Are you stuck for an idea for a Fathers Day Gift for July 19th? Then buy him something that will captivate his interest in genealogy and provide an entertaning hobby for years to come.  Membership of the Society of Genealogists allows free access to the Society’s remarkable library; on line data on our wesite and discounts on our books, events and courses.

The Society of Genealogists Gift Certfificate for one year’s membership can be ordered direct from the Society’s online shop

This is a great  gift for a family historian. You will receive a gift certificate, application form and membership pack to pass onto the lucky recipient. To activate the membership, the recipient will need to complete the application form and return it to the Society of Genealogists by post or upon their first visit to the society.

Membership of the Society of Genealogists costs just £45 a year  for the UK (£43 by diret debit) and £27 a year for overseas members.  There is a one-off joining admin fee of £10 in the first year.

More details of SoG membership benefits and information about the Society’s remarkable library can be found on the Society’s website

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, Society of Genealogists, Start Your Family Tree

On 11 May a small but very keen group was taken around the Grade II listed City of London Cemetery and Crematorium by the Superintendent & Registrar, Gary Burks.  The 1200 acres located on the edge of Epping Forest and across from Wansted Flats and originally farmland,  was originally purchased by the City Corporation in 1853 to provide more space for the already overcrowded burial grounds in the City. The cemetery design was laid out by the well-known City Surveyor, William Haywood, and opened in 1856.

Gary gave us a very thorough background history of the cemetery before  the tour and we were also able to briefly view the burial registers. As the registers are in date order, anyone wanting to have a search done would need to know the approximate date of death in order to find someone in the registers. Searches can be done for a fee, contact the City of London Cemetery for further details. The registers are currently being digitised and the Corporation of London hopes to make them available on the internet in the near future.

Within the cemetery are 7 miles of roads, 600,000 internments, not including the re-interred remains from the burial grounds of 38 historic City Churches . The grounds are very well kept, with extensive gardens, including a 600-bed rose garden, which require 10 staff to maintain.

As the cemetery is becoming full, Gary explained the cemetery’s policy of reusing graves for modern burial. Families are contacted about existing graves (which are known to have depth for at least two more burials). For example, some of the older graves were dug to accomodate around twelve bodies, but may only have two bodies interred and this leaves space for modern burials. A marker is left on the existing grave to notify the public of the intention for planning further burials. On one gravestone we saw, the stone had been reversed in the ground, and the back side (now facing forward) was used to inscribe the name of the newer, additional occupant of the grave.

Surprisingly, the cemetery also has a small cafe on the premises where one can have lunch or a cup of tea after a long trek around the grounds, something which our group happily took advantage of.

Technorati Tags: ancestor, burial, cemetery, family history, genealogy, graveyard, Society of Genealogists, tour, visit

Another slightly unusual source has been made available for family history 

I’m indebted to Michael Dunn who has sent a note to remind me that the marine news contained in Lloyd’s List for the period 1740-1837 has been indexed by the Guildhall Library, London. Michael has now scanned and made images of the  Lloyd’s List marine news notices to compliment the index and both the images and the link to the Guildhall Library’s index is available at www.1812privateers.org/Bibliography

Michael’s website www.1812privateers.org is intended to provide information on the War of 1812 and the Prisoners of War. American privateers added to the offensive capability of the United States. He draws on sources from the UK at TNA and in North America and the site is extremely interesting.

Lloyd’s List is a newspaper devoted to marine news and shipping movements; principally for the merchant shipping community but now a valuable source for anyone interested in maritime activity of the period. In particular it records the movements of ocean going vessels and marine news of casualties, ‘speakings’ and other events involving individual vessels..

This database has been compiled from copies of Lloyd’s List deposited at Guildhall Library by Lloyd’s of London as part of the Lloyd’s Marine Collection. The database is an index to the marine news section of Lloyd’s List for the period 1740 – 1837. Please note that only the news items are included; the ordinary shipping movements have not been indexed. The news items are remarkable and, as you can see from the example image below, packed with names of ships and their owners showing arrivals and sailings.

Note there are some omissions. The database excludes the years 1742, 1745, 1754, 1756, 1759 and 1778, for which Guildhall Library does not have copies of Lloyd’s List. In addition there are only the Old Style dates January 1 to March 24 for the years 1740, 1743 and 1746.

Technorati Tags: family history, genealogy, Lloyd' List, marine, Society of Genealogists

This new addition to the Society’s popular ‘Cemeteries & Burial Grounds’ walks, will take place on Friday, 7 October 2011 starting at 2pm. The walk will last approximately two hours and our group  will meet our walk leader, Alec Tritton, at Postman’s Park, behind St. Botolph Aldersgate. Book early as places are limited.

The walk MUST be pre-booked, price £10.00 (£8.00 SoG members). To book a space, visit our secure website or telephone the events department: 020 7553 3290. Do you have a question? email the events department

Technorati Tags: ancestor, burial, cemetery, family history, graveyard, parish, Society of Genealogists, walk

 The Society will be present at the Nunhead Cemetery Open Day again this year.  We will be manning a small stall, with leaflets and a selection of Society publications.

The Open Day runs from 11a.m. to 5p.m. and admission is free.  There will be guided tours of the cemetery and visits to the chapel and crypt (which are not normally open), as well as various stalls, plant sales, refreshments and a choir in the chapel (!)  See the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery website for further details (www.fonc.org.uk).  If you have not been to Nunhead Cemetery before, it is well worth a visit.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Technorati Tags: burial, family history, genealogy, graveyard, Nunhead cemetery, Society of Genealogists