from an individual who conducted a tavern, inn, ordinary, or other type of

hostelry prior to 4 July 1776 (within any of the  the American Colonies that existed at that time).

The dates shown below correspond to the first settlements known to exist in their respective colonies. The first known colonial tavern was established in the year 1633/4 in Boston.

	Alabama 1719
	Florida 1763
	Louisiana 1714
	Mississippi 1699

There is no age restriction for members. Feel free to enroll your children and grandchildren!

In colonial times, taverns, inns, ordinaries, pubs, and other hostelries were usually kept in a person's home and no other building usually existed for this purpose. Therefore, the majority of these businesses as we think of them in that time probably did not have names. In smaller communities, "named" taverns probably was not the rule. In larger ones, however, often these businesses had names to distinguish them.

The key to establishing membership is proving that your ancestor was licensed by the local authority (usually the Colonial Court) to conduct the business of keeping taverns, inns, ordinaries, pubs, and other hostelries, or to sell spirituous liquors. The name of the establishment is not necessary. Brewers and distillers do not qualify unless they were also licensed taverners or innkeepers.

Application

You must complete our application form, providing your lineage to a verifiable qualifying ancestor. A copy of the documentation for each fact must be included. "Copy" means either a certified copy of a record or a photocopy of the original. DO NOT send original documents.

There is a life membership fee of $200 which includes a nonrefundable examiner's fee, our membership insigne, and a handsome membership certificate. There are no annual dues. After your membership  is established, we welcome supplementary applications to other qualified ancestors. The current fee for a supplemental submission is $50, which also includes a certificate. See our application instructions for proper payment procedure.