Lineage Societies
The Hamilton County Genealogical Society (HCGS) sponsors four lineage societies:
- First Families honors the direct descendants of the pioneers who settled (or were born) in Hamilton County prior to January 1,1821.
- Settlers and Builders honors the direct descendants of the pioneers who settled (or were born) in Hamilton County between January 1, 1821 and December 31,1860.
- Century Families honors the direct descendants of the pioneers who settled (or were born) in Hamilton County between January 1, 1861 and 100 years ago.
- Civil War Soldiers honors the direct relative ascendency or collateral relative ascendency of a Civil War Soldier and certain civilian groups who served any period between April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865.
What's In It for you?
- The process of completing an application will make you a better genealogist and ensure that there are no gaps in your research.
- You will be recognized at an annual Heritage Luncheon. Medals and certificates, specific to each lineage society, will be awarded.
Application process
You must be a current HCGS member to apply or send in your membership fee at the time you submit your application.
The First Families, Settlers and Builders and Century Families lineage societies use a common application. The Civil War Soldiers uses its own specific application. Carefully review the rules and application procedures before completing the application, taking care to document all sources. Submit a $30 non-refundable application fee with the application unless the application is Supplemental. Supplemental applications add additional ancestors to a previously accepted application and can be submitted at no charge.
Applications are due by August 31st of each year.
What constitutes proof?
The Heritage Committee created a PowerPoint presentation to assist applicants in identifying documents that could be used to support claims. You can view it here: Applying for a Lineage Group (7.4 MB, allow a couple of minutes for download).
Application forms
To apply to a HCGS Lineage Society, review the rules and procedures and save a copy of the application, generations and documents forms to your computer. You may need to print multiple copies of the Documentation and Generations forms. Note: If you want to fill out the forms on your computer, it is ESSENTIAL that you download and save them to your computer BEFORE you fill them out.
page modified: 2022-10-27 RTB; 2022-06-02 RTB; 2021-10-13 PMD; 05/11/2021 MAC
