Since her retirement, trauma surgeon Dr. Kimberly Ormsby Nagy, MD, AG, has embraced genealogy and lineage societies as her “second career”. She joined the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1980, and is today a member of 80 lineage organizations. She has served as an officer in several of them including in the role as Registrar, where she helped people prepare applications and evaluated others submitted for membership. Dr. Nagy has lectured on lineage societies to local, regional, and national organizations.
This new guidebook, The Complete Guide to Lineage Societies, is an outgrowth of Dr. Nagy’s decades of participation in lineage organizations. In the process she clears up some common misconceptions about them, like the impression of lineage societies as groups of little old ladies, sitting around in their fancy hats and drinking tea. In fact, there is so much more to societies and their activities.
In essence, Dr. Nagy has written an A to Z guide to lineage societies. She begins with a description of what they have in common, what they aim to do, how to find the right society for yourself, and the various eligibility requirements. The next part of the book explains what’s involved in becoming a member. This entails a detailed treatment of the application process, including how and where to go about assembling the genealogical evidence for membership. Rounding out the volume are examples of the social, cultural, and patriotic activities undertaken by lineage societies
While this book cannot address every society, Dr. Nagy provides numerous examples of active lineage societies in Appendix A, with brief descriptions of their membership requirements and contact information. There is also a bibliography of sources. The Complete Guide to Lineage Societies is available in both black and white and color print editions.
It is Dr. Nagy’s hope that this book will help the reader learn about the variety of societies in existence and their stated purposes, and that it can demystify them so that more people are encouraged to join the society of their choice.
