England Societies

Societies and organizations that emphasize genealogy and family history may be able to provide information of value to your genealogical research. Some societies are set up on a county-wide basis; others cover a portion of a county. This section discusses only English societies, but do not overlook societies in the country your ancestors moved to.

Many societies publish helpful journals, transcripts, and compiled genealogies. They may have ongoing projects to transcribe records, create indexes, and so on. Most societies publish queries in their journals and maintain lists of members’ research interests. See the "Periodicals" section of this outline for more information about the journals and newsletters published by English societies.

You may want to join one of these societies and support its efforts. You can normally find membership fees and the address for a society’s secretary printed in its journal, and the Family History Library also has many journals in its collection. In addition, you may find information about a society on the Internet. Many societies have Web sites that include membership information. You can locate this information through the GENUKI Web site at:

www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng

From the above site:

Click [County of your choice].

Click Societies.

The Federation of Family History Societies
There are currently over 80 family history societies in England. The Federation of Family History Societies serves as the coordinating body for societies in England and elsewhere. The Federation supports and encourages genealogy and family history research among its member societies. It publishes Family History News and Digest (see the "Periodicals" section of this outline), a journal that includes the names and addresses of its member societies. For information, write to:

The Federation of Family History Societies PO Box 2425, COVENTRY ENGLAND CV5 6YX Phone number: 07041 492032 (charged at mobile rates)

[mailto:admin@ffhs.org.uk admin@ffhs.org.uk]

You may also access the Federation’s Internet website at:

http://www.ffhs.org.uk/

 

The Society of Genealogists
The Society of Genealogists has extensive records from all over England. They also have the largest collection of transcribed parish registers in England. The address is:

Society of Genealogists c/o Honorable Secretary Box G 14 Charterhouse Buildings Goswell Road London EC1M 7BA England Internet: http://www.sog.org.uk/

For an introduction to the library see:

Using the Library of the Society of Genealogists. London, England: Society of Genealogists, 1991. (FHL book 942.1/L1 J5u 1991.)

The Family History Library has several other guides to this library, as well as their publications. The publications are listed in the Author/Title Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS

Local History Societies
There are many groups organized to study and publish journals on local histories. The British Association for Local History is a coordinating organization for local history groups. They publish the following periodical, which contains scholarly articles on local history, book reviews, and notes:

Local Historian. Chichester, Sussex, England: The British Association for Local History, 1952–67. (FHL book 942 B2ah; films 0973337–8.) This periodical was formerly called Amateur Historian.

For information about this association write:

British Association for Local History Shopwyke Hall Chichester, Sussex PO20 6BQ England Internet: http://www.balh.co.uk/lhn/article.php?file=lhn-vol1iss76-10.xml

One-Name Groups
Some organizations gather information about all individuals with a particular surname. If you are interested in such an organization, see:Guild of One-Name Studies 

Locating Records at the Family History Library
Copies of the records compiled by these societies are described in the Author/Title Search of the Family History Library Catalog under the society name. They are also listed in the Locality Search under:

ENGLAND - SOCIETIES

ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - SOCIETIES

ENGLAND - GENEALOGY

ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - GENEALOGY

Copies of some records gathered by societies are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under the record type. For example, cemetery transcripts done by a local family history society are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - CEMETERIES

Lists and guides that describe societies’ collections are listed under the following:

ENGLAND - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES

ENGLAND, [COUNTY] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES

ENGLAND, [COUNTY], [CITY, TOWN, or PARISH] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES

Web Sites
http://www.censusfinder.com/england_family_history_society.htm

http://www.genuki.org.uk/Societies/England.html