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Weston Worthies - 7 George COOMBES
published by Pat Hase on Fri, 09/10/2020 - 0:09

Number 7 of the Weston Worthies has been uploaded. If you have any additional information about any of the Worthies or are connected with them in some way please use the the comment facility.

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Weston Worthies 4, 5 & 6 The BURGE Family
published by Pat Hase on Mon, 05/10/2020 - 13:07

As the next three Weston Worthies are from the same family I have combined them in this profile. As before, they can be found with the others on the Weston-super-Mare Page right at the bottom.  

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Weston Library - Now Open
published by Pat Hase on Fri, 02/10/2020 - 19:31

We have received this welcome news from the Weston Library 

I hope all of you at the FHS are managing to stay safe and well during these very challenging times.

We would like to take a moment to share some good news with you.

Weston Library is now open 11-3.30 Monday-Friday

  • You can borrow books using self-service.
  • You can collect reservations
  • You can photocopy
  • You can use the computers and print documents but will need to book an appointment by calling or emailing the library on:  01934 426010 or Weston.library@n-somerset.gov.uk
  • Unfortunately, the following services are not yet available:
  • computer assistance
  • events and groups
  • face-to-face enquiries
  • newspapers
  • reference material
  • studies library in the Frederick Wood room (Weston Library)
  • study space
  • We also ask that you visit you help staff and customers to stay safe by:
  • always observing a 2m distance
  • sanitising your hands
  • wearing a face covering unless exempt
  • limiting the time you spend in the library 

Please spread the word! We want to see you again!

Please share this email with your members, contacts, family and friends!
If you would rather use your library from the comfort of your own home, please follow this link for newspapers, magazines, comics, e-books, e-audiobooks and so much more! 

Not already a library member? No problem, just follow this link: to register with the library and access the online resources straight away! 

Many thanks and hope to see you soon!
Jane Goodison
Community Services Supervisor
Weston Library 

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October 2020 Newsletter
published by Pat Hase on Thu, 01/10/2020 - 0:23

It’s now 6 months since all meetings of the Society ceased – no physical contact with members whether at our monthly meetings or at the Free Help Sessions at the Library. How are you all coping?  What sort of support are you looking for from the Society?  Please let us know if there is anything which we can provide.  Use our Research Forum for your queries.

Although non-members can read much of what is on our web site including interesting articles from our past Journals  (Buckets and Spades)  It is worth stressing that the information on the web site which is for members only can be available to all for the cost of an annual membership of just £9.00 which is less than it costs to purchase a single certificate from the GRO. 

Transcriptions

Graham Payne has continued to supply marvellous transcriptions of parish registers with the addition of photographs and transcriptions of the memorials in the churchyards.  Some of the transcriptions for St John's in Weston are of people who lived elsewhere for most of their days but died in Weston, so it is well worth looking there if your ancestor unexpectedly died in the Axbridge Registration District.

Milton Road Cemetery

One big asset we have for full members is the vast transcription of the burials in Weston Cemetery from 1856 when the majority of local churchyards were closed due to poor depth of available soil (St John the Baptist), waterlogged graveyards (Emmanuel) or simply no graveyard at all (Christchurch).  Burials did continue at Uphill, Worle and other surrounding parishes but information about many local inhabitants can be found in the Cemetery including their last address and/or occupation. 

Weston Worthies

In the past month I have started to publish information about the 40 residents of Weston who makeup the “Weston Worthies” of the 19th Century.  It is an interesting project which I hope throws some light on the conditions in Weston at that time and how people lived.  It is important to look at the local history of the area in which your ancestor lived and if any of you have looked at the parish in which your people lived please let us know so that we could add your research to our web site or as articles in future Buckets & Spades. 

Lost Cousins

I have constantly recommended that you take a look at the Lost Cousins Newsletter this is the latest one  it includes an account of some fascinating research showing how all those skills which we gain through researching our family history can come in handy in other ways.

Who do you think you are?

 The BBC has announced the four personalities who will be researching their families in the next series starting during October.  Researching the past can be rewarding, fascinating and sometimes uncomfortable for the participant and we can all share their emotions as the past is uncovered.

Serendipity

It’s always surprising what can turn up when looking for something else.  In the Dorset County Chronicle - Thursday 21 July 1842, I spotted this:

Who was Rev John Henry GEGG and what was he doing in Jamaica?  From our transcriptions you can see that while he was at Uphill several of his children were born and baptised and his mother was buried there.  He was the grandson of a Thomas GEGG who also had died in Jamaica in 1778.  In his Will Thomas had left £10 each to two of his slaves for their “Faithful Services”.  This reference to “Slaves” made me wonder how many people from this area had connections. I found that the Rev John Henry GEGG is included in a list of Slave owners who received compensation when the Slave Trade was abolished in 1835.  His reference suggests that he had 15 slaves. The  web site “Legacies of British Slave-ownership” includes a biography of his grandfather Thomas GEGG with a full transcription of his Will.  I note that thanks are given to Sharon Poole for the information.

Slaves and Bridgwater

I was also surprised to find elsewhere that on May 2nd 1785 Bridgwater was the first town in this Country to Petition against the Slave Trade.    Although Bridgwater is slightly outside our area, I was interested to read this account.  Following the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685 a number of the rebels from the West Country were sentenced to be sent to the West Indies as Slaves. This prompted local interest and concern about what was happening.

FHS Really Useful Show

Coming up in November is this “Really Useful Family History Show” promoted by the Family History Federation.  Tickets are just £5.00 and there are some excellent speakers.  It seems that one of the benefits of Covid could be the virtual access to national events. 

RootsTech Connect Conference

 Next February there will be this FREE online Family History Conference.  You can register for it now – All recordings and videos will be available to you on demand after the conference throughout the year, so you can make connections no matter where you are!  Promoted by FamilySearch it is billed as visiting Salt Lake City without the travel!

RootsTech Videos Online

When RootsTech was in London in 2019 the speakers were recorded and are still available online.

  • Have a look at this introduction to the Conference with the Keynote Speaker Dan Snow 
  • Another of the videos available is one about DNA Testing – this is an Introduction to it in 2019 - of course things have moved on a bit since then but Debbie Kennett is a well known and respected expert in this field. 

Our Society

Our Society covers 70 different parishes, mainly in North Somerset but also from the old Axbridge Registration District – the map on the Home Page gives some idea of the area and we welcome queries about families from any of these parishes,  We also welcome your experiences from researching in this area.  Articles from you about your families can be published in Buckets and Spades and you can add notes to your Surname Interest entries including family trees for others to see.  Make use of the Web site to share your research.  If you live in this area we are happy to receive queries about your research wherever your family lived – many of our local members do not have Somerset Ancestors but have expertise in other areas so can offer advice.

Given the average age of our members, and the national condition of this pandemic,  it looks as if we will continue in this format until next Spring but it is possible that we will be able to offer more online action and are keen to have ideas from our members about what they feel will best assist their research. 

With our very best wishes to all who are reading this – and we hope that some  will feel that they can benefit from joining the Society as full members.

 

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Weston Worthies - 02&03 - Thomas & Harriet BARRY
published by Pat Hase on Wed, 30/09/2020 - 12:23

The next Worthies have been published - Thomas & Harriet BARRY - Please comment if you have more information about them. As before they can be found with other documents about Weston-super-Mare
Scroll to the bottom of the page below the photographs of Weston.

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Weston Worthies - 01 Samuel BAKER
published by Pat Hase on Wed, 23/09/2020 - 14:30

I have uploaded the first of the profiles about the Weston Worthies. It is for Samuel BAKER junior and can be found at the bottom of the page for Weston-super-Mare.
If you have any more information about Samuel BAKER please use the comment facility attached to this message. 

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