I'd love to join an FHS but ....

[Pam Downes]

But, again; As a brand new member, I always feel I Daren't ask if anyone could check something out in the local records for me. They'd think I was a scrounger; Just joined up and looking for favours

Dunno. I just don't know!

Sorry, Ditch, I read that as relating to asking a FHS to check items at the Record Office. and

But I think Vanessa got it right when she assumed that you meant asking BG members for look-ups. Don't be afraid to ask.
And as you live in Eire, you could perhaps repay any favours by doing look-ups in your local area.
Pam

[delphine]

Just to add to the debate. I'm in Devon with no Devon ancestors. I joined the local FHS on the recommendation of the late Don Steele who was teaching at an evening class on FH. What this gives me is access to their Resource Centre & library, which used to be invaluable for GRO fiche before they were on line and now has computer access. Volunteers at the Centre are also very helpful. I go to meetings, but do not expect to chat - I go to hear speakers.
For my own ancestors, I belong to East of London, where my interests are on their website, and, after publishing something in their Journal, I had helpful contacts; London Westminster & N Mid, whose journal deals exceptionally well with enquiries; Fife - which is very serious & dry! - but whence I have had helpful Members Interest contacts; Buckinghamshire which has a wonderful system of lending out deposited material to members by post and will produce transcripts of e.g. all instances of a given name in a set of PRs for a nominal charge. However I resigned from Suffolk (cutting off nose to spite face) as I objected to a comment in their Journal re civil partnerships. Different societies, different experiences - ask yourself if your expectations match what they say they provide? And bear in mind that the officers give their time (in UK at least). Some FHSs are quite small with many members living outside their area. Rant stops!

[Ms Tarfgi]

I belong to two FHS. I once went to a meeting at the local branch of the local society (easy to work out which!) and not one person spoke more than a sentence or two to me, despite my best efforts! I'm an averagely sociable sort of person, but there were obviously several cliques where people just carried on with last meeting's conversations and didn't want to bother with a new member! I did find the talk interesting but never went to another meeting.

However I still think it well worth continuing my membership, as staff at that society's resource centre are very helpful and the journals of both societies are very interesting and usually a good read even if they have not been of direct relevance to my searches. Researchers have answered queries that I've had published, having obviously gone to quite a lot of trouble on my behalf.

On balance well worth the annual subs.

[Flossy]

My experience has been similar to Ms Targi - I've joined and attended a few meetings of my local FHS where most of my ancestors lived and also been met with stony silence. The few committee people I met have been welcoming but were obviously busy and needed to be elsewhere; members who knew eachother were not interested in welcoming an outsider. It is a very large group so I thought I might make some headway but after a few visits I gave up & don't go to meetings anymore. I still value the quarterly magazine & have found lots of interest in there, so will continue with my membership. I guess part of the problem is that I was alone - somebody else with you might help to ease the integration, I don't know.

[delphine]

I really am intrigued to know what people want/expect from FHS Group Meetings. I go alone, and rarely speak to anyone - though if I volunteered for the tea rota/washing up I guess I might engage with more people. If there's an evening class in your area, you may meet people and discuss issues, but Family History is essentially a solitary, slightly obsessive occupation, often undertaken by very shy people. My local FHS runs helpdesks at Devon Record Office, which are another source of friendly assistance, and has groups working on projects - I've often found, as an incomer to this area, that volunteering gets one 'in' (ex-playgroup sec, ex-PTA sec, ex-League of Friends sec etc.).
Years ago when groups went out to record MIs together they may have become friends, but there are few such now, most projects being computer-based. I'm rambling again!

[Ms Tarfgi]

I Family History is essentially a solitary, slightly obsessive occupation, often undertaken by very shy people.!

I agree that one's research is a solitary occupation, unless you're lucky enough to have found a relative who is researching the same ancestors as you, but as I mentioned above, the other members who were at the meeting I attended were far from shy, chatting so animatedly amongst themselves that they didn't have time to talk to this newcomer . In fact I noted that some meetings didn't have a speaker, they were just for socialising with like-minded people! I assume they didn't just sit around looking at the floor

[Koops]

I'm not going to 'name names', but some 4 years ago I went along as a guest to an FHS meeting with a view to joining and, apart from an extremely interesting and informative talk, I can honestly say it was one of the most unpleasant evenings I've spent.

Three people actually managed to speak to me, one was extremely pleasant and welcoming, eager to find out what stage I was at and we quickly established a common interest in a particular location. Of the other two, one completely lost interest when it became apparent that I didn't have certificates or copies of authenticated documents tracing my family back to the Anglo Saxons and the third, after saying hello and a brief conversation, turned to his friend and, as they walked away, said 'Oh great! Another one who doesn't know anything about anything.'


Needless to say when later, the Membership Secretary handed me a form and asked for £15, I graciously declined and haven't had the nerve to go back again.

Please tell me they're not all the same and, is it really worth joining when I won't be able to attend the meetings and thus not have the pleasure of listening to the expert talks?

Figetsmum, I am a newish member of Kent Family Hist Soc we have a meeting Fri night in Canterbury come along and see if we can't do a better job of welcoming you in?

Koops

[ozwendy]

Hi
I live in Australia, but was born in England, so all my family history is there. Is there any point in me joining a society? I have seen that some have online databases, would I be able to access these? My main thought was that I plan to travel to England next year and could possibly visit the society then, but if you belong to one are they affiliated, thus giving you access to others or to a central database. Would it be worth joining?

[Pam Downes]

There can be advantages to joining an FHS, especially if they have online databases which are only accessible by members.
I belong to two FHS and they both issue a magazine four times a year. In each magazine issue they list 'member's interests' and I expect all the FHS do a similar thing so you could (like me!) suddenly find yourself a new cousin or two.

However any FHS publication, e.g. a marriage index, can be bought by any member of the public, and can be very cost-effective in terms of time saved. They can also save you money, e.g. if there are no marriages for a John Smith in parish xyz, then you know that you don't have to order in that parish PR at the LDS FHC.

I know of one FHS that is affiliated to a couple of smaller more local Societies, but not to the extent that their databases are merged.
A lot of your research can actually be done in Australia (even to searching PRs if you visit your local LDS Family History Centre), and I would suggest that you do as much of the 'basic' stuff first so that when you come to England you can visit the county Record Office/Archives (who are not the same as a FHS) and look for the more obscure documents.

Pam

[Ladkyis]

FHsocieties have the advantage of local knowledge. Not just parish registers but the local villages and the street names in the towns. They will usually have a few local members who know lots of local history and can tell you why your ancestors moved to that place or even why they moved away from a place.
It is well worth joining because, as Pam says you get the journal 3 or 4 times a year that has articles about local places and people and those essential members interests. The Journal will also tell you the addresses to write to for the various services the society provides to its members and a brief description of those services. If you let them know in advance that you will be visiting I am sure they will try to ensure you meet some of the members.
There is a Federation of Family History Societies but each society is separate and membership of one society does not entitle you to membership of all. take a look at the Federation website at
www.
ffhs.co.uk
everything you need to know about FH societies in the UK