Welcome to the Family History Social

Society of Genealogists Free Library Tours & Advice for Members and Non-Members

The Society of Genealogist's blog has announced the upcoming dates for their next tours of the library at their premises in London will be 20 January, 3 February and 17 February. The SoG Library is packed with many family history records, directories and databases and can be a great help for people searching for their ancestors. With more than 140,000 items spread over three floors it  is a treasure trove for genealogists to explore. While you can just go and explore yourself, asking the staff and volunteers for help when you need it, the SoG recommends that you take a Library Tour so that you are introduced to what they hold. The visits are free to all, last approximately 1½ hours long, and they are on nearly every second Saturday at 11.15 am. The Society is also offering free half-hour advice sessions on these Saturdays. You can book an appointment by contacting the library by email or telephone.   To see more take a look at their blog here: http://www.sog.org.uk/news/article/society-of-genealogists-free-library-tours-advice-for-members-and-non-membe

The National Archives (TNA) has announced a talk by the author Stephan McGann Taking place  on Friday 24 November 2017 between 18:00 – 20:00 GMT. Flesh and Blood  will be of interest to family historians as it is the story of McGann’s family as told through seven maladies – diseases, wounds or ailments that have afflicted his relatives over the last 150 years. These, he believes,  have helped to mould him into what he now perceives himself to be. This early evening talk promises to be a great opportunity to hear Stephen, who you may know better as the actor that plays Dr Patrick Turner in the BBC's  show Call the Midwife, talk about his latest book, inspired by his passion for genealogy with an academic interest in the social dimensions of medicine. Stephen McGann has been an ambassador for Explore Your Archive since 2014. The National Archives run an exciting range of events and exhibitions on a wide variety of topics. For more details, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/whatson.

Stephen McGann By Digsa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons  

New Family History Show for the London area

This Sunday, 24th September 2017 sees the first Family History Show  - London

Organised by Discover Your Ancestors Magazine, the same people behind the ever successful event called The Family History Show, York it is being held at Sandown Park Racecourse between 10 am and 4:30 Watch this video of this year's York event to get a taster of what is to come... [embed]https://www.facebook.com/thefamilyhistoryshow/videos/313329735787369/[/embed]  

Free Talks throughout the day

10:00 Show Opening with Caliban's Dream, Medieval Musicians 11:00 Breaking Down Brick Walls In Your Family History Research Mark Bayley, Online Expert  Resolve stumbling blocks in your family history research using innovative search strategies and unique record sets to find those missing relatives. 12:00 Tracing Your Military Ancestors Chris Baker, Military Expert & Professional Researcher  Chris draws on his experience from researching thousands of soldiers to explore what can be found when looking for a military ancestor. 13:00 Breaking Down Brick Walls In Your Family History Research Mark Bayley, Online Expert 14:00 Tips & Tricks for Online Research Keith Gregson, Professional Researcher & Social Historian Keith shares top tips & techniques for finding elusive ancestors, illustrated by some fascinating case studies. 15:00 Breaking Down Brick Walls In Your Family History Research Mark Bayley, Online Expert   Read more at: http://thefamilyhistoryshow.com/

This weekend is going to be great for family historians in the area of York!

One of the largest family history shows in the UK

With exhibitors coming from all over Britain and Ireland, this family history show is probably the largest event of its kind in England. Every year the fair is well attended by family history societies and companies plus there is lots of local history from the York area as well. The organiser's website says: 'You don't have to have Yorkshire Ancestors to come to this fair - they can be from anywhere at all! Everyone is very welcome and there is lots to see. There is plenty of parking and refreshments are available all day. There are several lifts to take you to the upper levels, and the whole place is wheelchair friendly. Do you really know who you are? Come and find out - you may be surprised!' Yorkshire Family History Fair Saturday 24th June 2017 10am to 4.30pm The Knavesmire Exhibition Centre, The Racecourse, York, YO23 1EX Admission: Adults £4.80, Children under 14 FREE   To get a great deal on tickets take a look at their website now: http://yorkshirefamilyhistoryfair.com/index.php

 

Press Release from TheGenealogist

 

TheGenealogist releases York Colour Tithe Maps and Yorkshire Directories.

For example, if we wanted to find the plot where one William Gibb lived in the parish of St Cuthbert during 1845 we can do this by selecting Tithe & Landowner on TheGenealogist and then enter his name into the Master Search. In William’s case he was the occupier while his landlady was Ann Wilson and we can see from the description in the Apportionment book that he rented a house and gardens from her. The value is small and the Rector is only entitled to 6d tithe rent from the plot. This is in contrast to another example that we can find in the York tithes.

We are able to see an image of the apportionment book and this reveals in the description that the land is ‘Part of Knavesmire a stinted pasture’. A 'stint' or 'gait' being a pasture that is limited to a certain number of animals. A person who has the right to graze their sheep or cattle on the stinted pasture may allow a fixed number of their livestock to feed there. Each grazier holds a certain number of stints and a formula will be in force that calculates the different value of each type of livestock. So one stint could equal one ewe with her lamb, while four stints may equal one horse.

Anyone visiting the racecourse, whether it is for the family history show or to watch the races, can’t help but notice the old Terry’s Chocolate Factory next door. This art deco style facility, which no longer manufactures chocolate, was built in 1926. The company has, however, a long and rich history connected to York and by searching within one of the twenty three Yorkshire Trade, Residential and Telephone directories that have also been released by TheGenealogist this month, we can find the listing for the company. If an ancestor had a business then the commerical listings in the directory can help us find where they may have worked. In the 1897 Kelly’s York Directory we can find Joseph Terry & Sons Limited, manufacturing confectioners and see that at that time they had factories at Clementhorpe and at St Helen’s Square in York. The later address being where the family business had started and Clementhorpe was the factory on the River Ouse that allowed them to better distribute their products and import the raw materials - this move allowed Terry’s to really take off as a confectioner. We can, likewise, find the competing company of H.J. Rowntree & Co. within the same directory. It shows us that Rowntree’s had their business premises at Haxley Road and Tanner’s Moat.   Directories can also be useful to find the addresses of residents, the railways that served the area and read about communications links to other towns. These may be of help to the family historian who has ‘lost’ an ancestor as they could suggest where a person may have travelled and can be a great compliment to a census record. In the case of a head of the household we may be able to find an address different from that recorded in the decennial census. This may help fill in the gaps of where a stray ancestor moved to between the census. It can also add to our understanding of the place where our ancestors lived. Sir Joseph Terry had been the Lord Mayor of York and in the year of this directory, 1897, he is still listed as an alderman and a magistrate. Similarly, John Stephenson Rowntree had been a past Lord Mayor and he too was an alderman and magistrate in this year. The 1897 Kelly’s York Directory reveals that they both lived at Mount Villas on The Mount; from this we can work out that they were close neighbours in York. The racecourse is also listed in this publication as having an address of Knavesmire, The Mount and so in the same area of the city.

TheGenealogist’s National Tithe Record Collection covers all counties of England and Wales and so can be used to find where your English and Welsh ancestors lived at the time that this great survey took place between 1837 and the mid 1850s. The Trade, Residential & Telephone directories also encompass the whole country and can be useful both as research tool and as a valuable insight into the lives of our ancestors. They are a useful resource for tracing ancestors, particularly if they had a distinctive trade and can be used as a census substitute for the years prior to 1841 or after 1911 and also to provide information on their whereabouts between census years. To search for your ancestors using these and the enormous number of other records on TheGenealogist read more at https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk

  It is very sad news to have come out of Immediate Media in the past day. They have announced that the annual Who Do You Think You Are? Live show will not return. This was one of the largest family history event that attracted thousands of family historians to browse the stands and attend the various talks each year.

After ten years, first at Olympia in London and then at the NEC in Birmingham for the last three of those years, the event that took place at the beginning of April this year was the last ever!

The organisers say it was due to financial reasons that they are bowing out and so we must assume that the show, while popular with family historians of all abilities, just couldn't make them money. I am sure that we shall all miss the event, but perhaps it was just too large a venue.   While it is sad that it has gone there are always other more manageable family history shows to visit, including those up an coming in Yorkshire and the London area being organised by Discover Your Ancestors Magazine and sponsored by TheGenealogist. There will be FREE talks from a number of experts, to discover more see the talks page on their website: http://yorkshirefamilyhistoryfair.com/free-talks.php Do you really know who you are? Come and find out – you may be surprised!

Yorkshire Family History Fair

Saturday 24th June 2017

10am to 4.30pm

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

Admission: Adults £4.80, Children under 14 FREE

To get your tickets go to: http://yorkshirefamilyhistoryfair.com/

With exhibitors from all over the UK and Ireland, this is probably the largest event of its kind in England. Many family history societies and companies attend each year. There is lots of local history from the York area too.

You don't have to have Yorkshire Ancestors to come to this fair - they can be from anywhere at all! Everyone is very welcome and there is lots to see. There is plenty of parking and refreshments are available all day. There are several lifts to take you to the upper levels, and the whole place is wheelchair friendly. There will be FREE talks from a number of experts, to discover more see the talks page on their website: http://yorkshirefamilyhistoryfair.com/free-talks.php The Yorkshire Family History Fair is run by Discover Your Ancestors Magazine and sponsored by TheGenealogist Do you really know who you are? Come and find out - you may be surprised!

Yorkshire Family History Fair

Saturday 24th June 2017 10am to 4.30pm The Knavesmire Exhibition Centre, The Racecourse, York, YO23 1EX Admission: Adults £4.80, Children under 14 FREE To get your tickets go to: http://yorkshirefamilyhistoryfair.com/

The Twentieth Yorkshire Family History Fair

Organised by Family Historians for Family Historians

If you are in the York area on Saturday 2nd July 2016 then pop along to the Yorkshire Family History Fair. Open from 10am to 4.30pm at The Knavesmire Exhibition Centre, The Racecourse, York, YO23 1EX Admission: Adults £4.80, Children under 14 FREE And at the moment there is a special offer on tickets. Their website says: "With exhibitors from all over the UK and Ireland, this is probably the largest event of its kind in England. Many family history societies and companies attend each year. There is lots of local history from the York area too. You don't have to have Yorkshire Ancestors to come to this fair - they can be from anywhere at all! Everyone is very welcome and there is lots to see. There is plenty of parking, refreshments are available all day, and there are over 70 exhibitors on two floors. There are several lifts to take you to the upper levels, and the whole place is wheelchair friendly. This event is organised by family historians for family historians. This will be our 21st year here in York, and it gets ever more popular each time. Do you really know who you are? Come and find out - you may be surprised!" And  you can get a great offer using this link

To celebrate the Fair's 21st year, they are giving away a Discover Your Ancestors Volume 4 and compendium worth nearly £18 when you buy tickets online before the 26th of June!

In Clerkenwell, London can be found the Society of Genealogists If you are looking for a genealogy talk in the next few weeks of May 2016, then why not consider one of these? Sat 21 May 10:30-18:00 Open Day - with Free Lectures, Library Tours & Advice  - Free (must be pre-booked) Please watch their website for upcoming details on a variety of online talks to take place in 2016 Wed 25 May 12:00-13:00 Nursing through Shot and Shell: Medical Women at the Front £8.00/£6.40 for SoG members. Dr Viv Newman Wed 25 May 14:00-15:00 SoG Special Collections: What has Been Done Before  £8.00/£6.40 for SoG members. Else Churchill Sat 28 May 10:30-13:00 Upstairs, Downstairs: My Ancestor was in Domestic Service £20.00/£16.00 for SoG members. Ian Waller FSG Sat 28 May 14:00-17:00 Divorced, Bigamist, Bereaved - Marriage Law for Genealogists £20.00/£16.00 for SoG members.  Prof Rebecca Probert Sat 28 May 14:00-16:00 Walk: Historic Shoreditch  £10.00/£8.00 for SoG members. Check with their website to see what is fully booked or otherwise before going! http://www.sog.org.uk/books-courses/events-courses/ 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7BA

Image by Fergusfish (http://www.societyofgenealogists.com) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

  Who Do You Think You Are? Live will run at the NEC from 7 to 9 April. Anita Rani is due to appear on Saturday April 9 at 10.15 to 11:00 and 12.15 to 13:00. To book tickets go to here. The 38 year-old Countryfile presenter, who is of Punjabi descent but raised in Bradford, was reduced to tears on the WDYTYA? TV programme earlier this year when she heard about the horrific circumstances in which her maternal grandfather, Sant Singh lost his first wife and children during the Partition of India.

TheGenelogist, seen here at a previous year's show.

The Society of Genealogists will also be running an extensive programme of talks by leading genealogists over the course of the three day show and they promise that there will be a choice of many different talks to attend covering a vast array of subjects from: Different Research Techniques, How to Record your Findings and Using Parish Registers to My Ancestor was an "Alien," The Luck of the Irish and My Ancestor's made Hats. Will you be going?