Who can join
Under the Society’s Articles of Incorporation, any bloodline descendant of Colonel John Page (1627–1692) and/or the Honorable Thomas Nelson (1677–1745), both of York County, Virginia, is eligible for membership once they establish their descent to the satisfaction of the Society’s Genealogist.
In all cases the burden of proof is on the applicant, and the proof must be positive, not conjectural.
Not a descendant? You can still support our work as a Friend of PNS. Contact us to learn more.
The Society is a 501(c)(3) organization; all dues and donations are tax-deductible.
How to apply
Download the application
The application is a fill-in PDF you can type into. Download the membership application (PDF).
Complete your lineage and gather proofs
Fill in every generation from you back to John Page or Thomas Nelson, following the instructions below.
Pay the $50 application fee
Use the “Pay application fee” button below. The fee also covers your first year of membership once you are approved.
Sign and email your application
Sign page 1 and email the completed application to contact@pagenelson.org. Our Genealogist will review it and be in touch.
Application instructions
- Provide all information requested on the application, if known and if it can be proven.
- Name, address (with the last 4 ZIP code digits), email, and phone must be complete.
- Show your name exactly as you wish it to appear in Society records.
- Lineage pages, starting at page 2, must be completed following customary procedures. Include full names, birth, death, and marriage information for both individuals in each generation of the claimed lineage.
- Write dates as 04 Sep 1637/8. Do not use numerals for months, and do not convert dates from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar.
- Use the 2-letter postal abbreviation for states, in capital letters (see usps.com for the list).
- Do not highlight; draw a red line under the pertinent information. Do not use staples.
- Cite authoritative sources. Published sources should follow the Chicago Manual of Style: author’s name, Name of Book or Other Published Source (City, State Published: Name of Publisher, Year), page numbers.
- Birth, death, and marriage certificates may be referenced simply as “BC”, “DC”, or “MC”. Do not describe what the documents contain; the Genealogist interprets them.
Acceptable genealogical proofs
Acceptable proofs include birth, death, and marriage certificates (or published forms of those records); federal and state population censuses after 1850 only; Social Security applications and death index transcripts; published tombstone transcriptions (no text from Find a Grave); photographs of tombstones with the name and location indicated on the photo; Bible records with a copyright page; wills; deeds; family histories documented with original source materials only; and most similar documents.
A copy of the title page is required from all published sources.
Before you send it
- Make sure you have signed your application on page 1.
- Make sure you have paid your application fee before sending your application.
Fees, dues, and gifts
All payments go through PayPal’s secure checkout. Pay with PayPal or any credit or debit card; no PayPal account needed. Prefer to pay by check? Mail it to The Page-Nelson Society of Virginia, PO Box 299, White Marsh, VA 23183-0299.