Wharfedale Family History Group and Keighley Family History Society merge to become Airedale and Wharfedale Family History Society.
Wharfedale Family History Group and Keighley Family History Society, both of which have been in existence since the early 1980s, are now known as the Airedale and Wharfedale Family History Society.
Anyone with roots in the Airedale and Wharfedale area, or further afield, can find help and encouragement in this fascinating hobby by joining.
The two organisations have had overlapping areas of interest and the new society will take in Wharfedale, Airedale, the Forest of Bowland and towns and villages to the borders of Lancashire and Cumbria.
Over the years the two groups have transcribed and published a large number of parish registers, memorial inscriptions of graveyards and cemeteries plus many non-conformist records. Their list of publications which will number close to five hundred - valuable aids for anyone in search of their roots.
*The 1803 Craven Muster Roll, a register of the officers and men in a military unit or ship's company. It is a useful tool for finding relatives prior to the national census.
*A huge database of war memorials and rolls of honour, containing transcriptions from over 600 memorials in West and North Yorkshire.
*A database of the surnames our members are researching and are willing to share with other researchers.
"Our journal contains articles to assist those new to the hobby and member's own research stories," says Stanley.
Many members have no ancestral roots in the area but find being allied to a group of like-minded individuals and with access to a variety of speakers on related topics helps with their research.
Local knowledge of available sources can supply invaluable aids to the researcher at a much lower cost and with more accurate results.
The group's resources includes photographs. "Old pictures are invaluable," says Stanley. The collection includes evocative images of schoolchildren, sports teams, church members and other groups. There's a marvellous picture of Otley Air raid wardens taken during the Second World War, a photograph of the smarty suited members of Skipton Amateur Swimming Club, dated around 1905, and a 1915 picture of Sunday School teachers at Horsforth Cragg Baptist Church.
The society's aims are to provide lively, informative monthly meetings, offer assistance for those new to the hobby and to provide new research aids, particularly those less obvious and less likely to be available on major websites.
"We are also always looking for new members, who are very welcome," says Stanley.
The group meet three times a month and hold an annual open day at Addingham Memorial Hall. This year it takes place on May 11.
Visitors and new members are always welcome at meetings which are held on the first Thursday in the month at Burley in Wharfedale Salem Hall at 7.30pm, at Keighley Local Studies Library on the first Monday in the month at 7.30pm and at Threshfield Village Hall at 2.30pm on the third Saturday in the month.
Future talks include murder in the Victorian family and the history of Ilkley's Jewish community. There will also be a research afternoon offering the opportunity for visitors to get expert assistance.
*Membership starts at £10 per annum for e-journal members and £12 for those who prefer a printed journal.