Society of Genealogists » Past Events

Civil Registration & Brick Walls

Lori — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:32:33 +0000

A half-day course on Saturday 30 Jan. from 2-5pm

In this seminar Celia Heritage will give an overview of the civil registration system. She will look at the causes of errors on the GRO index and how they may affect your research. She will also look at the brick walls you may encounter in your research in connectin with the GRO index as well as in your research in general, and how to find ways around them. Cost £17.50/£14.00 (SoG members)

Out and About with the Society of Genealogists

Alec — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:09:57 +0000

As part of its lecture and education program, the Society carries out a number of outside visits and walks. Today I was lucky enough to attend an outside visit to the parish church of St. Bartholomew the Great in London excellently conducted by the Verger.

This Norman church is said to be the oldest church building in London, founded by Rahere, a courtier of Henry I in 1123. It has been the scene of many films and TV series, such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, the latest being the current Sherlock Holmes film in cinemas as I write. The church is just a little way out of the City walls in Smithfield which was originally a field used for jousting and a venue for executions and of course well known today as the site of London’s former cattle market.

The building has gone through many changes and today it is possible to see some of the original 12th Century church with many of the additions that have taken place up to and including the 20th Century.The original Priory was surrendered to the tyrant King Henry VIII who passed them on to Sir Richard Rich who took up residence in the Prior’s House. Under “bloody” Mary it became a Dominican convent until an Act of Parliament of 1559 once again restored it to a Parish Church.

The church had a Charnel House under the Sanctuary which today is a dressing room. Here we saw some of the vestments that are quite old and only used on special occasions such as a rose coloured set used on Mothering Sunday.

The visit finished with a look at fifteen minute film about the church and a fascinating look at some photographs showing the graveyard and local Elizabethan housing from 1877; then off to the tea room in the Cloisters for a well deserved cup of tea!

The church is open to visitors most days and charges £4 for entry but of course you will have to look around yourself and not get the expert commentary of the Verger or the camaraderie in company with other Society members. In fact the next two outside visits to Lambeth Palace and Goldsmiths’ Hall are both fully booked, and the next after that is the visit to Wesley’s Chapel on 31st March 2010.

I highly recommend an afternoon or day out led by the Society but suggest you book early to avoid disappointment!

Technorati Tags: Society of Genealogists, St Bartholomew the Great

Death in London – a full-day course at the Society of Genealogists on 5 Dec.

Lori — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:44:24 +0000

Saturday, 5 December from 10:30am-5pm with John Hanson and Alec Tritton (£30/£24), must be pre-booked

Finding burial records:
One of the biggest problems facing family historians is trying to tracking down the burial place of an ancestor who died in London (mind the principals discussed can be used in other large areas). The first two lectures of this day looks at the problem, understanding what is available and some of the methods that can be employed. (sessions 1 & 2 John Hanson)

Lost London Burial Grounds
(Not for those with a delicate stomach)
Before the great fire, there was a church equivalent to every 3 acres in the City of London. 86 churches were destroyed in the fire and 34 were not rebuilt. Christopher Wren was given the task of rebuilding 51 of these churches of which 28 no longer exist. Today only 40 parish churches exist and all the burial grounds in the City are closed.
By 1895 there were 362 identifiable burial grounds in London of which 41 were still in use. As London grew at least one graveyard was burying at the rate of 2300 bodies per acre per year. Where are these burial grounds, what is now on the site, where are the records and what happened to the human remains, if the site was built on.
This lecture will discuss some of the more gruesome aspects of burial in the metropolis leading to the closure of the city burial grounds, what happened to those grounds, the bodies interred within and the whereabouts of the records. The audience will get a better understanding of burials and burial records of London. (sessions 3 & 4 with Alec Tritton)

To book a place:
http://www.sog.org.uk
Tel: 020 7553 3290

Lori Weinstein
Events co-ordinator
events@sog.org.uk

Society of Genealogists Workshop: Learn about your Ancestors from Old Photos

Lori — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:56:53 +0000

A half-day course with Jayne Shrimpton.

Saturday 10 October 2009, 2pm – 5pm

£15 (£12 members)

Jayne will discuss the significance of old photographs to the family historian, their value as a historical source, and different approaches to analysing and dating old photographs such as fashion clues. Most of the time spent on this workshop will be spent analysing photographs of the attendees.

You are welcome to bring photographs (please, no more than 2-3) on the day, but you can also email or send a copy of photographs (address provided upon booking) in order for the lecturer to prepare for a more in-depth analysis. Questions and comments during the workshop are welcome!

Jayne Shrimpton obtained an M.A. (History of Dress) from the Courtauld Institute of Art and did seven years ofcuratorial work experience for the National Portrait Gallery. She is now a free-lance writer and researcher.

To book this course, contact the events co-ordinator: events@sog.org.uk, tel: 020 7553 3290 or use our secure website: http://www.sog.org.uk/acatalog/SoG_OrderLine_Online_October_2009_19.html

Records for One-Name Studies – a full-day course

Lori — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:12:07 +0000

A one-name study is the study of a particular surname (and it’s variants), which researches and documents all persons bearing that surname, as distinct from researching all the ancestors or descendants of one person.

This full-day course will be of interest to all family historians although those who are thinking of starting or extending a one-name study are particularly welcome. There is an admission charge of £5/4 (normally £30/24 for a full-day course, but the remainder is subsidised by the Halsted Trust).

Programme:

1. Using Pay-per-View Websites n(Alec Tritton)

2. Apprenticeship Records (Geoff Riggs)

3. Surname Searching in the SoG Library (Else Churchill)

4. The Guild of One-Name Studies (Howard Benbrook)

Places should be pre-booked by visiting our secure website

or by telephone: 020 7553 3290

For more information, contact the events co-ordinator: events@sog.org.uk

Family History Skills Course for Beginners at the Society of Genealogists – 15 weeks starting 3 September

Lori — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:51:05 +0000

The Society’s successful evening family history skills course begins again with the first fifteen-week series of classes for those who are new to genealogy and family history or who have had a little experience and want to learn more. The team of lecturers will introduce the records and illustrate how they should best be used for the study of family history.

This course provides plenty of opportunity to use genealogical sources in practical sessions in the classroom and as exercises at home. The lectures cover sources in all the major repositories but emphasis is also placed on the extensive collections held in the Library of the Society of Genealogists that can be of help to the beginner. We will look at using birth, marriage and death records, census, parish registers, wills, the armed forces, how to lay out a pedigree and more.

Thursday evenings 6-8pm, 3 September-10 December. £180.00 (non-SoG members), £144.00 for SoG members. For more information or booking, contact the events co-ordinator, tel: 020 7553 3290, email: events@sog.org.uk

You can also view a copy of the leaflet

Technorati Tags: ancestor, classes, education, family history, genealogy, lecture

Special Family History Collections at the Society of Genealogists

Else — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:31:42 +0000

Some of the most important items in the library of the Society of Genealogists are to be found in the mansuscripts in the Special Collections. Housed in thousands of boxes, these collections often represent the life work of a genealogist who has researched many different families. Sometimes the work is quite scholarly or looks at families that share a common theme such as the Campling Collection, the original notes made by Campling before publishing the pedigress as East Anglian Pedigrees. Other collections have compiled family trees for families in a specific area such as the Rogers Collection of notes on Cornish families. The SoG has over 350 of these special collections.

New collections come into the library every week. Often they are the life work of a family historian bequeathed to the Society because no other family member might want the research. Each collection is sorted and listed by volunteers. Often the papers aren’t as organised as they might be when they arrive at the library. It can be quite a daunting task to go through many boxes of notes and to make order out of chaos. It can be quite sad if family photos don’t have names or places attached to them such as these charming family photographs.

Sometimes it’s not only the family photos that can be difficult to identify. All sorts of ephemeral items often come in with the research notes. Volunteers have great fun sorting the collections. It was a delight to find this fine fellow (below) in the recent acquisition of the Helen collection.

Surnames represented in the Society’s document collections of miscellaneous manuscript research notes, the roll pedigree collections and the birth briefs submitted by members are listed on the library section of our website. However the names in the special collections are, at present, only listed in card indexes in the lower library.

Contributing to the Society’s centenary appeal can help us continue to conserve and care for our collections. See the donations page of our website.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, surname research

SoG members enjoy walk round lost city burial grounds

Else — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:50:12 +0000

14 SoG members took part in the guided walk around the City of London looking at some of the lost burial grounds. Between 1741 and 1837 over two million burials occurred within the City but finding trace of these can now be a challenge. The walk, led by Alec Tritton, started at St Olave Church Hart Street, near the Tower of London and concluded at Bow Churchyard. Concentrating on burial grounds in the financial district the group got a feel for the parishes where their ancestors lived, and died. After two and a half hours we retired exhausted but cheerful to one of the few local hostelries actually open in the City on Saturdays. Everyone agreed they had a good day as you can see by the picture.

Alec’s next walk around nonconformist chapels and burial grounds will take place on Saturday 26 September. Places are limited so do take the opportunity to book on line via the SoG’s events pages on our website

Technorati Tags: family history, family history course, Family History News