Genealogy Chat

ive been looking at their website and as i am hertfordshire it would be easier for me to get to their place in london as my searches need to be in leicester, worcester and cheshire. can anyone tell me if it is worthwhile joining and if i do will i find the type of records there im looking for. i.e. cheshire births, marriages deaths before 1837/ obviously i know you cant comment on if i will find the ones im looking for but do they hold these types of parish records? thanx carolexx

I belong and find it worthwhile because i can get to London easily and they hold transcripts and also microfilmed original registers for many of the parishes I need around the country. They have their catalogue online at www.sog.org.uk which should help you decide if they cover the areas you want. The library is a real treasure trove of family history material, not just registers. The membership also gives 3 days free access to British origins in every quarter.

thanx for your reply judith, i may consider joining them! carolexx

Hi Carol I'm thinking about it too an dhave just been looking at the site again. I have to go to London in the morning so thought I may go in the afternoon and see what I find and how useful it is - I've been meaning to go on one of their Saturday tours for ages but not made it. Just hoping they are very helpful as I am clueless when it comes to Mircofiche etc.! If I make it I'll let you know how I get on if you like. Kate

id be very interested in how you get on Kate. thanx carolexx

Sometimes they have a free hour to look in their library. Or you could go there and pay to look for a day and get a better idea whether or not it would be useful to you.

Hi Carole I had a great couple of hours - wish I had paid for longer. I didn't get round to looking at all of what they had got there as I wanted to look for some specific info. However I was advised to go up to the middle library first and I had a wander round there - lots of books organised by county, some parixh records and MIs and a wide variety of other books on particular villages or larger parts of the county.I could easily have spent all my time there just browsing to found out more about where my rellies came from. I then went to the lower library and looked at a microfilm - I found the film ok but had to ask the guy on the desk to show me how to use it and he was very helpful. I would advise you to go there and look around and then decide Carole - if it is just a short visit then go and browse just to get a feel for what is there. If you have longer then look on the online cat. beforehand and choose what you want to look at so you don't waste time deciding when you get there. If you do spend some time there and then decide to become a member whatever you have paid on that day is then taken off your membership fee so you don't lose out at all. They do free orientation tours roughly ever other Saturday so you could book on one of those perhaps. I would certailnly recommend that you go along there and have a look. Let me know how you get on. Kate

thank you for that Kate. After reading your review then i think i will check out online what i would like to look at, then pay a visit for the day. i can then decide to join or not. sounds very interesting so i shall look forward to it. will let you know what i decide. thnax carolexx