Tazewell County Pioneer Certificates

Documented evidence connecting each generation must accompany the application such as census records; birth, death, and marriage records; school or church records; Bible records; military records; obituaries; estates records; land records; tombstone inscriptions (give location of cemetery); county histories; etc.

Please send only copies of the original documents—as all applications and verifying material will become the property of the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society.

Anyone may apply. Applicants need not have ever been residents of Tazewell County. After proof of direct descent has been submitted and eligibility has been determined, we will mail the appropriate certificate.  Separate certificates will be issued for each ancestor properly submitted.  The fee for each application is $10.

You may fill out your application using our fillable pdf form—then you can save & print it and mail it to us along with your payment and supporting documentation.

Some folks want certificates for both the pioneer husband and wife.  Separate applications and fees are required.  However, they may share supporting documentation.  Both spouses will be issued a separate certificate.

When requesting additional certificates for members of the applicant's immediate family (mother, father, siblings, children), proof of descent needs to be sent only once. To request additional certificates, send $10.00 and a separate completed application and straight-line lineage chart for each additional certificate needed. 

For example, suppose you wanted three Pioneer Certificates to recognize you and your two children, Jack & Jill, are direct descendants of John Quincy Doe. The first application (yours) must contain everything to document you are a direct descendant of John Quincy Doe.  Once that is done, Jack & Jill's applications can just refer to the contents of your application, adding just the additional documentation to prove they are your direct descendants (such as birth certificates).