The Munson Record consists of five printed volumes and contains the documented ancestry of Thomas¹ Munson and his descendants. Volumes I and II, totaling 1,235 pages, were written by Myron Andrews⁹ Munson and published in 1896. They contain lengthy biographies of Thomas¹, and his son Samuel², and shorter biographies of Samuel’s sons, and then the great-grandsons of Thomas¹, for whom the Munson Clans are named. Volumes I and II chronicle the Munson generations 1 through 9, with children born up to the year prior to publication. For many of the descendants in generations 5 to 9, there are short thumbnail biographies or stories of interest. There is a lot of American history, from the time of the colonies to after the US Civil War, recounted in these personal biographical sketches. Some of these are excerpted and can be found on the webpages.

Volumes III, IV, and V, totaling 1,810 pages, were co-written by Joanna Cornelia¹¹ Munson Downie and Herbert Leroy¹¹ Munson, and were published in 1993. In these volumes, Munson descendancy lines from generations 9 through 13 are documented, with new data from earlier generations and rare entries of generation 14 available. There are some biographical sketches of individuals in these volumes, but mostly, the entries are documented ancestry data. The time period covered in these later volumes is post US Civil War to the 1990’s.

Munson descendants have been assigned “reference numbers” as a way to keep tract of individual family members. Thomas¹ Munson is RN1. His oldest daughter Elisabeth² Munson is RN2. Samuel² Munson is RN3, and daughter Hannah² Munson is RN4. Only direct descendants are issued reference numbers. RNs are given consecutively in chronological birth order of siblings in a family. Not all family members have received RNs. Currently, TMF stewards a large Munson Family database using Ancestry software. The database is continually updated as new data arrives from family members. For Scholarship eligibility, applicants must document their descendancy, and can be issued a Reference Number.

Currently, Volumes I and II are sold out, but the copy-right has expired and the volumes are in the public domain. So, if you are interested, you can search for copies online to purchase. We have 100 sets of Volumes III, IV, and V available. They are free, with only a $10 shipping charge. Please contact us if you are interested in acquiring a set.

The Munson Archives is a repository for stories of interest about family members. There are just four stories in the Archives at present. But we invite family members who have a favorite story to tell about another member or other members to write them down and submit them to the TMF President for inclusion in the Archives. This is our mechanism for preserving our family’s history.

The Family Newsletter is a communication vehicle published by TMF 3 or 4 times per year. There is a TMF Board of Directors position for the Newsletter Editor. It is an elected position. The Editor is responsible for soliciting and collecting news items and human interest stories about family members. Typically, the Newsletter publishes the names of the Thomas Munson Foundation Scholarship Awardees, sometimes with short biographical sketches of the students. Important dates and announcements are also included in the Newsletter.

The Newsletter is distributed to TMF Members via US Postal Service, or by email. All members are encouraged to submit articles to the Editor for consideration of inclusion in the Newsletter. In some ways, the Newsletter is another form of family history documentation and story preservation, as are the Archives.

The Timely Notes is another Munson Family communication vehicle published by the TMF at irregular times year, and are “as needed” communications. Sometimes there are important announcements or happenings that the Foundation must make or tell the membership about, and that cannot wait for the Newsletter to be published. The Timely Notes are distributed via MailChimp emails to members with working email addresses. Any member can request for a Timely Note to be composed and distributed. Our TMF President stewards the Timely Notes, so members can contact him/her directly with whatever pressing communication needs to be made, and he/she can facilitate it.