Created by Julie Goucher, 2023

The range of material that is key to unravelling our family histories is quite astounding. In the modern world with the commercial organisations holding rafts of data it is easy to believe that the material has always been available in this way, and anyone who has researched their family history for decades will be aware that over the last 25 years or so the internet has revolutionised the way we research, access and explore historical material.

Before the big commercial organisations there were organisations such as these:

• Family History Societies & Organisations
  • County organisations such as
    • West Surrey Family History Society
    • East Surrey Family History Society
  • Organisations based on geographical elements
    • Families in British India Society (FIBIS)
  • Organisations based on nationality groups
    • Anglo German FHS
    • Anglo Italian FHS
  • Organisations that are based on specifics
    • Surnames – Guild of One-Name Studies
    • Places – Society for One-Place Studies
  • Organisations based on Local History
    • British Association for Local History
    • Family and Community History Research Group
  • Organisations that have a broader presence
    • Society of Genealogists*

All of these societies and organisations operate with volunteers only (* the SOG has limited staff AND volunteers). Volunteers have sustained these organisations for decades through indexing projects, database building, website maintaining, and much much more. That need for volunteers continues, and without it we risk damaging the very organisations and ethos that we love.

These are not the only organisations that are relevant to family history, there are also

• Museums
• Archaeological Societies
• History Societies
• Record Societies
• Archives & Heritage Centres
• Local History Libraries
• Specialist libraries
• Open Air Museums/Rural Life 
  • Down and Weald, at Chichester which holds the watermill that was once at Lurgershall, Sussex – this is the watermill that my great great grandmother, Mary Denyer (1838 – 1913) would have seen. – How wonderful is that?

Many of these organisations may hold information that directly refers to our ancestors or to people in our wider families. Additionally they may hold information that provides context or wider information about a specific topic.

In this post I have highlighted a few of the Societies and organisations I am involved with, or a member of; in two of these instances I am a founder member. There are many, many more out there, across the UK, Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and elsewhere.

It is also worth mentioning that a number of organisations have research rooms, such as Norfolk and Oxfordshire Family History Societies etc, and a second useful thing maybe that there is a catalogue of material that can be searched by the public – the Society of Genealogists for example have SOGCAT.

We really are only limited by our imaginations. We can cast the net wide whilst researching, otherwise you might just miss a gem.