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Pioneer History Societies

© Mark W. Swarthout

The early settlers on the North American continent were proud of their success. But things got crowded along the Atlantic Coast. As the land became crowded and commerce a large part of the towns and cities along the ocean, less fortunate families and those newly arrived looked for new opportunities.

They headed west. The pioneers moved west crossing the Alleghenies and moving into the forests and plains of the mid-west. They continued all the way to the reaches of the Pacific. They too were proud of their accomplishments as they opened up these new areas. They had braved the early years of Indians, drought, scant materials and hunger. The families worked hard to create new communities and weather those first difficult years of their settlement.

These seasoned veterans didn't like the idea of the new comers flooding into the area and being confused with them. They wanted to preserve the history and heritage of the hard work and pride in what they had succeeded in doing. To do so they formed organizations that recorded early stories, histories and even some genealogical records in books. These societies sprung up in many states, normally those that weren't part of the original colonies, the DAR covered most of their families. They would carefully determine what the appropriate date for membership would be, a common factor would be the entrance into statehood. Or those that arrived prior to a certain event that brought a flood of new settlers into the area.

The early societies had annual meetings and some published extensive works on the history and stories of those early settlers. Sometime they are hard to find, but normally copies can be found in the major universities in the area, or the state archives. A few fortunate local libraries will have inherited a set from an early benefactor.

I personally have found the records of the Michigan and California organizations of value in working on my family. You can try linking the word Pioneer and Society with the name of the State or county that you are interested in, or where your relations are believed to have been at some point or another. Determine the time frames and see what you can find. Many of the publications were well indexed, or have been indexed by some prior genealogist for the benefit for us all.

Many of these organizations are now running web sites that can provide information for those of us working online to fill in the flesh on the bones of our ancestors.

The copyright of the article Pioneer History Societies in North American Genealogy is owned by Mark W. Swarthout. Permission to republish Pioneer History Societies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.