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Research Groups

Our Research Groups

Groups of members meet on a regular basis in the following areas of interest :

For details of the forthcoming dates and topics of meetings see our detailed Activity Programme. For all meetings you should book a place in any Research Group meeting you'd like to attend. You can pay online or by phone for Research Group meetings when you book for any other advertised activity. Non-members are welcome.

Family Tree Maker Users Group

The FTM User Group is a group of people who use the program 'Family Tree Maker' to organize their genealogical research.  There is no direct or commercial connection between the FTM UG or members to Ancestry.com, the owners of the Family Tree Maker program.  See www.familytreemaker.com for details on the program.

The FTM is facilitated by volunteers who use Family Tree Maker and are prepared to share their knowledge and experiences.  All interested parties are welcome; potential users, new users and long term users of Family Tree Maker.

The focus of the group is supporting each other to use FTM to record individual family histories.  The group is not about genealogical research -we focus on getting data into and out of FTM in support of our individual research efforts. 

  • At quarterly meetings there are presentations on techniques, tips, hints and experiences in using the many and varied features of the program.
  • On our forum members can post questions, seek answers, make suggestions and obtain support.

At our meetings:  presentations are made, discussions led, and time is dedicated to Q&A.  These sessions are typically very interactive; questions can be asked and the facilitator or group can offer answers and suggestions.  The focus is the current version of the software; however users of older versions are welcomed and encouraged; every effort is made to answer questions within the context of the version to which the query relates.  Meetings are typically held 4 times per year - see the SAG Calendar of Events for details of upcoming meetings.

On our forum (electronic bulletin board); post questions for the wider group to offer answers, suggestions and support or simply read the posts of others.  There are also over 5 years of Q&A on various topics that can be searched.  You can join by completing our form.

Irish Research Group

The Irish Interest Group meets on a regular basis to support members with Irish ancestry who want to share their research results and problems. Each meeting of the Irish Interest Group usually includes a lecture by a guest speaker focussing on a topic of Irish history or on records of value to Irish genealogy. It especially aims to make researchers aware of our outstanding collection of Irish material.

SAG also runs occasional tours to Ireland for interested members and others. Led by people expert in Irish family history research, these popular tours provide excellent background for anyone with Irish ancestry, combining tourism with opportunities for research and visiting ancestral areas. A separate web site provides details of past and future tours.

English Research Group

The English Research Group (which was the London & Home Counties Interest Group) includes all counties of England and Wales.

The Group meets four times a year and talks focus on a wide variety of subjects relating to family history research, and interaction within the meeting is very much encouraged as we can all learn from others’ comments. Additional presentations relating to English research are also included during the year so please refer to the Society’s Activities Calendar.

 If you would be prepared to give a talk about your research at a Group meeting please contact the Group Coordinator Pauline Kettle via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

 

South Asia Research Group

The group's focus areas are those places that were at one time under the control of the English East India Company, [often referred to as the HEIC], or one of the European East India Companies including the French, Dutch, Danish.

If your ancestors were born, married, died, lived or travelled through any of the following places and you are having difficulty with your research, then the South Asia Research Group looks forward to welcoming you: Aden, Afghanistan, Andamans, Burma, Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Goa, India, Java, Macao, Malaysia/Straits Settlements, Malta, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Pondichery, Singapore, St Helena, Bencoolen, (Sumatra), Tibet, and Whampoa.

The group has embarked on the following projects:

  • Resources at SAG - preparation of a guide to South Asian research resources at SAG by Jean McArthur and Carol Gall.
  • Web Sites for South Asia Research - Members are invited to submit the URL and title or brief description of their Favourites for inclusion in a members' resource list.
  • Resources in Sydney - A longer term project - the compilation of a resource listing of the libraries and archives which are accessible to members and which hold South Asian resources for consultation.
  • Indexing and Transcription - of 19th century birth, marriage and death announcements from various sources such as directories, journals and newspapers.

Check out the following websites to get you started with South Asia research:

The Master Genealogist Sydney User Group

The Master Genealogist (or TMG) is one of the most advanced and versatile genealogy software on the market today. It allows family historians to fully customise data, reports and charts to suit their own requirements. It is very flexible and powerful, and used by professional genealogists and beginners alike.

The aim of the TMG Sydney User Group is to allow members to exchange information, ideas, and techniques for using TMG and related programs in their family history.

Group members have different levels of experience with TMG, from many years through to complete novices.

The group also runs a mailing list and website at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TMGSydney where questions can be asked and answered and external meetings organized. To join this mailing list please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .