Have you ever thought of family history being like an Easter Egg Hunt? Our ancestors seem to have hidden themselves away and are so difficult to find but the excitement of discovering them can be like eating chocolate – it makes you feel so good! Some years ago, many months after Easter, when I was looking for something else, I found an egg which had eluded the family at Easter – again very much like family history - you discover something when you least expect it.
It will soon be Easter but please note that there will not be a Help Session in Weston Library on Easter Saturday, the 19th April. But back to normal the following week!
Our AGM at the end of March brought a number of pleasant surprises.
 
- Our Chairman, Brian Airey, in recognition of the 30 years since the first meeting of this society, had brought a cake to celebrate the occasion.
- Paul Tracey, our indefatigable webmaster and editor of Buckets and Spades was presented with a well deserved Honorary Life Membership of our Society.
- After a year of Brian Airey fulfilling the triple role of Chairman, Secretary and Librarian, Mark Sayer was elected to take on the role of Secretary.
Proposed change in Membership Rates
The membership also passed a proposal that from 2015 there would be a change in the subscription rate. The annual rate remains at £9.00 for those members who accept a digital version of Buckets and Spades, but for those who prefer to read it in its current printed format there will be an increase to £12.00 per year for UK members and to £20.00 per year for those members who live outside of the UK. It should be remembered that within our membership we also receive free access to the transcriptions of local parish records. We recognise that the majority of members from outside UK are researching North Somerset families and that the availability of the transcriptions is particularly important to them. Although local members may not be researching local families they do benefit from the costs incurred in the monthly meeting with its speakers.
Try these Links
- On the research front, after the AGM, we looked at Internet Resources and Paul Tracey led us through some ideas for getting more use out of Google as a search engine and how to narrow down our searches. For those of you who were not at the AGM, on Youtube there are several videos which look at the same area. The Google Genealogist (new tips and tricks) is just one example.
- For those of you who want to use your North Somerset Library Cards to look at sites from home (with the exception of Ancestry) this is the new link to access the Online Services available to you. If you live elsewhere in Somerset, Bristol, Bath or South Gloucestershire go to Librarieswest and follow the links under “Explore our collections” - Online reference library.
- For a little light relief take a look at Common Genealogy Mistakes – it comes with a warning that you should not follow the advice given but it may make you smile or nod wisely that you already know better!
- Many of you will have enjoyed and learned a lot from presentations given by Dr Janet Few so you may be interested in her web site – The History Interpreter – on this she keeps you up to date with her work and interests. Having just celebrated Mothering Sunday, her article on “Grandparenthood – a family historian’s perspective” is particularly topical.
Looking Ahead
A reminder that the deadline for articles for the next issue of Buckets and Spades, which will be devoted to the commemoration of WW1, is May 31st. Please submit your articles however small, to Paul Tracey – Your research can concern any aspect of the war in which you have an interest – for example:
- Stories handed down about life in the forces – on land, sea or in the air.
- What have you been told about life in this country during the war?
- How the war affected your family
- Any information about Women at War
- Military Hospitals in this area etc.
This probably seems a long way ahead but plans are in hand for our Open Day on July 12th at St Paul’s Church Hall – if you have any display material regarding your WW1 Research there will be the opportunity to show this at the Open Day.Caroline Morris is coordinating this exhibition and she is collecting exhibits and would welcome information which can be displayed.Do you have any WW1 memorabilia which can form part of this exhibition?Display Stands will be available. Please get in touch with Caroline – use the “Contact Us” button on the home page and choose the Category “Memories of WW1” – we all have family ancestors who lived through the Great War so we should all be able to contribute either to the journal or the Open Day Display or both.
During April, the Exhibition “Face to Face” continues at Weston-super-Mare Library.With free admission to the exhibition, it is a fascinating display of North Somerset People in photographs.It finishes on April 27th. More details can be seen on the Weston Town Council web site. While on the Town Council Web site - have you seen this entry under Community?
The April Members’ Meeting on April 29th will feature our own member Pete Williams with a follow-up talk describing how he has successfully broken down some of his brick walls. If you have any brickwalls why not ask for help - either by posting a Query on the Research Forum or by coming into the Library on a Saturday (but not Easter Saturday!)
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