Society of Genealogists Chairman, Collin Allen will be appearing on Radio 4 on Wednesday 28 July at 11am, being interviewed by Trade Unionist Bill Morris about the Chartist William Cuffay and his family history links to Medway towns in Kent.

The website for the radio programme Britain’s Black Revolutionary tells us that,

“as far back as the London of 1848 the son of slave was leading one of this countries most powerful political movements.
Few of us have heard of William Cuffay, a physically deformed tailor who lived in Soho. And yet he was notorious in his day, to the extent that the political class of the 1840s dubbed him “the pore old blackymore rogue” as he went on to lead a political movement so powerful that Britain cowered behind its shuttered windows and the massed ranks of its armies.
Just as the thrones of Europe were yet again tumbling to revolution, the 1848 Chartist uprising in favour of democracy and equality in London threatened the status quo in Britain. History records that an articulate democrat, William Cuffay, emerged as a key organiser of the mass demonstration that faced the Duke of Wellington’s army in the demand for the vote. Revolution threatened the capital – but who was the diminutive tailor holding such sway? ”

Lord Morris follows a predecessor in the labour movement through his fascinating story – from son of a St Kitts slave to political leader, and ultimately into exile at Her Majesty’s pleasure in Tasmania.

Producer: Philip Sellars.

Broadcast
Wednesday 28 Jul 2010 11:00 BBC Radio 4

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, William Cuffay

According to an article in the Daily Telegraph “Belgian undertakers have drawn up plans to dissolve the corpses of the dead in caustic solutions and flush them into the sewage system”

Legislation has already been passed in six States in America to allow this process to go ahead but in Belgium they want to go one step further and flush the remains into the sewage system.

These proposals are currently being studied by the European Union and if approved could be used anywhere in Europe.

Although we think otherwise, the dearly departed have always been treated in a very callous way. one only has to read George Walker’s “Gatherings from Graveyards” to understand  the gruesome burial practices in London in the 18th & 19th Century. The Cholera epidemics of the 19th Century woke the populace up to the idea that the dead and the living don’t mix well together and led to the growth of cemeteries. These of course have in many cases been left to rack and ruin such as Abney Park in London where in many cases gravestones are so overgrown that it would be impossible to find an ancestor without a full blown jungle expedition! (Warning – do not visit Abney Park on your own – there are a lot of “strange” living people in the undergrowth)

This century brought the Crematorium with the 30 minute (if you are lucky) service – with in many cases their rank commercialism (move along time for the next ceremony) – Want to remember your loved ones? – £300 for a ten year lease on a plaque…

So now we move on to become total waste material. I have heard it said that “in every glass of water we drink a molecule of Oliver Cromwell’s pee” so soon it will  be a pot pourri of everybody…

Click here to read the full article from the Daily Telegraph

What do you say? Please leave your comments

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: burial, corpse, cremation, gatherings from graveyards

Find My Past has made the following announcement:

“The World Cup is now upon us and we thought it would only be fair to provide some entertainment for any non-football fans out there:

Whenever England play a match, you’ll be able to access all our records for free!* “

What you need to know about this fantastic offer:

- When England play, you don’t pay: 30 minutes before each England game kicks off, all the records on findmypast.co.uk will be free to view for 3 hours

- You can view original images and transcriptions of all our records for free including birth, marriage and death records 1538-2006, census records including the 1911 census and our Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913 – to name just a few

- Normally you would need a subscription or PayAsYouGo credits to view our records – some of which normally cost 30 credits each – so to be able to see them for free is a rare opportunity

- Keep an eye on our blog for a competition question to enter during each England match. You’ll need to answer all the questions correctly for a chance to win, so make sure you don’t miss any. The prize is a goodie bag containing a digital camera, vouchers for a year’s Full subscription plus much more

All you need to do to make use of this unique offer is register on findmypast.co.uk as you’ll need to sign in to view the records. Visit our World Cup page for more information.

If you need a helping hand with your research, take a look at our video tutorials or our Getting Started page which provide clear advice on how to use our records.

We’d love to hear about any discoveries you make while our records are free to view – post anything you’d like to share with us and our readers on our Facebook page.

Please pass this on to friends, family or anyone else you think might want to make the most of our free family history records.

*All records available using our Full subscription (including the 1911 Census) will be free: Living Relatives searches and Memorial scrolls are not included.

So this is the ideal oppotunity to escape from the football fuss and get done to some serious genealogy searching. Here are the times of the first three matches.  You will need to break a habit of a lifetime to follow the football results to find out when England may be playing further matches !

I am sure that you will know how your local time relates to GMT.

England  vs.  United States     -  12 Jun       7:30pm      
England  vs.  Algeria                -  18 Jun       7:30pm      
England  vs   Slovenia              -  23 Jun       3:00pm      

Remember that the free time starts 30 minutes before the kick-off and runs for three hours.   All records available using the Full subscription (including the 1911 Census) will be free: Living Relatives searches and Memorial scrolls are not included.

I guess that you can register in advance to be ready on time.

Happy hunting -

Geoff Stone and Else Churchill

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: Ancestry, family history, Family History News, Find My Past, genealogy

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

 The Society of Genealogists and Pharos Teaching & Tutoring today announced a new joint programme, the distance learning Certificate of Family History Skills and Strategies (intermediate).

The Society of Genealogists, in conjunction with Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd is now bringing its popular classroom programme to the Web. Following successful pilot courses last year, the Society and Pharos have teamed up to make available a full course of instruction, with  optional assessment, to any interested genealogist anywhere in the world. First modules in the Skills and Strategies programme will be offered in September 2010. It will be possible to complete all 10 modules in an 18 month period. 

The modules are listed here in alphabetical order:

Apprenticeships & Guilds
Employment Records
Lists & Sources from Georgian England
Migration in the British Isles
Military Records
Nonconformity in England and Wales
The Poor, the Parish and the Workhouse
Victorian Crime & Punishment
Wills and Administrations
17th Century Sources

Tutors include the well-known authors and genealogists, Gill Blanchard, Liz Carter, Else Churchill, Simon Fowler, Sherry Irvine, Michael Isherwood and Stuart Raymond. All have made significant contributions to the world of family history and bring a wide array of records knowledge and teaching experience to the online classroom.

The Skills and Strategies course is suitable for genealogists who have had at least two years experience in family history research in England & Wales and have mastered the fundamentals of census, civil registrations and parish registers but who now wish to move on to new records and a greater understanding of research methods and skills.

Students choosing to take all ten modules as a full programme with assessments leading to the Intermediate Certificate can sign up now at an introductory price of £450. This represents a saving of £42.90 on the full listed price.  Each module is monitored by the Society to ensure excellent standards of content and teaching.

Students may, alternatively, choose not have work assessed and to take any arrangement of individual topics. Courses taken individually without assessment cost less.
 
Find out more or enroll  for this great learning opportunity

Information about the course and a link for bookings can also be found on the Society of Genealogists’ website

Helen Osborn, Managing Director of Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd, said today

“We are very pleased to continue and build on our collaboration with the Society of Genealogists. We know that many Pharos students are interested in working towards a certificate that acknowledges their achievements and that others are looking for a wider range of choice in online programmes. The Skills and Strategies course meets those needs, offered by organizations and teachers with shared standards of excellence.”
                                                         

Else Churchill, Genealogists at the Society & tutor on the new programme, said today

“The Society of Genealogists is delighted join forces with Pharos to offer the highly regarded SoG courses and education programme to a wider audience than can attend the Society’s classes in London. The Skills and Strategies course will offer a practical opportunity for family historians to take their research further and to develop their own expertise and understanding of genealogical sources and techniques.”

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, family history course, Family History Courses, Family History News, genealogy, Pharos Teaching & Tutoring, Society of Genealogists

Proposals will be accepted starting 1 May 2010 for the Society of Genealogists’ Centenary Conference, Breaking the Barriers, to be held at The Royal Overseas League, Over-Seas House, Park Place, 5 St James’s Terrace, London SW1A 1LP on Saturday 7th May 2011.

The conference lectures will be a celebration of the past century of genealogy and the Society of Genealogists and will look forward to the future of the subject. The conference will include a full day of lectures, networking luncheons, and workshops featuring nationally and internationally known genealogical speakers. To learn more about forthcoming news on the conference and other centenary celebrations see the SoG Centenary Conference Blog and web pages

Deadline for Submissions — 31 July 2010

Conference Themes
The Society is inviting submissions for papers and presentations on a variety of themes and expects submission topics to include, amongst others:

How the SoG has affected genealogy
Expanding the frontiers in genealogy
The development of genealogy. Then and now and what next?
Expanding the frontiers in genealogy
Problem solving. Breaking the barriers in genealogy
London research and London problems
Technological innovation in genealogy (with a particular look at British innovation).
Social themes from 2011, the end of the Edwardian Age ¬ – Women’s suffrage, pensions etc

General genealogical topics including methodology, skills building, record analysis, problem solving and writing family history

Sessions are generally limited to fifty minutes plus a ten-minute question-and-answer session. Syllabus material (word documents or PDF files), due in early 2011, is required for each lecture or workshop presentation

Guidelines
Anyone wishing to submit a talk for the conference should contact the conference team genealogy@sog.org.uk who will supply a conference proposal form which should include the following information:

• Speaker’s full name, address, telephone and email address.
• Lecture title, not to exceed fourteen words, and a brief but comprehensive outline
• Short summary of the lecture; word count not to exceed 100 words, which will be used in the program, if selected.
• Brief speaker biography, not to exceed 100 words.
• Resume of recent lectures given by the speaker. Those who have not spoken previously at a regional or national conference are encouraged to submit an audio or video tape of a recent lecture.

Speakers are expected to use an electronic presentation program. Such as Powerpoint. The SoG will provide the data projector, VGA cable, stand and power. Talks using OHPs will NOT be accepted.

Individuals may submit any number of proposals. SoG members will be given first consideration as speakers.

Completed proposal forms must be e-mailed to genealogy@sog.org.uk  with the subject: 2011 SoG Family History Conference-Call for Papers.
Selected speakers will be notified in August 2010. Speakers will receive a complimentary full conference registration

Compensation by the Society of Genealogists

Speakers selected by the SoG, and who are not sponsored elsewhere, will receive a speakers fee and reasonable travel expenses, within the UK, agreed in advance with the SoG.

Sponsorship opportunities
Sponsorship for individual lectures and lecturers may be agreed with the Society. Speakers who have their sessions sponsored will receive a complimentary one-day conference registration. Compensation and travel expenses are at the discretion of the sponsoring organization.

Questions  – Contact the Conference Team on genealogy@sog.org.uk  

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: conference, family history, Family History News, Society of Genealogists

This is not an index of railway staff, but  records shareholders in the Great Western Railway. The index currently contains details for approximately 440,000 individuals, with a total number of 570,464 records and 153,569 events entered into the registers. A record is an entry for an individual in the database, including not just shareholders but executors, beneficiaries and others involved in the transfer of shareholdings. An event is a disposal of a shareholder under a will or an intestacy following death, or otherwise than by simple sale during the lifetime of the shareholder

The registers were started when the GWR was created in 1835 and the series continues through to 1932. Each of the 270 volumes contains between 450 and 600 individual entries, which may relate to an event occurring up to 20 years earlier than the making of the entry.

The date range covered in each volume starts about 10 years before the entries were made, but there are a number of earlier entries dating back up to twenty years in most volumes, with the earliest entry seen being a baptism in 1806, but this is an isolated exception.

In almost all entries, the name of the shareholder is given together with an address, the names of the other parties (executors or legatees for deaths; husbands for marriages) and dates of death, probate, marriage or other event.

The majority of events are deaths in England and Wales, the split of events within the records is as follows:

Event
•Death 90%
•Marriage 4%
•Power of Attorney 4%
•Change of Name 0.5%
•Lunatics 0.2%
•Bankrupts 0.1%
•Others 1.3%

Most events relate to individuals in England and Wales, but there are also a significant number of Scottish, Irish and overseas records. The figures are:

Location
•England & Wales 95.2%
•Scotland 3.5%
•Ireland 0.7%
•Overseas 0.6%

The Index lists names, dates, places and the event or role of the person listed. Some people appear on two or more occasions, for instance those solicitors who acted as professional executors to estates.

Start searching the GRW index on Findmypast here

The original images of the GWR shareholder regsiters will be added to the Findmypast website at the end of April. More information about these records can be found on Findmypast’s Knowledge Base

William Ewert Gladstone invested in GWR shares

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, Family History News, genealogy, Great Western Railway Shareholders

Following on from the poster exhibitions and displays on the SoG stand at Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010, The Societys’ blog and website familyhistorytreasures.org.uk will provide regular insights and updates illustrating interesting and unique items. Look out for news and updates in the Treasures Tuesday blogspots which will explain what’s in the family history collections and how to use them. We hope you find this new venture of use. If so spread the word and tell other family historians how to discover more about the Treasures of the Society of Genealogists.

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, Society of Genealogists

“Oh my ears and whiskers – how late it is?”

The next workshop is about to start. Has the speaker arrived – does her laptop work? Will the celebrities finish their shows on time so our next speaker can set up? Where did I put my notes for my talk? Have all the experts found their way to their allotted desks on time? Oops we have two people booked for advice at the same time – find a quick stand-in who can help with French military history or Dutch ecclesiastical records without the aid of Google. Where’s the key to the lockable cabinet?  – we’re running out of membership forms. Quick sign them up now. Life dissolves into a blur at the largest genealogical show in the world and we spend a lot of time scampering about but it’s all huge fun, if not a little bit stressful. You may have seen several of our staff and volunteers running at full pelt throughout the weekend but at the end of the day everyone had a great smile on their face because all the hard work has paid off.

A lot goes into preparing for the show. A small team of staff and trustees prepare our stand, create posters and displays focusing on the Treasures of the Society of Genealogists Library;  arrange how we look after new member sign ups, run the technology and deal with volunteers. Thanks to the team everything was ready for setup. We even remembered to take the ladder to build the SoG Tower.

We plan 100 talks for all levels of interest over the three days in the Who Do You Think You Are? Theatre and SoG workshops. They are always extremely well attended and this year we had Welsh and Irish key themes and speakers. Many of the speakers are exhibitors at the show but some come from other record offices and libraries to help and most are SoG members. So thanks to all the speakers who volunteered talks. You were all so professional and unflappable – and everyone finished on time!!

Society of Genealogists workshop at Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010

In addition to our speakers, over 160 SoG volunteers help out. Most work on the SoG Ask the Experts Area where over 1600 individual people who booked twenty minute sessions received individual help and advice. The queues snaked round the gallery yet everyone remained calm and dependable. A special thanks to the Census Detectives and Jean Bunting who wheeled up in her buggy despite a broken leg. Thank-you all!!

The Library staff and volunteers were on hand to answer questions on our own stand and do look ups on the library catalogue. The Library second hand books stall had some good items this year and brought a tidy sum for the librarian to spend on new acquisitions. The membership secretary tells me we broke all records for new members sign and as usual she dragooned her partner to help out  by handing out  membership special offer leaflets because that’s the only way she can get to see him on his birthday! How’s that for devotion?

Generally attendance figures seemed higher though, I haven’t had final numbers yet. Friday was certainly busy and visitors had to be held outside briefly as the hall apparently reached capacity on Saturday and the venue had to arrange to open up more fire safety evacuation routes in case of emergency.  The SoG Family History Show was bigger this year with more exhibitors and tables booked. An American contingent including amongst others Boston University and the New England Historic Genealogical Society flew the Stars and Stripes and are very much looking forward to the screening  of the USA version of the Who Do You Think You Are? TV show. It was good to meet up with our Dutch equivalent the Central Bureau voor Genealogie. The DNA workshops, military memorabilia stands and photo galleries were all much bigger and attracted lots of people. New databases and books were launched on several of the commercial stands as well as an intriguing new DNA test from Familytree DNA  based on autosoma dan which allows comparisoms to be made between cousins  rather  than purely on eiether Y-DNA which is only passed down the male surname line or MtDNA which mostly passes down the female line.

I never get enough time to visit all the stands I want to see nor to speak to everyone I should. So sorry if conversation was fleeting, but I did find time to send some tweets on Twitter reporting our news. The most exciting of which is that Your Family Tree Magazine  readers awarded the Society of Genealogists the Best Book Publisher of the Year 2009  award for our My Ancestor Was … series  and the guide to the most important record launch of last year How to Get the Best from the 1911 Census by John Hanson. Thanks Guys.

Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010Society of Genealogists Stand at Who Do You Think You are? Live 2010

Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010

The following response has been sent  in response to the  the Ministry of Justice Proposal for reform of the published electoral register for England and Wales.

Kirsten O’Connell

Ministry of Justice

Elections and Democracy Division

Floor 5, 5.18                                           

102 Petty France

London, SW1H 9AJ

Dear Ms O’Connell

Edited Electoral Register Consultation (ref: CP 46/90)

This response is made on behalf of the Trustees and members of the Society of Genealogists, the leading national learned society concerned with family history and genealogy and their associated social science disciplines. It is the largest society of its kind in the UK, with nearly 12,000 members.

The Society campaigns for the integrity and preservation of records relevant to current and future research and optimum access to such records. Members of the Society are all researching family history, mostly as amateur hobbyists, though a significant number are professional researchers. Hence the Society’s main, but by no means exclusive, concern is for access to records and genealogical information on behalf of genealogists who are researching their family history and individual ancestors and relatives. It is not insignificant that within the Society’s archives can found be the correspondence with the Home Office reflecting the Society’s success in making the 1841 and 1851 censuses available for public inspection in 1912. Since its foundation in the previous year, the Society has continued to lobby on behalf of the genealogical community and takes an active role in rescuing documents that are of interest to family historians but which have been discarded by other larger and often public archives. It seeks to influence record holders so that the particular needs of family historians are recognised.

Vision for organisation
The Society of Genealogists seeks to promote a genealogical community in which everyone has convenient, affordable access to records, finding aids, knowledge and skills necessary to conduct authoritative research in family history.

Comments on the consultation

Genealogy is an ever increasing activity. Millions subscribe to online databases of genealogical information and post their own family information online. A huge number wish to find living relatives, inspired by popular television programmes such as Heir Hunters of Who Do You Think You Are?

 Also, often when searching for these relatives, a name is all genealogists have. This is what makes the current edited Electoral Roll even more valuable because it allows a search to be made without knowing a location, unlike directory enquiries. Plus one can search by the full name of any adult living in a household, again unlike directory enquiries. There will be no substitute database if the edited Electoral Roll is taken away.

As the edited Electoral Register is so important to tracing living relatives and the preservation of documents is so essential to genealogists, we do not support any moves that would stop the collation of the edited Electoral Roll and remove this useful service from our users. Therefore, we are strongly in favour of retaining the edited Electoral Register in its current form.

Family historians are well aware of the balance to be struck between the desire to know about one’s family and respect for a person’s privacy. Hence most family historians comply with the advice given by The Society of Genealogists that they do not publish personal information about living individuals without permission.

The current edited electoral register is integral to for search for family members and is not abused by genealogists. Hence we feel that the register should be retained in its current form in line with option 6 of the consultation – that there should be improved guidance for the public about the Edited Register so those who wish can  be made aware that they may opt out as required and give an opportunity for that information to be removed or corrected.

Else Churchill

Genealogist, The Society of Genealogists

© 2010, Society of Genealogists. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, UK electoral records