Pioneer Certificates

  • To honor the first families of Dodge County, the Historical Society is compiling a roster of settlers who were county residents by 1875. The society will issue certificates to descendants of early settlers of Dodge County. The application, with the completed lineage and documentatio, will be kept on file in the library. Here are f the Dodge County Pioneers recognized so far.

    A numbered parchment certificate, suitable for framing, with the name of the ancestor and descendant will be issued (see sample).
    The Pioneer will be honored on our web site.
    In addition to receiving the Pioneer Certificat, applicants will be helping to preserve the history of their ancestral pioneers - an excellent way to honor these early families, many of which seldom receive proper recognition.

    Eligibility

    To qualify for a Pioneer Certificate, an applicant must be directly descended from an ancestor who settled in Dodge County by 1875.

    Documented evidence connecting each generation must accompany the application ,such as census records, birth, death, and marriage records; obituaries; estates records; land records; tombstone inscriptions (give location of cemetery); county histories; etc.  Do not send original documents must accompany the application .  Submit copies only, as all applications or verifying material will become the property of the Dodge County Historical Society. Submit a photograph or copy if you have one.

    Anyone may apply.  Applicants need not have ever been residents of Dodge County.  After direct descent information has been submitted and eligibility has been determined, the appropriate certificate will be mailed.. 
    Separate certificates will be issued for each ancestor properly submitted.  The fee for each application is $10.00.

    Pioneer Certificate application packet is available for download in Microsoft Word (.doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and Adobe Portable Documents Format (pdf) files.

    Sample Certificate

    Application & Ancestor Chart Required

    Word Format
    Information  & Application
     Ancestor Chart
    Rich Text Format
    Information  & Application
     Ancestor Chart
    PDF Format
    Information & Application
    Ancestor Char
    t

     

    To view the PDF files, a copy of the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader software must be on the computer you are using.  Macintosh and Windows versions of Adobe® Acrobat® Reader free of charge from Adobe, by clicking on       

    For information contact
    Pioneer Certificate