Welcome to the Genealogical Society of South Africa.

genza bannerWe serve a community of dedicated amateur family researchers. Anyone who hasn't ever dabbled in genealogical research can imagine the relief, joy and great exultation that the genealogist experiences on having made a breakthrough, or finds the final link to complete a family line. It truly is the experience of a lifetime.
Families have migrated far and wide within South Africa. Later descendants of families that arrived in South Africa as early as 1676 trekked North and East, some ending in the present day Namibia and or even further afield to Angola and Kenya. Tracing their footsteps, opens up new worlds, and gives one insight into cultural, political and the religious motivation for these great treks.
The Genealogical Society of South Africa (GSSA) that was established in 1964 has twelve branches of which eleven are land based and one which is an electronic branch catering for members worldwide, via the internet. Each branch arranges its own activities and meets all year round apart from December and January. More information can be gleaned by visiting the branch pages of www.genza.org.za. Members  become close friends and are more than happy to assist newcomers with their research. Many a dead end has been resolved by discussing the issue with a fellow genealogist.
Our aim and goal is:
  • To promote and facilitate interest and research in genealogy and family history to present members, to the genealogical hobbyist and to all members of the public who may be interested in genealogy and/or family history.
  • To promote general understanding of Genealogy and its value, to understand and maintain professional status and dignity for genealogists amongst members of the Genealogical Society of South Africa and the general public.
  • To encourage the observance of the highest standards of research by members of the Society.
  • To provide a wide range of educational courses, research programmes and services for the general benefit of GSSA branches and members, as well as any other service or assistance as may from time to time be decided upon by the National Council of the GSSA.
  • To encourage and develop links with Family History Societies.
  • To establish and maintain contact with like minded Societies throughout the world.
  • To establish a certification program to promote the reliability, professionalism and integrity of all South African Genealogists and Record Researchers.
  • To assist in the preservation of all genealogical records and memorabilia

 


 

1e Familia BuitebladThe Familia is the Quarterly Journal of the Genealogical Society of South Africa. On the photo above, the first cover of the Familia published during 1965/66 can be seen. The Northern Transvaal Branch of the GSSA has since the early 2000 presented a yearly prize, available for the best article published during a particular year.
The criteria by which such an article must comply includes the following: 
  • Does the article deliver a significant contribution to Genealogy; is it new information?
  • Is the article professionally set up with good source references etc.?
  • Does it read easily; is the presentation interesting; engaging and a good balance between readability and academic correctness maintained?
The Panel's Comment: It's a good, well laid out article that reads well and is abundantly illustrated with photos and which contains new information about the family. The author's references refer to bibliographic requirements and the genealogical notations which is required by Familia. In addition to meeting all the criteria as required, it is one of the few articles that provide sources as far as criteria is concerned, research, namely, that genealogists can follow it up and check.
In 2019 the best article in Familia was awarded to Wilhelm Bernhardt for his article:   'n EKONOMIESE RAAMWERK VIR GENEALOGIESE NAVORSING
Een van die beoordelaars het die volgende te gehad: Die outeur slaag goed daarin om moderne navorsingspraktyke, nl genealogiese en historiese navorsing te gebruik deur die opstel van ‘n ekonomiese raamwerk en ‘n nuwe manier om ‘n geïntegreerde prentjie te veskaf van hoe jou voorouers geleef het. So ‘n benadering kan dan deel vorm van suiwer genealogie as deel van ‘n meer holistiese benadering. Die artikel dien as uitstekende voorbeeld vir ander genealoë hoe om soortgelyke navorsing aan te pak, is iets besonders en lees lekker. Tegnies, is dit egter nie ‘n suiwer genealogiese artikel nie maar die oorspronklikheid van die aanslag, maak dit dit nie vir my ‘n groot problem nie. Click here to download the article
 This is what you can expect to inspire you when you start your journey into the exciting world of Family Research.
New tree
The Genealogical Society of South Africa (GSSA) that was established in 1964 has twelve branches of which eleven are land based and one which is an electronic branch catering for members worldwide, via the internet. Each branch arranges its own activities and meets all year round apart from December and January. More information can be gleaned by visiting the branch pages of www.genza.org.za. Members  become close friends and are more than happy to assist newcomers with their research. Many a dead end has been resolved by discussing the issue with a fellow genealogist.
We promote and facilitate:-
Interest & research in Genealogy and Family history to present members, to the genealogical hobbyist & to all members of the public who may be interested in genealogy and/or family history.
We promote general understanding of Genealogy and its value
We provide:
- A wide range of educational courses
- Each branch has a unique library
- A vast list of product for sale
- Research programmes and services for the general benefit of GSSA branches and members
- We encourage and develop links with Family History Societies & the National Archives
Each branch arranges it’s own program for the year and often includes:
Guest Speakers - Outings to history societies i.e. Family Search & the National Archives
Training on the various platforms - Even assisting in product development
We look forward to welcoming you to our family. Join today and discover your past!
Membership fees for the Genealogical Society of South Africa (GSSA) are laid out as follows:
Membership fees mean you belong to the GSSA National AND a home branch and you receive the quarterly publication Familia depending on your option choice:
Option 1 - Familia in electronic format only Fee R240
Option 2 - Familia in Hard copy Fee R350 (RSA only)
Option 3 - Familia in Hard copy Fee R890 (Abroad)
These fees excludes the branch fees. When you decide to join you will be allocated to a particular branch e.g. Johannesburg Branch, Vaal Triangle Branch, Western Cape Branch, etc. There are 12 land based  branches and 1 Cyber branch called the eGSSA- this is a web based branch.
The various branches of the GSSA in some instances levy an additional mandatory fee for the newsletter of the branch, this differs from branch to branch.
Download a copy of the 2022 membership application form, all the relevant information you require is on this form.
There aretwo options to choose from should you wish to become a member of the GSSA
Download the relevant Application form above, decide on the branch that you would like to join and pay the applicable fees. Send your completed from  to the address on the form and you will be notified via email of your membership. 
eGSSA is the virtual or online branch of the Genealogical Society of South Africa, intended for those who are unable or do not wish to belong to one of the land based branches of the GSSA. In order to be a member of eGSSA it is necessary to join or already be a member of the former organisation. To learn more about joining the eGGSA visit their website by clicking here
Should you have any queries kindly contact us here .