The society was represented at the Open Day of the Bristol & Avon FHS on the 27th September – this year held at UWE Exhibition Centre which gave space for numerous stands from Societies, Record Offices, Military Associations and Commercial Firms which supporting research plus some interesting talks. It was an excellent day but I believe that the number of people attending was disappointing and this has been a trend at many of the Shows this year. Why is this? Do people really believe that they can sit at their computer screens and find out all they could possibly need to know about their family? Maps, Books, Postcards and local knowledge (which was available from many Local History Societies and Groups which were there) is invaluable to breaking down those inevitable brickwalls. If this trend continues it will cease to be financially viable to host these events.
Please support any Fairs in the area where you live - A list of Family History Fairs can be seen on the Geneva Site - just in case they might be where you are - and especially make a note of the South West Area Group of Family History Societies – SWAG - which will hold its event in the Winter Gardens in Weston on Saturday May 16th 2015.
- Our first meeting of the Autumn session had an encouraging number of members present to hear a very detailed and carefully researched presentation from Andrew Janes about the involvement of members of his family in WW1. Tracing the WOOLDRIDGE family from their farming roots in Devon to the fields of Flanders became a textbook exercise in family history research. He drew attention to the excellent web site The Long, Long Trail, a site all about the soldiers, units, regiments and battles of the British Army of the First World War.
- We have received advance notice that the LDS Church in Weston-super-Mare is considering opening a small Family History Centre in its premises in Ellenborough Park North. This is exciting news because it should increase the facility for researching your family in other parts of the country and abroad. We will let you have the details as soon as we have them. At the moment the nearest LDS Family History Centre is the one in Wells Road, Bristol – see here for information about the Bristol Centre.
- Old Maps are often fascinating – do try this for maps of Great Britain – Go to this site – enter Weston-super-Mare (or wherever your ancestor came from) and select which map group you wish to view. It is run by the National Library of Scotland enabling you to access and view over 86,000 maps as high-resolution, colour, zoomable images. The maps date between 1560 and 1961 and relate primarily to Scotland but they also have maps of areas beyond Scotland, including maps of England and Great Britain, Ireland, and Belgium (trench maps of WW1)
- If you have Irish Ancestors you may find this new site of help to you. Included on this website are a collection of digitized maps of Dublin and Ireland, viewable in Google map format, a revised and improved townland database, scans and extracts from a number of directories, a guide to the important, and unique, system of land divisions of Ireland (townlands etc), and a brief introduction and guide to Irish records.
- The Federation of Family History Societies does list some free web sites here.
Where did they say they were born?
It is sometimes difficult to decide where an ancestor was born from the place given on a census. I was born in Bristol and have always found the series of books by Derek Robinson and Vic Wiltshire on the “Correct way to speak Bristol” or as they put it “Krek Waiter’s Peak Bristle” which gently poke fun at the Bristolian accent great fun. From a Family History point of view these books emphasise how easy it is to have phonetically spelt entries on censuses. For example - would you recognise these places? You may need to read them aloud to get the best effect but it does give an idea of a West County dialect.
- Annum for Hanham
- Ashen Core for Ashton Court
- Bart Nil for Barton Hill
- Count’s Louse for Council House
- Grape Written for Great Britain
- Port Zed for Portishead
- Shrampton for Shirehampton
- Snanz for St Anne’s
- Wessun for Weston
- Wess Vinglun for West of England
- Wive Alley for Wye Valley
More examples of the Bristolian dialect can be found here
Encouraging the younger generation
The problem with family history research is that most people do not get involved until they are of mature years but in order to attract younger enthusiasts the Devon FHS has introduced the “Acorn Club”. There is some helpful advice about encouraging young people on this site - it includes ideas for activities which you might like to try with young relations.
I have also just come across a book called Family History for Kids by Emma Jolly which was written for children aged 8 to 13 giving ideas about how they can find out more about their family backgrounds. Although published in 2007 the basic information is still good and it includes interesting projects – in fact some adult beginners might also find it helpful!
Making the most of our own web site
Several times recently I have put someone in touch with a member who is researching the same name. I can only do this if all members put their research names on our Members’ Interests. I note that it is over 2 months since any new names were added to the list and I know we have had some new members during that time. If you haven’t already done so please add your names – it can be such a help to share ideas and information about your family with someone who shares an ancestor and you never know what new facts you will find.
I realise that if you are reading this you are using the site but do use the research forum if you have a query – it has been a bit quiet lately and I know we have many members who are very knowledgeable and can give help and advice. In the August and September Updates I suggested that by using the Research Forum or by adding a comment to the Update you might like to share information about useful sites you have used - but no one has added anything yet.
Dates for your diary
During October the Library Help Sessions will continue as usual every Saturday afternoon from 2.00 – 3.30 pm in the Weston Town Hall and the Chapel in Milton Road Cemetery will open for the last time this year (until the Spring) on Sat Oct 11th from 1.30 – 3.30pm.
Our Speaker for the October meeting, Oct 28th, is our own member (and Treasurer) Dave Milner who will share his extensive knowledge of family history research when he talks about researching your family by way of Memorials.
If you missed our WW1 exhibition - during October it is at the Campus Library, Highlands Lane, Locking Castle, Weston-super-Mare, BS24 7DX
| 
login
