Membership is open to anyone who is a direct descendant of pioneers who lived in the New Ulm vicinity by 1870. The “vicinity” includes the City of New Ulm, the Townships of Cottonwood, Lake Hanska, Linden, Milford, and Sigel in Brown County, the Townships of Bernadotte, Brighton, Courtland, Lafayette and West Newton in Nicollet County, and Cambria Township in Blue Earth County.