News & Information

This month, June, is a hot spot of nostalgia with the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in full swing.  Perhaps it might inspire some of you to write an article about your Victorian ancestors for a future issue of Buckets & Spades. The next edition should be ready for distrubution at the June meeting but you've plenty of time for the October one!  This magazine is one of the benefits of full membership of our Society and is a credit to the editor, Paul Tracey, who always appreciates pieces for publication.

The society will be at the Wiltshire Family History Open Day on Saturday June 16th for more details see here.

Please make a note of our Open Day on Saturday 14th July at St Paul's Church Hall from 10.00 - 4.00 pm.  Representatives from the Wiltshire, Gwent,  Somerset & Dorset and the Bristol & Avon Family History Societies along with the Guild of One Name Studies will be there to answer your questions and there will be Help Desks in operation.  Local History Groups from Hutton, Kewstoke, Banwell and Worle will also be on hand with all their local knowledge.  Entry is free and refreshments will be available.

Ancestry has updated the Index for Wills and Administrations for England and Wales so that it now covers from 1858 to 1966.  This really is a help and of course may be available in your local Library.

An early warning notice - there will be no Saturday afternoon Help Sessions during August and September of this year and neither will the North Somerset Archivist be visiting Weston during those months.  This is to allow the Library to prepare for its move to the new premises at the Town Hall. 

The Bristol Records Office has announced some changes to the procedure when you visit - full details can be seen here

Our next meeting which is a Members' Evening is on the last Tuesday of June - June 26th - and the topic is "Problem Solving" As you will have seen on our published programme we have been asking for questions for the Panel to be submitted to the Secretary by June 12th - I'm not sure how many we have (if any!) but no question is too silly - A different perpective on your problem will often evoke a new line of enquiry.  If you have a discovered a new resource this can also be of interest at this meeting. We hope that this will result in some productive discussion and exchange of ideas.