The Utah Genealogical Association issues First Families of Utah Certificates to direct descendants of early Utah settlers. Because many of these people have gone unnoticed in history, this is a means of gathering information to honor them. In addition to receiving a First Families of Utah Certificate, applicants will be helping to preserve the history of ancestral Utah pioneers and sharing it with others.
Application for First Families of Utah Certificate, after mailing your application, pay application fee online.
First Families of Utah Certificates Index
Eligibility
To qualify for a First Families of Utah Certificate, the applicant must document direct descent from an ancestor who came to Utah prior to statehood in 1896 or be born in the territory of Utah before that date. There are three types of certificates:
Founding Pioneer - arrived in Utah before 1851
Territorial Pioneer - arrived in Utah between 1851 - 4 January 1896
Territorial Citizen - born in Utah before 1896
Applicants need not be residents of Utah. After proof of descent has been submitted with application fee and eligibility verified, the appropriate certificate will be mailed to the address on the application. A separate certificate will be issued for each properly documented ancestor. If an applicant would like additional certificates for the same pioneer ancestor, information needs to be submitted only once. Additional certificates may be obtained by providing the name of the previously documented ancestor with $15 for each additional certificate desired.
Please type or print the application using black ink. Include a pedigree chart showing your descent from the pioneer and a family group sheet for the pioneer ancestor as a parent.
Always use a maiden name for females and include given names of ancestors.
One copy of at least one document per generation should be included to prove your lineage. Do not send originals. A list of acceptable types of documentation is shown below. Each generation must be documented.
Include a check or money order, payable to Utah Genealogical Association in the amount of $15 for each application you send. You may also order online and indicate in special instructions, that your documentation and application has been sent. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for the processing of the application. Anyone wishing faster service will be accommodated to the best of our ability.
Acceptable types of documentation (proof):
Census schedules may be used to prove date of arrival in Utah. The 1850 census of Utah territory may be used to document a founding pioneer.
Birth entries may include Bible entries, baptismal or church records. After 1910, a copy of the birth/adoption record which shows parentage, date and place it must be enclosed to document descent.
Death records may be used to document earlier generations.
Marriage records should be used to document marriages of ancestral families.
Compiled family group records and pedigree charts, while they may be accurate, are not acceptable without adequate source documentation. If book references are used, please give full title, author, publisher and dates, volume (if applicable), page number, repository name and address and (if known) the repository call number. Published manuscripts that are authored by the applicant or his/her family will not, of themselves, be acceptable as proof without additional documentation.
You are welcome to submit a short sketch of your ancestor (maximum of five pages) along with the application to be included in our files and added to our pioneer project database online.
While it is the policy of the Utah Genealogical Association to provide applicants modest help where necessary to submit qualifying application for pioneer certificates, applicants must realize that the Utah Genealogical Association shall be the sole arbiter of the acceptability of an application, supporting documentation, and the decision to issue or not issue a First Families of Utah Certificate.
All applications and fees must be mailed to:
Utah Genealogical Association
First Families of Utah Certificate Committee
P.O. Box 1144
Salt Lake City, UT 84110
You may also send questions to the above address or by e-mail to: info@infouga.org
