Boston Tea Party Ships And Museum Launches Descendants Program

BOSTON, MA — Descendants of the Boston Tea Party patriots will be able to join a lineage society honoring their ancestors for the first time ever. The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum is starting the program in partnership with the New England Historic Genealogical Society, according to a statement.

The announcement comes during the celebration of the 250th anniversary year of the Boston Tea Party, a 1773 political protest against English rule that occurred at Griffin's Wharf. The Boston Tea Party Descendants Program will allow anyone with a family tree connection to an ancestor that took part in the historic event to join, with all research vetted by experts at American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society.

“We are thrilled to create this first-ever Boston Tea Party descendant online portal of America’s first patriots,” Executive Director for the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum Shawn Ford said in a statement. “It is our hope to educate, inspire, and make genealogical connections to those who participated in the Boston Tea Party."

One feature of the program will be a digital portal that members will help build through their contributions in the form of family papers, documents from other genealogical organizations, etc.

The program will maintain digital records of all submitted applications with accompanying documentation and will continue to grow into an online resource for descendants, their families, researchers, and organizations.

Applications for membership in the program will be vetted by full-time professional genealogists at the American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society. Each application will be reviewed for genealogical integrity and historical accuracy before membership is approved.

Those interested can apply to the Boston Tea Party Descendants Program for an initial fee that includes processing and vetting. Once accepted to the program, depending on the qualifying ancestor, members will be invited to join one of two tiers: Lineage Member and Eyewitness to History.

Those who do not have ties to Boston Tea Party ancestry but are interested in the program can join the Co-Conspirator tier.

More information on the application process is available at the museum's website.