“Joining the Community” is a step toward finding your family history and telling your family’s story. But it is not the last step, it can be done anywhere along your journey.
You have already taken the first step to join the community by visiting the NGS website. Now we hope you’ll take the next step, and join NGS if you have not already. Joining the national organization for genealogy and family history is a great way to improve your skills. You will learn how to do your research and how to tell your story, meet fantastic people, and hear their stories too.
We also encourage you to join other genealogy organizations, particularly other organizations that are members of the NGS genealogy network. We know it is asking a lot to join a bunch of organizations, but we truly believe it’s the best way to find your way down the genealogy path. We encourage everyone to join a regional or state genealogy society to find your family’s history here in the United States. We also encourage joining a society specializing in your family’s culture or where they originated for access to key overseas research sources, language skills, or cultural touchstones. And we encourage you to pursue a genealogy credential or other advanced education in genealogy if you want to take your pursuit to the highest levels.