NSDCIS: History and Officers

about THE nsdcis

The idea of the National Society was proffered by Sumner Hunnewell to Janet Walker and Robin Towns at the inaugural dinner of the Order of the Monarchs of Rheims held on the evening of April 14, 2018, at the Army-Navy Club in Washington, D. C. It was thought that this was a unrepresented population in the hereditary society community.

Many of our ancestors arrived in the New World with very few possessions and the burden of having to serve for years in an unknown country. However, their servitude could be rewarded with a combination of money, livestock, or land: certainly with the hope of a better life than what they were leaving in the Old World.

We hope that we not only preserve our ancestors' record of servitude but also appreciate their hardships as they faced an uncertain future.

Our charitable giving

Our National Society is an IRS 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Over the last year, our Society has supported the efforts of the Pemberton Hall Foundation in Salisbury, Maryland. Pemberton Hall was built by Isaac and Anne Handy. Isaac was the son of once indentured servant, Samual Handy, who became a ship owner and possessed over 2000 acres of land.

The NSDCIS has also donated to Wreaths Across America.

The Passage

Our Society publishes a yearly bulletin, The Passage. The table of contents for each issue follows.

Number 1 (February 2020)

A Note from the President General Sumner Hunnewell
Albert(us) Hendricks(on): The Gambling Dutchmen among the Swedes Carol Cleveland
Joseph Royall: Indentured Servant in Virginia, 1622 Cheryl Bloodworth Aultman
Pemberton Hall
Indentured Servitude in Colonial America: Program for the 1st Annual Meeting Janet Butler Walker
Directory Updates
National Society Descendants of Colonial Indentured Servants: Meeting Minutes Jane Routt Power
Call to General Meeting of the Society

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Number 2 (July 2021)

A Note from the President General Janet Butler Walker
Indentured Servant Emigration to the Chesapeake in the Seventeenth Century Pat Taylor
Andrew Heath: Indentured Servant in Pennsylvania and New Jersey Jo Ellen Heil
John Melson & Elizabeth Penter/Painter: Indentured Servants in the mid-1660’s Virginia Janet Butler Walker
When Things Don’t Always Go as Expected: An Indentured Servant Goes Bad Sumner Gary Hunnewell
National Society Descendants of Colonial Indentured Servants: Meeting Minutes Sharon R. Sowder
Fourth Annual Meeting Call

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Number 3 (February 2023)

A Note from the President General Janet Butler Walker
Mapping Out My Ancestry Bonnie Hinshaw
Not All Pilgrims Are Created Equal Sumner Gary Hunnewell
Hampton National Historic Site – Maryland
New Members and Supplemental Applications (2021-23)
National Society Descendants of Colonial Indentured Servants: Meeting Minutes Sharon R. Sowders
Fifth Annual Meeting Call

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Number 4 (February 2024)

A Note from the President General Sharon Rennard Sowders
John Nuthall of Virginia and Maryland Cheri L. Graham
Anthony West of Shadwell, England (1605-1652) Sharon Rennard Sowders
Historic Pemberton Hall: focus of charitable donations NSDCIS Janet Butler Walker
National Society Descendants of Colonial Indentured Servants: Meeting Minutes Sharon Rennard Sowders
New Members and Necrology
Sixth Annual Meeting Call