Newsletters

I’m afraid this is rather a short newsletter. It has not been a good week for our family following a bereavement, so this has been a bit rushed.

However, to start I would like to qualify a couple of statements I made in my last newsletter. I referred to the Latter Day Saints finishing digitisation of their films and these should be soon available. Sharon Hintze, who was the London Director of the LDS told me that, as far as she knows the following could apply.

“First, the fact that they have ‘finished’ the digitisation does not mean that every film is now available to be seen online at this very moment.

Also, not every film is accessible even when it has been loaded for viewing, since some archives choose to restrict where it can be seen. An example is Scottish census images, which were filmed long ago and have long since been digitised. But as you know, Scotland’s People doesn’t allow other organisations to show the images. They have kept that for themselves. Similarly, people with Jewish ancestry are frustrated by the Polish archive restrictions. So sometimes you will get a message that an image can’t be displayed. These restrictions are by the record holder, and FamilySearch has no authority to overturn them”

David Pullar also sent me a comment about the Romsley parish registers. He said:

The burial register begins in 1857. Looking at some listings I have burials seem to be included in Halesowen. Also registers prior to I think 1728 were destroyed. It May be worth checking BTs.
We do tend to forget about BTs, but again these are always worth checking. Normally they don’t go as far back as the PRs, but they could fill in gaps.
Details of Birmingham parish can be found on our website https://midland-ancestors.uk/resources/birmingham/tyai-birmingham
Details of Warwickshire parishes can be found on https://midland-ancestors.uk/resources/_warwickshire/tyai-warwickshire/
Details of Worcestershire parish can be found on https://www.worcesterbmsgh.co.uk/
Unfortunately we don’t have a link to Staffordshire parishes, but you can find details of each one on the Genuki pages https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/STS

FORTHCOMING TALKS
Now that some of our Groups are now planning to open in person, they need your support (and attendance). If you are going along, why not take a friend?
This is a list of the November meetings:
Birmingham – Saturday 13 November at 2.30pm. Shirley Thompson, entitled ’65 Brunswick Road – The Musical’. UNFORTUNATELY THIS WILL NOT BE ON ZOOM due to the complexity of setting up the equipment and Phil needs about 10 pairs of hands to get it in place. The talk will take place in the Peake Room at the BMI, Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BS.
17th November @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm via Zoom ‘Why Pay For Information From the Internet ?’ Presenter – John Hanson. Registration open now.
More details on – https://midland-ancestors.uk/event/online-event-why-pay-for/
Bromsgrove: 9 November 2021 – 7.30pm. – Richard Churchley will be talking about ‘Old Occupations’. Methodist Church Hall, Bromsgrove. B60 1AS
North Staffs: December 6th 7.30pm – Steve Booth will be giving a talk on “Clarice Cliff ceramic artist and the young girls she trained.
Cancelled due to Bereavement  – Kenilworth: 10 November @7.30pm – 9pm via Zoom ‘Family Networks in Elizabethan England’ This talk is given by Cathryn Enis, Honorary Research Fellow at the College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham.

Wolverhampton: 24 November, 2pm – 4pm. Research Afternoon. Perton Civic Centre, Perton WV6 7PD
Stourbridge, Tuesday 16 November 7 for 7.30pm. – My Family Heirloom – Members are asked to bring along a family heirloom, photograph, or interesting article. Meeting at St Peter’s Church Centre, Pedmore DY9 0SW
DATE FOR YOUR DIARIES
As you may have read in the press, the 1921 census is being released on 6 January 2022 via FindmyPast. Even if you have a subscription to FMP, there will be a charge involved to view the schedules. It will cost you £3.50 to view each household schedule and an additional £2.50 for a transcript. This type of charging is not new, we did the same for the 1939 register pages and the 1911 census schedules. I think we must be ‘very picky’ on what we want to view.

Phil has arranged with Myko Clelland of FMP to give a virtual presentation on Wednesday, 26 January to introduce us to the 1921 census. Time 2.00pm.

Something else you might like to put in your diary for next year. Kenilworth Group have invited Dr Nick Barratt to do a Zoom talk on 9th November 2022. The talk will be on Family History & the Media – Behind the Scenes at WDYTYA?

FORTHCOMING FAIRS

FHF REALLY USEFUL Family History Show on Friday 12 November 6pm-10pm and Saturday 13 November 10am-6pm. For further information and tickets go to https://www.fhf-reallyuseful.com/. There seems to be about 50 different organisations attending.

Finally, can I remind members that the password to the members area can be found in the current edition of TMA. It is changed each March but is always in the current journal under Member Benefits.

Jackie

I AM SENDING THIS NEWSLETTER OUT A FEW DAYS EARLY AS WE HAVE IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT OUR GROUPS’ REOPENING, SOME THIS WEEK. (I’ve put these in date order of opening)
Wolverhampton: Physical meetings restart on 29 September at their new venue, Perton Civic Centre, Church Road, Perton Wolverhampton, WV6 7PD. Room opens 7.15 p.m. Meeting starts 7.30 p.m.
This will be just a get together and Penny is hoping to see as many members as possible.
London: meetings restart at a new venue on Saturday 2 October at 10.30am. The new venue will be Wesley’s Chapel and Leysian Mission, City Road (lovely building). This will just be a ‘get together’ and there will also be a talk by Brian Gubbins entitled “the mystery of the cabin boy lost at sea”. Dave Kerr says everybody welcome.

Birmingham: Informal Coffee Morning in the BMI
Members get together and catchup in the Theatre Bar (cafeteria)
Wed 6th Oct 10:30 – 12:30

Maceik and Martin will have the coffee on the go, they will also have some superb cake. Many can testify as to how tasty the cake is. Lemon Drizzle, Carrot & Walnut and much more. Tea, coffee, biscuits and snacks sandwiches and cake available, all at reasonable prices.

Take time to catch up with fellow members and see what ideas we have for 2022 in the BMI.

If you are planning to attend, could you please let me know by 3rd October just to make sure we have enough chairs!

You could also stay on a while and have a light lunch selecting from –
Good range of sandwiches –
Ham, tuna, cheese, chicken, turkey, egg
With optional additions of –
Cheese, tomato, mustard, cucumber, onion, pickle, bacon, lettuce etc.
Also available – apples, bananas, orange,
Chocolate bars, crisps,
Canned soft drinks, tea & coffee.

If anyone would like to visit the Family History Centre afterwards, they need to register via the website, so we don’t get too many people in the library. We still have social distancing rules in place, max 4 people at any one time.
Bromsgrove physical meetings restart on 12 October 7.45pm at the Methodist Centre. Mike Sharpe tells me that Graham Sutherland has been booked to give a talk about: ‘brandy for the parson’. Mike is looking forward to having members back face to face.
Kenilworth: will continue with zoom meetings for the time being. Their next zoom talk will be on Wednesday 13 October. Please note there has been a change to the advertised talk. Well known speaker, Vanessa Morgan, will now be talking about a ‘Brummie in the family’. Full details on how to register can be found on the website under Events.

North Staffs: Had hoped to restart in October, but repairs to the church hall are not yet completed, so they are planning to hold a meeting in December just to get going. Their next meeting after that will be February as they don’t hold a meeting in January.
Stourbridge: have carried out a poll and 42% said they would be willing to meet in person. No dates yet.
Phil would also like me to remind group organisers that the following guidelines should be adhered to:
The wearing of masks
Ventilation
Hand sanitizer
Social distancing
Logging of attendees and their contact details

YOUR SOCIETY NEEDS YOU!
HYBRID ZOOM MEETINGS
As Phil mentioned in the MA recently, he is investigating how these will work from the Birmingham meeting rooms. He would welcome involvement from any member with a bit of IT expertise and some free time. It will need a lot of setting up and managing and without more people being involved it will not happen. It is too much for just one person. That would mean either zoom meetings or Birmingham meetings being compromised. Get in touch with Phil to find out more and be there from the start.
ONLINE TALKS:
Our next online talk will be on 20 October at 2 – 4pm.
Anthony Marr, a former Deputy Registrar of births, deaths and marriages will be giving us a talk on the Hidden secrets of Registration. See Website for details on how to register.

OTHER NEWS:

Here’s an interesting fact. I had asked Mark in our library to look for a burial at Romsley, a small village quite close to Stourbridge and this is what he said:

“I’ve had a look at what we’ve got on Romsley and was a bit puzzled as to why we have transcripts of the baptisms and marriages, but no burials.

“However, looking at the website for the Romsley and Hunnington History Society (which also has a transcript of the parish registers), this gives an explanation. The first burials took place at Romsley in 1861 and before that, any burials would have been at Halesowen”.

So it just shows you not to take things at face value. You must do a bit of digging. Don’t forget on our website, under resources, we have details of the parishes in Warwickshire and Worcestershire which give details of the records, when they date from and where they are.

Most Family History Societies have been transcribing and indexing, etc. for years and are very knowledgeable about their area. Even if they can’t help, they could point you in the direction of the likely burial places, especially churchyards, etc. So if you do get stuck go to the experts!

If one of your ancestors died in Powick Asylum near Worcester, the Worcester Medical Museum contains details of patients from Powick Asylum from 1852-1916. Its records are available to search via their website Https://medicalmuseum.org.uk/powick-patients

Thomas Coram established the Foundling Hospital in London in 1739 for children whose mothers could not look after them. The mothers were allowed to leave their child something, a note, hankie, jewellery, piece of cloth and these have been kept at the hospital. After admission the children were baptised and given a new name to protect the identity of the mother. The hospital is undertaking a project to transcribe the handwriting from historic records in the Foundling Hospital archive, dating back to 1739. For further details on the hospital and project go to: coramstory.org.uk/corams-history
I see that the church of England is proposing to launch a free website next year where they intend to list every grave memorial in every churchyard in the country. It says that it will soon be possible to visit almost any Anglican burial ground in the country and see in real time the location of burial plots.
Two things spring to mind. What about the churchyards where the graves are overgrown, fallen headstones or are unreadable?
What about the graves that don’t have a headstone or where they have been grassed over?
Many Family History Societies have spent years transcribing headstones. I know it is not the same as seeing a photograph, but sometimes you may see the stone, but it unreadable.
You would think that they would first consult the very people who know the most about churchyards, Family History Societies, and get them on board. Or is that too easy?
Familysearch, the world’s largest free family history website, has completed its 20-year project to digitise millions of rolls of microfilm. They had expected this to take 50 years, but due to advances in technology, this has taken less time.
As you may be aware, our Family History Centre in Birmingham is an affiliate library to Familysearch, so we should be able to access all the online records. I look forward to going in and trying it out.
If your ancestors come from Staffordshire, have you looked at the Staffordshire name index published by Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent archive service. As my husband’s Cotterill’s come from Staffordshire, I look every now and again to see if any Cotterill’s that I have missed. https://www.staffsnameindexes.org.uk/

Forthcoming events:

Oxfordshire family history Society will be hosting a *free* family history Zoomfair on Saturday 2nd October 2021 which we will be attending.
There will be a selection of breakout rooms which will be hosted by partnering family history societies and other organisations. You may visit as many rooms as you wish in your session.
There will be two sessions: morning and afternoon, London time. Do register for either or both sessions, so you can join in and partake in what we hope we will be informative and lively chats about family history research.
Visit the OFHS website Zoomfair page to see the latest news and confirmed societies, and to register for the event. Https://www.ofhs.uk/news/ofhs-fair-2-october-2021
The Family History Federation will once again be holding A Really Useful Show online on 12-13 November. For further information go to: www.fhf-reallyuseful.com where you will find a comprehensive list of speakers.

Don’t forget to send our Editor, Linda, any articles for the Midland Ancestor journal. The next one is due out at the end of November. The deadline is 1 November 2021.

Finally, I know many of our Birmingham members will know Milly Ashford. Sadly Milly died recently. She was well into her 90s and was not only a long-time member she was also known as the ‘queen of the photocopier’. Milly turned her hand to anything. Lovely person, she will be sadly missed.

Jackie

You received this email because you are a member of the Midland Ancestors.
Midland Ancestors is the public face of the Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry which is a Registered Charity, number 505916. Registered Office: Birmingham & Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham B2 2BS

Newsletter No. 15 – July 2021

Well, we have just had about 10 days of glorious weather here in the UK – that’s our summer been and gone! The weather is now set to go back to normal, cooler with showers. Not that I am complaining, I don’t like the heat.

In my last newsletter, 19 July was supposed to be ‘freedom day’ when all restriction were due to be lifted. However what has happened since then we are having a ‘pingdemic’ because of the NHS app. that people have downloaded to their phone saying they have been in close contact with somebody who has tested positive. Luckily, I never downloaded it, but this has resulted in even more chaos than usual.

A decision has been made to re-open the Family History Centre from Monday 16 August when we will glad to welcome visitors once again, members or not. As we still have Covid 19 with us, there have been some necessary changes, we hope you will understand and not be put off from visiting.

The most important change is that there is now an Online Booking System to restrict numbers, no more than 4 people in the centre at any one time. Please do not just drop into the Centre as you will be turned away, it is most important you use the Booking system.

From 10 August, you will be able to find information on all the new procedures, times of opening etc, including how to Book a slot by going to the Midland Ancestors website www.midland-ancestors.uk. From that date (not before), hover your mouse over the Menu dropdown tab ‘News’, and click on the link FH Centre re-opens.

MONTHLY MEETINGS

At present, the BMI have hired out the entire building for Health and Safety training, so we can’t say when we will be able to hold our first monthly meeting there.

What I would like is for members who usually come to Birmingham, to let me know when they will be willing to come into a face-to-face meeting in Birmingham. It would be along the lines of the poll that Phil runs at the online talks. These are the questions:
Immediately Within a few Months Not till much later Maybe Not till next year

I would just like to know which of these statement you agree with. You can just send me an email with the word ‘Meetings’ in the subject box and whatever your response is. We can work from that as to starting our face-to-face meetings again.

Penny Smith at Wolverhampton had asked her Group to attend a meeting at their new venue in July, but the response was a bit cool, so it didn’t go ahead but we must start somewhere.

Dave Kerr in London had hoped to recommence their meetings in October, but as the Society of Genealogist Building is not available, he still has to find another venue.

Lesley at Kenilworth also asked her members about face-to-face meetings, but again they were not keen, so for the time being they will still be meeting on Zoom.

ONLINE TALKS

We had a very interesting talk on the HS2 dig in Park Street burial ground, Birmingham in July. There are other talks available on HS2, including the archaeological dig in Coleshill. Just put ‘webinar HS2’ in your search engine and click on whichever subject you are interested in.

You may be aware that previous exhumation of bodies at Park Street for the widening of the railway, resulted in bodies being interred in Witton, Key Hill and Warstone Lane.

There is a lovely film called ‘A stroll through Key Hill’ on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4jzG14Qzh4. The cemetery is such a lovely and peaceful place, especially in the summer. The Friends of Key Hill cemetery and Warstone Lane run tours around both cemeteries and their next tour is on Sunday 8 Aug. Tickets cost £5 plus booking fee and are on sale via Eventbrite. They do have a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/39076159104. All monies raised go to reinstate fallen and buried gravestones.

On 8 September (7:30 pm – 9:00 pm) John Frearson will be giving a talk via Zoom at Kenilworth entitled Maundy Rodgers. Maundy was an Assistant Surgeon 4th Class from India, and served in France in the seaside town of Wimereux.
On 15 September (2pm – 3.30pm) Ann Simcock will be giving an online talk entitled ‘Spread the net wider and dig deeper’. Ann will show us how we can discover the stories behind our ancestors.

Full details of both these talks and how to register are available on https://midland-ancestors.uk/events

ARCHIVES REOPENING

More and More Archives are opening their doors to casual users, although venues such as National Archives would like visitors to use their booking service. Many are also extending their opening hours as well.

The Society of Genealogists have a full programme of Events in August, given by some well-known speakers. Some of the talks are free, others are chargeable. For further details go to http://societyofgenealogists

If you are interested in the Middlemore Home Children project, why not sign up to the Balsall Heath Local History Society newsletter. info@balsallheathhistory.co.uk or the Lost Children website is at www.thelostchildren.uk. There is also a facebook page as well.

There was a question recently posted on our BMSGH Members only Facebook page about hospitals in Birmingham. The Library of Birmingham have produced a blog under ‘The Iron Room’ regarding the records held in Birmingham https://theironroom.wordpress.com/2021/07/12/hospital-records-for-family-history/ It also lists other websites where you may find details.

Birmingham library’s catalogue is available online at http://calmview.birmingham.gov.uk/calmview/

Don’t forget to check out the National Archives Research Guides on hospital records.

Staffordshire Archives have an asylum project where volunteers investigate the stories of patients who were admitted to the Staffordshire Asylums during the nineteenth century. To Read more at https://staffordshireasylumrecords.wordpress.com/patients/

Finally, I shall be away at the end of August (Hurrah), so my next newsletter will be in September. Keep safe and I’ll be back in September.

Now where did I put my bucket and spade?

Jackie

Newsletter No. 14
Just when we thought restrictions would be lifted, the decision has been put back until July 19th, so we will have to hang fire a little longer before we can get back to ‘normal’ – whatever that may be.

After discussing our present situation ‘in house’, plus canvasing various members, it was felt that once Groups can open, the decision as to when and how should be left to them and their members. After all, they know will know what safety arrangements prevail in their area.
We do have a Health and Safety Plan, but as the situation keeps changing, we cannot release this. Of course, this would also be in conjunction with any local Heath and Safety that local venues may have.

My suggestion was that each Group might like to canvas their members as to when they would like to attend an open meeting, Sept?, Oct?, Jan? because no matter what the Trustees decide, ultimately it is up to each Group to know when the time is right to open.

Our London Group are in the unfortunate position of having to look for new premises. They have met at the Society of Genealogist building for several years, but the SoG are in the process of moving, so the London Group will have to find somewhere else to meet. Chairman, Dave Kerr, is looking for suitable premises, but with their members coming from such a wide area, it will have to be central to everybody. He suggested the TNA, but according to Dave who surveyed his members last month, 40% were still concerned from the health standpoint and some about getting to TNA. Hence the need for something more central. If you have any suggestions, I am sure Dave would like to hear them.

He also said they have a visit booked to the Foundling Museum in January – subject to Covid which will hopefully get people out and such visits may be the short term answer.

No decision has been made about opening the Reference Library yet, again this depends on what the requirements are in July and our own Reference Library staff. Some are quite happy to return to the library, but some are understandably nervous. It may also mean that the library will only open on certain days and with an appointment system. As soon as a decision is made, we will let you all know.

ONLINE TALKS

I managed to miss two out of three talks last month, which was very disappointing for me. The only one I caught was Penny Smith’s talk on ‘Who’s the Daddy?’ From Penny’s work it just shows you that you must look at everything, even if it seems irrelevant. Lost father’s must be one of the most difficult parts of family history especially if you do not know who they are. DNA may point you in the right direction, but that may be the last resort.

My mother never knew her father, although we did at least know who he was. I finally managed to trace him in 2017 with the help of Facebook. If you want to read about my search, it was published in the September edition of the Midland Ancestor 2017, Vol. 19 No 3.

Our next talk will be on 21st July @ 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Park Street Burial Ground – The HS2 Dig
You may remember that there was a tv programme on the archaeological investigations for the HS2 terminal in Birmingham which included Park Street. The burial ground was used as an overspill burial site for St. Martins and was opened in 1810, closing in 1857 to new burials. To register for this talk go to https://midland-ancestors.uk/event/online-event-park-street-burial-ground/

In my last newsletter I mentioned that I had been asked to contribute to an article on the West Midlands in the Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine. I have now received a copy of the magazine, and I am glad to see that they included my questioning of the term West Midlands. The West Midlands did not exist before 1974 and by referring to it new researchers could be looking for a historical area.

Mike Sharpe, Chairman of our Bromsgrove Group also has an article in the magazine on Brass Workers. It was often referred to as ‘toy makers’, but this was not children’s toys, it was a general term covering anything small and made in metal, buckles, boxes, taps, etc. There were so many little factories, that sometimes it is difficult to pin point where your ancestor worked. In this instance, trade directories could be a goldmine. The only problem with Trade Directories is that although it says it covers a certain period, the information could have been collated over two to three years, so the firm you are looking for may have moved by then.

My sister worked in a factory making brass coffin handles, for which she was paid on a ‘Piecework’ rate. The rate paid was for a fixed number (e.g. £1 per 100). If for whatever reason she did not reach her target, she would only get paid for the work she had done. My gran used to sew buttons on cards at home, earning ‘piecework’ money. If you visited, you always had to help sewing the buttons on the cards. Never an idle hand!

Mike Fisher, on the Worcestershire Ancestors Facebook page recommends a useful data set on Ancestry, Worcestershire, England, Electoral Registers, 1837-1974. The actual coverage is strange, but it is a useful data set. I’ve taken a look and it is strange as some of the places definitely were not in Worcestershire, but could be another useful resource www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62056.

Scotlandspeople has announced that indexed images of the 1921 Scottish Census will be released on scotlandspeople.gov.uk and in the Scotlandspeople Centre in the latter half of 2022. The release had been due on 20 June 2022, but that has been put back. For further details, see https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/census-returns.

I have received an email from Riden Philip of the Derbyshire Record Society who are releasing a book on muster rolls for Derbyshire of 1638-9 listing over 18,000 individuals. They are publishing the work in two parts, the first of which should appear in July. I know that technically this is not within our area, but I know that lots of our north Staffordshire members may have ancestors in Derbyshire. I do not have any other information at the moment, but their website is https://derbyshirerecordsociety.org/

The Staffordshire BMD web site and the West Midlands BMD web site are part of the Local BMD Project group of Family History and Genealogy web sites. Both these sites are housed on our website http://staffordshirebmd.org.uk/ and http://westmidlandsbmd.org.uk/

Members of our North Staffs Group are involved in compiling these indexes and Bill Harrison, Chairman of our North Staffs Group, tells us that the Staffs BMD has been updated with the following:
Deaths: 598 for Lichfield (held at Lichfield RO), registers at Lichfield (1985-1987)
These are indexes only. The images can be seen at the relevant Archive offices.

We also house the Staffordshire Burial Index covering cemeteries throughout the County.
Ian Hartas of UKBMD tells us that The Staffordshire Burial Indexes has been updated to add: 38,400 for Bradwell Crematorium: 1965 to 1997

There are a Total of 497,242 contained in the indexes together with plans for most of the cemeteries.
To see the complete index, go to http://www.bmsgh.org/burialsearch/

Talking of deaths (!!!) can I remind you about Rob Carter’s ongoing project to record monumental inscriptions in Staffordshire. 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? Are they taken to the mother church? Are they left with the property? Are they dumped into a skip? Can you spare a little time to photograph the memorial located inside churches, chapels etc.

If you feel you can help, please email Rob and he will let you know which churches/chapels need to have their memorials photographed near you. robecarter@hotmail.com

Rob also produced the North Staffs newsletter which is available to download http://www.bmsgh.org/branches/northstaffs/newsletters/

If you haven’t done so, why not subscribe to the Family History Federation Really Useful Newsletter. It contains some really interesting information not just about various Family History Societies here and abroad, but also details of events, courses, etc. Just email Debbie Bradley at admin@familyhistoryfederation.com and ask to be put on the mailing list.

If your ancestors came from the Balsall Heath area of Birmingham, The Balsall Heath Local History Society publish a monthly newsletter, which includes information on the Middlemore Homes lost children project. Their website address is www.balsallheathhistory.co.uk and their Facebook page is: Balsall Heath Local History Society and lostchildrenproject.

There are lots of these smaller Societies dotted around our area, details of some can be seen on our website. Why not just put in a Google search and see what comes up.

ONLINE COURSES
The Society of Genealogists have some interesting courses coming up. If you are a member of the SoG you will receive a 209-35% discount on talks and courses. To view their online events go to http://societyofgenealogists.arlo.co/w

The National Archives has a free online event on 6 July at 14:00BST on top tips for using Discovery, their online catalogue where users can currently download 100 free records a month. To register go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/top-level-tips-using-discovery-tickets

Free Scottish Family History Virtual Conference – 10 July 2021
Learn how to trace your Scottish family history. The 11th Scottish
Indexes Conference will be held on 10 July 2021. For further details go to

Free Scottish Family History Virtual Conference – 10 July 2021

I think that is all for now. Can I remind you as well to send your articles to Linda for entry into the Magazine. I am sure she would rather have too many articles than too few. Linda’s details are in the Journal.
Jackie

By the time you get this, the deadline for registering for the AGM will have been and gone. I hope that many of you took advantage to join in with us to take part in the AGM online. This is another first for the Society to add to all those other firsts in the past twelve months. It means that all our members, wherever you are, can join in with the proceedings.
You may not think that attending AGMs are important, and I know I am as bad in this respect, but it is the only way that you can legitimately say whether you think the Trustees are doing a good job or not and voting accordingly. If you don’t agree with the way the Society is run, then join the Executive Committee and have your say.
If you are interested in attending an Executive Meeting (as members you are entitled to do this), let me know and I will send you details on the next meeting.
ONLINE TALKS
I am sure that those of you that listened to Rebecca Probert’s Talk on Marriage arranged by Leslie at our Kenilworth Group found it really enthralling. Rebecca certainly is a good speaker. Lesley said that there were 82 participants including visitors from Jersey, Dublin, and Australia.
Andrew’s Lound’s talk on Birmingham during the war certainly went down a storm (I was going to say a bomb but thought better of it!) We had over 80 participants listening in. W T Avery was one of many manufacturers in Birmingham bombed during the war.
One of the most famous was the BSA in Sparkhill. My dad and his brothers were all Firewatchers there. On the night of 19 November 1940, it was bombed and destroyed. One of the worst bombings of the war. Dad should have been on duty, but he had a bad chest and my mom talked him into staying at home. The man who took his place was killed. My Aunt’s husband went outside to have a smoke, and the bomb hit the building next to him. He survived but my sister-in-law’s grandfather was in the fire service there and he died that night.
If one of your ancestors served in the Home Guard, you might like to look at this website. http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/AWELCOMEstaffshomeguard.htm
We know there are so many family stories about the war which may be a long time ago now, but it is so important that these stories are told. If you have any anecdotes why not take the time to either write them down or tape record your stories for future generations?
TELLING YOUR HISTORY
My eldest daughter in Australia is doing just that. She said to me, “if you were an object, you would be considered an Antique now!!” Cheeky Madam! She sends me a list of questions each week about my childhood, etc. for me to write about. She says she will be putting it all in a book one day to pass on to our grandchildren. One of the latest questions asks if we have any notable ancestors, unfortunately not! Our ancestors were very lowly either Ag. Labs or Cobblers.
On the theme of writing your own history, I have had a book sent to me by a member in Australia. Her father, Paul Bruce FREE, wrote a series of essays for his grandchildren. He was born in Birmingham in 1923 and when he was 82 decided to write these essays about his life in Birmingham and Wolverhampton between the wars. His writings were on ordinary everyday life, visiting the grocers, home deliveries, the bus service etc. all of which is a complete world away from what we know today. These have all been collated into a book and published by his daughter Jane. As a Brummie I can relate to lots of the places and events remembered from my own childhood even though I hasten to add I was not born until after the War! Birmingham has changed so much during the intervening years, but there are some parts that are still Paul would still recognise now.
Something else received from Australia is a hand drawn family tree in the name of HADGKISS/HODGKISS originating from the Belbroughton and Bromsgrove areas. The person concerned is not a member but thought that we may be able to find somebody related to the family. It is very complicated to understand with quite a list of other names, but if this is one of your surname interests, let me know. NB: It is too big to photocopy.
MAY ONLINE TALKS:
Once again, we have a series of exceptional online talks for you, details below:
Bromsgrove: 11th May @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Goose Grease and Brown Paper – Speaker: Kath Reynolds
(This brings back memories!)

Kenilworth: 12th May @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm

The Blind Postmaster General and the Suffragist’ – Presenter Alan Godfrey FRPSL.The story of the lives of Henry Fawcett MP and his wife Millicent Garrett Fawcett. Henry was blinded at age 25 but went on to become a reforming Liberal MP and PMG. He introduced many innovations at the Post Office. Millicent was leader of the 50,000 strong NUWSS and was mainly responsible for obtaining votes for women in 1918.
(Alan is well known to us as he produces the Alan Godfrey maps)

Birmingham: 19th May @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Using DNA Testing to Trace Your Family Tree – Presenter – Karen Evans
This presentation covers how DNA testing works in very general terms, getting the most from the test (what the results mean) and how to use your results to validate your paper research or overcome brick walls such as illegitimacy. It also highlights the range and pitfalls of using DNA testing, particularly finding out where your family came from – Can you really be a Viking? Karen writes a monthly column for Family Tree Magazine on getting the most out of your DNA results.
As you know, Phil is the person who ‘twiddles the knobs’ for our online talks and he could do with some help. It’s about letting people into the meeting; it really needs two people. I don’t think you have to be a computer expert, but just somebody with some computer experience who can help. If you can help Phil, contact him direct.
FAMILY HISTORY FEDERATION
The Family History Federation are running a free four-week on line course on ‘Beginning your Family History’. I know most of us are perhaps beyond the beginner’s stage, but it is always useful to have a refresher course. For further details head over to the Family History Federation website https://www.familyhistoryfederation.com/events. Begins 4 May.
Also on their site, under Forthcoming Events, you will find many Societies listing their online talks. Some may only be open to Members, but others may be available to all.
SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS
The SoG also have some cracking talks coming up in May.
Thursday, 6 May – 6pm
Finding Death & Burial Records in the United States
A one-hour talk Cost £10.00
Searching for ancestors in the USA can be very different to searching for your British ancestors. In the UK, we are used to centralised records, especially those for deaths. In the USA, there is no centralised death index for death certificates.

Saturday, 8 May – 2pm
Irish Church Records
A one-hour talk with Dr. James Ryan, cost £10.00

To successfully find your Irish ancestors, you need to know their religion as well more obvious facts, like their names and where they lived. This talk, essential for Irish family historians, explains the central role the churches played.

Thursday, 13 May – 6pm
Finding and Using Parish Registers in England & Wales
One-hour Recorded Talk From £6.50 Else Churchill
In this talk, Genealogist Else Churchill provides a useful grounding on how to find and how to use these vital records.
Saturday 22 May 2:00 PM – 3:45 PM
Family Historian Software tutorial.
Given by John Hanson, who is very well known in Family History circles. The cost is £12.00.
(There is one on using the MAC, but that was on 1 May).

For more information on all these talks and more, go to the SoG’s website https://societyofgenealogists.arlo.co/w/
MEMBERS INTEREST DATABASE
I don’t know how many of you completed the form you were given when you first joined about submitting your surname interests for the MID. The first time you complete the form your surname interests are published in the Midland Ancestor magazine. You can only have these entered once in the journal, but you can add and update your entries in the database at any time. The database is available for all to view on the Internet, not just members of the Society. You never know, it may bring forth that missing ancestor.

FREE UKBMD ONLINE CONFERENCE
Free UK Genealogy, the charity home of FreeBMD have asked me to let you know that theyare holding an online conference on 22nd and 29th May.
The theme of the 2021 conference is Open, Global Genealogy. Free UK Genealogy was founded on the principle of “openness” with the aim of giving everybody free access to all their family history data.
The conference has been split into two sessions, being held at opposite ends of the day (UK time) with the sole intention of enabling as many people as possible to attend part (or all) of the events, wherever in the world they happen to live.
The dates and times are: Saturday 22nd May from 4pm-7pm (UK time), and Saturday 29th May from 8am-11am. Both sessions will run on Zoom, so attendees will be able to participate and enjoy the proceedings from the comfort of their own homes.
To register your interest in attending the conference, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/RaJ1rsAjNZcSBg298
WORCESTERSHIRE INDEXES AND GUIDES
I am always being asked about the holdings in Worcestershire Archives, so I thought I would send you this link:
https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20189/search_our_records/321/indexes_and_guides?fbclid=IwAR1Nl_K6PEVhjsVyRN601LwPii-TOynbdkUdPIR8wKbYga-DZVUnnUAfxng
FRIENDS OF KEY HILL CEMETERY AND WARSTONE LANE CEMETERY
Jacqui Fielding of The Friends of Key Hill Cemetery & Warstone Lane Cemetery tells me that The Friends are reintroducing guided tours round the cemeteries. Key Hill was opened in 1836 and is our oldest non-conformist cemetery and Warstone Lane opened in 1847 is an Anglican cemetery containing two tier catacombs.
The tours start on Sunday 9 May 2021 with the Tour of Warstone Lane Cemetery, starting at 12 Noon and the Tour of Key Hill Cemetery starts at 2pm.
Tour fees:
£5.00 per person per cemetery.
Children under 16 no charge.
Free to members of –The Friends of Key Hill Cemetery & Warstone Lane Cemetery Group who hold a current membership.
BOOKING essential: please email: friends-kh-wl-cem@outlook.com

FREE CENSUS ACCESS
Some of you may be aware of this, but there is Free access to all British censuses on Findmypast from 10am (London time) on Friday 30th April until 10am on Monday 3rd May.
FINALLY – Don’t forget to send Linda any articles you have for the Midland Ancestor.

Tara-a-bit !

Jackie

The Clocks went forward this week, so the days will be getting longer than the nights. It also means that the weeds in the garden will be springing up quicker than the plants! Shame our missing ancestors don’t pop up so easily.
Opening of Groups:
Lockdown is being eased slightly this week with more easing next month. I know that many of you are impatient for our Groups and venues to be opened, but we do have to continue to be cautious.
There are lots of things to consider before any of our Groups can open, we may still be dependent not only about social distancing but health and safety items such as how many people can be accommodated at one time: sanitising chairs and equipment, etc. and it should not be assumed that these tasks will be done by our volunteers, attending members could be asked to help.
To those who have visited our centre in Birmingham will know that it is not the largest space in the world, so there may have to be a booking system in place, you will not be able to just ‘pop in’. How many people can be accommodated in the library? Again, there is the sanitising of chairs and equipment. Books may have to be quarantined. All these things must be considered before we open our doors.
All these options will be discussed by the Exec. Committee, Group Leaders and volunteers, but at the end of the day I think we just need to be patient. If you attend one of our Groups, make sure they have your up to date contact details, so they can let you know when they will be re-opening.
AGM ONLINE
As you will have seen in the March journal, our AGM will be held online on May 5th. For those of you who do not wish to participate online, send me an A5 SAE and I will send you a postal vote.
The format of the online event will be run along similar lines as our normal AGM but this time, all our members will be able to participate either by Zoom or sending in a postal vote. From 5 April 2021 there will be a page on the Members Area of the Midland Ancestors website giving you full details. Registration will close on 28th April at 23:59 so allowing 7 days for validating memberships and emailing out confirmations. Full instructions on how the polling feature will work will be available on the website.
Postal voting forms must be returned by 28th April 2021.
Lockdown has provided us with an online platform so we can reach those members who are not able to attend our Groups. Even our Exec Committee meetings are held on Zoom, it saves on travelling and is much more convenient. This is where I hope we can persuade more of our members to stand as committee members at the AGM to help with the running and decision making in the Society. If you feel you would like to contribute in any way, please put your name forward and become a committee member.
The Trustees will also be putting forward a proposal to revise the Society’s Constitution to bring it more in line with the 21st century. The last revision was about 30 years ago, so this is long overdue. The revised Constitution will be available on the website, so please read and if you have any points to make, email me or Phil Lamb.
Online Talks:
Next month we have three brilliant talks for you.
On 13 April Online Event – Bromgrove Group presents Jan Pick talking about the Craythorne Family. Go to the Bromsgrove Group page on our website for more details. http://www.bromsgrovebmsgh.co.uk/cms/events/details/
13 April @7:30pm -9:00pm

On 14 April, Online Event – Kenilworth Group presents Professor Rebecca Probert talking about Marriage law and practice in the Midlands, 1837-1900. A very popular speaker.
14th April @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm

On 21 April, Online Event – When the Lights Went Out – Birmingham goes to War Speaker – Andrew Lound
Andrew will be talking about Birmingham people during the 39-45 war, focussing on W.T. Avery’s famous Soho Foundry as well as the darkened streets of Birmingham. Andrew is a member of the Society and gives lots of talk around Birmingham and about Birmingham.
21 April @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Sarah Moody gave us a very interesting talk on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission last month. Looking at their website, it has been completely revamped and includes links to their extensive online archive which contains over 10,000 items including personal correspondence, photographs, etc. Why not look at www. https://www.cwgc.org/
I would also like to mention the War Graves Photographic Project. This project involves volunteers travelling the world taking photographs of war graves. My husband was named after his uncle who died in Tunisia in 1943. We always said we would go and see his grave but were advised not to travel to that part of the world, so instead I asked the TWGPP to photograph the headstone for us at a cost of £4, which they then emailed to me. Wonderful. https://www.twgpp.org/
Last month I said that War. County Record Office had refilmed their parish register collection. This was not strictly true. WCRO have given Midland Ancestors copies of their parish register collection as scanned by the Latterday Saints in the 1970’s and 1980’s which we are rechecking and discovering hundreds of missing pages (or blurred and unreadable), which are then rescanned and including with our transcriptions.
Although we know that Ancestry, Findmypast and The Genealogist already have these images and transcribed on their sites, we can provide a free download of WCRO transcriptions to date, and you can view a list of all free indexes via the Midland Ancestor Shop Page on the website.
Unfortunately, we cannot publish these missing pages until 1 December 2021 as Findmypast have an exclusivity agreement in place, but we have already added loads of missing pages to the shop to go live on 1st December.
Transcription of these registers has been going on for 3+ years with 60+ volunteers. More volunteers are needed to finish this mammoth task, so if you feel you can help (does not matter where you live), contact our project manager, Kim Walker at email address littlealne@hotmail.com, and she will send you a register and a spreadsheet to complete.
As a reward for helping, once you have transcribed several registers, Kim with send you a discount code giving you 20% off shop purchases (excluding memberships). You do not have to be a member to help with transcribing.

DNA
I was talking to one of our members recently about DNA. She had done her DNA through Ancestry but had not got very far with any matches. I suggested she tried Gedmatch to see if she has more success. Gedmatch.com, is a free online service to compare autosomal DNA data files from different testing companies.
To make use of it you must open an account with Gedmatch, download your raw data from your DNA testing company and then upload it to Gedmatch. You can then use the matching criteria, such as ‘Onetomany’, to come up with a list of matches. What you are looking for is the matches in ‘Total CM’ column. The higher the number the better the match.
One thing you are now able to do is upload a Gedcom table and search other Gedcoms. Member Jacqui Fielding refers us to a blog on Gedmatch http://blog.kittycooper.com/2018/06/getting-started-with-gedmatch/
In May Karen Evans will be giving a talk on ‘Using DNA testing to Trace your Family Tree’. See our Journal for details or details will be on the website shortly.
Jacqui Fielding, who also belongs to The Friends of Key Hill and Warstone Lane Cemeteries Group, says a new magazine being published on the Jewellery Quarter. Called the Jewellery Quarter Heritage magazine. It is issued quarterly and costs £6. If you are interested go to https://jqheritage.co.uk/
Changes to the Marriages Register

From 4 May both the mother’s and father’s names will be included in the marriage register for the first time under reforms to the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths Act 2019. Currently, only the father is named on marriage certificates.

Other changes from May, however, mean that the Clergy will no longer complete the formal register for the marriage nor issue the legal marriage certificate. Instead, they will be required to create a marriage document or obtain the marriage schedule before the date of marriage and return this to the register office for electronic registration before the certificate is issued.
Clerics will no longer be responsible for corrections in marriage registers, and quarterly returns for marriages in the church building will no longer need to be completed.
Hmmm …. Wonder if we will be able to see marriage certificates via Archives in future?
FHF Really Useful Family History Show

The FHF Really Useful Family History Show will be held on 10 April 2021. We are not attending this year, as we need to concentrate on the AGM. Apart from a plethora of speakers, Family Tree Magazine are hosting two exclusive online family tree study club meetings. For tickets and further information go to www.fhf-reallyuseful.com.

I would also recommend reading the FHS Really Useful Bulletin. It contains lots of news about websites, Societies, and general interest. Send an email to Debbie Bradley admin@familyhistoryfederation.com and ask to be put on the mailing list.

In the latest edition it tells you about missing census returns and where you can check for missing pieces.
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/articles/census-for-england-wales-and-scotland-missing-pieces

Online Conference by The Dugdale Society
You may not have heard of The Dugdale Society, but this Society, based in Stratford upon Avon, has been publishing edited transcriptions of Warwickshire’s important local historical records dating from the 11th to the 20th Centuries and making them accessible to family, local and academic historians for over 100 years. (We hold some in our library)
They are holding an online Conference on the weekend of the 15/16th May 2021 and it is free. The Conference is called Warwickshire’s Changing Past and for further details go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/warwickshires-changing-past-dugdale-centenary-conference-tickets-147765377221

The Midland Ancestor

Once again, don’t forget to send Linda Newey any articles you may have for the journal. The deadline is Monday 5th April 2021.

Finally, it is my birthday today and as I have missed the last two birthdays because of lockdown, does this mean that those birthdays don’t count !!

Jackie