americans of Royal Descent

• Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry (Counselor)

• The National Society Guild of St. Margaret of Scotland (Founding Chancellor General)

• One Hundred Living Descendants of Blood Royal (Tennessee Regent)

• Order of the Monarchs of Reims (Regent)

• The Order of St. Denis (Founding Member; Vice-President)

• Order of the Crown of Charlemagne

• Dutch Colonial Society of Delaware (President)

• Jamestown Society (Council)

• National Society Sons and Daughters of Pilgrims (Counselor General)

• Order of Medieval Women: Women of Consequence (Founding Chancellor General)

• Order of Descendants of Colonial Cavaliers

• Presidential Families of America (Tennessee Regent)

• Governor William Bradford Family Compact

• The Alden Kindred of America

• National Society of the Dames of the Court of Honor

• Sons and Daughters of the Colonial and Antebellum Bench and Bar 1585-1861 (Chancellor General)

• Order of the First Families of Maine

• Order First Families of Maryland (Deputy Gov. SE-USA)

• National Society of New England Women (Tennessee Registrar)

• National Society Daughters of the American Colonists

• Descendants of Sheriffs & Constables of Colonial & Antebellum America (Chancellor General)

• Guild of Colonial Artisans and Tradesmen 1607-1783

• Order of the Descendants of the Justiciars (Chancellor General)

• The Continental Society Daughters of Indian Wars

• National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars

• The Order of Descendants of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Co, Inc. (Chancellor General)

• Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor

• Order of the First Families of New Hampshire (Chancellor General)

• National Society Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims (Chancellor General)

• Society of Middleton First Settlers Descendants

• Colonial Dames of America (Strategic Planning Committee)

• The National Gavel Society

• Plymouth Hereditary Society (Chancellor General)

• Society of Daughters of Holland Dames

• Hereditary Order of the First Families of Massachusetts (Chancellor General)

Other 

• Retired Master, Member Master Foxhounds Association of North America (MFHA) (Retired Master, Mells Foxhounds, Lynnville, Tennessee)

• Junior League of Nashville

• Sponsor, National Debutante Cotillion and Thanksgiving Ball, Washington D.C.

• St. George’s Episcopal Church, Nashville, Tennessee

• The Centennial Club, Nashville, Tennessee

Marilynn “Lynn” Alice Mast Long, a native of Flossmoor, Illinois, is the daughter of Maurene June Frey and Casper Leo Mast, Jr.   Maurene’s father was a 32nd degree Mason and also a Commander of the Englewood Commandery in Chicago.  He became a dedicated genealogist in his fifties, placed Lynn into C.A.R. when she was nine months old and transferred her into DAR when she was 22.  Lynn is married to Melvin Dwight Long, has three children, Jonathan, Laura, Richard, with grandchildren Alyssa, Melanie and Ryan living near them.   

Mrs. Long attended Denison University for two years and graduated from the University of Kentucky with an A. B. degree in Education.  While teaching in the elementary grades in the Homewood School District, she started graduate work at the University of Illinois where she met Mel. When Mel started a new job and they relocated, she retired from teaching.  After two more moves they settled in McHenry County, IL where they have been for forty-five years. Both enjoy many shared interests including travel, birding, gardening, reading and participated in activities with their grandchildren ranging from conservation, library programs, baseball and softball to C.A.R.

Memberships

• National Gavel Society

• Descendants of Sheriffs & Constables of Colonial & Antebellum America (Honorary President General; Founder; Nominating Committee Chair)

• Order of the Descendants of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company (Past Governor General)

• Continental Society Daughters of Indian Wars (former Nominating Chairman, former Reorganizing Historian)

• National Society Dames of the Court of Honor (Honorary National Trustee for life, former Curator General, former National Chairman Historical and Grave Marker, former Illinois State President, former Illinois State 1st Vice President, former State Trustee)

• Plymouth Hereditary Society (former Historian General, former Recording Secretary General)

• Order of the First Families of Rhode Island & Providence Plantations (former Historian General)

• Hereditary Order of the First Families of Massachusetts (Recording Secretary General)

• Order of the First Families of New Hampshire (former Founding Secretary General)

• First Families of Connecticut (former Councilor at Large; Charter Member)

• National Society Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims (former Illinois Branch Organizing Registrar)

• National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (former State Vice-Chairman, Honorary Chapter Regent; former 1st Vice Chapter Regent; former 2nd Vice-Chapter Regent; former Chapter Chairman)

• National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century (former National Meals and Reservations Committee Member, former State Chairman, former Chapter 1st Vice President, former Chapter Chairman)

• National Society New England Women (former Colony Historian)

• National Society Daughters of the Union 1861-1865 (former Chapter Director)

• National Society Children of the American Revolution (former Senior State Chairman, Senior Society Vice President, former Senior Society President)

• Flagon and Trencher, Descendants of Colonial Tavern Keepers

• Order of Descendants of Colonial Physicians and Chirurgiens 

• Illinois Cameo Society (Charter Member)

• Sons and Daughters of the Colonial and Antebellum Bench & Bar 1565-1861 (Charter Member)

• National Society Colonial Daughters Seventeenth Century, Inc.

• First Families of the Twin Territories

• Guild of Colonial Artisans and Tradesmen (Charter Member, Master Guilder)

• Hereditary Order Descendants Loyalists and Patriots of the American Revolution (Librarian General)

• National Society United States Daughters of 1812

• Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry

• National Society Sons and Daughters of Antebellum Planters 1607-1861

• Winthrop Society

• Sons and Daughters of the Province and Republic of West Florida

• Descendants of Old Plymouth Colony

• Presidential Families of America

• National Order of the Blue and Gray

• Hereditary Order of the Family of Presidents and First Ladies (former Chaplain General)

• National Society Descendants of Early Quakers

• National Society Daughters of American Colonists

• Jamestowne Society

• National Society Southern Dames of America

• Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors

• Colonial Dames of America

• Dutch Colonial Society (former Patroon)

• Descendants American House of Burgesses 1619-1699 (Charter Member)

• Registry of Infamous & Famous Relatives in American Families

• United Daughters of the Confederacy (Charter Chapter Member)

• Hereditary Society of Teachers (Charter Member)

• Sons and Daughters of the Founding Fathers of Virginia (Charter Member)

• Descendants of Fossors 1607-1860 (Charter Member)

• Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic (Illinois Circle, Charter Member)

• Descendant of Cape Cod and the Islands (Charter Member)

• Swedish Colonial Society

• Founders Fellowship (Co-Founder)

• Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865

• Descendants of Colonial Mothers (Founding Member)

• Descendants of Early Postmasters (Charter Member)

• Order of the Steel Magnolias (Charter Member)

• Order of the Descendants of Pirates and Privateers

• National Society Descendants of Colonial Indentured Servants (Founding Member)

• Order of the Descendants of Native Americans and Friends (Founding Member)

• National Society Descendants of American Farmers

• The IX

• Descendants of Miners (Founding Member, Miner General)

• Bacon’s Rebellion (Charter Member)

• Descendants of Continental Colonial Officers (Charter Member)

• Descendants of American Prisoners of War (Charter Member)

Other Notes

Lynn belongs to St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, is secretary of her road association, has been an Election Judge in national elections, been a room mother for the fourth and fifth grades, a volunteer in the office of the Johnsburg High School and a member of the Citizens Advisory Council of Johnsburg High School.  She is also a life member of the Friends of the Johnsburg Library.

Due to her interest in genealogy she was a Charter Member of the McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society, belongs to the McHenry County Historical Society, the New England Historic Genealogical Society and the Underhill Society.

Lewis L. “Ted” Neilson, Jr. was born in Bryn Mawr, PA to Lewis Levick Neilson and Caroline Reed Molthan. He is married to Carol Newhall Neilson and they have two daughters, Sarah Newhall Neilson and Anne Reed Neilson. His family resides in Villanova, PA.

His interest in genealogy and history continues a family tradition. His mother, Mrs. Caroline Reed Molthan (Neilson) (Wurts), did extensive genealogical research. His grandmother, Mrs. Winthrop Cunningham Neilson, was enrolled in the National Society Magna Charta Dames in 1929. His grandfather, Brigadier General Emil Henry Molthan, served as Commander of the Pa. Commandery, Military Order of Foreign Wars. His great grandfather, Lewis J. Levick, was a member of a number of hereditary societies including the Society of Colonial Wars and Colonial Society of PA.

Ted’s genealogical journey was inspired by a family collection of historical books and collections, primarily relating to early Quaker Ancestry in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He was enrolled in the Colonial Society of Pennsylvania, elected a member of Council and discovered an impressive community interested in its family history and the legacy of its ancestors. After having the privilege of leading several Societies, with the assistance of kind mentors, Ted was offered the opportunity in 1989 to continue the Old World Hereditary Societies. The initial challenge was the required conversion from written to digital membership records. The Societies are now thriving.

The Old World Societies provide a reminder of ancestral accomplishments inspiring a sense of responsibility to continue tradition. The culture of friendship and fellowship and successor members encourages participation; not only ancestral education but also reinforced family connections between recent generations.

A treasured experience was recognizing the 800th Anniversary of Magna Charta, standing where his ancestors stood, in 1215 and then 2025, and shaking the hand of Queen Elizabeth II a descendant of King John. Another treasured experience was serving as an Officer with the First Troop Philadelphia Cavalry, a unit which began service with George Washington upholding values from Magna Charta. Ted was mounted on horseback with the Troop in the inaugural parade for President Ronald Reagan.

Ted graduated from the Hotchkiss School, received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Babson College, received a J. D. from Delaware Law School of Widener University and received an L.L.M. in Taxation from Temple University. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar. He is a Lieutenant Colonel having served over 24 years in the Pennsylvania National Guard including 13 years as a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He initially served as an officer in the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry of which he is now a member of the Honorary Roll. Ted is a principal in the law firm of Stewart and Neilson in Wyndmoor, PA.

Memberships & Organizations With Founding Dates

• National Society Magna Charta Dames and Barons -1909 (Chancellor & CEO including the National Society Magna Charta Dames©- 1909 and Somerset Chapter Magna Charta Barons© -1932, Magna Carta 2015 800th Anniversary Committee Member)

• Plantagenet Society© -1902 (Chancellor)

• Sovereign Colonial Society Americans of Royal Descent© -1867 (Chancellor)

• Colonial Order of the Crown© 1890 (Chancellor)

• Order of Washington© -1895 (Chancellor)

• Society of Descendants of Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter© -1929 (Chancellor)

• National Gavel Society -1963

• Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati-1783

• Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (former Governor)

• Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Delaware (member of Council)

• General Society of Colonial Wars -1893 (Deputy Governor General from Pennsylvania and Deputy Chancellor General)

• Military Order of Foreign Wars -1894 (Past Commander General)

• Military Order of Foreign Wars -Pennsylvania Commandery (Past Commander)

• Colonial Society of Pennsylvania -1895 (former Governor)

• General Society Sons of the Revolution -1876 (former Board Member of the Pennsylvania Society -1888; Veteran Member of the Color Guard of the Pennsylvania Society)

• Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States -1865 (former Commander of the Pennsylvania Commandery)

• Welcome Society of Pennsylvania -1906 (former Director)

• Religious Society of Free Quakers -1781

• Military Order of World Wars -1919

• Society if the Sons of Saint George of Philadelphia -1772

• Saint Andrews Society of Philadelphia -1747

• Royal Society of Saint George -1894

• Colonial Order of the Acorn -1894

• Baronial Order of Magna Charta -1898

• Military Order of the Crusades -1934

Additional Memberships & Honors:

• First Troop Phila City Cavalry -1774 (Hon. Lt.)

• Magna Carta Trust (UK) (Trustee)

• Philadelphia City Institute Library -1852 (Past President & Current Manager)

• Admiral in the Texas Navy

• Colonel in the Commonwealth of Kentucky

• Lieutenant Colonel in the State of Alabama

• Pilgrims of the United States

• Penn Club

• Victory Services Club (UK)

Other

Ted’s additional commitment to public service and education includes one year as Chairman of the Special Gifts Section of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and four years, 2008 to 2012, as President the Philadelphia City Institute Library, founded in Philadelphia in 1852.

Laura Dean Ramsay is the daughter of the late Charles Alexander Dean and Mildred Eugenia Wall Dean. She is married to Erskine Ramsay, II and they have two sons and three grandchildren. The Ramsays maintain residences in Birmingham, Alabama and Cashiers, North Carolina.

Mrs. Ramsay, a sixth generation Alabamian, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Birmingham-Southern College. After graduation, she taught Art and English at The Altamont School before retiring to raise her children.

Memberships

• Colonial Dames of America (Registrar General)

• National Society Colonial Dames of America

• Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors (2nd Deputy Governor General)

• Ancient Heraldic and Chivalric Order of Albion

• National Order of the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe

• One Hundred Living Descendants of Blood Royal

• Order of the Crown in America

• Order of the First Families of Virginia 1607-1624/5

• National Society of Americans of Royal Descent

• Order of the Descendants of Colonial Cavaliers (Councilor 2018-2022)

• Order of the Merovingian Dynasty (3rd Vice President General)

• Order of the Crown of Charlemagne the United States of America (Recording Secretary General)

• Baronial Order of the Magna Charta (Surety Class of 2025)

• Order of the Three Crusades 1096-1192 (1st Vice President General)

• Descendants of Knights of the Garter (Secretary General 2020-2022)

• The Jamestowne Society (Alabama Governor 2020-2022)

• Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry

• Daughters of the American Revolution

• Guild of Colonial Artisans and Tradesmen 1607-1783 (Honorary President General 2017-2019)

• National Guild of St. Margaret of Scotland

• Sons and Daughters of the Colonial and Antebellum Bench and Bar (Secretary General 2016-2018)

• Order of the First Families of Maine (Former 2nd Vice President General; Former 1st Vice President General)

• First Families of New Hampshire

• First Families of Alabama

• Huguenot Society Founders of Manakin (Former Alabama President)

• The National Gavel Society

Other Notes

Additionally, Mrs. Ramsay serves on the Council of American Ancestors/New England Historic and Genealogical Society (NEHGS).