How to Join First Families, Pioneer Families, or Civil War Society of Jefferson County, Ohio

There are several things to know when joining any of the chapter societies.

  • You must be a member of the Jefferson County Chapter, OGS. Annual membership fee is $20.00 single, $25.00 for couples.
  • The cost to join First, Pioneer or Civil War Families is a one time fee of $15.00, which will cover any "add on" ancestors in each family.
  • You must submit proof for each generation from yourself back to the ancestor claimed.

Please contact the Jefferson County Chapter, OGS for assistance or any questions you have pertaining to our First Family, Pioneer Family or Civil War Family applications at the following:

jeffersoncounty1@att.net or 740-346-2820 and you will be directed to the chair for those organizations.

What is proof – There are primary sources, government records, i.e. birth, death, wills, estates papers, deeds, military service records, etc. Bible records are also considered primary sources IF the information entered is after the date of the publication of the Bible. Therefore, you must always make a copy of the front page (title page) containing the publisher and date of publication.

Note – memories can be faulty when dates are entered sometime after the actual event. Funeral home records and cemetery records are considered primary evidence as well. But, tombstone dates can be incorrect, especially as to birth therefore they are considered secondary sources. Newspaper articles from the date of the event can also be considered. An obituary can be used for date of death, but can list wrong data for the birth date, date of marriage, etc. Church records are considered primary sources, i.e. baptism, marriage and funerals.

Secondary Sources – Tombstone readings and bibles containing facts dated before the publication of the bible. Vanity histories are those books printed for nearly every county in America from about 1880 to 1910. Biographies in these books were mostly written [and paid for] by grandchildren or great-grandchildren of families who had become important citizens in those counties. These histories were often based on family legend and often exaggerated just a bit. Many times some descendants of the immigrant into the county, the descendants who had moved away, were left out of these histories or entirely forgotten.

Click here to go to the new member form.

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