We are pleased to pass on the post below with the news from the recently merged society now known as the ‘ Airedale and Wharfedale Family History Society’.

We commend all of the extensive work done by the societies in the past and look forward to working with the newly formed society in the future.

Two Yorkshire family history organisations, Wharfedale Family History Group and Keighley Family History Society, both of which have been in existence since the nineteen eighties are to merge.  From 1^st January they will be known as the Airedale and Wharfedale Family History Society.  The society will have three branches – Burley in Wharfedale, Keighley and Threshfield.

The two organisations have had overlapping areas of interest and the new society will take in Wharfedale, Airedale, the Forest of Bowland and all towns and villages to the borders of Lancashire and Cumbria.  Their list of publications which will number close to five hundred encompasses parish registers and memorial inscriptions – valuable aids for anyone in search of their roots.

The society’s aims are:

• To provide good lively informative monthly meetings at our soon to be three branches.
• Attract new members
• Offer assistance for those new to the hobby.
• Provide new research aids, particularly those less obvious and less  financially rewarding to warrant the interest of the major websites.

Although a lot of family history research can be carried out on the internet, due to the complexities of the records it is very easily to come to a standstill or end up in the wrong tree!  Local knowledge of available sources can supply invaluable aid to the researcher at a much lower cost and with more accurate results.

The society website can be found at www.awfhs.org.uk.  This includes a list of the publications and several databases, details of the society meetings, articles and news.

The first meeting of the new society is on Thursday January at the Salem Hall in Burley in Wharfedale starting at 7.30.  This will be a research evening, an ideal opportunity for visitors and new members to come and meet the team.  Visitors and new members are always welcome at our meetings.