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October 2023 Newsletter
published by Pat Hase on Sat, 30/09/2023 - 22:58

40th Celebration Dinner and Brian Austin

The Dinner at the Grand Atlantic Hotel went very well was enjoyed by those who could make it.  Thank you to Peter de Dulin for arranging the celebration. A short tribute was made to Brian Austin whose sudden death had shocked us all a few days  previously. 40 years is a considerable achievement for any Society and in talking to Brian about our celebrations back in May, he had been delighted and surprised that what had started as one of his classes had lasted so long!  Does anyone have any photographs of the Dinner?

Future of the Society

Members will have received an email from the Jenny Towey, Chair of this Society entitled “The future of this Society” and Facebook members will also have seen the same message from her. As a co-opted committee member,  I have had the pleasure taking part in Committee Meetings over the past years and have seen the stress of maintaining a viable society during the pandemic when so much changed. All members should offer a tremendous vote of thanks to the existing committee for the way it has supported you while juggling personal problems and pressure on their time.  Consequently, we need new committee members to prevent the Society from collapsing so soon after celebrating 40 years.  You do not need to be widely experienced in family history research but just to have ideas about what you would expect from a Society, how to achieve it, how to energise members into supporting it and how to attract younger members.  Please think about it.

All About that Place – SOG free presentations

One suggestion which has been made about the Society is that it should cater more for the local and social history of the Area as family, social and local history are inextricably linked.  These last few days the SOG has been offering some free presentations under the umbrella of “All about that Place”. If you missed them, they are available on YouTube and although not necessarily about the West of England are well worth looking at. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCywn4HvGaYTMmycQ0FjZ79A

Researching History of your house and/or street

During September I started looking at the road in which I have lived for the past 60+ years!  It has been fascinating.  I have some directories at home and although the road wasn’t developed until the 1930s I have been able to extract the names of the Head of the House and the 1939 Register has given me some more details.  Searching for the road name in newspapers has thrown up more interesting facts from

·         minor motoring offences,

·         winners at Junior Arts festivals,

·         obituaries of some residents,

·         occupations (a lot of teachers!),

·         descriptions of houses when offered for sale,

·         a few break ins,

·         advertisements for servants!

·         Wills,

·         Letters to the press from residents.

·         awards and prizes in competitions, etc.

The road name on the Somerset Archives has given:

  •          dates of plans, additions and alterations to plans of buildings and
  •          repair of War damage.

Our own Cemetery Transcriptions gave:

  •          The date of burials of deceased residents

Know your Place shows me that the

  •          land of which our house was built had been part of a farm and
  •          later a Tennis “Ground”

The deeds give a complicated account of all previous owners of the land.

All in all, this is proving an interesting exercise, about the people and families who lived here.  I just wish the road was a bit shorter! 

Lost Cousins

The latest Newsletter from Lost Cousins can be seen here and includes some DNA advice http://familyhistory.news/latesep23news.htm

DNA based programmes on TV

I really enjoyed the start of the new series of DNA Family Secrets with Prof Turi King.  They are interesting and involving situations which may be solved by DNA testing but also need the use of the basic “paper” research to clarify the position. It was the balance of these which appealed to me as too often other programmes seem to totally rely on DNA to get their results. Do watch them if you have the time.

New Resources

On Ancestry - https://www.ancestry.co.uk/cs/recent-collections take a look at the new and recently updated collections of resources. It includes a list of WW2 Casualties – Officers and Nurses - where I found my Uncle, Capt H J JOHNSON, who was killed in a plane crash in East Africa just after the official end of the war in July 1945.

On The Genealogist these records are now available https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/news/  It’s always a good idea to see what records have been added to the lists.  Your family may have come from any part of the country, and you may find the resources useful.

Have you ever  tried using Dusty Docs  http://dustydocs.com/  to find freely available parish records?  It also guides you to other useful information such as the distribution of Surnames etc. This is the Distribution Map for the name PUDDY which occurs in our family history. You can see that it is concentrated in Somerset

Free Help Session

On the first Saturday of each month, we hold a free Help Session in Weston Library from 2.00 p.m . until 3.30., where experienced members give their time to assist others. You do not have to book but bring along anything you already know about your family and what you hope to find.  Apart from the resources available in the North Studies Library at Weston you will also have access to Ancestry and FindmyPast. Everyone welcome, beginners or not.

Volunteers at the Library in 2017 some of whom are still part of the team.

Next Society Meeting – Oct 11th - Weston Cemetery – Jane Hill

We are looking forward to the next Society meeting on Wednesday, October 11th 2.30 p.m. until 5.00 p.m. when Jane Hill will be talking about Weston Cemetery. 

Our web site has a marvellous set of transcriptions of all the burials at Weston Cemetery, available to members, from 1856 until 2016.  It includes the Memorial Inscriptions, some of the early ones being collected by Brian Austin before they became indistinct by weathering.  The rest were collected by members who volunteered  to record them.  Initially collated by the late Stanley Baker and more recently by Graham Payne who with the consent of Weston Town Council has transcribed the entries from the Burial Books and made them all available.  The Society in conjunction with the now defunct “Friends of the Cemetery” used to hold Saturday meetings in the Chapel explaining the history of the Cemetery and finding the graves for visitors from the plans which we have.

The last Society meeting at Our Lady of Lourdes attracted 23 members, 1 of which was a visitor and 6 were committee members.  Perhaps more would attend if it was an evening meeting, as it used to be, people who are not free during the day might be able to join in. What do you think?

Next Zoom Workshop –25th Oct - History of Wrington – John Gowar

Our next Zoom Workshop looks at the History of Wrington guided by John Gowar.  It takes place on Wednesday the 25th of Oct from 7.30 until 9.30 p. m.  

Wrington has a long and fascinating history with connections with many notable residents including John Locke, the philosopher who was born there in 1632, Henry Herbert Wills, a member of the Tobacco family and his wife Dame Mary Monica Cunliffe Wills, after whom the St Monica’s Homes were named following their outstanding philanthropy and Hannah More who lived at Cowslip Green and was buried in Wrington Church in 1833 with some amazing additional information in the Burial Register.


Local History

Have any of our members researched the history of a parish in our District or have any photographs  or information about a parish or place where their ancestors lived which could be added to our web site under the Place name?  This might help other members with their research.

Please consider the future of our Society and what you can do to assist it and its members to fully enjoy the activity of researching their family history.  As we all know it is an activity which benefits greatly from being able to get help from like minded people and to share our successes with others.

 

News TopicMonthly Update
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The Future of this Society.......
published by Brian & Pam Airey on Thu, 28/09/2023 - 10:10

.......does it have a future? Only if you step forward and help to keep it going and growing. Many of your committee members -according to the constitution- should have already stepped down, but mainly due to covid, we stayed on and learnt how to create and record Zoom meetings; both for the benefit of keeping the Society going.

Do please make this the year that you "give something back" to the world of family history that we love so dearly. Join our Committee and  help us keep the Society alive.

Jenny Towey

Chair

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Nominations for Committee
published by Paul Ronald Tracey on Tue, 26/09/2023 - 20:46

The AGM is on 8th November. This is the time when you vote for the Committee team who will run the Society in 2024. Nominations have to be with the Secretary 7 days before AGM, so I am giving you plenty of time to think. Please help as health is sapping present members.

A nomination form is attached which will download to your computer.

Brian

 

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Brian Austin
published by Pat Hase on Sat, 16/09/2023 - 11:45

It was with shock and sadness that we heard of the sudden death of Brian Austin on the evening of Thursday 14th September.  Brian had given one of his inimitable talks at the Museum in the afternoon during which he had been on good form.

Brian will be greatly missed for his generous research into the family and local history of Weston, his home town.  It was from one of his classes in Family History that our Society grew - for which we are very grateful.  His continued kindly support and encyclopedic knowledge of the history of  the people, events and places of Weston was an inspiration to many.  Our thoughts and sympathy go to Annemarie at this sad time. 

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Zoom meeting 27th September
published by Peter de Dulin on Mon, 04/09/2023 - 12:05

The Zoom meeting this month is about Know Your Place, the fantastic resource available free of charge.

News TopicEvents
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September 2023 Newsletter
published by Pat Hase on Fri, 01/09/2023 - 0:08

It’s September, the month when people have the time to become more involved in their Family History after the Summer break and coping with the requirements of family and possibly the gardening.  What new challenges have you set yourself? 

Free Help Session

After the mixed weather we have been having, the Free Help Session on Saturday Sept 2nd at the Library could be just the spur you need to pick up the research.  Our Volunteers will be there from 2.00 until 3.30pm ready to offer advice and encouragement. Take the opportunity to discover exactly what the Library has to offer in the way of resources for family history. 

  • Notably the Weston Mercury and Gazette on film for dates not available online,
  • Street Directories 
  • Electoral Rolls,
  • the Files on People and Places,
  • Maps,
  • Family Trees complied by Brian Austin.
  • If your family is not local, then the Library can give access to FindmyPast and Ancestry.
  • etc.

Newsletter

This is the 141st Newsletter that I have put together for the Society, and I do hope that you have gained some help or ideas for ways of approaching Family History from them.  Although I have continually asked for your comments and asked for you to share your own tips for research, feedback has been noticeably missing.

Research Forum

As a Society, all members have a part to play and just a few days ago I had some tremendous help by using our Research Forum.  Perhaps you saw it?  I was looking for the baptism of a Henry HASE – with various ways of spelling HASE and the answer came from a member who has contributed before.  He found the baptism which had been entered as Henry EAST – a variant I had not considered! Thank you, Rob! This was not a poor transcription as the original entry was very clear as EAST.

From Ancestry – Emmanuel Church, Weston-super-Mare, November 1852

The first names of the parents and the occupation of the father prove to me that this is the correct baptism. Now, all I need is the registration of his birth!

Do you have a query for which you need a second opinion? 

40th Anniversary Dinner 

We should all feel very proud that our Society has lasted for 40 years, and   our Open Day in May helped to celebrate that achievement. The Anniversary Dinner on the 18th September will allow members to meet up during a relaxed meal and to share experiences about our common interests.

Members will have received an email with the menu from Peter de Dulin and he is looking forward to finalising the numbers. Please send your menu choices to Peter at anniversarydinner@dedulin.co.uk or peter@dedulin.co.uk. If you have any queries or have not received the menu and details about how to pay, please let him know.

Family Profiles

Have you considered writing up the life history of just one member in your ancestry?  It need not be someone for whom you have to decipher Latin documents or spend hours in an Archive researching - why not start with someone who lived in the 20th Century? 

A young child in a white dressDescription automatically generatedUsing my mother as an example - She was born in 1910 and died in 1997. This photograph was taken in Sept 1912.

Little did anyone know then how life was going to change for everyone during her lifetime.  

She lived through the problems created by two World Wars.  She saw the way in which her mother coped during the privations of WW1 and the effect that gassing in the trenches of France had on her father.  As the war ended, she witnessed countless funerals passing into Greenbank Cemetery in Bristol caused by the ‘flu epidemic.

Brief days out in Weston were enjoyed by her and her sister as they, like countless others paddled in the tide. 

The second photo with her younger sister is at Weston in about 1919 showing in the background the long extension of the New Pier.

The rest of her life demonstrated how changes in the way of life in society, affected her.   She accepted and applauded the changing role of women in society. However, in fulfilling her role as a wife and mother, she cared for all generations in her family with commonsense and empathy.

Dr Janet Few is writing the story of her grandmother and it is inspirational  to see how any life story can be embellished around the dates and places found in family history research.

Engaging the younger generation in family history research

It is well documented that people become interested in researching their family history as they become older and then regret not starting earlier when their immediate ancestors would have been able to answer their questions.  As a Society we need to attract younger members – how can we do that?  What should we be doing to encourage participation in society activities?

The August and September editions of Family Tree have very interesting articles discussing how studying Family History can benefit our  Health and Well-being. Is it more than just a hobby?  One way in which we can ensure that our own memories are being shared is to use these 20 Questions with members of our family.  https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-stories-our-lives/201611/the-do-you-know-20-questions-about-family-stories It’s not the answers which are important but the fact that family stories are being talked about.  Research has shown that through story telling families can share experiences that offer a sense of continuity to the young people as they cope with the complexity of modern life.  They also assist with communication with older people with failing memories.

If you are a grandparent, why not encourage your children to spend time talking to their children about the family – perhaps using the 20 questions outlined above. 

A side issue which is mentioned is that having the skill of being able to research censuses and other resources gave greater satisfaction and self-esteem than that achieved from writing up the results!  With this I totally agree – it is the adrenaline rush when a problem is solved, and an ancestor slotted into his or her correct family that makes this such an addictive activity.

School Genealogy Clubs can also help.  This is an account of one set up in Liverpool which shows how the research skills can increase the children’s confidence and independence. https://www.family-tree.co.uk/news/new-family-history-club-with-a-difference

New Resources Online

From Ancestry

  • Take a look at the new and updated records in Ancestry    
  • During August  Ancestry has added these Burial Records for
  • Birmingham, England, Birmingham Cemetery and Crematoria Records, 1836-2017
  • With all the links between Birmingham and North Somerset you may find this as helpful as I did –It included 10 entries for HASE – all descended from one family who moved to Birmingham.

From FindmyPast

Have you discovered any new resources which have been helpful to you?

Digital Death Records

When I started family history research and bought full Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates they were £2.50 each.  Very often I omitted getting the death Certificates on the mistaken idea that I had already found the burial and didn’t need them.  The cost then rose, and the death certs became even less attractive.  However, with the digital image from the records now being available for £2.50 I’m in danger of getting carried away.  But it’s worth it!  Here’s my 3 x great grandmother’s death. 

Ann’s Inquest was reported with others in the press, showing a range of causes of death including “Sudden death by visitation of God” – presumably a heart attack or similar.

Newspaper articles are often the only way in which to get information about Inquests.

William Joyner ELLIS, the Coroner, was the son of the previous Coroner, another William Joyner ELLIS senior whose notebooks covering the Inquests he presided over between 1790 and 1823 have survived and have been deposited in the Gloucestershire Archives.  In 1998 the Downend Local History Society researched these records and produced a booklet which sheds light on the workings of a Coroner.  Coroner’s records are very difficult to find and this is a marvellous insight into his work. Most Inquests took place in Inns but they were also held in gaols, workhouses, homes of the gentry or wherever convenient.  The detail of his findings and his sympathy for the bereaved sheds light on society in an area where mining was the cause of many deaths.

A quote from Oct 13 1820

“To the Salutation Inn at Mangotsfield on the body of Hannah LACEY, aged 28 who dropped down dead in the kitchen of her dwelling House immediately upon her returning home from digging potatoes in a field half a mile distance without any previous illness.

Verdict: Sudden death by visitation of God

21 miles £1. 15. 9d”

Next Society Meeting

On Wednesday Sept 13th we have a meeting at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Hall with the Title “Guilty Pleasures: Chocolate, Beer and Tobacco by Chris Bigg.  The meeting starts at 2.30 pm and we hope that it will be well supported by our members and is open to non-members. 

Finally, as we say goodbye to Summer, I hope that you will all have more time and energy to make progress with your family history and consider how you can fully benefit from membership of this society.  Please add any comments you have about items in this newsletter and share any resources which you have found most helpful to you.

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Saturday, 6th April, 2024 14:00 - 15:30
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