Remote access to subscription sites and so much more: the value in genealogy societies

I was reading a comment online from a frustrated family historian, who said she couldn’t afford to see some records because they were paywalled. She was thinking about MyHeritage, but she easily could have been talking about any of them. You know the ones. They include Ancestry, British Newspaper Archive, Findmypast, Fold3, MyHeritage, GénéalogieQuébec, and Newspapers.com. If you have subscriptions to multiple databases, the costs add up quickly. If only there was a way to access subscription sites from home, for a lower cost.

Well, guess what. There is a way. Not only is it legal, but it’s fun. In this post I’m going to be comparing the major genealogy societies from British Columbia to Manitoba.

Join a genealogy society

I reviewed five of the larger genealogy societies in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Their regular 2026 individual membership fees range from $50 to $70. The total cost of joining all five would be $300. You likely would not need to be a member of more than one. But the point is that joining all five would cost roughly the equivalent of one substantial commercial subscription. And that’s just the start.

Research from home

Society	2026 individual fee (CAD$)	Remote access from home	Access at library or branch
British Columbia Genealogical Society	$65	MyHeritage Library Edition; NewspaperArchive	Genealogical library and borrowing privileges; no additional paid onsite database clearly identified on the public pages reviewed.1
Alberta Genealogical Society	$50	MyHeritage Library Edition	Ancestry Library Edition2; Findmypast; Généalogie Québec; FamilySearch Affiliate Library access.3
Alberta Family Histories Society	$55	No remote commercial subscription confirmed4	Findmypast; NewspaperArchive’s Canadian newspaper collection; MyHeritage Library Edition through AFHS’s Ontario Ancestors membership; FamilySearch Affiliate Library access. Some subscriptions are limited to one computer.5
Saskatchewan Genealogical Society	$70	MyHeritage Library Edition; Findmypast Library World Edition; Godfrey Memorial Library	Ancestry.com at the SGS Library or through participating branches.6
Manitoba Genealogical Society	$60	No remote commercial subscription confirmed	Ancestry Library Edition; NewspaperArchive’s international collection; FamilySearch Affiliate Library access to additional restricted FamilySearch records.7

In addition to the big subscription sites:

• The British Columbia Genealogical Society provides digital journals from more than 80 family history societies and its own cemetery, church, pioneer and newspaper resources
• The Alberta Family Histories Society provides members with online meeting recordings, handouts, past journals, special interest groups and other member-only resources
• The Alberta Genealogical Society provides the Alberta Records Name Index, Alberta Name Index, homestead index and branch cemetery databases
• The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society provides the SGS Cemetery Program, Cemetery Guide, and Cemetery Index
• The Manitoba Genealogical Society gives members home access to the Manitoba Name Index, or MANI. It searches about 1.25 million entries from cemetery transcriptions, obituaries, vital-event extracts, local histories and society publications

The part almost everyone misses

Decades ago, family history work was done in person, or by snail mail. Today we’ve flipped and I would estimate only one person in five ever visits the physical library of the society to which they belong. It’s inconvenient. You have to drive. It’s so far. I’d rather use my vacation doing other things.

I understand.

To add to that, there is the fact that researching at an archive or library takes a different set of skills. It can be slow. I remember pulling vital records from microfilm at the Royal BC Museum and Archives and my best time was six per hour, or ten minutes each.⁸ Once it took me an hour and a half to pull a divorce record. Then again, I spent several days looking for a marriage record on Généalogie Québec,⁹ so in retrospect maybe we only think it’s slower.

A Western Canadian family historian who never visits a society library misses far more than shelves of books. In Surrey, the BCGS research centre offers cemetery and church transcriptions, exchanged journals, digitizing equipment and volunteers who know British Columbia’s communities and collections. Alberta researchers may find Métis and fur-trade family files, homestead material, local newspapers and cemetery projects that are difficult to discover through a national database. In Regina, the SGS library brings together Saskatchewan local histories, obituaries, maps, microforms and records of thousands of cemeteries and private burial sites, supported by staff and volunteers who understand how the province’s records fit together. In Winnipeg, Manitoba researchers can move beyond an online MANI search to the books, cemetery files, newspapers, equipment and local knowledge behind the index. What they miss most is the chance to place a difficult research problem before someone who has spent decades studying the area and may know exactly which overlooked book, file, parish, cemetery or neighbouring community holds the next clue.

Before buying another subscription…

In this post, I’ve looked at major genealogy societies in Western Canada, where I am accredited, but this applies to you wherever you are. If you are looking for a value-driven option to a pricey subscription, consider joining a society. Ask: What can members use remotely? What local databases has the society created? What commercial resources are available in its library? Who knows the collection and can help you use it? I bet the answers will astonish you. You may find that membership pays for itself even before you visit the library, meet the members, attend the meetings, and all the other fun stuff a society offers.

Afterword

At various points, I have been a member of genealogy and history societies across Canada and the U.S., from Seattle to California, from B.C. to Ontario. I’ve been a member of two branches of Ontario Ancestors. I’m currently a member of five different societies. It’s okay to be a member for a long time or a short time. It’s absolutely OK for you to tailor your memberships according to your research needs. And if you’ve never considered joining your local society, here’s a gentle reminder to check it out, wherever you happen to be.

Not mentioned in this blog are the resources available to everyone at a local FamilySearch Center, which are DEEP, but you will need to leave the house. If I recall correctly, there were over a dozen subscription sites available. I’ve observed that, outside the FamilySearch Center in Salt Lake City, very few of us take advantage of a local center. I’ve been to mine and been the only one there, aside from the volunteer staffer. If you’re now wondering where your local is and what it offers, check out the link below.¹⁰

Thank yous

In this blog, I mentioned five provincial genealogy societies and missed all the smaller ones. I wanted to give a special shout out to the Kelowna & District Genealogical Society,¹¹ who gave me such a warm welcome in Nov 2025, and invited me to speak earlier this year. Pictured at left are Claire Smith-Burns, Society President and the author at the K&DGS section of the Kelowna Public Library, Kelowna, BC; and society members visiting the Kelowna Public Archives.

This post combined the talents of the author and her trusty ChatGPT assistant.

References

1. British Columbia Genealogical Society, “Memberships,” undated, website, British Columbia Genealogical Society (https://www.bcgs.ca/memberships-new-or-renew: accessed 4 Aug 2026)., ↩︎
2. Library editions are not identical to personal subscriptions. They may not include personal trees, DNA tools, hints, saved-record features or every premium collection. Access methods also vary. ↩︎
3. Alberta Genealogical Society, “Join AGS,” undated, website, Alberta Genealogical Society (https://www.abgenealogy.ca/join-ags: accessed 4 Aug 2026). ↩︎
4. I was unable to determine if the AFHS provides remote access to subscriptions to members. I’ll update this post if this changes. ↩︎
5. Alberta Family Histories Society, “Become a Member,” undated, website, Alberta Family Histories Society (https://afhs.ab.ca/membership/: accessed 4 Aug 2026.) ↩︎
6. Saskatchewan Genealogical Society, “Membership,” undated, website, Saskatchewan Genealogical Society (https://saskgenealogy.com/membership-fees/: accessed 4 Aug 2026). ↩︎
7. Manitoba Genealogical Society, “Membership,” undated, Manitoba Genealogical Society (https://mbgenealogy.com/what-we-offer/membership/: accessed 4 Aug 2026). ↩︎
8. Linda Yip, “What you need to know to visit the BC Archives today (Sep 2022),” blog, Past-Presence.com (https://past-presence.com/2022/09/05/what-you-need-to-know-to-visit-the-bc-archives-today-sep-2022/: accessed 4 Aug 2026). ↩︎
9. Linda Yip, “5 things I learned researching the Drouin Collection on Ancestry and Généalogie Québec,” 26 Jul 2026, blog, Past-Presence.com (https://past-presence.com/2026/07/26/5-things-i-learned-researching-the-drouin-collection-on-ancestry-and-genealogie-quebec/: accessed 4 Aug 2026). ↩︎
10. FamilySearch, “Find a FamilySearch Location,” undated, website, FamilySearch (https://locations.familysearch.org/en/search: accessed 4 Aug 2026). ↩︎
11. Kelowna & District Genealogy Society (https://kdgs.ca: accessed 4 Aug 2026). ↩︎