South Dakota Mayflower Society
NEWSLETTER
OFFICERS
Governor: Randy Oliver
randy@olivierrealestate.com
Deputy Governor: Casey Peterson
casey@caseypeterson.com
Secretary: Tammy Bourne
tammybourne16@gmail.com
Treasurer: Cynthia Nelson
cynthianelson97@gmail.com
Historian: Robin Fansler
rdfansler@gmail.com
October 2023
GREETINGS FROM YOUR GOVERNOR
I would like to thank you again for electing me as Governor of this Society. I
have been a lifelong follower of The Mayflower and my ancestor, Captain Myles
Standish, because my mom and grandma were always telling multi-generational
stories. And every Memorial Day weekend we would always tour the various,
local, ancestral gravesites as a reminder of where we came from. Honoring our
ancestors
I have had some great conversations in this first year with multiple members
as well as officers and the common string is the desire to learn and share and
improve our ancestry knowledge and how the Society can help with that process.
As we move into 2024, we want to look at improving our website, making it more
interactive, and beginning the process of archiving our newsletters so that they
last for generations to come! We have also started discussions about inclusion of
more members; many states currently have “colonies.” When I visit state Society
governors who have colonies within their state, it’s all second-hand nature to
them and an easy yes when asked if it increases membership and membership
participation.
The other important piece I listened to from my membership conversations
was that not every member knew a lot about their Mayflower ancestor(s). Maybe
their mom signed them up as a junior member and the annual subscription was
always paid, but little participation on specific ancestral name(s) were ever
presented as an option. I would like to see a collaboration program where we
link members who need help with getting to know their ancestors. So much can
happen with this improvement! And then capturing family stories into the
newsletter or even a family stories archive so that they survive the verbal
conversations! This will be on our agenda this year at our annual meeting:
ANNUAL MEETING will take place on Saturday, October 7, 2023 at the
Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center at Cedar Shore at 1500 Shoreline Drive,
Oacoma, SD in Chamberlain, South Dakota. The start time will be 10:30am
Mountain Standard. Rooms can be reserved by calling the hotel at 605-234-6376
and indicating to them that you are with the South Dakota Mayflower Society.
MEETING AGENDA will include the typical old business, new business, and
then listening in to Carter and Colin Weiss talk about their recent trip to Mass.
And what the atmosphere looks like for the larger organization. We will have
lunch at noon and give a full hour for eating and conversation. When we all come
back together, we will talk about our plans for 2024 and 2025: community
involvement, website improvement, how to improve our membership involvement
and participation, committees, and family round table discussions. My goal as
your governor is to hear your voice.We want to move to two events a year and
even consider a couple of colonies by 2024 or 2025! Please let me know if you
have a story to share or if you would like to be more involved.
Governor Randy Oliver
www.sdmayflower.org
 IN MEMORIAM WELCOME ABOARD!
Bruce Harris Allen New Members
B. 18 Feb 1931 August 2022-October 2023
D. 8 Dec 2022 Nina Marie Akin Jayson Robert Liddle
Elected to State Society: 1 Oct 1999 Elected to State Society: 10 Feb 2023 Elected to State Society: Jan 2023
Descendant of: William White Descendant of: William Brewster Descendant of: William White
Duance C. Anderson Joshua “Josh” Michael Bourne Michael Gordon Minehart
B. 17 Oct 1930 Elected to State Society: 6 Jan 2023 Elected to State Society: 30 Aug 2022
D. 27 Oct 2022 Descendant of: James Chilton Descendant of: John Alden
Elected to Society: 21 Jun 2013 Peter John Burckhard Thomas Sylvester Morgan
Descendant of: George Soule Elected to State Society: 4 Nov 2022 Elected to State Society: 30 May 2023
Shirley Mae (Giles) Drake Descendant of: Stephen Hopkins Descendant of: William White
B. 2 Sep 1927 Linda Elaine (Bick) Oster
Tracy Irene Clark
D. 19 Jul 2022 Elected to State Society: 17 Mar 2023
Elected to State Society: 17 Mar 2023
Elected to Society: 22 Mar 2007 Descendant of: Francis Cooke
Descendant of: John Howland
Descendant of: John Billington
Katherine “Kate” Astrid Davis Mary Beth (Kervin) Prouty
Judy Kay (Davis) Flanagin Elected to State Society: 3 Feb 2023
B. 1 May 1940 Elected to State Society: 4 Nov 2022
Descendant of: Richard Warren Descendant of: Stephen Hopkins
D. 16 Aug 2013
Elected to Society: 30 Jan 1984 Stephen Van Duzen Davis Mary Margaret (Lauseng) Redlin
Descendant of: George Soule Elected to State Society: 3 Feb 2023 Elected to State Society: 14 Jul 2023
Descendant of: Richard Warren Descendant of: William Brewster
Byron Royce Hawley
B. 7 Oct 1937 Vickie Lynn (Weerheim) Gantenbein Sharion Ann (Epperson) Rosander
D. 10 Nov 2022 Elected to State Society: 9 Dec 2022 Elected to State Society: 6 Jan 2023
Elected to Society: 26 Oct 2015 Descendant of: Samuel Fuller Descendant of: James Chilton
Descendant of: Francis Cooke Carol Elizabeth (Cook) Geu Barbara Jo (Slagle) Schild
Elected to State Society: 30 Aug 2022 Elected to State Society: 23 Sep 2022
RESIGNATIONS 2022-2023 Descendant of: William Bradford Descendant of: James Chilton
Jana Lynn (Clark) Hargreaves Andrew R Schribner
Beverly Monson Elected to State Society: 13 Dec 2022 Elected to State Society: 9 Dec 2022
Brett Allen Monson Descendant of: William Bradford Descendant of: Francis Cooke
Gary Monson
Shirley Girard Linda Kay (Vincent) Johnson Evelyn Ruth (Chell) Tobin
Janice Ver Mulm Elected to State Society: 21 Oct 2022 Elected to State Society: 16 Sep 2022
Descendant of: John Alden Descendant of: Richard Warren
Register for the Annual Meeing today! Mail Richard Warren Vincent
your check in the amount of $30 [for you and Elected to State Society: 21 Oct 2022
each guest] to: Descendant of: John Alden

Cyndi Nelson, Treasurer SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATIONS

South Dakota Mayflower Society
1346 Galveston Ave Abigail June (Fink) Dathe Ricki Joan Harrington
Descendant of: Francis Eaton, Degory Descendant of: James Chilton
Hot Springs SD 57747 Priest, and James Chilton
Cynthia Lynn (Frailing) Nelson Kelli Lynn (Feltis) Huwer
Please provide the name(s) of each person who Descendant of: Joan Hurst
Descendant of: John Howland
will be attending. Or, you may register by
emailing the information to Tammy Bourne
(tammybourne16@gmail.com) and then making
payment when you arrive to the meeting.

In the early days of New England, the dead were silently

laid to rest without prayers of any kind. The first known
funeral sermon in this country was delivered in Duxbury
in 1697 when Pastor Ichabod Wiswall officiated at the
burial of Captain Jonathan Alden, son of John and
Priscilla Alden. The oldest memorial stone marks the
grave of Captain Jonathan Alden, his father John was
also among the last survivors of the Mayflower
passengers dying in 1687.
 FROM YOUR SECRETARY FROM YOUR TREASURER
Hi Cousins, Greetings to all!

I hope you are all doing well. My name is Tammy Bourne and It’s Annual Dues time once again! For those paying
I have been serving as the secretary since October 2022. I live annually, make your $60.00 check payable to the “South
in Whitewood, South Dakota, and have been married to my Dakota Mayflower Society and send to:
husband Fred for over 30 years. We have two children - Josh
and Jacob. Sadly, Jacob passed away in December 2022, and Cyndi Nelson, Treasurer
our family is grieving his loss. This has been a hard road to South Dakota Mayflower Society
travel, and we miss him fiercely. 1346 Galveston Ave
Hot Springs SD 57747
Aside from my role as secretary, I am also a teacher, but I
decided to take some time off this year to focus on my Life Members may consider mailing donations to the same
passion for genealogy. I am actually taking a class through address. Or, feel free to make your payments to me in
Boston College this Fall to become certified in genealogy, person during the Annual Meeting.
which I am really excited about. I hope my newfound
knowledge will enable me to help others learn about their Thank you so much!
family history too.
Blessings,
On a happy note, my oldest son Josh lives in Spearfish, South
Dakota with his wife Cameron and my adorable grandson Cyndi
Fisher. Fisher just turned two and he brings so much joy to
our family.
South Dakota Mayflower Society
I am looking forward to seeing some of you in October at
our annual meeting. Please excuse me if I make any mistakes 09/30/2022 Beginning Balance 17,105.98
along the way as I am still learning the ropes of this position. Income
2023 Dues Paid 4,140.00 21,245.98
Take care and talk to you soon. 2023 Dues Paid 120.00 21,365.98
2022 Annual Meeting 767.00 22,132.98
Best regards, New Life Members 2,520.00 24,652.98
Junior Members 35.00 24,687.98
Tammy Bourne Donations 250.00 24,937.98
Application Fees 2,400.00 27,337.98
Suppliemental Fees 600.00 27,937.98
TELL YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT Account Interest 35.93 27,973.91

THEIR ANCESTORS Expenses

(248.50) (248.50)
Food for Annual Meeting
GSMD Certificates/Postage (175.02) (423.52)
They arrived in November, when the weather was against Marti Bobertz-Historian Expenses (138.50) (562.02)
them. At different times, three exploration parties went GSMD - Member Dues (10,355.00) (10,917.02)
out on Cape Cod to determine the best place to settle; they GSMD - PrePay (1,675.00) (12,592.02)
would walk for miles, and as a result, the men became sick.
They would spend days in the icy rain, cold temperatures 08/31/2023 Balance 15,381.89
and snow, with no shelters or dry clothes. As a result, their
rate of death was high. CorTrust Bank CD (08/12/24) 12,226.85

When scrolling through the short profiles of the

passengers you will often see the words “died the first HELP US KEEP YOUR INFO UP-TO-DATE
winter of 1620/21.” Half of their numbers perished the Always remember to notify Tammy of mailing address
first winter. Particularly heartbreaking are the families who changes, email address updates, or new telephone
perished – The Tinkers, Turners and Tilleys; those numbers. Her email address is:
orphaned – Mary Chilton, Samuel Fuller, Priscilla Mullins tammybourne16@gmail.com. Why not share your
and Elizabeth Tilley. information now to make sure our records are current?