First State Society in the West

Organization Begun November 1904
Chartered 31 January 1906
Organized 21 April 1906
Incorporated 27 April 1906

Charter Members*

CO No.	Name	Transferred From
1	Mrs. W. S. Cheesman	NY (1897)
2	Mrs. C. B. Kountze	NY (1900)
3	Mrs. F. L. Woodward	NY (1897)
4	Mrs. J. L. Garner	PA (1897)
5	Mrs. Frank Turnbull	CT (1897)
6	Irene Seldomridge	DC (1899)
7	William K. McAllister	MA (1901)
8	Clifton Sharpe Thompson	MA (1897)
9	Sidney A. Sabin	CT (1897)
10	Joel Frederick Vaile	CT (1896)
11	Marion O. Barnes	DC (1899)
12	Sarah Adella Giddings	DC (1899)
13	Victor Clifton Alderson	IL (1896)
14	Allen Shaw Bush	CT (1903)
15	Edward Reynolds Steuart	NY (1905)
16	Horace Gray Lunt	IL (1904)
17	George T. Prince	MA (1900)
18	Durand Clarence Packard	IL (1905)
19	Joshua Freeman Grozier	DC (1902)
20	Margaret Alice (Packard) Taussig	IL (1905)
21	Rebecca Jeannette Welch	CT (1905)

* These families came out or were transferred to Colorado to help the development of the West.

The Colorado Society has had the honor of having three National Officers from Colorado so far:

• E. Roy Chesney, who served as Assistant Governor General from 1975 until his death in 1981
• George P Garmany Jr. M.D. is currently serving as Governor General beginning in 2017 and has also served as Surgeon General from 2008 to 2014 (two terms) and as Assistant Governor General from 2014 to 2017
• Elizabeth Gaudreau is serving as Treasurer General beginning in 2017

First Slate of Officers and Board of Assistants

Governor — Joel F. Vaile
Deputy Governor — Horace G. Lunt
Secretary — E. R. Steuart
Asst. Secretary — Margaret Packard
Treasurer — Mrs. C. B. Kountze
Historian — Victor C. Alderson
Elder — Rev. A. S. Bush
Captain — W. K. McAllister

Board of Assistants — Mrs. W. S. Cheesman, Mrs. J. L. Garner, Joshua Grozier, George T. Prince, Mrs. F. L. Woodward, Mrs. H. H. Seldomridge, Mrs. C. C. Welch

Numerous times through the years our Colorado state governors, by Executive Order, have proclaimed November 21st as Mayflower Compact Day.  They furnished us with a legal document bearing the Colorado state gold seal.  This was noted in our local newspapers.  We are privileged to have had several national officers as our main speakers at our Compact Day meetings.  We have made contributions regularly to the Five Generations Project in memory of deceased members.

Colorado, along with New Mexico and Wyoming Societies, hosted the General Board meeting in Denver in 1973.  This was only the second time where more than one society came together as a body to host the General Board meeting. 

Colorado has also hosted the General Board meeting in Denver in 2006 and will be hosting General Board meeting in Denver in 2019.  

ACTIVITIES OF THE COLORADO MAYFLOWER SOCIETY 
DURING THE 350th ANNIVERSARY YEAR

Both of our newspapers ran articles.

KBTV (Channel 9) program.  This station had a fifteen-minute broadcast presented twice on Thanksgiving Day, which was filmed and taped in one of the first grade classrooms of the Denver Public Schools.  This was the classroom of our State Secretary, Mrs. Helen M. Clark.  It included a discussion of the landing of the Pilgrims, the hardships on board the Mayflower and during the first winter, and the First Thanksgiving.  This station brought out many fine points regarding our wonderful heritage.  This was broadcast nationally.

KMYR-TV (Channel 6).  This educational channel had a story hour with children acting out the First Thanksgiving.

KOA-TV (Channel 4) carried the movie Plymouth Adventure.  Several churches were contacted by some of our members, being furnished with “The Mayflower Story”.  The ministers indicated they would incorporate this in some way in their sermons.

Several schools outside Denver were furnished with copies of the Compact and in the Secretary’s school all the fifth grader students were given copies.  Our school librarian had a fine bulletin board display and did much in her classes.

The Denver Public Library, Genealogy Department, had an outstanding display of books, pictures, dishes and glassware, spoons, figurines, the Colorado Charter, various medals and a replica of the Mayflower.  This display was there for six weeks and brought numerous phone calls and letters regarding membership in the Society.

Colorado Governor John A. Love proclaimed November 21, 1970, “Mayflower Compact Day in the State of Colorado”.  We were given a beautiful copy of this proclamation signed by the governor with the state seal.

The speaker at our annual dinner, November 21, 1970, was Dr. Donald D. Braden, formerly Associate Professor of History, U. S. Air Force Academy, now Director of Development, Frontier Boys Village, in Larkspur, Colorado.  Dr. Braden based his speech on “The Mayflower Story”.  In referring to the Compact, he brought out the importance not only of what it says, but what it implies, and what it inspired in the ensuing 350 years of world history.

Each new Junior Member is given a copy of “The Mayflower Story” with a bookplate bearing their name, Junior Number and date, which is accompanied by a letter of congratulations and a membership certificate.

We received a letter of praise from Edward E. Edgar (then Captain General) for our outstanding recognition in Colorado of the 350th anniversary.

COLORADO SOCIETY GOVERNORS

*Joel Frederick Vaile…………………………………………………. 1906
*William Kossuth McAllister………………………………. 1907-1912
*Joel Frederick Vaile………………………………………… 1913-1916
*Mrs. Jane Olivia Cooper…………………………………………… 1917
*Dr. Victor C. Alderson (Acting)………………………………….. 1918
*James Henry Brewster…………………………………….. 1919-1920
*Mrs. Claude M. Taussig…………………………………… 1921-1922
*Judge John Foster Symes……………………………….. 1923-1924
*Mrs. Edwin S. Kassler, Sr…………………………………………. 1925
*Dr. Victor C. Alderson………………………………………. 1926-1927
*Judge John Foster Symes……………………………….. 1928-1934
*Alfred Barnes Bell……………………………………………. 1935-1939
*Irving Hale, Jr……………………………………………….. ….1940-1943
*Paul Baxter Lanius…………………………………………… 1944-1948
*John F. Ryland………………………………………………… .1949-1950
*Raymond Hough, Sr………………………………………… 1951-1952
*Mrs. Burton A. Smead…………………………………….. .1953-1954
*Gordon M. Connelly…………………………………………. .1955-1956
*Raymond Hough, Sr………………………………………………….. 1957
*Merritt H. Perkins………………………………………….. …1958-1959
*George E. Tarbox, Jr………………………………………………… 1960
*Mrs. Virginia Hardin Stearns…………………………………….. 1961
8*Burton A. Smead, Jr………………………………………….. 1962-1963
*Sarah Rachel Isbell……………………………………………. 1964
*Mrs. Wesley M. Shaw……………………………………………….. 1965
*E. Roy Chesney……………………………………………….. 1966-1967
*George C. Edgerly, Jr………………………………………. 1968-1969
*Bruce Hough Dixon………………………………………………….. 1970
*Mrs. J. Herschel White…………………………………….. 1971-1973
*Henry W. Hough……………………………………………………….. 1973
*Mrs. Smead Rose…………………………………………………….. 1974
*Mrs. John L. Farris……………………………………………. 1974-1975
*Ross Byron Johnson………………………………………….. 1975-1977
*Mrs. Perle L. Holloway………………………………………..1977-1978
*H. Bond Badgley………………………………………………. 1978-1980
*Frederick A. Thornton…………………………………………1980-1982
*Mrs. Mary Louise Johnson…………………………………..1982-1984
*Joseph C. Weber……………………………………………… 1984-1986
*Mrs. Warren J. Kelley……………………………………….. 1986-1988
Clarence L. Bixler, Jr………………………………………….. 1988-1990
*Raymond M. Freeman……………………………………….. 1990-1992
Mrs. James O. Cole……………………………………………. 1992-1996
*Joseph C. Weber………………………………………………. 1996-1998
*Mrs. Gladys Gallagher………………………………………… 1998-2000
George P. Garmany, MD…………………………………….. 2000-2002
Don E. Wilson, MD……………………………………………..2002-2004
Paul D. Kilburn, PhD……………………………………………2004-2006
George P. Garmany, MD………………………………………2006-2008
John F. Cook, Esq……………………………………………….2008-2011
Beverly Spooner…………………………………………………..2011-2014
Michelle Brown……………………………………………………2014-2017

*Deceased

The Colorado Society actively participated in the 375th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower.  We sponsored one of the regiments marching in the parade and two Board members attended the festivities and swearing-in ceremony, Governor Susan Cole and Assistant Secretary Emily S. Palmer.  Governor Cole, as a costumed Pilgrim, escorted one of the 102 new citizens to the ceremony.