THESAURUS
forebears
ancestor, ancestors, announcer, antecedent, antecedents, ascendants, avant-garde, bellwether, buccinator, bushwhacker, elders, explorer, fathers, forebear, forefathers, foregoer, forerunner, front runner, frontiersman, fugleman, grandfathers, grandparents, groundbreaker, guide, harbinger, herald, innovator, lead runner, leader, messenger, pathfinder, patriarchs, pioneer, point, precedent, precursor, predecessor, predecessors, progenitors, scout, stormy petrel, trailblazer, trailbreaker, vanguard, vaunt-courier, voortrekker