'Forefather' definitions:

Definition of 'forefather'

noun

The founder of a family; "keep the faith of our forefathers" [syn: forefather, father, sire]

noun

Person from an earlier time who contributed to the tradition shared by some group; "our forefathers brought forth a great nation"

From: GCIDE

Forefather \Fore"fa`ther\ (?; 277), n. One who precedes another in the line of genealogy in any degree, but usually in a remote degree; an ancestor. [1913 Webster]
Respecting your forefathers, you would have been taught to respect yourselves. --Burke. [1913 Webster]
Forefathers' Day, the anniversary of the day (December 21) on which the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts (1620). On account of a mistake in reckoning the change from Old Style to New Style, it has generally been celebrated on the 22d. [1913 Webster]