Society of Genealogists

The Society of Genealogists (SoG) is a UK-based educational charity, founded in 1911[1] to "promote, encourage and foster the study, science and knowledge of genealogy".[2] The Society's Library is the largest specialist genealogical library outside North America.[1] Membership is open to any adult who agrees to abide by the Society's rules and who pays the annual subscription. At the end of 2010, it had 11,014 members.[3]

Society of Genealogists
Society of Genealogists logo
AbbreviationSoG
Formation1911
HeadquartersLondon
Membership
11,000
Websitewww.sog.org.uk
Before moving to north London, the SoG owned & operated from this building at 37 Harrington Gardens, near Gloucester Road tube station SW7.

History

Until it purchased 37 Harrington Gardens, South Kensington, in 1954, the Society was based in Malet Place, Bloomsbury, London. The constant growth of the library and increasingly cramped building forced the Society to also sell this headquarters and move both to 14 Charterhouse Buildings (constructed in 1968 for storing rolls of silk), in Clerkenwell, London, in July 1984.[4]

Facilities

The Society possesses the largest family history research library in the United Kingdom, accessible to all members without charge and available to be used by the general public on payment of a fee. Society holdings include thousands of parish register and nonconformist register copies on microfilm or microfiche or in manuscript, typescript or published form, along with tombstone inscriptions, will, marriage licence and census transcripts and indexes, trade and residential directories and poll books (lists of voters), family histories, biographical dictionaries, works on apprentices and occupations, the armed forces, school and university registers and histories, genealogical journals and many other related works. The library catalogue is available on the Society's web site.

In 2000, the Society made a number of its genealogical datasets available online on the commercial service British Origins, with some free access for Society members. This material is now hosted commercially by Findmypast with a separate free service to members run by the Society itself on its own web site using the Frontis Archive Publishing System.

Activities
The current home of the Society of Genealogists in Charterhouse Buildings off Goswell Road, London

The emphasis is on British, British Empire and Commonwealth sources, but the Society has some sources for most parts of the world.

The Society's Internet suite offers free access to major genealogical websites including Ancestry and Findmypast.

The society runs a programme of lectures, visits, and courses every year, and publishes textbooks, indexes, and a quarterly journal, Genealogists' Magazine. The latter is currently edited by Michael Gandy.

Prince Michael of Kent Award

The society's patron is Prince Michael of Kent, after whom the Society has named a prestigious award (created in 2000), granted periodically to a person or organisation which has made an outstanding contribution to genealogy.

Recipients
Year Recipient
2000 Family Records Centre [5]
2004 ABM Publishing Ltd [6]
2006 Genealogical Society of Utah [7]
2007 FreeBMD [8]
2011 Alex Graham, CEO Wall to Wall [9]
2018 Cyndi Ingle, of Cyndi's List[10]

Years not listed means no one was awarded.[8]

References
  1. Fowler, S. Making History: Society of Genealogists, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Date unknown. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  2. Foster, J; Sheppard, J (2002). British Archives: A Guide to Archive Resources in the UK (4th ed.). New York, NY: Palgrave. p. xxvii. ISBN 9780333735367.
  3. Society of Genealogists, Annual Report & Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2010.
  4. Genealogists' Magazine March 1984, vol.21, no.5, p.163-164; June 1984, vol.21, no.6, notice inside front cover. ISSN 0016-6391
  5. Prince Michael of Kent. "Diary May, 2000". Archived from the original on 19 November 2003.
  6. ABM Publishing Ltd. "Family Tree Magazine and Practical Family History". Archived from the original on 8 February 2008.
  7. Society of Genealogists. "AGM minutes 2006" (PDF).
  8. Society of Genealogists. "Society of Genealogists makes prestige award to FreeBMD" (PDF).
  9. Society of Genealogists. "Announcement".
  10. https://blog.eogn.com/2018/09/17/cyndi-ingle-honored-with-the-prestigious-prince-michael-of-kent-award
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