News Flash! Ninth Annual First Families of Bay County Certificates Award Ceremony
This year 4 brand new pioneers and their descendants were recpgnized, and 1 researcher certificate was presented at the Annual Pioneer Picnic on June 1, 2019, hosted by the Historical Society of Bay County. There are now 111 certified pioneers. Check for your ancestor at the bottom of this page.
Certification Program
The First Families of Bay County, Florida, Certification Program seeks to identify and
honor the first families of Bay County, recognize their proven descendants, and promote
interest in the rich genealogical heritage and history of Bay County. This program is
administered by the Bay County Genealogical Society of Florida.
First Families of Bay County Certificate
The certificate will be awarded to any person who shall provide documentary evidence sufficient to
establish that said person is credibly descended directly from a pioneer who settled within
the present-day boundaries of Bay County, Florida, before the county was created.
The evidence submitted must establish, in the opinion of the First Families Committee,
that the specified pioneer was, in fact, a bona-fide resident of what is now Bay County
on or before 24 April 1913; and that the applicant is credibly descended from that pioneer.
Requirements
The applicant need not be a resident of Bay County.
The applicant need not ever have been a resident of Bay County.
The applicant must submit a complete package of information, as described below, that credibly
establishes residency of the pioneer and descendancy of the applicant.
The applicant must include a non-refundable fee of $25 (check or money order - no cash)
with the application.
However, if the applicant is a member in good standing best generic levitra overnight of BCGS, the fee will be $15
(check or money order; no cash).
Applications may be submitted at any time. Initial applications must be postmarked by 31 tadalafil overnight delivery canada January, and revisions, if any, must be submitted by 30 April to be eligible for the annual June awards ceremony.
Decision of the judges regarding prednisone the adequacy of the submission is final.
Rules of Evidence
The Bay County Genealogical Society places great emphasis on the credibility of its
certificate program. We believe that to be meaningful, each certified pioneering family
and its descendant connection must be historically accurate. Therefore, BCGS adheres to
the highest standards presently in effect for genealogical evidence.
How to Apply
You may download a complete application package in PDF form here: Application Package. Study the instructions carefully.
When you are ready to begin filling out your application, you have several choices.
Most applicants prefer to type their information into their computer using one of these forms: Application Forms for WordPerfect; Application Forms for Word.
You may also download the forms in PDF format and fill them in with a typewriter or pen (please print clearly): Application Forms for PDF.
Research Assitance
If you feel you need help with your family research or with filling out the forms, here
are a few researchers who may be able to help.
Certified First Families of Bay County Pioneers
Name
Birth-Death
Yr. cert'd
Alexander, Purlieu (Harrison)
1877-1963
2017
Anderson, John Duncan
1858-1927
2010
Bailey, Samantha
1880-1965
2021
Boyer, Enos F.
1849-1928
2010
Boyer, Mary Frances
1910-2003
2010
Brown, Alice Lee (Porter)
1867-1930
2016
Brown, Benjamin Bartlett
1833-1913
2016
Brown, James
1800-1858
2017
Brown, Jr., John Ivey
1864-1937
2019
Brown, Mary Olivia (Spiva)
1872-1951
2017
Brown, Warren Hastings
1901-1992
2019
Bullock, Ferdinand
1866-1935
2008
Carden, Richard I.
1887-1951
2008
Carden, Thomas B.
1861-1939
2008
Chesire, Harriet "Hattie" Clifton
1869-1950
2019
Collins, Susan Charlotte (Porter)
1859-1913
2015
Daffin, James Horace
1867-1930
2009
Daffin, James Robert, Sr.
1897-1980
2015
Davis, Georgia Olene
1911-1998
2014
Davis, Lonnie Lamond
1883-1967
2014
Davis, Martin
1849-1929
2014
Dickens, Benjamin Hill
1883-1944
2018
Dybdal, Osten E.
1845-1925
2017
Dybdal, Thomas Jefferson
1895-1940
2017
Fowhand, Wesley Dowling
1874-1958
2011
Gainer, Andrew
1855-1940
2013
Gainer, Anna (Brown)
1806-1858
2017
Gainer, Annie Eugenia (Register)
1885-1963
2017
Gainer, Archibald Jesse
1868-1955
2017
Gainer, Mary Gainer
1862-1943
2013
Gainer, Sarah Elizabeth (Dybdal)
1899-1936
2017
Gainer, Shoemaker Ben Ren
1895-1937
2013
Gainer, Walter Raleigh
1836-1920
2017
Gainer, William A.
1787-1870
2017
Glisson, Delilah
1865-1908
2021
Gray, Idumea C. (Marshall)
1891-1985
2013
Harmon, Turner Hunt
1838-1910
2009
Harrison, Florine (Spiva)
1906-1980
2017
Harrison, William Jeremiah
1871-1925
2017
Hobbs, Estelle Mary
1911-2003
2014
Holley, John Calvin
1850-1916
2009
Holmes, Della Florence
1880-1922
2010
Holmes, William Leonard
1856-1936
2010
Holmes, William Wesley
1830-1884
2010
Hood, Arthur Erich
1862-1921
2011
Howell, Louis Henry
1876-1935
2014
Howell, Wilbur Brown
1907-1986
2014
Hulett, Artemissia Jewell
1832-1912?
2019
Jansenius, Anton Joseph
1849-1930
2015
Jansenius, Anton Joseph, Jr.
1874-1959
2017
Laird, John Henry
1873-1956
2009
Laird, Ruby Kade (Welch)
1909-1991
2009
Landgraf, Valentine
1831-1912
2011
Lassiter, Eula
1884-1973
2014
Loftin, Eliza (Porter)
ca1811-<1870
2009
Loftin, William Marion
ca1785-ca1838
2009
Marshall, Wayne Harold
1910-1990
2013
Marshall, William Henry
1879-1951
2013
Mashburn, Elizabeth Jane
1849-1916
2011
Mashburn, James Manon
1821-1856
2011
Maxwell, Agusta Viola (Wallace)
1870-1959
2013
McDaniel, Annie Elisabeth
1887-1958
2018
McDuffie, Sophronia (Holley)
1859-1940
2009
Moates, Annie C. (Porter)
1866-1961
2011
Moates, Francis M.
1837-1897
2011
Moates, Mary Peel
1842-1928
2011
Montgomery, Edward M.
1838-1915
2018
Nayor, Harriet Evelyn (Spiva)
1852-1938
2017
Nelson, Frank McGill
1877-1937
2011
Parker, Retha Vann
1881-1975
2010
Porter, Ann M. (Vickery)
ca1838-ca1894
2009
Porter, Charles T.
ca1804-<1860
2009
Porter, Charles Turner
1877-1933
2011
Porter, Elizabeth Jane (Gainer)
1872-1969
2017
Porter, John Henry
1854-1928
2015
Porter, John Henry
1870-1931
2016
Porter, Joseph Martin
1842-1907
2011
Porter, Mary Frances
1884-1949
2014
Porter, Ola Sue (Brown)
1895-1921
2015
Porter, Verna Vernell (Singletary)
1897-1981
2016
Register, Alexander Erastus
1874-1947
2017
Riley, Florida Ann (Stephens)
1862-1924
2015
Ross, David Monroe
1876-1965
2010
Ross, Lee Monroe
1910-1990
2010
Russ, Custer Patrick
1887-1961
2014
Russ, Lola Elizabeth
1870-1921
2015
Russ, Robert Samuel
1840-1913
2014
Scott, Oscar
1851-1922
2011
Sealey, Clara Rebecca
1823-1900
2011
Sharpless, William Thomas
1854-1938
2012
Singletary, Sylvanus Ithamar
1896-1958
2016
Singletary, Willliam Ithamar
1862-1935
2012
Smith, Charlie Caper
1879-1932
2011
Smith, Kittie Maria
1910-1993
2011
Smith, Victoria (Stephens)
1892-1971
2015
Sowell, George Leslie
1890-1973
2008
Spiva, Ernest Raymond, Sr.
1904-1979
2017
Spiva, Stephen Andrew
1835-ca1903
2017
Spiva, William Etheridge
1871-1933
2017
Steele, Rea
1866-1929
2015
Stephens, John Devine
1858-1931
2015
Stephens, Marvin Hercules
1862-1924
2015
Strange, Jane L. (Dybdal)
1867-1898?
2017
Tabor, Margaret (Brown)
1840-1912
2017
Taylor, Jessie May (Steel)
1882-1966
2015
Vickery, Ella Sophronia (Holley)
1880-1960
2009
Vickery, Lelon Ephriam (elder)
ca1826-1892
2009
Vickery, Lelon Ephriam (younger)
1869-1954
2009
Walker, Nora Lee (Smith)
1881-1945
2011
Wallace, Coe
1890-1970
2013
Wallace, Waldo W., Sr.
1893-1964
2013
Wallace, William Craig
1848-1930
2009
Watts, Jane (Gainer)
1797-1837
2017
Weeks, Louisa Virginia (Holmes)
1840-1930
2010
Welch, Adam Levi
1840-1916
2021
Weller, Alfred Daniel
1872-1964
2009
Zorn, Ada Victoria (Laird)
1875-1912
2009
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