The Society of the Cincinnati promotes july 2018
pri·mo·gen·i·ture
noun
N the state of being the firstborn child.
N the right of succession belonging to the firstborn
child, especially the feudal rule by which the whole real
estate of an intestate passed to the eldest son.
Consider the sheer number of educators, museum curators,
organizations and businesses dedicated to making
history relevant and engaging to new generations. Nearly
every moderately sized town has its own museum and
historic society, and history is at the core of education
alongside reading, writing and arithmetic.
The people at the heart of breathing life into history
typically have studied their subjects extensively, either
in an academic setting or as a lifelong passion, and are
drawn to the topics for varying reasons.
But for the Society of the Cincinnati, it’s in the blood
— quite literally. More than a love of history is required
to claim a place in the Society. Membership is restricted
to male descendants of officers who fought in the
American War of Independence.
“It’s primogeniture,” says William Pless Lunger, Vice
President General of the Society, and member of the
North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati. “It goes to the
eldest son.”
Major General Henry Knox conceived the Society
of the Cincinnati in the waning days of the American
Revolutionary War. Membership would be limited
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Let Free COURTESY OF THE SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI