Another month, another Update! Let’s start with a request for members to add anything which they have found helpful to them in their hunt to discover their past. Just add your comment after this item. These Updates started at the beginning of 2012 and looking back over them I can see that there have been several instances of new resources becoming available on the internet. I have highlighted those which have come to my knowledge but I’m sure that other members will have found more so please can we get to hear of them.
Sadly we have just lost another member. Our sympathy goes to Jill Gamlin following the death of her husband Ian. Ian and Jill have held a family membership for many years and often attended meetings. Ian gave us a very interesting talk about his sea-faring ancestors in the north east demonstrating that although we are called the Weston-super-Mare & District FHS our members’ interests are very widespread. I remember Ian's surprise when he discovered that before moving "up north" his family actually came from Somerset!
September is a time to review our family history – and to look again at some of the areas which have become a stumbling block. Refreshed after the summer when holidays and gardening seem to take priority it is an excellent idea to take a fresh perspective. Going back through my research to fill in the gaps; it’s surprising how much more has become available in the last few years – it’s worth the effort to check your earlier research. You may need different research skills than before. The old IGI on microfiche had some doubtful patron entries but has been superseded by Familysearch.org (this is a link which limits your search to the UK & Ireland). Scroll down the page to see the range of resources available some of which alow you to see scanned images of the original. As a free aid to research it should not be overlooked.
 During August there was a fascinating exhibition of the History of Worle presented by the Worle History Society. More details on their web site. The members of that Society are to be congratulated for the work they all put in to produce such an interesting and well presented event.
We had a stand at the Worle exhibition and Graham Payne was able to help some of the visitors investigate their families.
This photo is showing Graham ready to offer assistance. As he has ancestors from this area he had a great deal of local knowledge as well as access though our web site to all the transcriptions which he has made available to our members (assisted in some cases by other members who are also transcribing and checking).
The rate at which the transcriptions are appearing is amazing and we all thank Graham for his dedication to this work.
  Some of us (or our parents) may have had Honorary Aunts and Uncles – those of you who have seen our WW1 exhibition in the Library will have seen how I managed to trace one of these from information sent on one of those embroidered cards from France to my mother. But who was Uncle Georgie? Why didn’t I ask her while she was still alive?! As far as I knew she didn’t have an actual Uncle George.
This is only a very small part of our WW1 exhibition which will move to the Library in Worle throughout September. If you can get there - do spend some time reading the stories which our members have researched. There are more in the current edition of Buckets & Spades.
This year there has been a concentration on the effect of the 1914-18 war on members of our families both those who served and those who supported the country in other ways at home. There have been some really thought provoking exhibitions staged about the Great War.
- One of these is at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton. Based in Taunton Castle, this brilliant museum is well worth a visit anyway for all the artefacts depicting the development of life in Somerset. The WW1 Exhibition is on display at the Museum of Somerset until 3 January 2015. The museum is open from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (last entry 4.30 pm) Tuesday to Saturday, and Bank Holiday Mondays. Entry to the museum and the exhibition is free. For further information visit: Somerset Remembers
- For a really atmospheric WW1 experience I can heartily recommend the exhibition staged by the Museum in Wells, which includes a replica of a trench with realistic sound effects. This one will be there for four years and will be updated each year. At the moment they are focussing on what happened in 1914 but in 2015 this will be changed to look at 1915 and so on. For further information visit: Wells Remembers.
- Don’t forget the Five Lives – Five Stories Exhibition which continues at Weston Museum until 14th Dec 2014. Entry to the exhibition if free and It documents the lives of five different North Somerset people and the part they played in the Great War. See Five Lives – Five Stories for more details.
This month I’ve been looking at some of the videos on YouTube which may or may not be helpful to furthering your research.
- National Archives – How to use the National Archives for Family History Research This was made in 2012 and there have been some changes since but the talk does take this into consideration
- The Family History Show with Nick Barrett has some videos online one of which includes reference to ancestry to King Canute!
- At a members’ evening Paul Tracey showed us some ways of using Google to better effect when researching family history. There are a series of videos available entitled The Google Genealogist – Parts 1 to 5 and New Tips and Tricks. You may already know all these methods but you may not!
- There are 75 videos put on by the Barefoot Genealogist (employed by Ancestry) from which you can choose a topic which interests you. If you are researching American links in your family these may be particularly useful, although some of her examples are British. An example is this one about finding a woman’s maiden name.
- If you can recommend any other please add them as a comment to this item.
Looking Ahead
- Our September Meeting will welcome Andrew James talking about his own family research “From Farmer’s fields to Flander’s Fields”
- The Chapel in the Milton Road Cemetery will be open as usual during the 2nd Saturday, Sept 13th, from 1.30 until 3.30pm
- The Help Sessions every Saturday afternoon in the Library from 2.00 until 3.30pm
- As I mentioned in the last Update - The Open Doors weekend takes place on the 2nd weekend of September the 13th & 14th and the Bristol & Avon FHS has its Open Day on September 27th
- Look out for a visit to the Who do you think you are?Live event in Birmingham in April 2015. April 16th - 18th. If you haven't already done so please can you let Brisn Airey know if you would like to go - actual date to be arranged.
- Keep May 16th 2015 free for a visit to the SWAG fair at the Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare. Details include a list of all the exhibitors.
Finally, look out for news about a new feature on our web site. A welcome new facility is being worked on which when introduced will be a tremendous asset to all our members researching local families.
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