forebearer

a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent villagers who still practice many of the customs of their forebearers Synonyms father, forebear (also forbear), ancestor, forefather, grandfather, primogenitor, progenitorRelated Words antecessor, predecessor [archaic]; ancestress, foremother, grandmother, matriarch; grandsire [archaic], patriarch, sire [archaic]; ancestry, antecedents, rootsNear Antonyms children, family, issue, lineage, offspring, posterity, progeny, seed, stock; daughter, heir, inheritor, scion, son, successorAntonyms descendant (also descendent)