The Society's "Pioneer Founders" Project
At the 2010 summer meeting of the Board of Governors, an initiative was approved to pay tribute to exceptional pioneers for their efforts in building early Indiana. The Society of Indiana Pioneers was founded in 1916, when Indiana celebrated its 100th anniversary of statehood. In preparation for the 200th anniversary of statehood – and the Society’s centennial celebration – the Society seeks to honor special pioneers from each of Indiana’s 92 counties.
A committee chaired by Bob Dora undertook the project to allow contributors to nominate ancestors for this distinction. Each year, 15 to 20 counties will be selected and invited to submit nominations of Pioneer Founders to be honored at the Annual Meeting. At the Centennial celebration in 2016, Pioneer Founders from all 92 counties will be honored.
To nominate a 2013 Pioneer Founder, download and fill out the nomination form (PDF format) and send the completed form to the Society's address shown above. (NOTE: You can fill out the form directly in Adobe Reader and print, or print the blank form and fill it out by hand. You can also save the completed form on your computer if needed.)
While our primary focus each year is to seek nominees from the designated counties, nominations from any county previously designated will be welcome at any time before our centennial year. To nominate a Pioneer Founder from a county previously designated, download and fill out this general nomination form (PDF format) and send the completed form to the Society's address shown above.
2010
Nominations for 2010 were solicited from the following counties: Allen, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Delaware, Harrison, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Marshall, Montgomery, Putnam, Scott, Shelby, Starke, Switzerland, Vigo and Wayne.
Click here to view the complete (printable) 2010 Pioneer Founders Project booklet (PDF file).
2011
Nominations for 2011 were solicited from the following counties: Benton, Boone, Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Floyd, Fulton, Hamilton, Hendricks, Henry, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Ohio, Orange, Perry, Pike, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe, and Washington.
Click here to view the complete (printable) 2011 Pioneer Founders Project booklet (PDF file).
2012
Nominations for 2012 were solicited from the following counties: Bartholomew, Elkhart, Hancock, Howard, Huntington, LaPorte, Lake, Miami, Noble, Parke, Posey, Rush, Sullivan, Tipton, Union, Warren, Wells, and Whitley.
Click here to view the complete (printable) 2012 Pioneer Founders Project booklet (PDF file).
2013
Nominations for 2013 are being solicited from the following counties: Blackford, Brown, Clay, Daviess, DeKalb, Dubois, Fayette, Franklin, Gibson, Greene, Jackson, Kosciusko, Madison, Newton, Porter, Randolph, Vanderburgh, and White.