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.
The Society of Genealogists (SoG) has welcomed the announcement that the Government has accepted an amendment to the Deregulation Bill, currently going before the House of Lords, that allows for the publication of information from Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates in England and Wales to be issued otherwise than in the form of a certified copy.
This is something the SoG has long campaigned for and it has said on its website that it is grateful to Baroness Scott of Needham Market, herself an enthusiastic genealogist, who suggested to Government that this deregulation is possible.
The world's largest Family History show is being staged at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre this year from the 16th to the 18th April 2015, moving to the Midlands after many years exhibiting in London.
Tickets are on sale at: http://www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com/
If you're keen to combine your research with an energetic walk, the Society of Genealogists has organised a walk around Finchley to visit an ancient road which links two ancient villages. The walk will take in lands once owned by the Knights Templar and a former manor house which is haunted by a suspected lover of Anne Boleyn. The walk also takes in two famous murders and two uncrowned kings connected to the area.
The walk is on Saturday, 17 May from 11:00-12:30, with Paul Baker. The cost is £10.00/£8.00 SoG members. You must pre-book to attend and more details can be found on the Society of Genealogists website.
Tomorrow, Saturday 3rd May, sees a half day course entitled 'Poor Law Records & What it was like to be Poor'. It's presented by Celia Heritage and Michael Gandy from 2pm to 5pm at the Society of Genealogists in London and cost to attend is £20.
The talk looks at the records created by the parish poor law system and the post 1834 workhouse system (and wider records) to find information about our poorer ancestors.
More information and to book can be found on the Society of Genealogists 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.
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.
The excellent courses available from the Society of Genealogists in London are well worth taking a look at and there's a free course coming up on Wednesday the 23 October.
There's only a few places left for the short course on 'Getting the most from the Society Catalogue'. It's from 10.30 to 11.30 and features guidance from the society's librarian, Tim Lawrence.
Learn how to get the best from the Society 'Library catalogue'. The course is free, but must be pre-booked. There's more information from the Society website at http://www.sog.org.uk/books-courses/events-courses/getting-the-most-from-sogcat/
To contact the Society please contact their events department on 020 7553 3290 or by email at events@sog.org.uk
The latest range of courses have been announced by the Society of Genealogists. There is a good range of courses available for both the amateur and experienced family historian. A selection of the courses include:
Wed 2 Oct 14:00 Tracing French Ancestry
Sat 5 Oct 14:00-17:00 Heraldry: Its Language, Grants and Inheritance of Arms
Wed 9 Oct 14:00 Charities and their Records at The National Archives for Family Historians
Sat 12 Oct 10:30-17:00 Family Historian Software for Beginners and Refreshers
Wed 16 Oct 14:00 My Ancestor Was a Hatmaker
Sat 19 Oct 10:30-13:00 Marriage and Courtship in the 1800's
The full course itinerary can be found at http://www.sog.org.uk/books-courses/events-courses/
If you would like more information, please contact the events department at the Society of Genealogists on 020 7553 3290 or by email: events@sog.org.uk
The 'Society of Genealogists' based in London has recently created an award for those people making an outstanding contribution to the field of family history research. Details of the 2013 award from the Society are as follows:
"A special Certificate of Recognition has been newly created by the Society of Genealogists to recognise exceptional contributions to genealogy by individuals and institutions worldwide. In the first year nomination forms were made available to Fellows of the Society for their suggestions and four candidates have been recognised by the newly formed awards panel for the new Certificate in 2013. The successful candidates were:
Dick Eastman for having the vision to promote family history through the CompuServe Genealogy Forum and by founding and maintaining the daily Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter.
Dr Hugh Kearsey for actively ensuring a wider availability of materials enabling others to pursue family history in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
Rosemary Cleaver for her continuous back-room contributions to all aspects of the West Surrey Family History Society over many years.
The Polish Archive of Przemyślu in recognition of outstanding maintenance of local family records, particularly appertaining to Akcja Wisła (Operation Vistula) was the codename for the 1947 forced resettlment of post-war Poland’s Ukranian Minority carried out by Soviet controlled Polish Communist Authorities) and in the efforts to making them accessible to researchers from far and wide.
Formal presentations will be arranged over the coming months."
Congratulations to the winners this year from Family History Social for their well-deserved awards!
Nominations for 2014 are now open to the public and forms (along with nomination guidelines) are available from the Chief Executive, June Perrin at ceo@sog.org.uk
