Birmingham: Society Conference and AGM

Family History Day incorporating Annual General Meeting

An All day event with Speakers Sharon Hintze and Beverley Walker.

Programme Timings –

09.30 – Doors Open & Registration
10:00 – Welcome
10:15 – Presentation by Sharon Hintze, topic – By the Sweat of Thy Face; Occupations.
11:15 – Coffee Break
11:45 – AGM – A link to Agenda & Reports will appear here abt 4 weeks beforehand.
12:30 – Lunch Break
14:00 – Presentation by Beverley Walker, topic – Gypsy Ancestors in the Midlands
15:00 – Closing Words (Chairman/President)
15:15 – Disperse

Sharon Hintze – Title: ‘By the Sweat of Thy Face’

This talk starts with Adam (the first ag lab) but focuses on the 18th and 19th centuries with a nod to censuses after 1900. Some occupations remain the same but have different names, while others disappear from records as circumstances change. Emphasis is placed on the wide range of sources for occupations. Examples are given of occupations which are carried on through generations or families, and occupations which are numerous in a specific area.

Audience members are invited to bring an example of an ancestor with an interesting occupation, or a link to learning about a specific occupation.

Sharon has excellent credentials. She is a fifth generation family historian with roots in the West Midlands, specifically Wednesbury. Sharon has served in various family history assignments for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the longest spell being twenty years as Director of the London FamilySearch Centre. She is a member of the Irish Genealogical Research Society Library Committee and a member of Council for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. Sharon is a well-known and frequent speaker on the family history circuit and occasional writer.

Beverley Walker – Title: ‘Gypsy Ancestors in the Midlands’

We welcome Beverley Walker who is to speak to us about researching gypsy ancestry.  Beverley discovered in 1985 when she started to research her family that her paternal grandmother (whom she never knew) was a Gypsy.  This led on to the study of genealogy with the University of London and a stint working for the GRO in St Catherine’s House though Beverley does say that they didn’t let her near the certificate production.  She then became an ‘heir hunter’ for a London based Probate Research Company.  Beverley has been a Member of the Romany & Traveller FHS and a committee member since 2004 in the roles of Membership Secretary, Chair and Secretary and is a noted speaker on the subject.

The society Family History Centre will be open at times during the day.