52 Ancestors 2026 Week 29 - A Source I Want to Understand Better

🌿Sussex Family History Group: The Quiet Giant Behind My Research

Every genealogist has a handful of sources they lean on again and again — the ones that quietly underpin years of discoveries. This week, I want to sing the praises of one of mine: the Sussex Family History Group (SFHG).

For decades, SFHG volunteers have been transcribing, checking, and publishing Sussex records. Births, marriages, deaths, wills, tithe records, school registers, monumental inscriptions, newspaper announcements — the list goes on. Their work has always been invaluable, but over the last year something remarkable has happened: they’ve rebuilt their entire database, expanded access, and opened the door to millions more records.

And this week, they announced a milestone that made me stop and smile:

They’ve now reached over seven million records.

Seven million pieces of Sussex history. Seven million names, dates, places, and stories — all preserved, searchable, and accessible because a group of volunteers decided Sussex deserved to be documented properly.

🔎A Resource I’ve Only Begun to Explore

I’ve used SFHG for years, but only in a limited way — mainly for births and deaths, which were always the most visible part of their offering. But that’s just the surface.

The recent database overhaul has revealed how much more there is:

• Marriages, previously only available on CD, are now fully online.

• Transcribed wills, once accessible only by emailing a wonderfully patient volunteer, are now searchable and downloadable. (downloads

• Tithe records offer glimpses into landholding and occupation.

• School records bring children into focus in a way few sources do.

• Monumental inscriptions help locate burials long lost to time.

• Newspaper announcements — which I only discovered while researching this very blog — add colour, context, and sometimes drama.

And then there’s the part I’ve barely touched: The SFHG quarterly magazine, now indexed by ancestor. This means you can search for a surname and instantly find stories written by other members researching the same families. It’s a brilliant way to connect with fellow Sussex researchers.

And there's so much more.....

✨A Source I Want to Understand Better

So this week’s theme — A Source I Want to Understand Better — feels perfectly timed.

I want to explore SFHG properly. Not just dip into BMDs, but wander through the wills, the tithe maps, the school lists, the inscriptions, the magazines. I want to understand how each of these record sets can illuminate a different corner of my Sussex families.

And I want to celebrate the volunteers who have quietly built one of the richest county‑level genealogical resources in England.

Seven million records — and counting

For anyone with Sussex Roots, this is their website SFHG, for a meagre £17.00 a year you can become a member and have access to a wealth of records