You may wish to start with these county-wide or regional societies:
A local parish or urban district historical society sometimes has more data of interest to your specific needs as a researcher. Many of these do not have a website and are purely volunteer staffed. A contribution for any research effort is a wise investment:
- In Grimsby, one should check these:
- The Fishing Museum, with many photographs and artifacts from that industry.
- The Welholme Galleries, which is being converted to a local history museum.
Telephone the Council at 01472 313131 to confirm dates and times open.
- The village of Long Bennington has a local History Society:
The Secretary
Long Bennington Local History Society
68 Main Road
Long Bennington
Newark, Notts. NG23 5DJ
United Kingdom - In the south of Lincolnshire, look into the resources at the Wisbech and Fenland Museum:
The Wisbech and Fenland Museum
Museum Square
Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13 1ES
United Kingdom
Tele: 01945 583817
e-mail: WisbechMuseum - The Lincolnshire Family History Society has branches that meet (at 7:30pm unless otherwise noted) in:
Boston, at The Hall, Centenary Methodist Church.
Bourne, at the United Reformed Church, Willoughby Road.
Grantham, at Harrowby Lane Methodist Church Hall.
Great Grimsby, Town Hall on the second Tuesday of each month at 7pm.
Horncastle, at the Community Centre, Manor House Street.
Lincoln, at Bracebridge Heath village hall at 1:30pm.
Louth, at the Salvation Army Citadel, Church Street.
Scunthorpe, currently inactive.
Founded in 1974, this is the place to go to order publications, fiche, maps, etc. created by the various socities.
- The Federation of Family History Societies. Or write them at:
The Federation of Family History Societies
PO BOX 2425
COVENTRY, CV5 6YX
United Kingdom - At the beginning of 2003, GenFair, an independent site for ordering family history publications, merged with the FFHS, creating an even better resource for researchers. Purchases can be made by Credit Card.
The SOG has a great many records available in their reading room:
- The Society of Genealogists. Or write them at:
The Society of Genealogists
14 Charterhouse Buildings
Goswell Road
London, EC1M 7BA
United Kingdom
This section discusses non-genealogical socities in Lincolnshire. Some of these may have membership records.
The Oddfellows, like the 'Forestors' or 'The Ancient Shepherds' or 'The Ancient Order of Druids' were 'friendly societies'. Acts of Parliament in 1793 and 1825 allowed these clubs to be set up. Their function was to offer financial relief to their members in times of hardship such as sickness and retirement. Their memberships were more upper working class or middle class in the social heirarchy as, the member ship fees to join and the monthly subscription were often beyond the reach of the labouring working classes who might well have been living 'hand to mouth' on a month to month basis. In 1850 there were 5,487 Oddfellows in Lincolnshire, organised into 99 'lodges' but this had increased by 1900 to a membership in Lincoln alone, of 6,209. These societies often met in a public house but some who had leanings towards temperance or were better off, had their own premises. So occasionally, you will still find public buildings known as The Oddfellows Hall. The public houses often had a decorated 'fan light' that is a pane of glass over the entrance door with the Arms of the Society inscribed and coloured, these too could be seen in the older pubs of the 1980s. The reference book to try to get hold of is The Friendly Societies in England: 1815-1875, by P H J H Gosden 1961.
