The Thomas Munson Foundation

The Thomas Munson Foundation is a not-for-profit family organization of the descendants of Thomas Munson (1612 – 1685) who established the family in the American colonies. The Foundation was incorporated in 1984 under the laws of the State of Michigan.

HISTORY

The Thomas Munson Foundation (TMF) began its existence in 1982.  At the Moses Clan reunion, Robert John11 Lessa Sr, Obadiah Clan, was elected as Chairman to organize TMF and appointed his staff to help form the organization.  On August 14, 1983 at the TMF annual meeting, it was voted that the existing officers continue in office until August of 1984.  In August, 1984, the Thomas Munson Foundation was incorporated in the State of Michigan, and a set of ByLaws was adopted with an election of officers held accordingly.  On February 6, 1988, the ByLaws were revised and adopted by the Board of Directors.

Meet Munson Family members:

Bob retired at age 53, and began researching his Munson ancestry. Bob’s enthusiasm and energy led to the creation of the Thomas Munson Foundation In 1982. He served as the first President of the Foundation, 1982-1984. Under his leadership Volumes I & II of The Munson Record, originally printed in 1896, were reprinted in 1984, and plans were begun for the 350th Anniversary Reunion in New Haven, CT in 1987.

THE MUNSON RECORD ASSOCIATION

Prior to 1936 there was no organized association for the search and preservation of Munson Ancestry.  In late 1882,  Myron Andrews9 Munson, financed by several family members, traced the Munson family roots to Captain Thomas1 Munson of Hartford and New Haven colonies (now in the State of Connecticut).  Myron’s efforts resulted in the publication of the first two volumes of The Munson Record in 1896.

It was in 1936 that the Munson Record Association was established. The Association succeeded in organizing several successful Munson reunions, established an informative newsletter, as well as fueling the effort to continue Myron’s work and establish the next volume of The Munson Record.  The Munson Record Association was dissolved in 1942, and although a Volume III was never published at the time, several Munson clans were able to put together manuscripts of their individual clans and some were published.

The following officers were elected in August of 1936 to lead the Munson Record Association: Philip Emerson10 Munson, Chairman; Mrs. Mordello10 Munson, Secretary; Mrs. Fitch Marvin10 Munson, Treasurer; and Mrs. Jasper Paul10 Munson, Historian.

As far as volumes beyond Volumes I & II were concerned, problems did exist in getting the time and effort (mostly volunteer) to put into the arduous task of contacting relatives and putting together the clan lines. The publishing date of additional volumes of The Munson Record had to be delayed several times.  As of June 1941, three clans had material ready for publication, three had much unorganized information, four had some work done, and five were not yet contacted.

It was decided at the time not to go through the expense of printing a third volume (between $1,200 and $1,500) with such a poor record of completion.  It was proposed that the existing material be safeguarded from destruction by having the completed clan manuscripts reproduced in a reasonably priced way.  These manuscripts would then be available to organization members and others at a small profit.  The Moses Clan, one of the few that had material ready for publication, decided to have their material mimeographed in an indexed volume of around 100 pages.

By 1942, only 5 of 12 clans had material ready for a third volume.  Moses and Obadiah Clans had published their manuscripts, and Ebenezer and Joel Clans were ready.  William Clan was also soon expected to complete theirs.  However, it was determined that publishing a third volume of The Munson Record would only be practical if 10 of 17 clans had material ready.  This was not to be.  Thus, the Association was dissolved in 1942.  Not until the Thomas Munson Foundation was established in 1982 and work resumed on the Munson genealogy were Volumes III, IV, and V constructed.  These new volumes were published in 1993.