Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors
The Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors (HODCG) is a lineage society that restricts membership to individuals who can document direct descent from a colonial governor who served in British North America before 1776. This page covers the organization's eligibility framework, the documentation process applicants must navigate, typical qualifying scenarios, and the boundaries that distinguish this society from overlapping hereditary organizations. Understanding these boundaries is essential for genealogists and prospective members assessing whether a qualifying lineage exists within their family tree.
Definition and scope
The HODCG was founded in 1896 and operates as one of the more specialized entries within the American hereditary society landscape, which is broadly surveyed at the lineage society reference index. Its qualifying criterion — descent from a colonial governor — is narrower than societies requiring only colonial-era residency or military service. The society's scope encompasses governors of the original 13 colonies as well as governors of territories that became US states, provided that service predated the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Membership is open to men and women, making the HODCG distinct from gender-restricted counterparts such as the Colonial Dames of America, which limits membership to women. The organization is incorporated and maintains a national governance structure. Prospective members seeking broader context for how this society fits within the colonial-era lineage societies category will find that the HODCG occupies a specific niche defined by executive colonial office rather than military rank or simple residency.
According to the organization's own published records, the HODCG maintains a roster of recognized qualifying governors drawn from the colonial period. That roster functions as the authoritative reference for determining whether a claimed ancestor meets the threshold. Governors who served in proprietary, royal, or charter colonies are all potentially eligible; the key variable is documented tenure in executive office before 1776.
How it works
Admission to the HODCG follows a structured application process consisting of five discrete phases:
- Lineage identification — The applicant identifies a specific qualifying governor from the HODCG's approved governor roster and establishes a claimed line of descent from that individual.
- Documentary assembly — Each generational link in the descent chain must be supported by primary source documents: birth, baptismal, marriage, or death records that establish parent-child relationships without inferential gaps. (Vital records sourcing is critical at this stage.)
- Genealogical verification — The assembled lineage is reviewed by the organization's registrar or a designated genealogist. Errors or unsupported links result in rejection of specific generations, not necessarily the entire application.
- Sponsorship — Most hereditary societies of this type require the applicant to be sponsored by an existing member in good standing, though the HODCG's bylaws permit petition without a sponsor in certain circumstances.
- Approval and enrollment — Upon successful verification, the application proceeds to a governing board vote. Approved members receive a membership certificate and are assigned a membership number.
The lineage society application process follows conventions shared across comparable organizations, but the HODCG's specific requirement for gubernatorial lineage means that proving lineage for society membership demands records that often trace back 10 or more generations — a research depth that frequently requires professional assistance from accredited genealogists for lineage applications.
Common scenarios
Three scenarios account for the majority of HODCG applications:
Direct patrilineal or matrilineal descent from a well-documented governor. Governors such as William Bradford of Plymouth Colony and John Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay Colony appear in a substantial proportion of applications because their descendants are extensively documented in published genealogies. An applicant with colonial New England ancestry who has already compiled a DAR or SAR application (National Society Daughters of the American Revolution or Sons of the American Revolution) may find that partial lineage work already exists for HODCG submission.
Descent through collateral lines that converge on a qualifying governor. Not all descent lines are direct name-bearing lines. An applicant may descend through a daughter who married under a different surname, requiring the genealogist to bridge across surname changes across 8 to 12 generations.
Overlap with other colonial societies. An applicant qualifying for the Society of Colonial Wars or the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America may simultaneously hold qualifying lineage for the HODCG if an ancestor served as governor. Dual membership in multiple lineage societies is explicitly permitted and is common among applicants with well-documented colonial ancestry.
Decision boundaries
Several distinctions determine whether an ancestral line meets HODCG standards versus those of a related society:
Governor vs. lesser colonial official. Descent from a lieutenant governor, colonial assemblyman, or justice does not meet HODCG criteria. The qualifying office is specifically the governorship. This contrasts with broader-admission societies such as the Jamestowne Society, which requires only documented descent from a Jamestown settler rather than holding of a specific office.
Pre-1776 service cutoff. A governor who served only after July 4, 1776 — including state governors of the newly independent republic — does not qualify. Service must fall within the colonial period.
Territorial vs. provincial governors. Governors of territories that later became US states but were not among the 13 original colonies occupy an interpretive gray zone. The HODCG registrar makes case-by-case determinations based on whether the territory was administered under British colonial authority.
Documentation standards. The HODCG applies evidentiary standards consistent with those published by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) in its Genealogy Standards manual. Inferred or undocumented generational links are not accepted regardless of their plausibility.
Applicants facing rejection have recourse through a formal appeals procedure, detailed separately under lineage society rejection and appeals.