Founded in 1975, Berkshire Family History Society works to meet the needs of those researching their ancestry across the UK and overseas – as well as those looking for former relatives in historic Berkshire
A registered charity, Berkshire Family History Society exists to help you in your research … WHEREVER your ancestors came from... and you do not need to be a member to benefit.
The Aberdeen & North-East Scotland FHS
The Aberdeen & North-East Scotland FHS exists to assist and promote the study of genealogy and family history centred on Scotland’s North-East corner: the old counties of Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire, Banffshire and Morayshire.
Our Research Centre, opened in 1987 and the first of its kind in Scotland, is available for members to use. Non-members may also visit. The Research Centre is staffed by volunteer members who are delighted to help you trace your family tree and advise you how best to go about it. Facilities include WiFi, a large library with 5,500 books, plus journals from other societies worldwide, magazines, ancestor charts and maps, microfilm and microfiche of the IGI (the whole world), and OPRs and 1841–1901 census records for all Scotland.
Regular meetings are held throughout the year, covering many topics of interest to family historians. Meetings are held in Aberdeen, Elgin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London, and by our groups based in Southern Ontario and in Australia. Most meetings are either online-only or hybrid (online and in person).
Research assistance into North-East Scottish ancestry can be conducted for out-of-area members by Society volunteers, at a nominal charge plus expenses (such as Registrar’s fees, postage, photocopies etc.).
Manchester and Lancashire fhs
MLFHS is a large, thriving family history society covering roughly the larger area of Greater Manchester and its surrounds and with additional branches local to Oldham, Bolton, Anglo-Scots and Irish Ancestry (resting at present). The Society and its branches held 50 meetings in 2022, online, in-person and hybrid, and continued with the preservation and transcription of old records, supported by a large team of volunteers. Our website “Manchester Ancestors” holds over 3.2 million records in our searchable databases and a further 7,000 records were added in November alone; records as diverse as monumental inscriptions, admissions to the Royal Manchester School for the Deaf and Dumb, RC church record transcriptions, wartime blackout fines and early local vehicle registrations. By joining our society you can access all databases and the documents collections, attend any of our meetings, ask questions in our online forum, receive our quarterly journal and, if you are local or visiting Manchester, call at our public helpdesk run by our very experienced volunteers, five days a week, at Manchester Central Library. All this for just £15 a year which also includes membership for another family member.
The Families in British India Society
The Families in British India Society, or FIBIS for short, is the leading family history organisation focusing on assisting genealogists to research ancestors and the lives they lead in India during the period from 1600-1947. FIBIS was established in the latter half of 1998 and membership has grown to well over 1400 people in the UK and overseas.
The website at www.fibis.org, has a large and growing database, an image gallery, and also a wiki offering substantial background detail, suggestions for further reading and links in a “virtual library” to further sources of interest. All this information is freely available to researchers.
Regular lecture meetings, normally two a year, are held in London on a wide range of relevant topics. These meetings also include surgery sessions to support individual research,
In addition, members receive two FIBIS Journals per year, in print and digital form, with articles about individual people and the many aspects of life in British India. There is also an online members area where networking is encouraged and unique background resources can be accessed.
FIBIS welcomes contact and, for this reason, a dedicated team of volunteers is always available to assist with emailed individual research enquiries.
Quaker Family History Society
The Quaker Family History Society is open to Quakers and non-Quakers who are interested in the history of Quakers in the British Isles. Our aim is to encourage and assist anyone wanting to trace their Quaker ancestors by providing and sharing information via our website, magazine and meetings.
We are a small society whose members are scattered all over the UK and beyond. Not being based in any one place, we don't have regular local meetings, but have traditionally organised two one-day regional meetings in various parts of the UK, plus an AGM in London. During the pandemic we have instead been holding shorter and more frequent Zoom meetings. We have had speakers on subjects such as Quakers in politics, and blogging your family history. We have also had meetings around such things as breaking down brick walls. We intend to continue with these when we resume our regional meetings again.
Our magazine ‘Quaker Connections’ is produced 3 times a year. Our website includes a fantastic wills database, and lots of useful information on tracing Quaker ancestors. We also offer an annual grant to individuals to help with the cost of Quaker family history research.
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