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Yorkshire Family History Fair this weekend!

 

One of the largest family history shows in the UK is this Saturday the 27th June 2015 in York.

York Family History Fair

With exhibitors coming from all over the UK and Ireland, the organisers tell us that this is probably the largest event of its kind in England. Certainly worth going to if you are in the area on Saturday the 27th June as many family history societies and companies attend each year and there is also lots of local history from the York area to experience as well. You don't have to have Yorkshire Ancestors to come to this fair - your forebears can be from anywhere at all, so why not pop along! Everyone is very welcome, say the organisers and there is lots to see. Held at The Knavesmire Exhibition Centre at The Racecourse in York there is plenty of parking. Refreshments are available all day and there are over 70 exhibitors on three floors.  With several lifts to take you to the upper levels, the whole place is wheelchair friendly.

Mark talk2013

This event is organised by family historians for family historians and will be their 20th year in York with the event becoming more popular each time it is held. Do you really know who you are? Come and find out - you may be surprised!

Saturday 27th June 2015  between 10am to 4.30pm

The Knavesmire Exhibition Centre, The Racecourse, York, YO23 1EX

Admission: Adults £4.50, Children under 14 FREE

Yorkshire Family History Fair:

http://www.yorkshirefamilyhistoryfair.com/

TheGenealogist.co.uk

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On this day (17th June) in 1940 as World War II raged the HMT Lancastria was sunk by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire in France. Before the war she had been firstly called the RMS Tyrrhenia and then renamed as the RMS Lancastria finally becoming the HMT Lancastria when she became a troop ship. Over 4,000 lives were lost and so this makes it the worst ever loss of life in the sinking of a single British ship. The ship was taking part in the evacuation of military, Embassy Staff and other British Nationals two weeks after Dunkirk. It is also the bloodiest single engagement for the UK in terms of lives lost for the whole of World War II. What is often forgotten is that this sinking claimed more lives than the combined losses of the Titanic and Lusitania.  

RMS Lancastria

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Georgian Era Family History - Society of Genealogists offer a full-day course on 13 June

For those of us that have managed to get back to the Georgian era of British history the Society of Genealogist is offering a full day course on the 13th June 2015. This period is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain who were all named 'George': George I, George II, George III and George IV (covering the dates from 1714-1830). If you book yourself on the course you will learn more about the sources for family history research within this era. Checking out the SoG websites gives the following details of the Full Programme: 10:30 - Genealogical Sources of the Georgian Era (Else Churchill) 11:45 – tea break 12:00 – Georgian Era Nonconformist records for Family History  (Les Mitchison) 13:00  – Lunch Break 13:45 – Georgian Era Military Records for Family History (esp Royal Navy) – (Les Mitchison) 15:00 – Tea break 15:15 – The Life and Times of An Army Wife in the Peninsular War (Rebecca Probert) 16:30/17:00 -  Q&A/Finish This full-day course is on Saturday, 13 June, cost £35.00/£28.00 for SoG members. Places should be pre-booked, either through the SoG website or by telephone: 020 7553 3290.

Society of Genealogists

Society of Genealogists

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Discover Your Ancestors Periodical. The June issue is out now!

Discover Your Ancestors Periodical's June issue is out now! This month in the online periodical:
  • Discover more about the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo in "Traces of Waterloo"
  • Laura Berry looks at Alien Ancestors through denization and naturalisation records
  • "The Same age as my gums" reveals how society made provision for old age in the past
Plus:
  • Making sense of
  • "What's in a name?"
  • "Finding Fresh Lands" the settling of New Zealand
  • and Jayne Shrimpton on shorts

Discover Your Ancestors Periodical June 2015

Visit their website to buy your copy today: http://www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk/current-issue/
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TheGenealogist releases 60,000 railway worker records online

TheGenealogist releases 60,000 railway worker records.

  • More than 60,000 railway workers have been added to the Occupational Records on TheGenealogist

  • Find details of railway ancestors, where they were employed and what they did

  • Trace your railway worker ancestor’s careers through their promotions

  • Discover when they retired

  • Read obituaries

The Genealogist has added over 60,000 rail workers to its online indexes of Railway Employment Records. Taken from Railway Company Staff magazines these records are useful to family historians with railway employee ancestors, wanting to find important occupation related dates and add some social history to their family tree. These records include such details as staff changes, promotions, pension records, retirements and obituaries. Often additional personal information is revealed in the magazines. In some cases you can read about gifts from co-workers given when rail staff leave.

Search TheGenealogist for Railway WorkersFor example, we can discover that Mr A.N.Train had been a Station Master at Whitdale and Sigglesthorne, stations that today are converted into private houses sitting as they do on lines closed under Beeching’s cuts in the 1960s. The railwayman’s details have been extracted from his obituary in the British Railways Magazine of November 1949 Vol 2 No 11. We can learn such useful details as his retirement date, as well as the date that Mr Train passed away at the age of 79.

One click takes us to an image of the original page on which the record is based.

Railway Staff Magazines on TheGenealogist

There is also a great article on their website where you can also do a search for your railway ancestors:

http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2015/off-the-rails-242/

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May 2015 edition of the S&N Genealogy Supplies Email News is out!

Popping into mailboxes at the moment is the May edition of S&N Genealogy Supplies email newsletter. Always worth a look for money saving offers and interesting articles. Key points covered include
  • Millions of new records have been added to TheGenealogist, and to celebrate there is a special offer available to all email news readers.
  • You can also save 20% on a Discover Your Ancestors Online Periodical subscription,
  • There are many new software and book releases from S&N Genealogy Supplies.
  • Don't forget to buy your tickets to the Yorkshire Family History fair early - follow the link in their email newsletter to buy one and get one free!
http://www.genealogysupplies.com/email_news.htm?f=y

S&N Genealogy Supplies email news

Why not sign up and get the newsletter delivered to your own email inbox?  
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South West Area Group Family History Fair

The largest family history show in the South West

This coming Saturday, 16th May 2015, between 10am to 4pm at The Winter Gardens, Weston-Super-Mare is "The largest family history show in the South West". With over 40 exhibitors from all over the UK and Ireland, they have many family history societies and companies attending again this year. Free Talks are being hosted throughout the day by various experts. "Looking for Tommy - Tracing a Military Ancestor" and "Breaking Down Brick Walls in your family history research" both of which are by Mark Bayley, who is an Online Genealogy Expert. "Recording, Reporting and Preserving Your Family History" with David Bayley, Genealogy Software Expert. "Restoring Old Photographs & some tips for Do It Yourself Restorers" with Matt Curtis of Moments in Time.  "How to start researching your Family Tree" with David Gynes Dorset FHS Whether you are a beginner or an expert, everyone will be made very welcome at the event and there will be a lot to see with refreshments available all day. For those coming by car there will be plenty of parking to take advantage of. This event is organised by family historians for family historians and is their 9th show, which the organisers report is getting more popular each time. The event is sponsored by  S&N Genealogy Supplies and by leading British genealogy research website TheGenealogist who will be there at the show. As they say in their publicity: "Do you really know who you are? Come and find out - you may be surprised!" http://www.swag-fair.co.uk/

South West Area Group Family History Fair

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Important records of Civil Servants are now available on SoG Data Online

The Society of Genealogists has added the evidence records of those candidates taking the Civil Service examinations, between 1855 and 1939, to their SoG Data Online. Members of the Society will be able to view the original documents, after logging in, while non-members can search for a name in the collection, but are not able to view the documents. The records were originally created when candidates for the examinations had to provide proof that they were at least 21 years old. The evidence, which they submitted, very often would have been their birth certificate or sometimes a certified extract from a baptismal register. In some cases these documents were simply not available and so all manner of alternative evidence was produced, such as Indian horoscopes drawn up at a child’s birth. The SoG says that the geographical spread of the collection is extremely wide with many births recorded from Ireland, the Channel Islands, Malta and Gibraltar plus others for British people who were born all over the world and especially in India. The surviving documents only include evidence of birth for a small proportion of Civil Servants, some 60,000 people in all. However the collection may provide vital evidence of an ancestor’s birth date that would be difficult or impossible to prove otherwise and so break down a brick wall.

Society of Genealogists

Society of Genealogists - www.sog.org.uk

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May edition of Discover Your Ancestors Periodical out!

The May issue of this great online family history magazine is now available! This month, in the Discover Your Ancestors Periodical, they have articles on: 150 years of the Salvation Army and how to trace Salvationist ancestors entitled The front line of faith written by Nicola Lisle All the fun of the fair: a preview of the Yorkshire Family History Fair Before the census: Chris Paton looks at Scottish census and census substitute records before 1841 One-stop shops: Jayne Shrimpton explores the history of department stores and their impact on shoppers and staff Saving what they could carry: Canada’s Great Fire of 1922 A May to remember: Keith Gregson tells the story of Britain’s worst railway disaster, sidelined by its occurrence during WW1 States of growth: Jill Morris on booming 19th century America History in the details: Jayne Shrimpton on parasols Regulars: events / Books / Place in focus: Warwickshire / Classifieds Visit their website to buy your copy today: http://www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk/current-issue/

Discover Your Ancestors Periodical

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On this day 1st May 1840, the Penny Black Stamp went on sale.

On the first of May 1840 the first British Penny Black stamp went on sale. Invented by Sir Rowland Hill, it was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp and it became valid for postage on 6th May. The idea of an adhesive stamp, which would indicate pre-payment of postage, was part of Sir Rowland Hill's proposals in 1837 to reform the British postal system. Until then our ancestors would pay postage on delivery of their mail. Another idea that Sir Rowland suggested at a government enquiry on February 13, 1837 was for customers of the service to use a separate sheet that folded to form an enclosure or envelope for carrying letters. At that time postage was charged by the sheet and on the distance travelled.

Penny Black Stamp

 
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