An interesting piece of news from the BBC reports on how scientists are investigating the murder of a man in Northampton in 1930. At the time, the man's badly-burned body was examined and samples taken during a post-mortem examination at a pub near the crime scene in the village of Hardingstone. The perpetrator was soon caught but the body was never identified.
Decades later, a woman was investigating her family ancestry when her grandmother revealed her long-held belief that her uncle was the man burned to death in a car.The uncle, William Thomas Briggs, left his home in London for a doctor's appointment in November 1930, but disappeared and was never seen again. "My family were convinced that William was the victim," said Samantha Hall, whose grandmother had confided in her.
The family were put in touch with the University of Leicester and the team that successfully identified King Richard III whose bones were found under a Leicester car park in 2012.
"The scientists were able to obtain a full single male mtDNA profile from the slide to compare to the family," a spokeswoman for the team said. The result is due to be revealed to Ms Hall shortly. There's more details available from the BBC website.
The latest news from the organisers at Who Do You Think You Are? Live is that due to work commitments, John Simpson has unfortunately had to cancel his scheduled appearance as a celebrity guest speaker and has been replaced by newsreader and TV personality, Natasha Kaplinsky, who appeared in the Who Do You Think You Are? series in 2007.
Whilst a disappointment at the withdrawal of John Simpson with his links to the flamboyant showman and early aircraft pioneer Samuel Cody, Natasha's family history story was just as fascinating and very tragic in parts. Natasha Kaplinsky will be celebrity guest speaker on Thursday 20th February at 10.15 and 11.15am at London Olympia.
Another celebrity appearing is former athlete and now sports commentator, Colin Jackson CBE. Colin appeared in a previous series of Who Do You Think You Are? with an international tale of family originating from Jamaica and Panama. Colin will be celebrity guest speaker on Saturday 22nd February. If you'd like more information, visit http://www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com
Natasha Kaplinsky to appear at Who Do You Think You Are? Live this year.
The first family history fair of the New Year is shortly upon us. The popular Bracknell Family History Fair is on Sunday 26th January at Bracknell Sport & Leisure Centre. Admission is £3 and doors open from 10am to 5pm. There is free parking available and a cafeteria for drinks and snacks.
The Bracknell Family History Fair has been voted Number 3 in the country by Your Family Tree Magazine and is widely regarded as a family history fair well worth attending. This year, the Society of Genealogists will be attending, there'll also be a military history advice desk, specialist groups and a number of family history societies present. S&N Genealogy Supplies and TheGenealogist will also be present, providing talks on family history research.
There's more information at http://www.familyhistoryfairs.org/dateloc.html#wirr
The popular Bracknell Family History Fair returns on Sunday 26th January
The National Library of Scotland have announced a couple of workshops for January designed to help people make better use of their services. The workshops offer practical information on family history research and advice on what services they can offer to the family historian.
On the 14th January, the workshop is 'Getting started at NLS' and on the 15th January, the second workshop is 'Discovering family history at NLS'. If you're local to Edinburgh or have a Scottish ancestral connection , it may be worth a visit to find out more! There's more details on the National Library of Scotland website.
This year, The National Archives announced 'Discovery' their new online catalogue, would become the only way to search online through The National Archives record collections. Many family historians were used to the previous 'Documents Online' system in place before Discovery so to help with any queries and to help people find their way around the new online catalogue, The National Archives have announced a webinar on the 20 January 2014.
The webinar takes place from 14.00 to 15.00 hours UK time and will look at how to conduct searches, using keywords, filters and other useful features to help make the most of the 'Discovery' catalogue. It's hosted by Audrey Collins and if you'd like more information, please visit The National Archives website.
The Society of Genealogists 'Evening Skills Course Stage 1' starts up again on the 23rd of January. For those new to family history research or have only a little experience in researching, the course Stage 1 is ideal to build up your knowledge. It is a 10 week course.
The course has proved very successful in the past and the SoG have a team of professional genealogists who will introduce the records and illustrate how they should best be used for the study of family history.
According to the SoG website, "publications, electronic finding aids and the internet will, of course, be included along with all the basic sources needed to start research. Skills courses stages 2 & 3 will follow later this year."
If you'd like more information , please visit the Society of Genealogists website.
As the main family history fair in the world gets ever closer, the organisers have been issuing regular updates and promotions to entice people along for the 2014 event. With the first of the celebrities -John Simpson now confirmed, it promises to be another good event.
With the usual main exhibitors, excellent speakers and family history societies sure to be present and the Imperial War Museum launching their new First World War initiative at the show, there's many reasons for those both new to family history and the more experienced family historians to attend.
Don't forget the show runs from Thursday to Saturday this year with no Sunday opening:
Thurs 20th February 09.30 -17.30
Friday 21st February 09.30 - 17.30
Saturday 22nd February 09.30- 17.30
To whet your appetite, this is their latest video promoting the show:
http://youtu.be/sUeWyTrdM-0
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is consulting on the census and the future provision of population statistics in England and Wales.
It is considering options for how and when information is gathered on the population in future, which may possibly involve an end to the Census, which has been around since 1801, such an important document for family historians in their research.
The consultation is open for just a few more days, until 13 December 2013. Individuals and organisations are encouraged to take part. The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) has got involved and submitted its comments in the online questionnaire. The comments they make and the links to the Consultation Paper and Survey Form can all be found on the Federation website. The direct link to the Office of National Statistics consultation page can be found here.
The Society of Genealogists have now announced their programme of events for next year. It promises to be a busy year with a number of lectures, talks and other events planned. The events cover a wide range of subjects of interest to most family historians. There is also a strong military theme to coincide with the anniversary of the start of the First World War happening next year.
If you'd like to improve your family history knowledge or keep up to date with latest developments, there's full details on The Society of Genealogists website.
A new initiative was launched last week at The Houses of Parliament with a joint project by The Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland) and The National Archives to raise awareness of archives, their value to society and the impact they have, every day, on individual lives.
Clem Brohier, Acting Chief Executive of The National Archives, was joined by MPs, Lords, archivists, guests and campaign ambassadors at the parliamentary launch, hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History.
The campaign is aiming to encourage people to visit archives. So far, hundreds of local, specialist and national archives across the UK and Ireland have been holding events, open days and exhibitions to showcase highlights from their collections.
Caroline Williams, President of The Archives and Records Association remarked: "Public awareness of the role of archives is essential. Especially in the difficult times we find ourselves in. There are too many people who do not understand what an archive is or what an archivist does. We hope this campaign will bring many new people to an archive - in person or online."
There's more details on the initiative at: http://www.exploreyourarchive.org/
Acting Chief Executive of The National Archives, Clem Brohier, introduces the new initiative
