Now that Christmas is well and truly behind us, my thoughts turn to our forthcoming anniversary lunch at the Tally Ho, Birmingham. In the March journal you will find a copy of the menu choices for you to pick one of each selection.  The cost is £30 per head.  This is slightly up on what I thought simply because there is a more choice. If you make your cheques payable to Midland Ancestors/BMSGH I can make one payment to Tally Ho.

Interestingly, I looked back at our 50^th Anniversary lunch and that was also £30 per head for a set meal so this seems good value. (You can look back at the old issues of Midland Ancestor by going to the Members section of the website).

————–

We had a very interesting talk by Sharon Hintze of Familysearch recently in Birmingham. Sharo’s talk was about ‘What was new in Familysearch’.  Did you know that Familysearch is the biggest genealogical organisation in the World, covering the world, but only about 2% of their holdings have been digitalised.

Sharon introduced us to two members of the church who are here for two years.  They were undertaking a research project here, which has unfortunately fallen through.  They are willing to come into the BMI and demonstrate ‘what’s new’ in Familysearch as well as to revamp our library catalogue, so you might see them in the library.

The library is fully staffed again and open five days a week, although we could do with back up librarians – see my article below.

ZOOM Workshops

Now we are back to physical meetings, we don’t want to forget our members who cannot attend group meetings, so we are holding Zoom self-help Workshops on the third Wednesday of every second month (Feb, Apr, June, Aug (possibly), Oct and Dec with topics suggested by members, such as brick walls, new internet websites, etc.    Starting at 2pm.  See calendar on website for details.

This does not mean that we won’t be holding any more Zoom meetings, it is just nice to see our members again!

Because of the ongoing train strikes, all meetings may be subject to change, so please keep in touch the Group you attend or check on the website.

FORTHCOMING GROUP MEETINGS

BIRMINGHAM – 4 FEBRUARY 2pm

Kingsley Norris Memorial Lecture – Genealogy Modelling Kinship – are we related?

Given by Dr. Alan C. Smith FinstP FIET FRAS

NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE – 6TH FEB AT 7.30PM – PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE

Research Evening.

Dianne Shenton says, “It is a research evening, but I will take my computer with the new Roots Magic 8 programme and if enough people are interested we can play around with it and look at some of the online tutorials”.

KENILWORTH – 8 Feb 7.30pm

The wives and daughters of the Lunar Society

Talk given by Dr. Kate Croft, CWMH

BROMSGROVE – Tue 14th February @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm GMT

A Fascinating Family History

Given by well-known genealogist, Vanessa Morgan

WOLVERHAMPTON: Wed 22nd February @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm GMT

Member’s Research Evening

STOURBRIDGE: SAT 25TH FEBRUARY @ 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM GMT

‘The Diggum Uppers’

OTHER EVENTS

Online – Members Self Help Workshops

Wed 15th February @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

(Other dates are proposed – see Website for more details)

National Archives Introductory Session Cost £5

Sat 18 February – 10:00 – 12:30pm (Please note date incorrect in the December journal)

Cost is just £5 in advance which can be considered as part payment for a seat on either of the next two coaches to Kew.

Places are limited and booking is required.  To book a place email Phil Lamb on coachtrips@mid-anc.uk

This of course leads to reintroduction of the coach trips to National Archives.  The dates are 18 March, 20 May, 9 September and 14 October.  Seat prices are £26.00. If you are interested in going, email Phil on coachtrips@mid-anc.uk

Introduction to Family History Research – Cannock Library

This FREE five week course, held at on Monday afternoons beginning at 1.30 p.m.

Places are limited and booking is required.  To book a place please call the library direct on 01543 334 530.

Breaking down Family History Brick Walls – U3A

Wednesday 8 February 2pm

If you are a member of U3A, these sessions may be useful. Toni Neoboard is hosting three sessions looking at family history for beginners. To apply to join go to

u3a.org.uk/learningevents

ROOTSTECH by Familysearch is back again in March – 2nd – 4^th.  If you have not attended, it is free with over 300 classes and 100plus speakers.  Full details can be found via the Familysearch website.

MIDLAND ANCESTORS SHOP

Just in case you don’t get Steve Freeman’s shop newsletter, he is having a grand sale on all book stock including Staffordshire Parish Register Societies (SPRS) remaining stock of books and some of the Midland Ancestors books.  He also has a large selection of second handbooks for sale.

The shop also sells books by other publishers.  The Eureka partnership publishes unusual and lesser known material such as Canal Boat Records, Nonconformist Registers, Workhouse Records and Pre 1841 Census Data.  Other publishers include Shire Books, Coventry FHS, Brewin Books, Women’s Research Group – books about Coventry Women and Cassini maps.

REQUEST FOR VOLUNTEERS

I don’t know if most of you are aware, but our Society hosts the Staffordshire and West Midlands BMD site, which are part of the Local BMD Project group of Family History and Genealogy web sites.

This is a collaboration with the local Registration Services to make the indexes to these records freely searchable via the Internet.

A new project has been launched involving Kingston on Thames Registrars, but they need volunteers.  I have been asked to mention it to our London or Southeast members to see if they would like to volunteer to help.  It involves photographing the birth, marriage and death indexes, then checking the typed indexes against the registers themselves. If you can spare a few hours a week to do this, please contact Steve on steve.stutcinskas@sky.com

Talking of volunteers, you will see in the next journal a plea for more volunteers to take on key rolls within the Society.  I know that most people think that organisations such as ours run themselves, but they don’t, they need all those background staff to ensure it runs smoothly and we need willing volunteers to do that.  I see that the Catholic Family History Society, as well as some others, have disbanded simply because they could not get enough volunteers.

The same could happen to our Society.  We have eight Groups and I know that most if not all are not only struggling to attract members back again, but also get helpers to run the Groups.  It’s not hard; put out chairs, greet members at the door, make the tea if necessary, all simple things that most of us have done for whichever group we have belonged to.

If you are really ‘brave’ you could offer to stand at committee level, and there’s nothing difficult in that.  All our Groups are run by a committee which organise meetings, outings, etc. and I am sure they would welcome you with open arms.

The Society’s main AGM is held at the Birmingham’s meeting on May 13 (note change of date)  and more committee members are needed to help organise how our Society is run.  If you don’t like the way the Society is run, or have any suggestions on how we could make it better, either tell us or better still, stand for the committee.

I’ll get off my soap box now!

Arolsen Archives

This is particularly relevant this week, The Arolsen Archives are an international documentation centre on Nazi persecution and the liberated survivors. The world’s most comprehensive archive on the victims and survivors of National Socialism preserves documents about concentration camp prisoners, foreign forced labourers and the post-war registration of Displaced Persons (DPs). There are now over 30 million documents in the Arolsen Archives which provide information about more than 17.5 million people.  Further information can be found on https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/

North Staffs Group

Rob Carter of our North Staffs Group has asked for help photographing headstones and internal monuments of churches in the North Staffs area.  This has been an ongoing project of Rob’s for many years, but it is not something he can do on his own.  If you can help, Rob can be contacted on Robcarter@hotmail.com.

Finally, keep an eye out for the next edition of WDYTYA? magazine, there could be an article on Worcestershire Records and you might see us mentioned in it.

Jackie

I have not had much time this week to keep an eye on what is happening via the Internet, having only come back off holiday last week.  So this newsletter may be quite short.

If you have not seen it, if you have a FMP subscription, you can now upgrade to a premium subscription for £19.99 which includes viewing the 1921 census for free.  At last I found my father-in-law, who was in the army (surname spelt differently).

I know that there have been many discussions about the standard of transcriptions in the census, but I am transcribing some hand-written transcriptions of Methodist baptisms which I find difficult: ‘a’ looks like e, ‘e’ looks like o, a squiggle could be a ‘y’,’s’ or anything else. So I do have some sympathy with census transcribers especially as they had to do the work in a short amount of time and were not looking at the whole thing, just sections.  At least I can look at other records to find the correct names, etc. but I would also add, and I don’t know about now, we were told that we should transcribe exactly what is in the original document, spellings, and all.

Don’t forget as well to look at electoral registers, especially for males.  Women didn’t get universal votes until 1928.  See https://www.parliament.uk/about/livingheritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/overview/thevote/

A reminder as well, not all parish records are on the Internet.  Some registers may be too fragile to film, water damaged, etc.  If you cannot find what you are looking for look at our Tracing your ancestors in Warwickshire and Tracing your ancestors in Worcestershire, both on our website under Resources.   There is also information about the parishes and churches in Birmingham under Tracing your ancestors in Birmingham. These contain all relevant information about parishes, adjoining parishes and where the records are held.  If you then go to our online shop page, you may find the records are available as downloads.

The Balsall Heath Local History Society have several books available suitable as Christmas presents. For further details go to their website, www.balsallheathhistory.co.uk

If your ancestors came from the Wolverhampton area, the Friends of Wolverhampton Archives have a Facebook page,

https://www.facebook.com/groups/631565110573908

 FORTHCOMING GROUP TALKS 

KENILWORTH –Wednesday, 9 November 7.30 – 9pm via Zoom – Family History & the Media – behind the scenes of WDYTYA?

Dr Nick Barratt, is an author, broadcaster and family historian.  He is also the President of the Family History Federation and is well known on the Family history circuit for his interesting talks.

BIRMINGHAM – 12 November at 2pm – 4pm – In memoriam – Records of Commemoration given by Doreen Hopwood NB: Note change of date*.

Doreen is well known to many members of Midland Ancestors having been the genealogist at the Birmingham Central Library for over 20 years.  She has been carrying out family history research since the 1970s

*This will be a week later than normal as there is a proposed rail strike on the 5^th.

For further details go to

https://midland-ancestors.uk/category/news/

NORTH STAFFS – Monday, 7 November at 7.30pm – My 20 Favourite Staffordshire Places given by David Wilkinson

BROMSGROVE – 8 November at 7.30pm – The Gun Powder Plot by Philip Bowen

A fresh look at the Gunpower Plot, reminding us that it was very much a Midland Rising.

STOURBRIDGE –Tue 15 November @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm – The Bostin Tay Party

Members are asked to bring along their memories and photographs of past family parties or celebrations and do a short presentation.

Please bring along a small plate of party food to share.  Tea coffee, mulled wine provided.

WOLVERHAMPTON – Wed 30 November @ 2:00 – 4:30pm – Pre Christmas social gathering

Join us for our pre-Christmas social gathering.  Nearer the event we will announce our plans for the afternoon, but it may be a quiz, members sharing their research, a Christmas themed talk but, whatever is arranged, will involve the start of the Christmas season for the Wolverhampton group and, of course, refreshments.

Doors open at 1.45 p.m. for a 2.00 p.m. start

TRIPS TO KEW RESTARTING

The society has now been able to set dates for outings next year to the National Archives as they are again taking group visits.

Seat prices are £26.00 Scheduled dates, always on Saturdays are:

18th March 20th May 9th Sept      14th October

Full details can also be seen on the Midland Ancestors website.

For Trip Rules, pickup points and times etc. go to the Events menu drop down, then Coach Trips & Outings www.midland-ancestors.uk

Familiarisation sessions are also being held at the BMI, dates for which, Saturdays, are:

                                       15th Feb                                25th Jul

Further details are contained in the December Midland Ancestor.

OTHER FORTHCOMING TALKS 

Brickyard Engines that drove Clay Mills in the Early 19th Century’ by Elizabeth Thomson

November 2 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

A talk from the Newcomen Society at the ThinkTank. (free event)

https://www.newcomen.com/activity/brickyard-engines-that-drove-clay-mills-in-theearly-c19

‘Invention & Design; Elkington of Birmingham’

by Dr. Jonathan Berg

December 7 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Dr. Jonathan Berg discusses the invention of electroplating and its commercialisation in Birmingham’s  Jewellery Quarter

A talk from the Newcomen Society at the ThinkTank. (free event) https://www.newcomen.com/activity/invention

Friday 11 November 6:00pm – 10:00pm GMT and Saturday 12 November – 10:00am – 6:00pm GMT –

Really Useful online Family History Show

Organised by the Family History Federation

Full details can be found on www.fhf–reallyuseful.com

SoG:  A 6-week course starts on 5th November on researching 17^th century ancestors. Delivered by industry experts, Else Churchill, Andrew, Professor of Local and Society hIstory at University of Oxford and Ian Mortimer, author of the Time Traveller’s guide books. Course consists of case studies, document workshops and Lectures on England in the 17^th century.

SoG: Saturday 19 November, 2pm – Family History research in Belgium A one-hour lecture with Marie Cappart, cost £10.00/£6.50 SoG members.

SoG: Thursday 24 November, 2pm – Intellectual disability in England, 1750 – 1900

A one-hour lecture with Dr. Simon Jarrett, cost £10.00/£6.50 SoG members

For further details on all courses at the SoG go to their website www.SoG.org.uk

The Balsall Heath Local History Society have several books available suitable as

Christmas presents. For further details go to their website, www.balsallheathhistory.co.uk

 North Staffs Group

Rob Carter of our North Staffs Group has asked for help photographing headstones and internal monuments of churches in the North Staffs area.  This has been an ongoing project of Rob’s for many years, but it is not something he can do on his own.  If you can help, Rob can be contacted on Robcarter@hotmail.com.

Save the Date – Sunday 14 May 2023:

The Society celebrates its 60^th anniversary next year and a luncheon has been planned, to be held at the Tally Ho Conference Centre, Edgbaston.  The cost will be between £25-£30 per person.  This is just a forward notice at the moment, but it would help me if I could get some sort of feel on how many people are likely to attend.  So could I ask you please to let me know if you would attend or not.

 Finally, I may not get a chance to send out a newsletter at the end of November as my husband and I are flying to Paris to meet our two granddaughters coming over from Australia for Christmas.  (I feel this is going to be expensive!).

December could also be a problem as my daughter and grandson are also flying in for Christmas and the calendar is already pretty packed, so if you don’t hear from me, hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

Jackie

The Queen

I must begin by pausing for a moment to remember her majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Most of us will only ever remember having one monarch.  When she came to the throne, she promised to dedicate her life to the service of this country as long as she lived, which she did, despite the fact that she was also a wife and a mother. The funeral, I thought, befitted the death of a well-loved monarch, lots of pomp and ceremony but also allowed the ordinary people of this country to pay their respects. May she rest in peace.

The Birmingham Local and Family History Fair

 Thank you to everyone who came along to see us at the Fair at the MAC in Cannon Hill Park.  It was so nice to meet up and chat to people again.  This is what family history is all about.

Coffee Morning – Tues 25^th Oct. 11:00 am

Phil has arranged a coffee morning in the Theatre Bar at the BMI, all welcome. If you would like to come, please let Phil know as I shall be on holiday from next week (AGAIN).

FORTHCOMING TALKS – Change to programme

LONDON – 1 October – Meeting cancelled

With most of members travelling by train, due to the proposed train disruption, this meeting has been cancelled.  The proposed talk will be rescheduled for next year.

BIRMINGHAM – 5 October 2pm – 4pm The Chatterley Whitfield Explosion by Ann Simcock – Zoom only

Again due to a proposed rail strike, the meeting will be on Zoom only with a change of topic.

Full details are available on our website

NORTH STAFFS – Monday 3^rd October at 7.30pm – Research Evening.

BROMSGROVE – 11 October at 7.30pm – The Unknown Soldier. Speaker: Ron Gallivan

KENILWORTH – Wednesday, 12 October at 7.30pm – ‘Family Networks in Elizabethan England’ talk given by Cathryn Enis, Honorary Research Fellow at the College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham

STOURBRIDGE –Tue 18th October @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Members open evening for discussion and help with your research. Bring your tablet or laptop along if desired.

WOLVERHAMPTON – Wed 26th October @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

History of Surgery by Kevin Goodman

Further information on all these events is available via the Calendar on the website or in the yellow programme booklet.

Family History Beginners Course

Tue 18th October @ 2:15 pm – 4:45 pm

This is a FREE five week course, held at Perton Library, on Tuesday afternoons beginning at 2.15 p.m.

Places are limited and booking is required.  To book a place please call the library direct on 01902 755 794.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

SoG lunchtime talks

Wednesday 12 Oct 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM BST Live online

Caroline Mason will be talking about the Family History Centre and what you can expect to find in it.

Members of Midlands Ancestors can attend for a registration fee of £1.50.

There are loads of free talks available on the SoG website under Events.  If you are a football fan of Chelsea Football Club (boo, hiss), there is a talk by Rick Glanvill, the Club’s historian on 16 November. hrrp://www.sog.org.uk/events

Friday 11 November 6:00pm – 10:00pm GMT and Saturday 12 November 10:00am – 6:00pm GMT – Really Useful online Family History Show

Organised by the Family History Federation

Full details can be found on www.fhf-reallyuseful.com  

North of Ireland Family History Autumn School 2022 series beginning on 13th October

“Starting out on Irish Family History”. Two session class covering useful Irish records and resources.
For  more information go to http://www.nifhs.org/courses

The British Association for Local History (BALH) is holding a Regional Conference in Taunton on Saturday 22nd October on ‘Unusual Sources for Local History’

The conference programme and booking information can be found here: https://www.balh.org.uk/taunton2022

The Victorian Society (Birmingham and West Midlands) are holding a Day School on Leisure and Learning at the BMI on Saturday 29th October.

Tickets and further information are available from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-victorian-society-birmingham-amp-west-midlands

The Oxfordshire Family History Society Family History Fair is at Woodstock on 1 October.

Further information can be obtained from https://www.ofhs.uk/events/event/fair2022

Normally I go on behalf of the Society, but not only does it always clash with my wedding anniversary, this year I will be away on holiday.  If any of our members living down that way would like to attend on behalf of the Society, please let me know.  We can arrange something for next year.

The same applies to any Fairs/Events that you feel that the Society should attend, please get in touch.

Whilst on the point of Events, Genuki and the Family History Federation run an online list of events held by various organisations throughout the UK and some from abroad.  To view the list go to: http://geneva.weald.org.uk/doku.php?id=list

There is also a lot of information on various Society events on the Federation website, https://www.familyhistoryfederation.com/

Can I also point out that I do try and take out the hyperlinks to the various websites, sometimes not successfully.  These links only work when you are viewing through the Internet and as I send out my newsletter personally, they will not work.

The National Archives – 5 October 7.30pm.

Black Ancestry for Beginners: The Guide to Tracing Your Roots

A Black ancestry masterclass led by specialist Paul Crooks. Learn how to find your own forebears using public records, and how to navigate the potential challenges.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/black-ancestry-for-beginners-the-guide-to-tracing-your-roots

Member request

Member Martin Larner has found a leather bound photo album in amongst his parent’s effects.  He does not believe it belongs to his family.  Inside the inscription reads: “This album together with a lady’s satchel was presented by the clergy, superintendents, teachers & scholars of St John’ Sunday schools Wednesbury to Miss Brown, The Red House, in recognition of her kind & valuable help for many years in the Sunday Schools of the Parish.

March 1887

It contains 34 photos, mainly clergy, but some ladies & children, mostly Birmingham Area. Includes Peter Hoskin, Vicar of St James’ Wednesbury, also Rev Geo Crossley, Vicar of Brandon on the Hill Leics. etc.

Martin would like to return it to someone who could make use of it if possible. If you can, contact me and I will put you in touch.

North Staffs Group

Rob Carter of our North Staffs Group has asked for help photographing headstones and internal monuments of churches in the North Staffs area.  This has been an ongoing project of Rob’s for many years, but it is not something he can do on his own.  If you are able to help, Rob can be contacted on Robcarter@hotmail.com.

Save the Date – 14 May 2023:

The Society celebrates its 60^th anniversary next year and it has been suggested that we hold a lunch event.  The Tally Ho Conference Centre, Edgbaston has been booked, but nothing further has been decided.  I will give you further details in due course.

Wednesday 5 October – Library Duty

If you were planning on going into the Family History Centre on Wednesday next, could you ring and check first to see if it will be open.  Unfortunately we have the ‘perfect storm’.  Both librarians are unable to attend and, so far everybody I have contacted is also unable to make it.  It does not help that there may be another train strike.

After Christmas we know we will be down at least one if not two librarians, so we could do with more relief volunteers.  If you feel that you are able to help out, please let me know.

Jackie

Gosh, September already.  After a month of not doing too much (too hot), it is now back to normal.  I did manage to get in some research time at Worcester Archives, but again ended up looking at things that were not really connected with my family history!

FORTHCOMING TALKS

NORTH STAFFS – Monday 5 September @ 7.30pm

Canal town Stone and Mersey Canal – Steve Booth

BIRMINGHAM – Wednesday 7 September @ 2pm. Live meeting only.

The Peplow Memorial Lecture – The role of women in medieval history given by Dr. Paul A. Fox.

¹ The Peplow Memorial Lectures were introduced by Dr Bernard Juby, former Chairman of the Heraldry Group, in memory of Gus Peplow, who was a founder member of the Society.

About this talk: Although seen as predominately masculine affair, women did play an important role in Heraldry, and many held their own personal arms differing from their husbands and fathers.

KENILWORTH – Wednesday, 14 September @ 7.30pm. Live meeting only

‘The Unknown Socialist: John Frearson – Hooks, screws and a giant!’

STOURBRIDGE – Tuesday 20 September @ 7.30pm

Herbert Austin and Longbridge by Max Hunt

WOLVERHAMPTON – 28 September @ 2pm

Who’s the Daddy? Given by Penny Smith

LONDON – Saturday 1 October @ 10.30am

Gypsy Ancestors in the Midlands – Beverley Walker

 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Heritage Weekend – 17 September 10am – 4pm

Key Hill and Warstone Lane Cemeteries: I shall be with the Friends of KH&WL.  If you are in the area, please come along and say hello.

Sunday 25 September 2022 10:00 – 16:00 – The Birmingham Local and Family History Fair

From Phil Lamb:

This is a Society event held at the MAC, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham and so far we have 25 groups attending featuring community groups, history groups, genealogy groups, small commercials, postcards, photographs, memorabilia, books, souvenirs and local artwork.  Please come along and support your Society. There will also be a Family History Help Desk

The Lanchester Interactive Archive will have on display a 1932 Lanchester Motor Car. As any locals will know, Fred Lanchester built cars and engines in Birmingham, his business eventually becoming part of BSA and Daimler.

What can you learn at this event?

Learn about prominent city fathers buried in Key Hill and Warstone Lane cemeteries, Lost Children of Birmingham sent to far off Canada, Steelhouse Lane police lockup, what firemen did (and still do) to protect the city,  how our ancestors were catered for in death, how Birmingham helped the world to write, Air Raids on our city in the 2^nd WW., why Birmingham became known as the Venice of the Midlands, The Royal Warwickshire Birmingham Battalions in the Great War, Birmingham’s Irish Heritage, Romany & Traveller connections with Black Patch park, birthplace of Charlie Chaplin, how ocean travel was made safer by locally made bits of glass, how Birmingham and the Black Country merge and separate at the same time – Phil Lamb.

Dedicated website www.birminghamhistoryfair.uk

You can see a flyer for the event here – https://birminghamhistoryfair.uk/about

And a list of exhibitors here – https://birminghamhistoryfair.uk/exhibitors-in-2022/

Friday 16 September 10:00 – 16:00 – Building Recording through Time – Annual WM Historic Buildings Trust conference

Venue: The Undercroft, Worcester Cathedral. Speakers from: Historic England, Birmingham Museums Trust, Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service, West Midlands Historic Buildings Trust. A catered lunch and refreshments will be provided.  Costs £22.15 – £54.49 Tickets available via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/building-recording-through-time-annual-wmhbt-conference-tickets-388035533727

Wolverhampton archives – Who were your ancestors?

Friday 23 September @ 10.30am – 1pm

An Introduction to Family History course over six weeks, held each Friday morning from 23 September run by Penny Smith for Wolverhampton Archives.  Course open to all.

Course fee £30 payable to the Archives. Call 01902 552480 to book a place.

PERTON LIBRARY – STARTING 18 OCTOBER AT 2.15PM

This is a free course run over five weeks on a Tuesday afternoon at Perton Library (Severn Drive, Perton, WV6 7QU).  This course begins on Tuesday 18^th October 2022 at 2.15 p.m. and is run by Penny Smith.

Places are limited.   To book call the library direct on 01902 755 794.  Plenty of free parking nearby.

SoG lunchtime talks

Just checked to see if Caroline’s talk on Midland Ancestors is on the SoG’s website and it is Wed 12 Oct 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM BST Live online

Lori Einstein at the SoG said that this rather informal event is normally only open to SoG members free of charge, but members of Midlands Ancestors can attend for a registration fee of £1.50.

There are loads of free talks available on the SoG website under Events.  If you are a football fan of Chelsea Football Club (boo, hiss), there is a talk by Rick Glanvill, the Club’s historian on 16 November. http://www.sog.org.uk/events

Friday 11 November 6:00pm – 10:00pm GMT and Saturday 12 November 10:00am – 6:00pm GMT – Really Useful online Family History Show

Organised by the Family History Federation

Full details can be found on www.fhf-reallyuseful.com

BIFHSGO Virtual Conference – 28 September – 2 October.

For those members who live in Canada, the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa, (BIFHSGO) are holding a virtual conference entitled ‘England Wales: at home and on the move’.  Further information is on the BIFHSGO website, www.bifhsgo.ca/2022-BIFHSGO-Conference.

HELP WANTED

I’ve had a request from one of our members, Eileen, who would like some help with a military question.  Normally I would pass this on to Linda for inclusion in the journal, but as that has already gone to press, I will mention it here.

Eileen has been contacted by somebody about her DNA, but she cannot reconcile who in her family it could relate to.

She says: “It sent me in a tailspin because I could not fathom out how that happened.

There is one culprit? and he would be our Great Uncle who supposedly went to America after 1911 and was never seen again. (this is in Dublin by the way). I think I have found Him? in the Army but need to verify with hard evidence.

This soldier joined up to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in 1912 and I have managed to get a lot of info on Him but the one thing I need most is His Enlistment Paper that will tell me when and Where He enlisted and His address in Dublin.

I know that the fire at the Archives bombing raid WW2 destroyed a lot of papers so I presume this is why I can’t find His Enlistment on Find my past and Ancestry.com”.

If you feel you can help Eileen, please get in touch with me and I will pass on your email address.

North Staffs Group

Rob Carter of our North Staffs Group has asked for help photographing headstones and internal monuments of churches in the North Staffs area.  This has been an ongoing project of Rob’s for many years, but it is not something he can do on his own.  If you are able to help, Rob can be contacted on Robcarter@hotmail.com.

Other useful websites:

I was going through a presentation today that I shall be giving to the U3A group shortly and came across something new to me (probably not to any of you!)  www.familia.org.uk contains The UK and Ireland’s guide to genealogical resources in public libraries.  Not sure if it is up to date, but it is worth looking at.

Also on our BMSGH Facebook page from Ann Simcox (don’t know how she does it) is a post from The Ancestor Hunt – Download for free this 5-page Quickset that lists over 300 links to Free Online Archives and Digital Collections that can assist you to discover more about your ancestors and their local history. You can download it easily at https://theancestorhunt.com/…/free-online-archives

Ann also mentioned that the University College London [UCL] have a huge range of books on OpenAccess, meaning that you can freely download them to your laptop/computer and read at your leisure.  UCL Press is the UK’s first fully open access university press. Based at UCL, they publish scholarly monographs, textbooks and journals in all areas.

Link to Open Access books page, where you can browse the titles on offer or click on the links to access the rest of the site https://www.uclpress.co.uk/collections/open-access

If you are not on our Facebook page (Why not?) which is only open to Members of the Society, why not look https://www.facebook.com/groups/bmsgh

FINALLY

Save the Date – 14 May 2023:

The Society celebrates its 60^th anniversary next year and it has been suggested that we hold a lunch event.  It’s all in the planning stages at the moment, but I will post further details in the December edition of the journal.

Jackie

P.S. Sorry about the problems opening the September journal.  That’s what happens when you are trying to do something in a rush late at night, after having three grandchildren for the weekend!  This only applies to emailed journals, so if you normally have an email copy, please let me know.  Or you can download it from the Members Area on the website (Password in the last journal).

Last month I announced that we had good news, with the restrictions on the library being lifted. Unfortunately after our last meeting in Birmingham, some of our members and librarians went down with covid.

Restrictions have not been re-introduced, but can I remind you all that if you are feeling unwell, it is safer to stay at home. Although national restrictions have been lifted, it is still up to us all to try and keep each other safe. Take a test if you want to, wear a mask, sanitize your hands, we need to try and make sure that everybody that comes to our meetings or to the library are as safe as we can possibly be.

Although traditionally August is our holiday month, the library will still be open daily apart from the Bank holiday Monday/Tuesday at the end of the month. The library hours are Monday to Friday10:15 – 12:30 and 12:45 – 15:00.

The librarians on duty each day are:
Monday – Liz & Steve
Tuesday – Bernie & Gareth
Wednesday – Sue & Linda
Thursday – Mark & Pat
Friday – Caroline

Changes to these opening days and times take place when a bank holiday occurs, sometimes including even the Tuesday. If travelling from a distance you are advised to check first, preferably a few days in advance. You can do so by phoning 0121 236 8977.

Full details can be seen on the Society website, https://midland-ancestors.uk/about/libraries/

As you may know, we are also a FamilySearch Affiliate Library, and last week I was on temporary duty and had chance to view their images. Unfortunately, some of what I wanted to look for was not there, so it will be a trip to the Record Office for me, but there were many that helped me, especially records from far flung places.

Last Saturday, I also went on a tour of the catacombs in Key Hill and Warstone Lane run by the Friends of KH&WL. I have always wanted to see inside although no bodies (ghoulish as I am), but the tunnels themselves were very atmospheric. Richard, our guide, did a wonderful job painting such a graphic picture of their use. When money allows, they are hoping that more of the tunnels will be uncovered. It is thought that in Key Hill there is the remains of a disused lift that was used to drop the coffins down from the chapel into the catacombs. You can see pictures on their Twitter page https://twitter.com/FriendsKHandWL

There are more tours planned, so keep an eye on our Facebook page.

North Staffs Group
Rob Carter of our North Staffs Group has asked for help photographing headstones and internal monuments of churches in the North Staffs area. This has been an ongoing project of Rob’s for many years, but it is not something he can do on his own. If you are able to help, Rob can be contacted on Robcarter@hotmail.com.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Sunday 25 September 2022 10:00 – 16:00 – The Birmingham Local and Family History Fair

This is a Society event and so far we have 35+ tables featuring community groups, history groups, genealogy groups, small commercials, postcards, photographs, memorabilia, books, souvenirs and local artwork.

Phil is currently looking for some assistance with distribution of flyers for this event. He has identified about 70 libraries in and around the city with display facilities. He has a list of them but he won’t be able to get to them all. Already 15 members have volunteered to assist and that has been most welcome but he could do with more help in some postcode areas. You might get an email from him. If you do and you can help it would be much appreciated.
You can see a flyer for the event here – https://birminghamhistoryfair.uk/about
And a list of exhibitors here – https://birminghamhistoryfair.uk/exhibitors-in-2022/

Heritage Weekend – 17 September.

As I have already mentioned The Friends of Key Hill and Warstone Lane Cemeteries will be at Warstone Lane Cemetery on 17 September. If you are interested in going on one of their very popular walks, you will need to book early.

Further details can be found on http://www.fkwc.org/
Bookings are by Eventbrite.

I shall also be there manning a table promoting the Society. Don’t know what will be on it yet, but if you would like to come along to help, please let me know.

SoG lunchtime talk
I know this may seem a bit far off, but I just wanted you tell you about this event as I don’t know how popular it will be.
Caroline Mason, who many of you may know via the library or online, has kindly agreed to speak at one of the Society of Genealogy lunchtime talks about tracing Midlands Ancestors and our Society on 12 October (2-3:30). Lori Weinstein of the SoG advises that this event is only normally open to SoG members, but they will allow members of Midlands Ancestors to attend for a registration fee of £1.50.

If you are interested in attending, the booking link is here:
https://societyofgenealogists.arlo.co/w/events/289-lunchtime-chat-tracing-your-midland-ancestors

Friday 11 November 6:00pm – 10:00pm GMT and Saturday 12 November 10:00am – 6:00pm GMT – Really Useful online Family History Show
Organised by the Family History Federation
Full details can be found on www.fhf-reallyuseful.com

NEWS FROM NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Nearly 100,000 more Second World War service records are now available to order from The National Archives in Kew, including records from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.

The series, ‘War Office: Selected Smaller Corps Other Ranks: Service Records’, has the reference number WO 421. It can be searched via TNA’s online catalogue Discovery at discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C17682287.
The series consists of 94,234 service records of soldiers (excluding officers) who served in the Army Air Corps; the Royal Army Veterinary Corps; the Royal Military Police or Corps of Military Police; the Royal Army Pay Corps; the Royal Army Physical Training Corps; the Military Provost Staff Corps; the Royal Corps of Army Music; the Royal Army Education Corps; the Royal Pioneer Corps; the Intelligence Corps; the Officer Training Corps; and the Non-Combatant Corps. It only includes soldiers who were discharged because they were over age.

In February 2021, the MOD began transferring all 9.7 million historic service records to TNA. In April 2022 the first tranche was released on Discovery, covering the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, in series WO 420. (Thanks to WDYTYA magazine for this information.

The Rothschild Foundation Europe has recently launched Yerusha as a Europe-wide portal for Jewish archival heritage.
It contains descriptions of more than 12,000 collections supplied by institutions in 27 countries, reflecting 1,600 years of Jewish history.

The National Archives contributed 36 catalogue descriptions as part of the Mapping Jewish London project, led by AIM25.

Yerusha

Finally, don’t forget to send Linda our editor anything you have for the Journal. Unfortunately, Linda has gone down with Covid, so the journal may be a little late in being released.

That’s all folks – run out of time! I won’t be around much during August, off visiting Record Offices.

Jackie