noun (n)

• the founder of a family(noun.person)

  Example:
  Keep the faith of our forefathers.
  

  Synonym:
  father, sire
  

  source: wordnet30
• person from an earlier time who contributed to the tradition shared by some group(noun.person)

  Example:
  Our forefathers brought forth a great nation.
  

  source: wordnet30
• One who precedes another in the line of genealogy in any degree, but usually in a remote degree; an ancestor.(noun)

  source: webster1913