Members’ Area
- Members’ Area Introduction
- Members’ Area
- What’s available
- Coming soon
- Frequently asked questions
Members’ Area: Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Why do I need to sign-in?
- Q: I have not received details of my Username and Password?
- Q: Is the password case sensitive?
- Q: How can I check that my details are correct?
- Q: Is the search criteria case sensitive?
- Q: I am not a member - how can I view the actual data?
- Q: How do I know if I've found everything that is relevant for a name?
- Q: I searched for a place name including "Saint" but there were no results
- Q: OK, I've found what I want, but what does it mean?
- Q: Can I email the details of some items to someone else?
- Q: OK, I've found what I want but how do I see it?
- Q: The Society's Library has a lot more material than this. Why isn't it online?
- Q: How can I donate my own transcript to the Members’ area for the benefit of other members?
- Q: Can I use a wild card in the person search?
- Q: Does the Person Search allow for variants?
- Q: How can I search for all variants of a first name?
- Q: The Society has a large collection of parish registers - why aren't they online?
- Q: I could not log-in using the information provided.
- Q: I used the "Forgotten?" link but the system was not able to send me an automatic email?
- Q: I filled in the form using the "Forgotten" link but an email did not arrive?
- Q: I recieved an email saying my records have been changed
A: The area is a benefit of membership of the Society and therefore we need to confirm that you are a member.
Q: I have not received details of my Username and Password?
A: Details of how to sign into the Members’ Area are in the welcome letter you recieved if you joined in 2009. If you joined before 2009 or do not have your welcome letter click the "Forgotten" link and using your UserName, which is SG followed by your 6 digit membership number, request a password. If the email with a password does not arrive email support with your membership number and address.
Q: Is the password case sensitive?
A: Yes. passwords case sensistive and you may be requested to change your password when you login. Your new password will also be case sensitive and should consist of uper and lower case letters and numbers.
Q: How can I check that my details are correct?
A: You should check your details when you first sign in. They have been taken from the Society's current membership database. You can amend the details in the Members’ Area but these will NOT be reflected in the Membership database held by the Membership Officer.
Q: Is the search criteria case sensitive?
A: No. There is no need to worry about the case when entering details into the search screens.
Q: I am not a member - how can I view the actual data?
The only way to view the actual data is as a member of the Society. Details of membership, including all the other benefits, can be found here.
Q: How do I know if I've found everything that is relevant for a name?
A: If you think that there may be an entry in a database and it hasn't been found then you can use the browse facility which is at the bottom of the left hand panel of the Members’ Area
Q: I searched for a place name including "Saint" but there were no results
A: "Saint" is abbreviated to "St" throughout this database, so search with "St".
Q: OK, I've found what I want, but what does it mean?
A: In order to understand what the dataset is about it is best to look at the details contained on the website. These can be found in the link above the title.
Q: Can I email the details of some items to someone else?
A: No. Sorry but the information is for members only so there is no facility to do this.
Q: OK, I've found what I want but how do I see the original?
A: If there is no digital image of the original source on this website, you will either need to come to our Library in London to look at it yourself or pay for a copy to be sent to you. Click here for details of our Search and copy service. Note that if the source is a transcript of a parish register we may not have a copy of the original register. Check our on-line catalogue for listings of what we hold in our library.
Q: The Society's Library has a lot more material than this. Why isn't it online?
A: Material must be SoG copyright or out of copyright (the author dying 71 or more years ago) or donated by the transcriber for this purpose.
Q: How can I donate my own transcript to the Members’ area for the benefit of other members?
A: Contact the Librarian with details of the dataset and the format (eg. Excel spreadsheet, Word etc.). Spreadsheet templates and guidance can be supplied if you need them.
Q: Can I use a wild card in the person search?
A: Yes you can. However unlike a lot of other sites the system uses % character to represent any character
Q: Does the Person Search allow for variants?
A: Yes it does but only on the surname field and it uses Soundex as the basis for that search.
Q: How can I search for all variants of a first name?
A: There is no synonym facility in the system as yet. By default the system returns all matches starting with the search term. So "W" will return Wm, Willm, William but also Wilberforce.
Q: The Society has a large collection of parish registers - why aren't they online?
A: Whilst the Society has an extensive collection it can only use the material for which it holds the copyright. A large part of the collection of registers is in microfiche/microfilm or book format and therefore not the Society's copyright
Q: I could not log-in using the information provided.
A: The log-in security process uses Cookies to store information on your computer, check that Cookies are enabled. If this does not resolve the probelm please send an email to request-login@sog.org.uk with the following information:
- Your membership Number (On the address label of your Genealogists Magazine or the front of your membership Card)
- Your Full Name
- Your email address
We will check that your User Name is loaded into the database and reset your password and add your email address. A message will be sent from postmaster@sog.org.uk confirming your login details. Please note that this is a manual process and there may be a delay in replying.
Q: I used the "Forgotten?" link but the system was not able to send me an automatic email?
A: If we do not have details of your email address we cannot send an automatic message when you forget your Log-in name or password. Please send an email to: request-login@sog.org.uk with the following information:
- Your membership Number (On the address label of your Genealogists Magazine or the front of your membership Card)
- Your Full Name
- Your email address
We will check that your User Name is loaded into the database and reset your password. A message will be sent from postmaster@sog.org.uk confirming your login details. Please note that this is a manual process and there may be a delay in replying.
It is important that you use the "My details" link once you log-in to make sure the email address we have is upto date.
Q: I filled in the form using the "Forgotten" link but an email did not arrive?
A: Email messages do get lost in the Internet for a variety of reasons. Please check that the message has not been treated a junk mail or if you use a mail filtering service provided by your Internet Service Provider or a Hosting service that the email address no-reply@sog.org.uk will not be blocked. If you still are unable to find the response message please send an email to: request-login@sog.org.uk with the following information:
- Your membership Number (On the address label of your Genealogists Magazine or the front of your membership Card)
- Your Full Name
- Your email address
We will check that your User Name is loaded into the database and reset your password and add your email address. A message will be sent from postmaster@sog.org.uk confirming your log-in details. Please note that this is a manual process and there may be a delay in replying.
Q: I recieved an email saying my details have been changed
A: If your details are edited a message will be sent to you advising that a change has been made. The message includes a reference to the IP address of the computer which was used to edit your details. If it ends in 201 that was done SoGAdmin. If you did not update your details contact request-login@sog.org.uk.