Joining

 

The Somerset and Dorset Family History Society welcomes new members.

The Society was founded in 1975, and has over 4,000 members registered worldwide. It is a registered charity (No. 1010351) and is affiliated to the Federation of Family History Societies.

For a copy of the Society's Constitution, adopted in 2002, click on the "About Us" tab, then select "Constitution"

The Society covers the historical counties of Somerset and Dorset, with the exception of parts of north Somerset which are covered by the Bristol and Avon FHS.

If you have spent some time tracing your family history or are just starting out on this fascinating hobby, we are sure that joining the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society will be of great benefit to you.

The Society has:

  • Groups operating in various parts of the two counties
  • An active education section
  • A Bookshop well stocked with family history books, maps and charts which can be ordered by post
  • Produced a number of Publications of value to those researching in the two counties

The Society:

  • Publishes a quarterly journal entitled 'The Greenwood Tree' which is posted free to full members
  • Has an extensive Library
  • Holds a copy of the International Genealogical Index (I.G.I.) 1992 edition
  • Holds a copy of the 1881 Census

The Society maintains the following Indexes:

  • Somerset Marriages Indexes, pre-1754 and 1754-1837
  • Dorset Marriage Index pre 1837
  • Somerset Monumental Inscriptions
  • Dorset Monumental Inscriptions
  • Burial Index for Somerset and Dorset
  • A collection of Pedigrees
  • Wills Beneficiaries
  • Out of Area (Strays)
  • Somerset Baptisms

Information on all these and much more can be found on this Web Site.

In order to reduce the risk of fraud, the Society will NOT accept credit card details sent by e-mail. Any such e-mails will be returned and the details deleted from the Society's system. If you wish to pay by credit card, you must use the postal system to do so. Alternatively, you can join or renew your membership online via Parish Chest or Genfair.

Subscription

  • for U.K. Members £15 per annum or
  • £42 for 3 years
  • for Family Members £2 per additional Member (resident at the same address as a Full Member) per year, i.e. an additional £6 for a three-year membership
  • for Overseas Members £15 per annum (+ £2 for Family member) or
  • £45 for 3 years (+£6 for Family member)

Membership runs from 1st January to 31st December. There is not a reduced fee for those joining part way through the year.

New Members receive all copies of the Greenwood Tree for the year they join, and since this is the single largest cost of Membership, we have to ask the full fee at whatever time of year someone joins.

After 1st November new members will be registered as the following year.

If you wish to apply for Membership, Click here to download the application form and then post to:-

Subscriptions  SDFHS, P O BOX 4502. SHERBORNE, DT9 6YL or email sdfhs@btconnect.com

It is also possible to join the Society via the Parish Chest and Genfair Web Sites.

Membership records are kept on electronic data retrieval systems.