Interested in Family History? Discover your Ancestors from Birmingham, Staffordshire, Warwickshire & Worcestershire.
By Phil Lamb
The Trustees held an online meeting this week to discuss the viability of Groups re-opening. After consulting with our Groups, it was decided that all Groups would continue to be closed, including the Family History Centre in Birmingham, until at least the New Year. The Trustees will meet again in November to review the situation and then make a further decision.
Always heed government advice, if in a risk group, stay at home.
By Phil Lamb
I hope that those of you who have been attending our ZOOM talks have enjoyed the experience. It seems that this will be the way forward for the foreseeable future and I think all attendees have managed to cope with the trials and tribulations very well. I must give thanks to Phil at this point as he is the one who has dealt with the technology. If you have not tried it, why not give it a go. Download ZOOM and then just register for our talks on our website and follow the instructions.
Our next two talks for August have been planned and details are available on the website under EVENTS or details can be found on the BMSGH Members Facebook page.
On 5 August starting at 2pm Phil Lamb will be telling us about Research at National Archives Kew. If you have never been to Kew, or have not been for a long time, it is worth viewing Phil’s talk, although to be fair, under the current conditions it has all changed again. I first went well over 20 years ago and how it is organised now bears no relation to how it was organised then.
On 19 August starting at 2pm Penny Smith, Chair of our Wolverhampton Group and Vice-Chair (Genealogy) of the Society, will be telling us the story of Mabel Shaw OBE. Mabel was a Wolverhampton Grocers daughter and worked with the London Missionary Society. Should be a very enjoyable afternoon.
Can I just point out that when you register for an on line talk, we do need your full name, not an unrecognizable email address, or nickname as we need to know who you are to keep us all safe from ‘undesirables’. If we don’t know who you are, you won’t be allowed to participate.
I know I have mentioned our Facebook pages before, but many organisations like SoG, National Archives, Warwickshire Archives and many more are posting events/talks that they are holding either online or as Podcasts. When these come to me I either forward them on to our own Members page, or to the General Midland Ancestor page. So if you have not done so already, why not take the plunge and have a look.
Jackie Cotterill
NEWS FROM THE GROUPS
Bromsgrove Group:
With restrictions on large-scale gatherings continuing, Bromsgrove Group will be moving its autumn 2020 meeting programme online. Meetings will be held at the original dates and times but will be hosted on Midland Ancestors’ Zoom account instead. The upcoming meetings and speakers are:
All meetings will commence at 7.30 pm. Attendees will be required to register in advance in order to access the online meeting link. See the Bromsgrove Group website for further details.
Without the restrictions of distance, this is an opportunity for MA members outside of the Bromsgrove area to participate in our meetings and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.
Mike Sharpe, Chairman.
London Group posts:
The London Branch has been in regular discussion with the Society of Genealogists since they closed their doors. Although there is some limited reopening it is not felt that we are yet ready to take advantage of any possible room availability in the near future. Concerns over the length of travel for all of our members is uppermost in consideration as well as the rather cramped conditions of the SoG. So the earliest we expect to hold a meeting is 9th January 2021. Even this is subject to what happens during the winter. For the first one or two meetings we will rely on members to talk to us as this will provide maximum flexibility without inconveniencing outside speakers. However the committee is considering a zoom meeting at some point in the not too distant future – and would encourage members to keep a lookout on the meetings listing on the Midland Ancestors web site for the fortnightly zoom meetings which will be taking place – and which are well attended around the world.
Dave Kerr, Chairman
North Staffs Group: More and More churches and chapels are being lost or turned into restaurants or residential properties, so this begs the question were do the memorials go?
Can you spare a little time to photograph or transcribe?
If you feel you can help please email me and I will let you know which churches/chapels need to have their memorials photographed near you. robecarter@hotmail.com
Rob Carter
Family History Centre, Birmingham
There are ongoing discussions about opening our own library. First and foremost, obviously, is the safety of our volunteers who man the library and we need to get their views as to whether they will feel safe coming in. We also need to discuss how we can operate safely, especially in view of social distancing, etc. I will keep you informed of any decisions made
Some Archives and Record Offices, are re-opening their doors but in a very different format to what we had before. In most cases forward booking is necessary (most are using an online booking system) with a time slot as well as is perhaps ordering records, etc. Steve Freeman has told me that although Warwick Archives are reopening, we will not be operating our Help Desk for the time being.
This has come from member Ann Simcock on our BMSGH Members Facebook Page:
Next month Ancestry will be updating their DNA matches. The result will mean that matches under 8 cms will be lost from your list. I know that I do not usually take one of these matches in isolation as there are many caveats using them in that way but if they appear in a group they could indicate a distant ancestor and give a helpful link. It is suggested they will not be removed if you have put them in a group, added a note or have contacted the match.
Something else Ann has posted on our Facebook page which may be of interest to our members regarding DNA:
Over the last few days there have been problems with the GedMatch site due to 2 security breaches. A similar problem has occurred with My Heritage. Emails have been sent regarding an upgrade and asking for details. It probably would be a good idea to be very wary of any emails coming from any similar site. Stay safe
Correction to item mentioned in last newsletter about a One-Name Study. The one name study has come to light regarding the surname SMALL (and vars.) with a linkage to DAUNCEY (and vars) around Himbleton, WOR in the late 1700s to early 1800s. Then back to 1600s. Also to Wootton-u-Edge. If this is of interest to you, please contact me
Going Forward
Now would seem to be a good idea to see if there is anything you, our members, would like to see or done by the Society. Unfortunately, we cannot re-open the library, but should we be doing something more either in terms of the website, journal or in general something else that you think could be helpful?
By Phil Lamb
Welcome to my second attempt at a newsletter. Thank you for all the nice comments I received following my first one.
I have been advised that due to GDPR I have to tell you that the reason you are receiving this newsletter is for the Society to keep in touch with you, our members, especially during these uncertain times. If, for any reason, you do not want to receive this newsletter, please contact me and I shall take your details off our mailing list.
Jackie Cotterill
“NEWS”
Our online presentations have been well received. In these difficult times it is a good way for us to keep in touch with you all and it is always good to for us all to see faces. Hopefully by the end of July I will have been to the hairdressers!
Lots of different groups are now using various online platforms, it is amazing how because of Coronavirus people have become ‘Internet Savvy’. Choirs are singing, orchestras playing and I know that many U3A Groups are using Facebook and Zoom to keep their Groups going.
Our last talk given by Phil Lamb on Maps and Mapping, Exploring for Family Historians threw up some minor problems, so Phil made some changes on how you log in. So please make sure that you read the instructions properly.
Our next presentation will be on 1 July when I will be giving a talk on The Parish Chest and Poor Law.
If you can’t get to it, you can always see it on the website later, under the Members Area.
If you have not used Zoom before, go to our website and check out these facts
Parish Chest is an important section when it comes to researching back before 1800 and hopefully it will prove to be useful when you are searching for alternatives to the Parish Registers.
Full details of the talk and how to join is available on the Midland Ancestor website, click here Please note that we will restricting the numbers to 50 attendees, just to make the event more stream-lined, so if you are not able to join us, the presentation will be available later.
more items added, click on the link here to see a list of items included –
17 July 2020 Mark Thursfield and Censuses
The earliest census of any real use to family historians was held in 1841. Mark will explain this and others and how we can use the census to help us learn about our ancestors. Mark is a society member and regular presenter at the Midland Ancestors series of lectures, First Steps and Further Steps.
Full details on how to join these online talks are available by clicking here
Register no earlier than 7 days prior to the talk. All registrants will be acknowledged with full joining instructions included. Meeting times are prompt, please allow yourself good time. “Doors Open” at 1:30 pm for 2:15 pm start. Registration closes at 12:00 noon on the day prior and is currently restricted to 50 people.
Can I also mention that at the moment the talks being presented are the property of Midland Ancestors, but in future it may be that we will have outside speakers who may or may not want us to upload their talks to our website, so please be aware of that.
The lockdown has produced a flurry of online talks and webpages. These are a few that you may be interested in: –
Carl Chinn talking about the Peaky Blinders
Don’t believe all the hints on Ancestry This will take you to the Midland Ancestors Facebook page
NEWS FROM THE GROUPS
London Group remains in limbo along with the rest of the society. At least zoom means that Dave has now been able to attend a committee meeting of the parent society and this will be very helpful in understanding where the society is going and what is being planned. It’s difficult to say much about not very much but it looks as though it is unlikely that here will be any meetings for the rest of this year. There is still no definitive news on the reopening of the Society of Genealogists and even at one metre (plus!) distancing getting a group together in the pretty enclosed room (with no through passage) will be next to impossible. Concerns on the travel on public transport for all the members is another problem that would have to be faced. The room is booked for the four meetings next year and we must hope that by January we are able to get started again. Meetings will be arranged to avoid speakers having to travel long distances so we may well have a couple of meetings within the group – which we were planning to do anyway. So keep save and avoid busy beaches and all night raves! And we’ll see everyone again when it is save to do so.
North Staffs More and More churches and chapels are being lost or turned into restaurants or residential properties so this begs the question were do the memorials go?
Can you spare a little time to photograph or transcribe:
If you feel you can help please email me and I will let you know which churches/chapels need to have their memorials photographed near you. robecarter@hotmail.com
Don’t forget the deadline for the September edition of the Midland Ancestors is 10th July 2020.
By Phil Lamb
This is my first attempt at creating a newsletter, so I hope you will bear with me if I don’t get it right!
I know that some of our Groups send out their own newsletters, and I thought it would be a good idea if, in these unprecedented times, we keep in touch with our members here and abroad. ‘Lockdown’ has a very strange feeling, not only do you feel isolated, but you are bereft in some way from social contact. Thank Goodness for the Internet and social media!
Jackie Cotterill
“NEWS”
One of the ways we are trying to keep in touch is holding online meetings and presentations using the ZOOM Presenting App.
Stourbridge group held their first online committee meeting recently, which was very successful, so this is something that our other Groups could look at.
Mike Sharpe, Chairman of our Bromsgrove Group, gave a very interesting inaugural presentation on “records before 1837” recently using ZOOM. The slides to his presentation are available in the Members area of the website.
Our next presentation will be on 17 June when Phil Lamb will be presenting “Maps & Mapping, Exploring for Family Historians”.
Full details of the talk and how to join is available on the Midland Ancestor website Click Here
Please note that we are restricted to 100 attendees, so if you are not able to join us, the presentation will be available on the website under the Members Area.
Available in Midland Ancestors shop, about 400 very detailed street maps of Birmingham and its surroundings that were surveyed by The Ordnance Survey around 1887-1888 have been filmed and digitally available. Street index available with pubs, post offices, police stations all listed. If a street you are interested in is not shown, or if it straddles more than one map, the Map Man can help out. See first the Index downloadable from the shop website Click Here
See Website for Details, while stocks last
By Phil Lamb
Whilst we are all in confinement or otherwise prevented from socialising, the society has been working on a series of online talks to take us through the summer months. From the beginning of June, we are pleased to announce we have been able to add virtual events to the programme.
Click here to get more information
Always heed government advice, if in a risk group, stay at home.
By Phil Lamb
In view of the current Government advice, all Midland Ancestors events and meetings are suspended as of today. This includes the Family History Centre in Birmingham, outings, members meetings, both in Birmingham and at satellite groups.
The situation will be monitored and will be reviewed as and when the position changes.
If you attend one of our satellite groups, please stay in contact with the group organisers either via our website or through the local group.
We will try to keep you up to date with the current situation using this website, via the society Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, and updates may be made available through local group newsletters.
Always heed government advice, if in a risk group, stay at home.
