Sometimes we need a deadline and target to get us going. That’s why we did a Pioneer Pursuit Push to have 5,000 people documented in our Index by November 11 — the 135th anniversary of Washington Territory becoming the 42nd state.

Alas, we didn’t make our target. We have 4,044 names listed in the Index, 956 short of our target. BUT, that doesn’t mean we’re giving up. You can still submit genealogies for any man, woman or child who lived in Washington Territory on or before November 11, 1889. You don’t have to be related to a pioneer — find a name and do what we do best: research it!

We’ve made it easy for you. There are examples, forms, hints and FAQs on the WSGS website. There’s also a video explaining the process and answering questions from the Pioneer Pursuit Roundtable in April 2023. If you have other questions, please email Info@wasgs.org and put “Pioneer Pursuit” in the subject line.

We’re getting closer to our goal of 5,000 Washington State pioneers listed in our Pioneer Pursuit Index by November 11, 2024. Our reviewers just approved our 4,005th pioneer, so we need 995 more to meet our ambitious, but doable, target.

If you’re wondering whether you can participate, YES, YOU CAN! A few things to consider:

• You don’t have to be related to a pioneer. Just pick someone in your county or neighborhood and start researching. Here’s a great list of places to start.
• You don’t have to be a member of WSGS to participate.
• We’ve made it easy to submit Pioneer Pursuit genealogies. There are examples, forms and an FAQ under the Pioneer Pursuit tab of the WSGS website.

Help us identify every man, woman and child who lived in Washington Territory on or before November 11, 1889 when we became the 42nd state. If you have questions, please email us at Info@wasgs.org.

We need your help! We’re trying to have 5,000 Washington State pioneers listed in our Pioneer Pursuit Index by November 11, 2024. The index currently lists 3,854 pioneers, so we need 1,146 more to meet our ambitious, but doable, target.

Whether you’re a WSGS member or not, we’re hoping you’ll submit a three-generation genealogy (with sources) for any man, woman or child who lived in Washington Territory on or before November 11, 1889 when we became the 42nd state. You don’t have to be related to the pioneer — just pick someone in your county or neighborhood and start researching. Here’s a great list of places to start.

We’ve made it easy to submit Pioneer Pursuit genealogies. There are examples, forms and an FAQ in the Pioneer Pursuit tab of the WSGS website.

Since its launch last year, the WSGS Pioneer Pursuit project has been a huge success, adding 3,696 pioneers to our index at the end of the contest (31 Oct 2023), and another 120 more names since then. Now, let us try to reach a goal of 5,000 names by November 11, 2024! 

We’re encouraging everyone, whether you’re a WSGS member or not, to submit a three-generation genealogy (with sources) for every man, woman and child who lived in Washington Territory on or before November 11, 1889 when we became the 42nd state. We want to have 5,000 names in our free public index — and we need your help!

We’ve made it easy to submit Pioneer Pursuit genealogies. First, check both the Pioneer Pursuit index and the Pioneer Certificate Project index to see if a family or individual is already listed. If you find a name in the Pioneer Certificate Project index, your work is almost done — just include the name(s) on the Submittal Form and we’ll pull the information from the Certificate Project to Pioneer Pursuit.

If you’re new to Pioneer Pursuit, there are lots of resources on our website. To learn more about Pioneer Pursuit, from the WSGS Home Page‘s left navigation bar, select Washington Pioneer Pursuit. Check the Submission Instructions, Submission Example and Frequently Asked Questions to see how to type up your genealogy and add your source materials. The last step is to complete the Submittal Form (available in PDF and Word) and send it to wapioneerpursuit@gmail.com or mail it to Washington State Genealogical Society, Pioneer Pursuit, 1901 S. 12th Ave, Union Gap, WA 98903.

REMEMBER, YOU DON’T HAVE TO RESEARCH YOUR FAMILY – we want to document everyone who was in Washington Territory on or before November 11, 1889. Let’s work together to add additional names. We ONLY NEED about 1,200 more names to meet our goal!

Wholehearted congratulations are extended to Ralph Brown from Bothell (Snohomish County). Ralph contributed an amazing 1,285 individuals to the Pioneer Pursuit Contest. Although the contest portion of Pioneer Pursuit ended 31 Oct 2024, Ralph is continuing to submit names, sources and associated stories of individuals, mostly in southwest Washington, who were in Washington Territory on or before statehood on 11 Nov 1889.

Although he now lives in Snohomish County, Ralph grew up in Underwood, an unincorporated community on the Columbia River in Skamania County. He went to school just up the river in White Salmon (Klickitat County).  

Ralph and his wife Ruth had three children of their own and adopted another. He was a missile technician in the Navy, then a long career with Pacific Northwest Bell. 

Trike Trips Lead to Discoveries

After he retired, Ralph spent the next ten years researching his wife’s and his families and got heavily involved in Find a Grave. In a wild and crazy decision, Ralph decided to buy a three-wheeled trike – without even knowing how to ride a motorcycle! Undaunted, Ralph and Ruth soon put more than 200,000 miles on that trike, traveling to all the local cemeteries in Klickitat and Skamania Counties taking pictures and satisfying photo requests for Find A Grave. 

Because of his ardent work on Find a Grave, Ralph decided to document all the pioneers in the Underwood Cemetery. One thing led to another and his interest soon mushroomed to document all the other small cemeteries in the area.

Pioneer Pursuit to the Rescue

Over the years, Ralph carefully documented Klickitat and Skamania Counties’ local history with a vast amount of research, documents, photographs, newspaper articles and interviews. But he needed to find a home all that research.

Fortunately for Washington State researchers, WSGS came up with the Pioneer Pursuit program – an effort to document every man, woman and child that lived in Washington Territory on or before statehood on 11 Nov 1889.

Ralph is a dedicated Facebook contributor, managing a group with over 2,000 followers. One of his followers, Bo/Casey Gleason had already submitted the Creviston pioneer family to Pioneer Pursuit. When Bo realized a connection with Ralph’s Gilmer family, they hooked up.

Continuing to Pursue Pioneers – and Quilting

Ralph still hasn’t stopped identifying territorial settlers and submitting them to Pioneer Pursuit. He’s also researching local logging, utilities and transportation histories and he hasn’t forgotten about schoolhouses and post offices.

But he’s also spending more time with his quilting longarm. Yes, Ralph is a quilter – supporting Ruth’s passion for creating intricate quilts, such as “Labyrinth Walk” shown here. “I can see me spending the rest of my life identifying people, but I have to get my passion aligned with my wife’s — which is quilting.”

According to Ralph, “There is a slogan for us motorcycle riders, “Too many roads, not enough time” and that applies to genealogy as well:  “Too many territorial settlers, not enough time” and “too much history to uncover and not enough time to document.”  

Congratulations, Ralph, for submitting 1,285 individuals to the Pioneer Pursuit. If anyone is interested in following your lead and participating in Pioneer Pursuit, visit our website here.

WSGS is proud to announce the winners of the Pioneer Pursuit contest.

Most submissions by an individual:

• Ralph Brown from Bothell, WA with 1,285 entries. We will introduce blog readers to Ralph in a future post. Ralph won a $150 cash prize for his amazing contribution.
• Vickie Bullard from Wapato, WA with 272 entries. Vickie is a member of the Yakima Valley Genealogy Society and also a past member of the Chapter 8 Yakima Daughters of the Pioneers. She earned $100 for her efforts.
• Jayne McCarley of Vancouver, WA with 269 entries. Jayne is the president of the Fort Vancouver Chapter #19 of the Daughters of Pioneers of Washington (DPW). Jayne earned $50 for her submissions.

A total of 60 individuals submitted 3,696 pioneers. Each pioneer was verified to have lived in Washington Territory on or before November 11, 1889. Every person who submitted an entry will receive a year’s membership to WSGS as a thank-you for their contribution.

Most submissions by a local genealogical or historical society (based on percent of membership):

North Beach Genealogical Society (Ocean Shores) contributed 150 submissions. The small society of 15 members earned $300 for its efforts. One of their submissions was for Chief Seattle (Sealth), interpreted and written variously as See-ahth, Seathl, See-Yahtlh, or Sealth. You can view Chief Seattle and his pioneer families’ genealogies in the Index.

Fort Vancouver Chapter #19 of the Daughters of Pioneers of Washington (DPW) submitted 269 pioneers among its 37 members. They earned a $200 award.

Kingston Historical Society submitted 52 submissions from its 14 members. They earned a $100 award.

Twenty-four societies submitted pioneer genealogies. Each will receive a $20 cash award.

It’s Not Too Late to Contribute

We are still accepting Pioneer Pursuit submissions. Although we received 3,696 pioneer genealogies, we want more! There is no deadline to submit. On the Pioneer Pursuit webpage, we have information on how to submit, including a form and an example. There are also frequently asked questions and hints and help resources. The index will forever be publicly available.

If you have more questions about Pioneer Pursuit, email Info@wasgs.org. Please put “Pioneer Pursuit” in the subject line.

The contest element of the Pioneer Pursuit program closed at midnight on 31 Oct 2023. But that doesn’t mean the program is over. The review committee is still checking each of the submissions to ensure the pioneer was in Washington Territory on or before Nov. 11, 1889. To date, we have more than 3,500 names in the index.

The announcement of the top individuals and top local societies submitting genealogies will be made after the review committee gets through the submissions arriving (or postmarked) before the October 31 deadline. (Hint: what amazing participation we had!!!)

Don’t let the conclusion of the contest stop you from submitting names and documentation of pioneers. It is estimated that nearly 350,000 people lived here in 1889. We welcome more submissions. Visit the Pioneer Pursuit page for more information.