Felixstowe Family History Society

Purchased in August 2001 by member subscription, the Tree House is a valuable asset by way of the research materials that we are able to offer in one building. Volunteers open it on three days each week and in the evening of the third Wednesday of each month. The general public has free access during these times but donations are requested for machine usage and printouts. Members can access the facility any time they wish as they are advised on procedures on enrolment.

The facility can be sectioned into three catagories, (a) the library, (b) the fiche readers and (c) the computers. Each category in turn carries its own unique style of information storage and composition. It is not feasible to list the entire contents of the Tree House but here follows a brief example of contents in each category.

(a) The Library, speaks for itself as it contains books and maps of interest to family history researchers and novels relating to the subject. There are books of an instructive nature, ie how do I --?, where do I look--?, what if--?, and what to do next. Other books are for reference, ie Phillimores Atlas of Parishes, Military Medals and other military material and Street directories.

This is a very small insight of material available but never the less it hopefully gives an idea of the vast depth of research which is on hand. Some of the books are available for home study use much the same as a public library.

(b) The Fiche Readers, numbering 8 of, have their own distinct style of presentation. The information in this instance usually comprises of thousands of entries on one small sheet of film.

This information is usually specific to a particular subject and is copied from the original records.

Examples of this are,

The International Genealogy Index (parish records gathered by the Mormon Church)
The Huguenot records (protestant refugees from Belgium, Holland)
The Birth, Marriage and Death indexes for all of the U.K. and other miscellaneous material.

(c) The Computers, we have 6 computers (3 of which have internet access) for general use to access an abundant supply of diverse material. This material is stored on discs and is relevantly easy to access and includes, the 1881 U.K. Census returns, London Census Returns for 1851 through to 1891, Soldiers who died in the World Wars, the National Burial Index to name just a few.

There are also numerous discs with a host of material relevant to NATIONAL family history research. With 3 computers we are able to access the Internet and reach information of a WORLD WIDE nature.

Never been? well the above is a very simple introduction to the Tree House but I hope that it wets your appetite and that you will wish to visit. Should you be a little nervous of what awaits you then give us a ring, approach us at a meeting or just turn up, make your requirements known and we be only to pleased to offer you assistance.

Please come along and use this very valuable asset and support YOUR society.