About Us

Midland Ancestors is the public face for the Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry, also known as the BMSGH. 

We have many websites which can all be accessed from our main website at www.midland-ancestors.uk 


Area of Interest: Our Society is the principal genealogical and heraldic society for the counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.  This includes the areas of ‘old’ counties, as they existed before the major boundary changes of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the areas brought into them by those changes.  In particular the modern metropolitan boroughs of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton (collectively known as the West Midlands) are within our area.

The main aim of the Society is to promote interest in family history by offering help and advice to researchers through our educational one day courses; monthly meetings; publications and online resources: To help preserve and records throughout our three counties by transcribing, indexing and publication.

PUBLICATIONS: Members receive the Society’s journal, The Midland Ancestor, published four times a year.

Members Handbook: This contains details of the Society and its services and information about local record offices.

Annual Programme of meetings of all Groups and special interest groups.  We have Groups in

Stoke-on-Trent, and Wolverhampton (Staffordshire)

Birmingham and Kenilworth (Warwickshire)

Bromsgrove and Stourbridge (Worcestershire)

London

Our special interest group, The Heraldry Group, meet in Birmingham.

We also offer regular trips to National Archives, Kew; London Metropolitan Archives and important family history events.

Further details on branch programmes can be found on our website: www.midland-ancestors.uk/about/local-groups

Publications List: A current version of all the Society’s publications is available online via the Society’s e-shop at www.midland-ancestors.shop.  Many are now available as downloads.

Lending and Reference Libraries based in Birmingham & Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BS.  The Lending library is open before each of the monthly meetings held at BMI.   The Reference Library is open most weekdays 10am-3pm approx. Before travelling long distances, telephone Bernie McLean +044 (0)121 454 4307 to find out if the library will be open when you arrive.

SEARCH SERVICES: Depending on your interests and needs you may also be able to make use of:

-        Link Service (Voluntary Exchange) This is a service which depends entirely upon the voluntary efforts of members who undertake to carry out simple research at record offices local to them in exchange for similar research being undertaken on their behalf at another record office.  The exchange does not have to be direct.  It is not unusual for A to research for B who researches for C who researches for A, and so on.  Many overseas members have received help through this service.

 

-        Marriage and Burial and other Indexes (Low cost service):  We maintain and continue to build Marriage and Burial Indexes for Birmingham, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.  (Birmingham is treated separately from Warwickshire in this context simply because it is so large).  We have a variety of other specialist indexes, which are listed in the members Handbook.

NEW MEMBERS:    On joining you will be invited to sign up to our Members Interest Scheme by which you can share surnames that you are researching.  More details can be found on www.midland-ancestors.uk/resources/members-interests/

Please note that subscriptions are payable for the calendar year.  If you join before 1 October you will receive all journals and other communications for that year.  If you join after 1 October you will receive the December journal free and your membership will continue until the end of the following year.


The Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry         Charity Registration No. 505916

A Society affiliated to the Birmingham & Midland Institute

Member – The Family History Federation                  Member – National Council for Voluntary Organisations