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| Cambridge & District Family History Society | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cambridge & District Family History Society |
| Formation | 1975 |
| Type | Registered charity |
| Headquarters | Cambridge |
| Region served | Cambridgeshire, Ely, Newmarket |
| Leader title | Chair |
Cambridge & District Family History Society is a regional genealogical organization serving enthusiasts in Cambridge, Ely, Huntingdon, Peterborough and surrounding areas. The society promotes research into parish registers, civil registration, census records and local archives, and supports family historians through meetings, publications and online resources. It liaises with archival institutions, heritage bodies and academic partners to facilitate access to primary sources and to foster public engagement with ancestral studies.
Founded in 1975, the society emerged amid a wave of interest in ancestry sparked by national initiatives such as the launch of computerised census indexing and projects at the Society of Genealogists, the Federation of Family History Societies and local historical societies. Early collaborations involved the Cambridgeshire Archives (formerly Cambridgeshire County Record Office), the Cambridge University Library, the University of Cambridge, the Royal Historical Society and the Cambridge Antiquarian Society. Over decades the society has worked with the National Archives, the British Library, the London Metropolitan Archives, the Institute of Historical Research, the Wellcome Library and the Norfolk Record Office to digitise parish registers, bishop’s transcripts and probate records. Volunteers drew on expertise from figures associated with the Local History Research Group, the Huntingdonshire Local History Society, the Cambridge Past, Present and Future charity and the Ely Cathedral Library.
The society provides workshops, index compilation, transcriptions and specialist interest groups focusing on parish registers, wills, probate calendars and census analysis. It offers guidance on using sources such as the 1841 Census, 1911 Census, GRO indexes, tithe maps, trade directories and electoral registers, and supports research involving records held by the Cambridgeshire Collection, the British Newspaper Archive, the Family Records Centre, the Public Record Office and the Society of Genealogists. Members benefit from training in palaeography, heraldry research, heraldic visitations and methodology promoted by the Guildhall Library, the College of Arms, the National Records of Scotland and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.
The society publishes a regular journal, newsletters and transcribed parish register volumes, producing indexes to baptisms, marriages and burials for parishes across Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and the Isle of Ely. It issues research guides referencing sources such as probate calendars, parish chest materials, diocesan records, Army Service Records, Royal Navy muster books, Merchant Navy records and Poor Law Union records. Collaborative publications have drawn on contributions from scholars associated with Cambridge University Press, Boydell & Brewer, Oxford University Press, the Victoria County History project and the Publications of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society.
Membership comprises amateur and professional genealogists, archivists, librarians and local historians from Cambridge, Ely, Peterborough, St Ives, St Neots and Newmarket. The governing body includes a Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and specialist officers with links to Cambridgeshire County Council, the City of Cambridge Council, the Huntingdonshire District Council and local parish councils. The society aligns with national bodies including the Federation of Family History Societies, the Society of Genealogists and international networks linked to the International Commission for the History and Philosophy of Science, the British Association for Local History and genealogical societies in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Kent, Sussex and Norfolk.
Regular meetings, lectures and seminars have been held at venues such as the Cambridge Central Library, Ely Cathedral, the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, the Guildhall, the Museum of Cambridge and village halls in Cottenham, Histon, Linton and Sawston. Speakers have included experts from the National Archives, the Family History Federation, the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Royal Society of Arts. The society has organised fair-style events with exhibitors from Ancestry, Findmypast, FamilySearch, the British Library, the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, the Huntingdonshire Archives and local history publishers.
Members use research facilities at Cambridgeshire Archives, the Cambridge University Library, the Norfolk Record Office, the Bedfordshire Archives, the Suffolk Record Office, the Lincolnshire Archives, the Essex Records Office and the National Archives at Kew. The society maintains its own transcribed indexes, parish register copies and fiche collections, and assists members in accessing digitised newspapers via the British Newspaper Archive, church court records, magistrates’ records and manorial rolls preserved at county record offices and cathedral libraries including Ely Cathedral Library and Peterborough Cathedral archives.
The society partners with academic departments at the University of Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin University, the Centre for Family History at the University of Strathclyde, the Institute of Historical Research, the Cambridge Museums consortium, the Natural History Museum outreach programmes and heritage organisations such as the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic England. Community outreach includes projects with local schools, the Cambridgeshire Libraries Service, Age UK, the Citizens Advice Bureau, local parish churches, the Women’s Institute, the Scouts Association and volunteer initiatives connected with the Big Help Out and national Heritage Open Days.
Category:Organisations based in Cambridge Category:Family history societies in the United Kingdom