News & Information

The big news this month is the availability from November 2nd of the 1939 Register.

This Register of population which was taken in September 1939 and was used to issue National Identity Cards, Ration Books and later was used when the National Health Service was introduced in 1948.    Information about How to search the 1939 Register is a helpful guide.  The disappointment is that it is being offered on a Pay for View Basis by Findmypast or free if you visit the National Archives at Kew.  Although many of us who were born before September 1939 will be entered on this register we will not be able see those entries until we are over 100 years old or dead! 

Just one year (1856) of The Weston-super-Mare Gazette and General Advertiser is now available on the British Newspaper Archives and FindmyPast.  The full run of this newspaper can be seen in the Weston Library on film so if you find something online but haven’t a subscription you can see the newspaper in the library.  It is worth checking the newspapers which have been added to the BNA.  This is just the first of several local newspapers which they have promised us.  And yes, for those of you have spotted several members of the HASE family in a slight altercation with the police in July 1856 they are from my husband’s family - I only married into this family, they’re  nothing to do with me!

One of the lost Research Queries on our site asked which  Manors were in this area. A Guide to Manorial Records is available on the National Archives site, which gives the background to these collections. The National Archives Manorial Documents Register is being updated. You don’t need to know the actual name of the Manor you can search by parish and county.  If you can locate an ancestor in these early records you can find some very valuable information

Just remember that not all parishes have surviving manorial Records- some parishes have more than one Manor, some parishes have manors with different names, some psrishes are in more than one manor. The records can be almost anywhere - TNA, Local Record offices or Archives of large estates or Universities etc.

For example if you search for the Manor situated in Kewstoke - you will find that there is only one Manor and that was called Norton Beauchamp Manor - there are nine surviving collections of documents for this manor dating from 1471-1671 but they are situated in the National Archives, Somerset Heritage Centre, Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre and surprisingly in the North Yorkshire County Record Office.

• Worle has its own Worle Manor which has 12 collections of documents dating from 1471-1848 deposited in 5 different archives 

There are 3 Manors in the Parish of Banwell –

• Banwell Manor - 72 Collections dating from 1342-1910 deposited in 12 different archives
• Woolford ‘s Hill Manor – 3 Collections dating from 1482-1718 in 3 different archives
• Rolston Manor – 45 Collections dating from 1481-1847 in 3 different archives.

Newsletters

• Keep up to date with newsletters such as the one from Lost Cousins As you would expect a lot of this one is devoted to the 1939 Register but as always it is a valuable aid to research
• Another free Newsletter comes from Genealogyintime   It can be searched for new records either by date of Country of origin.   It also has a section on Breaking Down Brick Walls.

From my Inbox

I’ve recently had a request for information about the military changes which were made to Weston during WW2 aside from the usual blackout precautions. Was the beach fenced off with barbed wire and were there other defensive precautions such as mines, anti-aircraft guns around the town?   Where was the WVS Canteen?  Was the promenade used as a parade ground for billeted forces.

You can add comments to this Update or contact me through the website if you have any information.

Society Business

The Society was represented at the Glamorgan FHS Open Day in October and has continued with its Saturday afternoon sessions at the Library.  The numbers attending with queries have been disappointing recently – does that mean that you have all finished your research?  The number of Research Queries on the site during October was only 6 which again seems to be on the low side.  Perhaps as members of the society there is something else which you would like to see the society doing? 

Our October talk by Ann-Marie Wilkinson about the photographic collection at Wells Museum and the work done by her and Steve to digitalise and index the collection to make them available for research was fascinating and thought provoking.   You never know where images may be stored but the work done by volunteers to make them available  is increasing so it worth returning to Archives from time to time to see what has been added.

We are looking for an Assistant Secretary - if anyone is interested or can recommend someone please let one of the committee know.

November Meeting

The additional AGM to bring the financial end of year to a more manageable date will be at the start of the November meeting but the rest of the time will be a normal members’ evening and we ask you to bring in some family heirlooms which have added something to your family history.  There will be seasonable refreshments!

Do you have any Liddiard, Lidiard or Lydiard (or any other spelling) amongst your ancestors?

We would like you to join us for a family gathering to celebrate the family.
There are lots of activities planned for the weekend, including displays of trees, photographs, talks on the Liddiard family and many other activities.
A bus trip to other Liddiard locations is planned on the Sunday .Please R.S.V.P. for the planned bus trip only by 30 April 2016.

13th & 14th of August from 10.30 am
Aldbourne Wiltshire England – meet at the village green 10.30 am Saturday

For any enquiries contact:
Karen Rogers Liddiard@one-name.org - by mail 33 Peat Place Lower Portland NSW 2756 Australia. On FaceBook- Liddiard Family Gathering

We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Some of you may have seen a report in the local newspaper, the Weston Mercury, this week, that there is a proposal to combine the North Somerset Registration District with the Somerset Registration District.  This would mean that the Historic Registers would be moved from Weston-super-Mare to Taunton and the service administered from there although retaining the local offices. To see more details of the proposal and to answer the very brief questionnaire go to The Proposed Sharing of Registration Services.   Please take a look at it but my concern is that it doesn't show the whole picture.  The Mercury quotes that there is a considerable difference in the charges currently made for weddings and civil marriages by the two authorities and that the Somerset rates are about 75% higher than the North Somerset ones. I would like to see more information about the effect of these proposed changes.  The consultation finishes on Oct 21st so you haven't long to contribute.  

As users of this service we have benefitted from the advice and help given by local staff with access to the old indexes who understand the problems and concerns of reseachers and who recognise local names and families.  Can a call centre do this?

Weston-super-Mare has enjoyed glorious weather and interesting visitors during September but life goes on even if Banksy has left!  With the evenings shortening now is the time to revisit your Family History.  I have had some serious questions asked recently from people who are continuing with research which was started by their parents or even grandparents.  Technology has progressed rapidly and information stored on 5¼ floppy discs is difficult to retrieve.  How is your research presented?  Is it saved by at least two different methods and in different places so that any computer failure does not result in you redoing all your research?

We are nearing the deadline for entries in the next edition of Buckets and Spades – Paul is always happy to receive articles and short pieces which will interest our members

At our September meeting we have just had a very interesting talk by Peter Towey about Chancery Records.  Apart from the fascinating account of the goings on in the DARLEY family he explained the background to the process of cases in Chancery.  The amazing amount of detail obtained in these papers painted a very clear picture of the family even if the Pedigree produced as a result of a Visitation to Cornwall could be likened to a poorly researched Ancestry Family Tree!!  Peter recommended the Research Guide from the National Archives for more information about Chancery Records.

More Interesting Websites

• Keep up to date with what is being made available at the National Archives by looking at their Blog.  This one starts with information about carrier pigeons.
• For those of you who use Facebook there are some interesting sites available. Bristol Record Office  is worth looking at.
• To keep in touch with what is happening while Weston Museum is closed use their Facebook Page
• You don’t need to have a subscription to Findmypast to read its Blog - it includes a review of the edition of “Who do you think you are?” which featured Anne Reid and an article on how to research Welsh ancestors.

TV and Family History

The current season of “Who do you think you are?” has been entertaining and informative  showing some sources which you may not have considered or may not be relevant to your family but nevertheless are worth remembering ......just in case!  Although I’m not expecting to have to trace my family back to William the Conqueror!     If you have missed any you can always catch up on iplayer.  When I looked for one of these programmes I came across two editions of the People’s Detective  which I had missed in 2001. One about Mary Bateman, the Yorkshire Witch and one about Florence Maybrick and a murder mystery, neither local to Somerset but interesting!

I came across this article recently - it's about a year old but you might find it interesting - "Family History TV - a Dangerous Fiction?" The subject is very popular but for whom are these programmes intended?

Names in Newspapers

Harvest Festivals and Flower Shows are often reported in detail in Newspapers and it is really interesting if you find your ancestor won a prize for their potatoes!   You can access the British Newspaper Archive from any library computer free of charge.  Here's an example:

From the Western Daily Press - Thursday 22 August 1867

Poultry and FLOWER SHOW at Weston-super-Mare

VEGETABLES

• Best half peck of kidney potatoes—first prize, G.AVERY, Yatton ; second, J. HORNETT, Weston; third, H. BAILEY, Bleadon; extra prize, Lot GOODALL, Draycott.
• Best half peck of round potatoes —first prize, J. CLAPP, Congresbury ; second, C. BASTABLE, Weston; third, W. FISHER, Weston; extra prize, W. PITTS, . Weston.
• Best half peck of peas—first prize, W. BARNSTABLE, Huntspill; second, C. BAILEY, Bleadon; third. J. FRY, Milton; extra prize. H. BRYANT, Burrington.
• Best half peck of broad beans—first prize, W. BARNSTABLE, Huntspill;  second, W. PAYNE, Milton; third, A. CLARKE, Worle.
• Best four cabbages—first prize, W. PITTS, Weston ; second, H. POPLE, Weston; third, C. BASTABLE, Weston.
• Best three vegetable marrows—first prize, T BANWELL, Weston; second, S. BINDING, Bleadon; third, H.BRYANT  Burrington.
• Best 12 carrots—first prize, J. COX, Burrington;  second, C. BABER, Wrington ; third, J. COOK, Wrington.
• Best 12 Turnips-first prize, F. NIPPER, Winscombe; second, A.CLARKE,  Worle;  third, S. BINDING, Bleadon.
• Best collection of pot herbs – first prize,  W PITTS, Weston; second, D. WATTS, Milton,
• Best Autumn Sown Onions  - First prize J BASTABLE, Weston ; second D WATTS, Milton; third C BAILEY, Bleadon.
•  Best Spring Sown Onions , - First Prize , A BURGESS, Worle ; second, J. BAWDEN, Compton Bishop; third, J CLAPP, Congresbury
• Best Three Cross lettuces  - First prize, C BASTABLE, Weston;  second, J PALMER, Hutton.
• Best three cabbage lettuces-first prize. C.BASTABLE, Weston; second, B.PONSFORD,  Weston.
• Best Six heads of Celery—first prize, D.WATTS, Milton: second, J. FRY, Milton.
• Best six sticks of Rhubarb -first prize, J. H. GLOSSOP, Weston; second, C. BABER, Wrington.
• Best dish of scarlet runners-first prize, J. CLAPP. Congresbury; second, J. DAY, Axbridge ; third. H. SPURWAY, Weston.
• Best brace of cucumbers-first prize, H. GILLBANKS, Axbridge; second, J. CLAPP,  Milton; third, W. VOWLES, Cross.
• Best dish of parsley—first prize, H. SPURWAY, Weston.
• Extra prizes for pickling cabbage—G. PERRETT and J. H. GLOSSOP, Weston.

If anybody recognises their family name please let me know!  There were other classes for Flowers and Fruit.

Our Website

It is when you lose something that you value it most and we certainly discovered that when our website disappeared.  Many thanks are due to Paul and Graham for its reinstatement.  Now it’s back it’s up to us all to use it.  Use the Research Forum – if you have a query, post it and if you can offer suggestions to answer a query please share them.   Great to see the particpation which is happening since it's return.  Add the surnames you are researching to our Members’ Interests and check to see whether anyone else is researching the same name. 

Society Meetings

We are continuing with our Help Sessions on Saturday afternoons at Weston Library from 2.00 until 3.30pm.  There are copies of the original records for all North Somerset Parishes on fiche – transcriptions of many of these are now on our web site but like all transcriptions we advise checking the originals before entering the detail on your family tree.   Local Newspapers such as the Weston Mercury, the Clevedon Mercury and the Weston Gazette which are not yet online can be consulted for local events.  If you are researching Bristol ancestors there are copies of the transcriptions of the Bristol Parish Registers made by the Bristol and Avon FHS which can be consulted – the originals are in the Bristol Record Office.  You don't have to be researching local families to get help on a Saturday - the library computers have free access to Ancestry and the Newspaper Archives and our volunteers are full of useful tips to aid your research.

At our next monthly meeting on the 27th October,  Ann-Marie Wilkinson from the Somerset & Dorset FHS will be visiting us to speak about the people featured in a collection of photographs which are in the Wells and Mendip Museum in Wells.  This collection was mentioned by our speaker in May who discussed how to find and interpret images for Family History research.

 It would be a coup for our society to be able to research the family history of Weston-super-Mare’s latest temporary resident – Banksy – but at least we can help others at our Saturday afternoon Help Sessions at Weston Library in the Town Hall.  If you have any queries, come along and discuss it with one of our members or add it to our Research Forum online which should reach a wider audience.

Sadly we have just lost one of our Honorary Life Members - Millie Knox –  who was a founder member of our society,  the secretary for many years and with her husband George, who edited the journal, represented us at the Open Days and Fairs.  Kindly and knowledgeable she guided the society with a gentle hand and was respected for it, not only by us but also the other societies with whom she had contact.  Our thoughts and sympathy go to George and their family at this time.  Millie’s funeral is at the Weston-super-Mare Crematorium on Friday 4th September at 12 noon.

September sees the visit of the North Somerset Archivist to Weston Library on Thursday 3rd September.  There isn’t another visit until December so you need to hurry if you want anything brought up to Weston this week.

Also in September it is Open Doors Days - See what is open in your area

In Weston-super-Mare

All Saints Church , Weston-super-Mare  for more details, timing etc

 ·  Thursday 10 September: 1000-1600

·  Friday 11 September: 1300-1600

Emmanuel Church, Weston-super-Mare for more details which include refreshments and music etc

·  Thursday 10 September: 1030 - 1430

·  Friday 11 September: 1030 - 1430

·  Saturday 12 September: 1000am -1500

St Nicholas Church, Uphill for more details includeing archealogical interest and Phil Harding from Time Team

·  Thursday 10 September: 1000-1600

·  Friday 11 September: 1000-1600

·  Saturday 12 September: 1000-160

For those of you who have used the fascinating site – Know your Place -  you will be pleased to hear that plans are in hand to extend it to cover Somerset as well.  Maps will be digitalised at the Somerset Heritage Centre later this year.  I am hoping to get someone to talk to the Society next year about its implications to our research. Have a look at what is available already here - it already has a 2015 map of parts of this area online.

The LDS Family History Centre at the Church in Ellenborough Park North has been closed during August while renovation work was done at the chapel but hopefully will reopen on the 17th September. As you will see from this website - submit Weston-super-Mare to find details.- Weston does not have the facility to view films but a visit to this Centre does give you the opportunity to use their dedicated computers to search records which are only available at such a centre.  As more images become available this will eventually take the place of films.

According to their own web site Family History Centres provide free access to many subscription genealogy websites, including:

• 19th Century British Newspapers
• Newspaper Archives
• Alexander Street Press (American Civil War Collections)
• Ancestry.com (Family History Library Edition)
• ArkivDigital Online
• findmypast
• Fold3.com
• HeritageQuest Online
• Historic Map Works (Library Edition)
• Origins.net
• Paper Trail, A Guide to Overland Pioneer Names and Documents
• WorldVitalRecords.com

From my inbox

• Does anyone know of a photograph of Harry SAUNDERS?  – he taught at Walliscote Boys’ School for 35 years.  He was a keen Sportsman and was Secretary and Captain of Weston Cricket Club.  He died in 1942 but there is a still a chance that someone remembers being taught by him or there may be relations of his in the area who could help.  He also played for Somerset Cricket Club and is to be featured in a book which is being written at the moment. 
• We have had a similar request for a photograph of Jim (James John) BRIDGES who was also a well known Somerset cricketer.  He ran a hotel - I believe it was the Cavendish Hotel in Regent Street in the 1940s.  He died in 1966 but I know that he had children who were born in Weston so if anyone knows of this family can they get in touch with me.

Some Blogs you might find interesting

The History Interpreter - Janet Few with her take of Local and Family History is always enjoyable and good value.  She’s coming to talk to us again next year.

The British Genes Blog  from Chris Paton is useful in keeping you up to date if you are researching Irish or Scottish ancestry.  Look out for the Podcasts.

History Repeating  does have a bias towards Cambridgeshire but covers some interesting themes – look out for the one on DNA.

The Paul Milner Genealogy  Blog  is written about UK genealogy for the Americans

Next Meeting - September 29th 2015

At our September meeting we will be welcoming one of our own members, Peter Towey, Vice President of the Anglo German FHS and who I mentioned last month has recently been elected as a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists, to talk about A Cornish Family in Chancery - The Darleys of North Hill

August in a holiday resort is always interesting – Today on the beach lawns the Dairy Show was attracting the crowds – just like it was 40 years ago and it reminded me of some films I had looked at recently.  The British Film Institute has films of a way of life in this country which has perhaps disappeared.  Search by entering the place you are researching.  You may be interested in  “One Summer in Somerset “ a film made in 1968 largely containing views of Weston-super-Mare.  Another film is of an unnamed village called  “Village Life in Somerset “ made in 1934 – probably somewhere in South Somerset. Other films include Birnbeck Pier in the 1970s and colour film of the Blitz on Bristol & Bath in 1942 (which starts with a brief look at Chew Magna) and shows  the demise of a house which had been in my family in the 19th century but was a casualty of the Bristol Blitz. 

Some Internet Sites worth exploring

• During July there has been the release by the National Library of Ireland of some images of Irish Catholic Records – they are not indexed so you have to browse through them and you do need to know which parish you need.  Some of the entries are of course in Latin and some are very faint and difficult to read but as with all research if you do locate an ancestor they are worth the effort.  They are free and a very important source for Irish research. Go to the National Library of Ireland  This explains the whole set up of these Irish records and is a really useful site to explain the background to Irish research.
• If you haven’t already tried Cyndi’s List possibly because of its American roots it might be worth trying the Cyndi's List UK pages for general sources. Not all the sites are free but you may well find something there of interest.  Just beware of the advertising links to Ancestry dotted about the pages.
• I was surprised to find a photograph of my gg grandparents’ grave in Wraxall on Ancestry under their “Find a Grave Index 1300-current”  Don’t forget that Ancestry is free in the Library.
• Just a word of warning about the Family Trees on Ancestry – do check before adding adding information from a tree to your own tree, there have been many reports of errors.  Even some of the sources on Ancestry need checking.  For example my grandfather was christened at Cam, Gloucestershire on the 1st Feb 1881 but the Gloucestershire Baptisms on Ancestry (although they do have the images) has it transcribed as 1st Feb 1880. Not an earth shattering error but I have offered a correction.   All transcriptions carry the possibility of errors as anyone who has tried to decipher handwriting knows..

Society Meetings

July

Lynda Hotchkiss kept everyone on their toes at our July meeting with her entertaining talk “A Family Tangle”.  Based on her own research she ranged over many generations of her family and with several examples of intermarriage between them it made a fascinating and intriguing tale.  After the meeting, one of our members reminded me of “He’s his own Grandpa” a song made popular by Phil Harris in the 1940s.  There is now a version of this song complete with family tree which you can see on Youtube.    However I think this is actually simpler than the family described by Lynda!

August

We have no meeting in August but we will still be at the Library every Saturday afternoon from 2.00pm to 3.30pm with individual help and advice so please come along if you are in the area.

September

Our next meeting is on September when one of our members, Peter Towey who has recently been elected as a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists – Congratulations Peter! – will be exploring the 18th century Chancery proceedings relating to the DARLEY family of Cornwall.