Formation 1896 Deputy Governor-General Richard M. Wright, Jr. | Membership 1040 Secretary General William Allerton III | |
 | ||
Type Patriotic-hereditary society Governor-General Col. Rev. Daniel C. Warren, MD | ||
The Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (OFPA) is a highly restrictive, United States-based, hereditary fraternal organization whose self-declared purpose is to collect and preserve records related to the original American colonists and their descendants, and to promote camaraderie among descendants of original colonists. Its strict bloodline mandates and small size (currently slightly more than 1,000 members), has earned it a reputation as the most exclusive lineage society in the United States. However, unlike the Society of the Cincinnati, membership eligibility does not descend through family lines by order of agnatic primogeniture, meaning more than one member of the same family can simultaneously hold membership.
Contents
Founding
The OFPA was founded in 1896. Its first annual meeting was held in the Governor's Room at New York City Hall.
Notable members
Membership
Membership is limited to male U.S. citizens of "good moral character" who are directly descended in the paternal line from a person who settled, prior to 1657, in the territory that would become the thirteen colonies and whose family later helped achieve, through military service, United States independence.
Societies
The OFPA is organized into 28 regional chapters, known as societies. These, together, form the general society, which is headed by a governor-general. The society is headquartered in Ohio. Individual members are referred to as "associates."
Awards
The OFPA annually presents an award to an outstanding college Army ROTC unit. The "Order of the Founders and Patriots of America Award" has been called "the Heisman Trophy of Army ROTC" and is awarded based on a criteria that includes the number of United States Army officers a unit commissions and the academic performance of cadets. A separate award is periodically presented to an outstanding National Guard unit. The society also underwrites individual awards named after its deceased members. The George Dewey Award is annually presented to a United States Naval Academy midshipman, and the John Wright Award, named after former 101st Airborne Division commander Gen. John M. Wright, is given to an outstanding West Point cadet.
Archives and Monuments
The OFPA and its member societies fund the erection and installation of monuments and markers at the sites of historical occurrences in early United States and colonial American history. The organization also maintains genealogical archives on its members. This includes 162 boxes of material deposited at Langsdale Library at the University of Baltimore. Additional records curated by individual societies are stored elsewhere, including Rutgers University, and the Connecticut State Library.
Meetings
The general society's annual meeting, known as the general court, is held each May. The 117th general court, in 2013, was convened in Williamsburg, Virginia. The 118th general court, in 2014, took place in Lexington, Kentucky. To commemorate the general court being held in Kentucky, all of its associates were commissioned as Colonels by the governor of Kentucky. The 119th general court will be held at Anderson House in Washington, DC.
Publications
The OFPA periodically publishes The Register, an index of the genealogical pedigree of members, and The Bulletin, a semi-annual magazine for members.