Читать книгу Collins Tracing Your Family History - Ryan Tubridy, Anthony Adolph - Страница 42

Many countries have societies formed by genealogists to help each other. The main one in Britain is the Society of Genealogists (SoG). Its library is the finest of its kind, including the Great Card Index (3.5 million slips from a vast array of sources) and a huge collection of pedigrees submitted by members, varying enormously in quality but including many of very high standard. The contents of its library together with many searchable databases are on its website. It publishes the Genealogists’ Magazine.

A curiosity in English genealogy is the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (IHGS). It organises a graded series of courses and qualifications in genealogy. It also has a library that is open to the public for a fee and produces a journal, Family History.

Most counties (sometimes even parts of counties) and some specialist areas such as Catholic and Anglo-German have family history societies. They come under the umbrella of the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS). Membership includes many Commonwealth and United States societies too, and it publishes Family History News and Digest biannually, summarising the contents of the different journals. Family History Societies have membership worldwide and their journals include articles on relevant sources and case studies, lists of members’ interests and ancestral names. Many also have their own libraries and organise projects to index records such as gravestones and censuses. It is often a good idea to join your nearest Family History Society even if you do not have any local ancestors, because many of the talks will be of more general application, and many organise reciprocal research via other societies.