The Family History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador (FHSNL) is a not-for-profit organisation that was established in 1984 and incorporated in 1987. The main objectives of the society are:
- To help researchers locate and access genealogical information.
- To foster education and interest in genealogical research through symposia, discussion groups, and lectures.
- To give members opportunities to connect with one another and share their research interests.
- To encourage the production and dissemination of genealogical and historical materials relating especially to Newfoundland and Labrador.
Tracing your family history in Newfoundland and Labrador can be an exciting and rewarding process. A good first step is to gather as much information as possible from your relatives and from family documents. After that, public records can be used to trace the generations further back, often over hundreds of years.
FHSNL can help you as you research your own family history. We publish a quarterly journal called The Newfoundland Ancestor that includes a variety of articles, including a section in which members are encouraged to publish their own research queries. A free sample issue is available on our website.
FHSNL also maintains an office and research centre that you can visit. We have an extensive collection of cemetery transcriptions, genealogies and family histories that have been submitted to us, as well as numerous books, journals from other societies, etc. We also organise regular meetings that feature guest lecturers.
Our website has a growing collection of information that can assist with your family history research, including an interactive forum as well as various materials that members can download from our website (such as back issues of The Newfoundland Ancestor and audio recordings of our lectures).
Given our status as a volunteer-driven not-for-profit society, we are grateful for the support that we receive from our members, both in terms of payment of membership fees as well as the time and effort that are donated by the many volunteers that help our society to function. We invite you to become a member as well as to serve in a volunteer capacity if you are able to do so.
