Florida Pioneer

Descendants Program

The Florida Pioneer Descendants Certification Program, sponsored by the Florida State Genealogical Society, honors descendants of Florida pioneers arriving before 3 March 1845.

View an list of documented pioneers.

Pioneer List - Sorted by Pioneer

Pioneer List - Sorted by Descendant

Eligibility

Florida Pioneer Descendant Certificate (State) - This award can be given to any person regardless of his or her place of residence who shall provide documentary proof satisfactory to the committee, which establishes a solid chain of evidence that he or she has an ancestor who settled in Florida (present boundaries) before the state was admitted to the union, 3 March 1845. The application and all supporting documentation shall remain the property of the Society and the Florida State Archives.

Florida County Pioneer Certificate - This award can be given to any person, regardless of his or her place of residence, who shall provide documentary proof satisfactory to the committee, establishing a solid chain of evidence that he or she has an ancestor who settled in a county of Florida (present boundaries) before the county was formed. The application and all supporting documentation shall remain the property of the society and the Florida State Archives.

Florida Pioneer Researcher Certificate - This award can be given to any person, regardless of his or her place of residence, who has successfully completed the research on behalf of a Descendant, to establish a new, previously undocumented Pioneer. The Researcher should not be a Descendant of this Pioneer, but they may be eligible to receive a Descendant's Certificate for a Pioneer in his or her own lineage. The application shall remain the property of the Society and the Florida State Archives.

Memorial Pioneer Certificate – Established to recognize deceased lineal descendants of a Florida Pioneer for whom an FSGS Florida Pioneer certificate (state or county) has been issued.

Type of Proof Needed

A primary source had its origin with someone directly involved with the event being reported, near the time of that event: Birth, Marriage, Letters, Diaries, Deeds*, Baptismal certificates, Military records*, Family Bibles (if the publication date of the Bible is before the time of the event), Wills, & much more. *These could also be a secondary source depending on circumstances.
A secondary source is everything else or not directly involved with the person at the time of the event: Cemetery, family history, county history, census.

Some documents can be both primary and secondary. If you are unsure, feel free to contact us.

Possible Sources

Courthouses, public and academic libraries, Family History Center (applications before 1995 are on film) Florida State Archives (has copies of all pioneer files), P. K. Yonge Library (Gainesville)

Florida State Genealogical Society's Publications
Florida Bibliography

Fees

Pioneer Application Fees
There is a $30 application fee for each application that can include multiple pioneers and multiple descendants that are in a direct family line of descent. This fee is due when the application is submitted. Once the application is approved, there is a $5 per certificate fee.

Membership Dues
All Pioneer applicants – Descendants and Researchers – are required to be a member of FSGS. Individual Membership is $25 and each additional member in the same household is $5 each. Minor children (under age 18) are not required to be members (although many choose to do so) when included in their parent’s Pioneer application. Applicants must be current FSGS Members before a pioneer application is reviewed.

Awarding of Certificates

Certificates are awarded at the annual Fall conference. They are awarded only after all documentation has been submitted on forms available from:

Florida Pioneer Descendants Certification Program
Florida State Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 3761
Cocoa, FL 32924-3761

Applying for a Certificate

To apply for a state, county, or researcher's certificate, begin by obtaining a copy of the Applicant's Workbook. To obtain a copy of the Workbook, you can either:

Download the Workbook in PDF format.
Download the Workbook Forms in PDF format or Microsoft Word format.
Print out, complete, and submit the "Request for Applicant's Workbook" in PDF format or Microsoft Word format.
Download (if needed) additional labels in PDF format or Microsoft Word format. These will print on 30-to-a-page return address labels, available at most office supply stores. When printing these labels, you must use the "Page Scaling: None" setting within the Page Handling section of the Print dialog box. If you do not see these options when you print, you may want to download Adobe Reader 7.0.

All applications must be approved by the committee. Initial applications must be postmarked by June 30th. Final copies of the application along with all documents, forms, and any additional fees are due by September 30th for presentation at the Fall conference. Copies of applications and documented proofs are contributed to the Florida State Archives and become a permanent part of Florida history, located at:

Bureau of Archives and Records Management
R. A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
850-487-2073

Questions? Click here to email the Pioneer Committee Chair.