updated 22OCT2008 Recently added/amended details are shown in blue

OUR SOCIETY

CONTENTS

		WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, WHAT, HOW
		STANDARDS OUR MEMBERS SHOULD OBSERVE (separate page)
		HOW TO CONTACT US (separate page)

 

WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, WHAT, HOW

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN  GENEALOGY AND FAMILY HISTORY
I keep six honest serving-men   (They taught me all I knew)   Their names are ...          What and Why and When   And How and Where and Who	For pure Genealogists 'Who, When and Where?' suffice But Family Historians Add 'Why, What, How?' for spice
- Rudyard Kipling	- Webmaster, Gwent FHS ©1997

WHO

We are a member of the Federation of Family History Societies
and of the Association of Family History Societies of Wales

WHEN

Our Society was formed in April 1981 so we celebrated our 21st Anniversary year in 2002. We became a Registered Charity (no. 702333) in January 1990, and now have over 1,260 members worldwide.

WHERE

Gwent, which replaced the historic county of Monmouthshire in 1974, is situated in the south-east corner of Wales and is often referred to as the "Gateway to Wales". Our pages giving a List of Parishes and a List of Other Placenames within the county should help you to locate any district in which you may be interested.

On 1st April 1996, it was replaced administratively by the new unitary authorities of Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Newport, Torfaen, and Caerphilly. The new Monmouthshire, confusingly, covers only the eastern half of what was the old historic county, whilst Caerphilly also includes part of the former county of Mid-Glamorgan to the west.

Gwent FHS continues to serve the area covered by the historic county of Monmouthshire, as it has always done.
But, to cater for the revised structure, our branches broadly reflect the new unitary authorities, as follows:

You can find out the exact area each branch covers from the Branch page concerned, which you can visit by "clicking" on the name of the branch on the above map (then use your browser's 'back' button to return here).

WHY

Our Society exists to encourage an interest in both family history and genealogy amongst the people of Gwent, and amongst those living elsewhere who may have ancestral connections with the historic county of Monmouthshire.

It also exists so that we can give advice and make the services we offer available to those seeking their ancestors, and also provide information about the availability of records within Gwent. Perhaps we can help you?

WHAT

Members are welcome to attend meetings at any of our six branches. There they can enjoy speakers on varied subjects of interest, and they are encouraged to become knowledgeable in research techniques. And, whilst the Society itself does not have a lending library, each of our branches has a library of books and microfiche (and, in some cases, CD-ROMs), and of journals of other societies.

All members receive a copy of our quarterly Journal, which contains appropriate articles and information, and may be used to express opinions, to ask for assistance and to publicise members' own lines of research.

Our members have transcribed and compiled a large number of parish register entries, monumental inscriptions, census index entries and other records which will be of use to researchers. These are included amongst our publications.

HOW

can you become a Member?

To find out, please go to our Membership page. There you can learn details of our membership fees, and how you can advise us of your Member's Interests, so that we can publicise the persons you are researching, with details of their places and time-spans. You can also print out the necessary forms to make things easier for you.