Borders Family History Society at 52, Overhaugh St, Galashiels, Scotland

Borders Family History Society, (BFHS), founded in 1985, is a members and research society which concentrates on the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

region in south-eastern Scotland, comprising the ancient pre-1975 counties of

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk ( gd, Siorrachd Shalcraig) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. ...

and

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lan ...

, as well as small parts of the former counties of

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

(formerly

Edinburghshire Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh ...

), and adjacent counties in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. They hav
map diagrams
of the counties and their parishes. The Society's Patron is the

Earl of Lauderdale Earl of Lauderdale is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The current holder of the title is Ian Maitland, 18th Earl of Lauderdale. The title was created in 1624 for John Maitland, 2nd Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire. The second Ear ...

, who is also the Hereditary Flag-Bearer for Scotland and Chief of the

Clan Maitland Clan Maitland is a Lowland Scottish clan. History Origins of the clan The name Maitland is of Norman origin and was originally spelt Mautalent, Mautalen, Matulant or Matalan, it translates as "evil genius". It is claimed that the Maitlands de ...

.''Borders Family History Society Magazine'', Issue 76, June 2011, p.2: "New Patron". ISSN 0268-5701

Headquarters

Thei
premises
are at 52 Overhaugh St, Galashiels, TD1 1 DP, Scotland. The premises contain an extensive library of books, microfiche, microfilms, CDs, family trees, and magazines from some other family history societies - catalogues of which are on their website. There is also an archive and search room, and a study room. There is disabled access. Opening hours vary and are shown on the website. Enquirers can carry out research in the Society's premises o
request them to do research
for you. The Society encourages family historians to further their genealogical research by recording Surname Interests (free), viewing others' Queries and Surname Interests (currently 7,900 interests recorded - covering about 2,650 surnames), searching the indexes to their publications: the
Gravestones Index
covering over 5,170 distinct surnames, th
Magazine Article Index
with over 1,500 different topics, th
Family Trees Index (an index to family trees / pedigree charts)
with over 4,100 distinct surnames, on their website.

Events & Meetings

For 8 months of the year starting in September they hold monthly Sunday afternoon lecture meetings in Galashiels, a central point in their 'constituency', and occasionally other places in the Scottish Borders, and admission is free; please see details of th
lectures and other events
To celebrate their silver jubilee they held a Family and Local History Fair and Conference on 9 October 2010 in Melrose, and there were talks by well-known local speakers. The Society were the hosts for the Scottish Association of Family History Societies family history conference and history fair held in

Galashiels Galashiels (; sco, Gallae, gd, An Geal Àth) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive ...

, Scotland in May 2013. There were 160 genealogical delegates and more than 330 people all told visited the fair. The theme was "Migration" and there were five talks from internationally well-known speakers. The research room was exceedingly busy all day, and there were queues at many of the other advice stalls. The conference and history fair received widespread praise from delegates and thanks from exhibitors. Details of the nex
Scottish Association of Family History Societies family history conference and history fair

Transcribing Records

The Society recor
monumental/gravestone/tombstone inscriptions
and research local social history, publishing the results in books and CDs; they also market other relevan
genealogical publications
A team of Society volunteers have transcribed and indexed digitised Poor Law records for various Borders parishes for the period 1845 to 1933. These records are about applications for poor relief made by people who were settled in a Borders parish, but not necessarily living there, and provide unique information about the applicants, their families and their life; thus it could help you track down a person’s previous or subsequent address if they moved away from their birth parish. Similarly, they’ll also be of interest to people whose ancestors were not born in the Borders but may have lived or died in the Borders. Details included in the index to the Poor Law Records comprise names, place of birth, age or date of birth, address, other family members, description of disablement, date of death, and there’s more information on the images themselves, including occupation, benefit received. To search for a name see thei
Poor Law Records Index
for more details, see th
Borders Poor Law Records volumes
they've published. A team of volunteers are actively transcribing and indexing digitised police and criminal records for various Borders parishes for the 19th century.

Magazine

Members receive the 44 page ''Borders Family History Society Magazine'' three times a year, and the Society's elected Officers and governing Council members appear on the back cover. Members also receive discounts on the society's monumental inscriptions volumes, research service as well as free access to GEDCOM family trees by email. You can become a member b
joining online
The Society currently has over 870 members worldwide and is a member of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies.

References

{{reflist

Website

Borders Family History Society
Family history societies in the United Kingdom History organisations based in Scotland Clubs and societies in the Scottish Borders Scottish Borders 1985 establishments in Scotland Organizations established in 1985