Meeting November 26th: Members joined in with a Christmas themed quiz which helped us think about customs in the past. One member shared her collection of old Christmas cards and silver charms intended for the Christmas pudding.
Meeting October 22nd: This was an interesting meeting looking at ways to record research and gave us plenty to consider. Many thanks to the members who demonstrated their use of computer programs and Microsoft publisher to store and display work.
Meeting September 24th: Members shared their knowledge of using gravestones and memorials to help with family research. We looked at a variety of headstones and discussed the difficulties of locating old graves. This discussion also led us to look at soldiers wills and villages commemorating those lost in WW1, in particular Draycott, by placing plaques on their former homes.
Meeting July 23rd: At this meeting members shared their successes in research and some frustrations. We looked at DNA results and interpreting these, hand written family trees, old photographs and discussed research possibilities on the internet and within record offices.
Meeting June 25th: Members revisited using newspapers as an aid to research and looked at some articles one member had downloaded from the National Newspaper Archive which applied to her family. We also discussed the 1939 register which has become more widely available and one members positive experience following DNA testing.
Meeting April 23rd: Members attending this meeting took a further look at their ancestors in the military during both war and peacetimes. One member brought in a treasure trove of memorabilia associated with her family from both the first and second world wars including cap badges, buttons, badges, medals, postcards and documentation both British and German.
Meeting March 26th: At this meeting we looked at ‘Brick Walls’ and how to try to overcome these. One member offered a list of useful and lesser known websites for research, another explained the usefulness of searching old newspapers, while we also looked at how transcription errors and misspellings in records can cause some difficulties. We also shared our own ‘Brick Walls’ so that the detectives amongst us could see if they could offer any solutions.
Meeting February 26th: An interesting meeting led by one of our members helped us to consider how we can share our lives and experiences as part of compiling our family histories.
Meeting January 22nd 2018: We were pleased to welcome a new member to the group this month, which brings our regular membership up to 14. Ron led an interesting session on ‘Tithe Records’ and how he had used the records for Bonsall within his own research, illustrating how these may be useful to family historians. The level of detail for his family gave a real insight into their everyday lives in the village as both owners and renters of land. We also heard of emotional visits that had been undertaken to seek out ancestors final resting places and some successes in members own research.