Welcome to the Family History Social

 

From the news:

 

This month, The Society of Genealogists have launched an interim database of  their Memorial Card Collection, donated by Phillip Jones. You are now able to search the full Memorial Card Collection of 4,500 and 8,500 digital images. Mourners sent the cards after the loss of a loved one to distant family members, friends and neighbours announcing the death and giving details of the funeral. Cards like these can be used to build a family tree.

For more information see: https://www.sog.org.uk/our-collections/featured/memorial-cards

 

To celebrate Women's History Month the Society of Genealogists (SoG) is holding a talk on Saturday 12 March, 10.30AM

Mummy, what did you do in the Great War? My Ancestor was a Woman at War

Join Emma Jolly at the SoG to find out more about the jobs women did in the First World War. In this talk, Emma explores the range of women’s roles and where to look for the surviving records (including online sources), which family historians can use to explore the lives of their ancestors and others.

Emma covers women who worked:

• in the auxiliary services
• in medical organisations and transport
• in police forces
• on the land
• in voluntary organisations

 

As Emma intends to open the talk up for discussion, please bring your own stories along.

 

A one-hour talk with Emma Jolly, cost £10.00/£6.50 SoG members. 

https://www.sog.org.uk/events

Many genealogists and family history researchers will be heading to Bristol for The Family History Show, South West in just a weeks' time!

The show takes place on Saturday 8th February at UWE Exhibition Centre, with two Large Lecture Theatres with Free Talks, Free Ask the Experts Area, Societies, Local Archives and Ministry of Defence stands, Free Goody Bag worth over £8 on entry, Free Parking and Free minibus from Station.

 

Don't miss their Early Bird Offer, Two Tickets for £8, saving £4 on the door price, which you can claim here.

Not in the South West? Don't worry, they are also coming to York in June and London in September.

Public Servants: Excise Officers, Customs Officers and Postmen - A One-hour Lecture on 10 October

The Society of Genealogists (SoG) has announced a one-hour lecture for those of us that have ancestors who were civil servants. If you are in the London area and want to know how to trace the likes of Excise Officers, Customs Officers and Postmen or central government officials then this event could be of use to you. The SoG say in thier publicity that sometimes you can find details of your public servants' families as well.

In this talk, Alan Ruston will be describing:

- The nature of the records;

- The unique and original staff records held at the Society of Genealogists on Customs and Excise staff for the 19th and 20th centuries.

This one-hour talk is on Wednesday, 10 October (2pm) with Alan Ruston.

Cost £8.00/£6.40 SoG members. Places should be pre-booked, through the SoG website or by telephone: 020 7553 3290 (Tue-Thu & Sat). 

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.

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.