And you thought the Cosmos Club was exclusive?

The Society of the Cincinnati, located just across Massachusetts Avenue NW from the elite Cosmos, will accept as members only direct descendants of Revolutionary War officers. That rules out most of us right there.

But that's only one of the conditions. The Society of the Cincinnati operates under the rules of primogeniture. And so, if you are the oldest son of an oldest son of an oldest son and so on all the way back to your officer ancestor, you might -- repeat, might -- be eligible for membership in the Cincinnati.

As Ellen McCallister Clark, ...

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