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If, at any point during your research, you feel daunted by the next step, or have hit a brick wall on a certain line of enquiry, there are a multitude of individuals and societies out there that can be of assistance. Whatever your problem, it is likely that others have ground to a halt for similar reasons before you but have eventually found a route forward. Very few research problems are unique in genealogy, and as you find your way around one obstacle you will be able to use that experience as a lesson for the next time you get stuck. Even if you are confident researching your family tree alone, it is still advisable to join one of the many family and local history societies that we are lucky enough to have access to in the UK. You will always learn something from the experience other members have to offer, and be able to utilize the indexes, transcriptions and local projects that they have worked upon and which may not be available anywhere else.

There is a small charge to join a society, but the talks they offer to members, the networking they provide between researchers, the regular journals that are issued and their access to indexes unique to their subject matter make it all worth while. You should join a history society local to the area your ancestors were from so that you can benefit from the expertise of others who have researched that area and are compiling indexes for records relevant to that location. The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) is the umbrella organization that unites and represents all of the smaller societies around England, Wales and Ireland. You cannot join the FFHS itself, but you can consult their website at www.ffhs.org.uk to find a family history society local to you. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) provides a similar network for family history societies in Scotland, and its membership list can be searched from www.safhs.org.uk. The GENUKI website also has a page for locating societies geographically, with links to each society’s website.

The range of history societies open to genealogists from around the world is staggering – take any topic you can think of and you are likely to find that a society has already been established to unite and aid researchers in that field of study. In addition to the hundreds of regional societies, there is a range of organizations that interest themselves in particular industries, professions and occupations. The Railway Ancestors Family History Society may be of benefit if you find an ancestor who worked in that profession; the Society for Army Historical Research could be worth joining if you have a long line of military ancestors in your tree. Societies dedicated to researching certain ethnic or religious groups also exist, such as the Romany and Traveller Family History Society, the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, and the Catholic Family History Society.

There is likely to be more than one society that can assist you with your investigation, and the more you join, the wider your network will be when you do need advice.