Speaker Biographies

 

Andy Robertshaw

 

An Honorary lecturer at University College Andrew is an experienced battlefield tour guide. Andy’s most recent project for television is a documentary on military medical services ‘Blood and Bullets’ which has just been broadcast. series two of 'The Trench Detectives' about the Great War which was broadcast in late 2008.

 

THE TRENCH DETECTIVES’ THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE WESTERN FRONT - Sunday 13.15-14.00

A case study based on archaeological finds from the Western Front leading to the identification of an individual and the events that led to the artifacts being lost.

 

ANTHONY LUFFMAN

 

Anthony is a Chartered Engineer with extensive computer experience, excellent communications skills, hence the perfect person to get this project of the ground. He has been the project leader from the beggining in 2006.

 

WORCESTERSHIRE BAPTISM PROJECT - FROM THE BEGINNING TO 1839 - Sunday 14.00-14.45

How our society established the need for a full transcription of all the County records of BMD registers. How we found a partner to help with this massive undertaking and make the information available worldwide. Leaving us to continue with the baptism project.

AUDREY COLLINS

 

Audrey Collins joined The National Archives in 2002 after several years as a freelance researcher. She is the author of several books on family history subjects and has been a regular contributor to magazines, including Ancestors. She currently works as family history specialist in the Advice and Records Knowledge department.

 

TRACING IRISH ANCESTORS IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES... IN ENGLAND - Friday 15.45-16.30

The National Archives (TNA) at Kew holds the records of central government for the UK. Since this once included the whole of Ireland, many records relate to Irish or Irish-born people. Some are exclusively Irish, like those of the Royal Irish Constabulary, others are less obvious, but equally important, such as the records of the many Irishmen who have served in the British Army. These and many other little-used sources at The National Archives comprise a rich vein of material for the researcher into the history of Ireland and its people.

 

GETTING THE MOST FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES WEBSITE - Friday 16.45-17.50
 

 

BERYL EVANS

 

The National Library of Wales's Family History Co-ordinator

 

FAMILY HISTORY RESOURCES AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES - Saturday 13.00-13.45 

 

BRIAN DONOVAN

 

Brian is CEO and a founder member of Eneclann, the Dublin-based Irish family history company. He oversees the company’s digitisation work, and has managed the conversion of millions of records and books to digital format. These have been published on CD-ROM and online at www.irishorigins.com. He graduated from Trinity College with a degree in History in 1989, and subsequently lectured and tutored there. Brian’s publications include British Sources for Irish History 1485-1641 (Irish Manuscripts Commission 1997).

 

BRITISH & IRISH RESEARCH: THE DIFFERENCES - Sunday 16:00-16:45

Examines the differences in records and research techniques between Britain and Ireland.

 

BRUCE DURIE

 

Dr Bruce Durie is Course Director, Genealogical Studies at University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, where he is responsible for the postgraduate professional Genealogical Studies programme (up to MSc) as well as a cluster of lower-level courses.  Author of over 16 books on historical, IT and genealogical subjects plus crime fiction, and many magazine and newspaper articles, he is now best known for weekly appearances on “Digging Up Your Roots” and “A House with a Past” for the BBC.  His latest book is Scottish Genealogy (The History Press, 2009)
 

 

LAND RESEARCH IN SCOTLAND - Saturday 17.00-17.45

What every Genealogist needs to know about Scottish land records.

Until the mid-1800s, it was impossible to leave “real” or “immoveable” property in a will or testament. Land and building ownership records are therefore in different forms of document:
1. Original Charters of Grant
2. Retours of Services of Heirs
3. Sasines
4. Maps
5. Heraldic and armorial records
6. more recently, Registers of Scotland
Where can these be obtained? And what do the various records mean to the genealogical researcher?

 

WHEN IS A WILL NOT A WILL? WHEN IT'S A TESTAMENT - Sunday 15:00-15:45

Scottish testaments are not always wills, there is no probate in Scotland, until recently land and houses could not be inherited by a testamentary document and often heirs were not named. How come? Dr Bruce Durie will provide a route map through the jungle of Scottish testamentary documents up to the mid 19th Century, and answer the crucial question: "how did everyone get around the law?".

CELIA HERITAGE

 

Celia runs her own company called Heritage Family History, specialising in family history courses and research services and also writes for Practical Family History Magazine. She is also a lecturer for both the Society of Genealogists, and the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies. Celia has a regular phone-in hour on Radio Kent’s Pat Marsh Show where she answers family history questions.

 

INTERPRETING CHURCHES AND GRAVESTONES - Friday 14. 45-15.30

 

Chris Coates and Suzanne Keyte

 

Chris Coates is Librarian of the TUC library Collections at London Metropolitan University and has spent her whole career specialising in TUC and labour history and is happy to assist any family historians with their enquiries.
Suzanne Keyte is the Assistant Archivist at The Women’s Library and has also worked at the Parliamentary Archives. They are both very keen family historians and are more than happy to help researchers with any queries.

 

USING THE LONDON METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY'S WOMEN'S LIBRARY COLLECTION AND TRADE UNION COLLECTION, TO TRACE FAMILY HISTORY - Sunday 11.15-12.00

If you have ancestors who you think may have been active in trade unions or in the women's movement, this is the workshop for you! 

Dr. Christopher T. Watts, FSG

 

Dr. Christopher T. Watts, FSG has nearly 40 experience in English genealogical research both on his own family and professionally. He recently retired after 11 years as a Reader Adviser at The National Archives (TNA). He has published books on Merchant Seamen, British Army and Tracing Births, Deaths and Marriages at Sea. He is a regular speaker here in the UK and at conferences overseas
 

 

WORLD WAR 1 ARMY SERVICE RECORDS - Friday 16.30-17.15

A survey of records available, both at The National Archives (TNA) and elsewhere, to trace a soldier (officer or other rank) in the British Army during the First World War.

TRACING A BRITISH MERCHANT SEAMAN - Saturday 16.00-16.45
A survey of records available to trace a British merchant seaman from 1835 to 1972.

BRITISH ARMY (1760-1913) – OFFICERS AND OTHER RANKS - Sunday 12.00-12.45
A survey of records available to trace a soldier (officer or other rank) in the British Army between 1760 and 1913

 

DANIEL HOROWITZ

 

Born in Caracas Venezuela, in 1971. BS.c. in computer engineering, Venezuela (2002). Specializations in education (1994) & management of educational institutions Venezuela (2004). Educator, Herzl-Bialik School, Venezuela (1991-2005): Computer instruction; teacher and director of the genealogy project Searching for My Roots. Received Project of the year award (2001) & Gonzalo Benaim Pinto national award (2004). Daniel’s students received 9 consecutive annual awards (1997-2005) in the Beth Hatefutsoth international competition: My Family Story. Founding member/lecturer, Venezuela JGS- AGJUVE (2001). Made Aliya (2005); Memberships: JFRA (webmaster), the Horowitz Families Association (webmaster). Board member of the IAJGS (since 2008). Performs private genealogy investigation services. Working at MyHeritage (2006-present).

 

FACE RECOGNITION AND PHOTO TAGGING FOR GENEALOGY RESEARCH - Sunday 14.15-15.00

Face Recognition technology for genealogy is now publicly available. The same technology used to catch terrorists is now an excellent tool for genealogy research. This state-of-the-art technology organizes photos using facial-recognition to compare faces in all your photos. Upload photos and MyHeritage will automatically find the faces. Tag each person only once and export the tags. The engine is likely to find relatives of those people, due to relatives' genetic facial similarities. Thus, users may find previously unknown people.
Learn how this remarkable technology can help bust your research, identify and tag people and discover people related you didn’t know.

 

DAVID HAWKINGS

 

David Hawkings, a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists, a highly respected writer and lecturer on family history and the author of Criminal Ancestors and Railway Ancestors. David lives in Taunton. He lectures regularly on this subject, and is still actively researching.

 

CRIMINAL ANCESTORS – EVERYONE HAS ONE - Friday 14.45-15.30

 

DEE WILLIAMS

 

Dee is the Head of ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh .

 

SCOTLANDSPEOPLE – OUR RECORDS & ENTRIES OF INTEREST - Friday 14.30-15.15
To provide an introduction to our records and show some interesting entries, which bring social history to life.

 

DENISE TROUGHTON

 

Denise Troughton is a keen amateur book binder and hobby scrap booker. Currently researching the history of boat builders – Appleyard & Lincoln in Ely. She has worked for conservation supplier, Conservation By Design Limited (CXD) for three years.
CXD manufacture and supply high quality conservation storage, equipment and display products and have over 17 years of trusted reputation providing for conservation professionals and looking after some of the nation’s favourite treasures at The National Trust, The Science Museum, The British Library, The V&A, The Royal Collection Trust and The National Archives

 

LOOKING AFTER YOUR FAMILY HISTORY - Saturday 10.15-11.00
The do's and don'ts of storage for conservation of your photographs & original documents
• photographs
• original documents / certificates and textiles ( uniforms, wedding dresses etc.)
• Do’s and don’ts of storage
• What is ‘acid free’ and why does it matter?
This talk will expand on the golden rule that careful storage and safe handling will help the preservation of your family history.

 

DOMINIC JOHNSON

 

A professional genealogist of 34+ yrs. and a teacher of FH for 25 yrs who has served on a wide variety of FH committees including FFHS, Guid of One- Name Sturies as Registrar, IHGS, AGRA and a past President of Notts FHS. Has the knowledge to work in many fields but those that are particularly enjoyable are army ancestry, intestacy cases and anything that is palaeographically challenging. He is currently working on an account book of a priory in Leicestershire.
 

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE FAMILY HISTORY - Sunday 13:00-13:45

Material produced by the Society, its format, and what you can expect to find at the record office

 

ELSE CHURCHILL

 

Else Churchill is the Genealogist at the Society of Genealogists. She is a professional researcher and genealogical librarian and has lectured regularly in the USA, Canada and around the UK. She writes regularly for the SoG and other magazines.

 

FINDING AND USING PARISH REGISTERS - Saturday 15.15-16.00

Finding and using Parish registers online, in record offices and at the SoG

 

WHERE DID YOUR ANCESTORS LIVE? RESEARCHING BEFORE THE CENSUS YEARS – Saturday 17.10-17.45

What else is there apart from parish registers?

 

WELSH RECORDS AT THE SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS - Sunday 12.15-13.00

 

RESEARCHING THE BRITISH OVEREAS - Sunday 15.00-15.45

What can be done online, at The National Archives, Guildhall and SoG

 

ERIC PROBERT

Eric Probert is a Fellow of the SoG and Vice Chairman of Essex Society for F H. He has been researching family history for 30 years, presented a variety of talks and contributed to family history publications both as an editor and author.

 

MY ANCESTORS CAME FROM ESSEX - Friday 11.20-12.15

The talk will explore tracing Essex ancestors through indexes and sources available from family and local history societies, archives, libraries and museums. The use of the internet will also be examined through forums, mailing lists, message boards and web sites.

 

ERIC TRUDGILL

 

MY ANCESTOR WAS A GYPSY - Sunday 16.10-16.55

 

FRED FEATHER

 

Chairman of the Essex Society for Family History and currently editor of the Essex Family Historian. 41 years service with various police forces. Ex-founding Curator of the Essex Police Museum. Member of the Police History Society. Compiler of the Essex Police History Notebooks to be found on the internet under essex.police.uk and the booklet “Tales from the Essex Police Museum.”
 

HOW TO FIND RECORDS OF BRITISH POLICEMEN AND POLICE FORCES - Saturday 13.15-14.00

 

GEOFF SWINFIELD

 

Dr Geoff Swinfield has more than 25 years of experience as a genealogist and is the author of Smart Family History published by TNA. He has researched a number of families at risk from genetic abnormalities.

 

SMART GENEALOGY - Saturday 16.15-17.00

How to solve your research problems? If you have reached an apparent brick-wall in your research this talk will suggest ideas, techniques and sources that may allow you to take that next step forward.

DNA FOR FAMILY HISTORIANS - Sunday 16.10-16.55

What DNA tests are available and how can they be interpreted? What do they tell the genealogist about ancestry?

GEOFF RIGGS

 

Geoff is Chairman of the Association of Family History Societies of Wales and represents if on the British Genealogical Record Users Committee and on TNA’s Online User Advisory Panel. He is also the Welsh Regional Representative for the Guild of One-Name Studies (having previously served on its Executive Committee for 6 years, including as Vice-Chairman) and was Chairman of the Gwent FHS in Monmouthshire for a number of years.

He served for 7 years on the Federation of Family History Societies Board, including as Chairman of the Federation, and was Chairman and Managing Director of its Publications Company for 3 years.

Geoff lectures extensively throughout England and Wales at Conferences, Seminars and Fairs, at Family History Society AGMs and branch meetings, and to other organisations. He is also researching his surname RIGGS throughout the world, and is the webmaster for a number of family history websites

 

WELSH FAMILY HISTORY - Saturday 10.00-10.45

An introduction to researching in Wales, highlighting differences and potential pitfalls, and identifying useful websites.

 

GERRY TOOP

 

Gerry Toop joined the National Archives in 1972 and currently works as part of the Family Team in the Advice & Records Knowledge Department at the National Archives. He was previously based at the Family Records Centre and has many years experience in researching records at the TNA, with particular reference to family history. He regularly attends family history fairs on behalf of The National Archives.

 

FAMILY HISTORY RESOURCES AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES - Sunday 12.00-12.45

This talk will cover the main sources for tracing your ancestors at The National Archives. It will cover getting the most out of our website and using the online resources available on it. It will also give you an overview of the more popular records held by The National Archives and some of the lesser known records that can be used for adding detail to your ancestors lives.
 

 

GILL BLANCHARD

 

Gill lives in Norfolk and has been working as a professional family, house & local history researcher for nearly 20 years, including 6 years at Norfolk Record Office. She has ust had a book published on ‘Tracing Your East Anglian Ancestry: A Guide for Family Historians (Pen & Sword). She also run a range of courses and workshops locally and online in family history since 1998 with University of East Anglia (post graduate level), through adult education, at the Norfolk Family History Society and elsewhere. She is a tutor with Pharos Teaching & Tutoring.
 

YOUR NORFOLK ANCESTRY: AN INSIDER'S GUIDE- Friday 12.45-13.30

How to find and use resources from the well known to the hidden gems, locally, nationally and online.

 

GILL DRAPER

 

Dr. Gill Draper is an Associate Lecturer at the University of Kent where she teaches local and landscape history to adult students. Her two books on medieval and Tudor towns, Rye and New Romney, were published in autumn 2009. She is the Events and Development Officer for the British Association for Local History.

 

LOST ON THE WEB? A NEW DIRECTORY OF LOCAL HISTORY WEBSITES - Saturday 16:00-16:45

In an illustrated talk Gill Draper will outline websites which will enable you to investigate many aspects of your ancestors’ lives in more detail: education from play to discipline, living in the workhouse, wartime memories and daily life, musical families, and occupations from apothecaries to postmen to workers for the Red Cross. It will be suitable for everyone from beginners to the more experienced. She will answer your questions and you will be able to buy British Association for Local History’s new Directory of websites at a bargain price.

 

GILLIAN STEVENS AND CHAD HANNA

 

Chad Hanna, Vice President of Berkshire FHS, answers many email enquiries for the society and with Gillian Stevens, Chairman of the Berkshire FHS Computer Branch, assist researchers with their use of Ancestry, findmypast and other websites in the society’s Research Centre.

Their own research extends across the majority of English and Welsh counties and Gillian with her one-name study is researching world-wide.

They both work for the Federation of Family History Societies, helping family history societies and other data providers to extend the Parish Register Collection on findmypast.com
 

 

PARISH REGISTERS – WHERE ARE THEY? - Friday 11.45-12.00

How to locate your ancestors in parish registers using online and offline resources

 

BERKSHIRE AND THAMES VALLEY FAMILY HISTORY - Sunday 10.00-11.45

 

IAN WALLER

 

Ian Waller is a professional genealogist and archive researcher, a member of AGRA, with 30 years experience. He has taught family history at both basic and advanced levels at several adult education centres in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire and has lectured widely to many family and local history societies. He is the author of “My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer” for the SoG and has written widely for the popular family history press.

 

20TH CENTURY RESEARCH - Friday 12.45-13.30

Points researchers to the records available in the first half of the 20th century to find out about your ancestors.

 

Jan Pearson

 

Jan was a hyper-active child and her maternal grandmother tried to keep her occupied and out of trouble with stories of her family. This engendered a life-long interest in family history, which is still very much in evident today. Jan is a member of the Brit-Gen forum and a regular visitor to Family History Fairs, where she promotes the forum and its sponsor, Parish Chest.

 

FROM RIDDLES TO RICHES - Sunday 16.10-16.55

Anecdotal tales of the riddles posed in family history and how they have been turned into riches

 

Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard

 

Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard teaches family History in Dorset and Somerset and is a FFHS speaker. Her special interest is migration history especially migration from the West Country in the 19th Century.

 

DORSET SOURCES FOR FAMILY HISTORY Friday 10.30-11.15

A look at what sources are available in Dorset for Family Historians and where to access them

WAR BABE FINDS GI FATHER - Sunday 10.15-11.00

Talk will explore how the speaker went about finding her American Family and the family history research she has been able to do in America, giving her life a new dimension

 

PLACE OF BIRTH IRELAND: HOW DO I FIND OUT MORE? - Saturday 14.00-14.45

 

JAYNE SHRIMPTON

 

A professional dress historian and portrait (paintings and photographs) specialist with over 20 years’ experience of dating and analysing old family pictures. Currently working on ‘Getting the most out of Family Pictures’ to be published by SOG, 2010
 

LOOKING AT FAMILY PICTURES 1850-1940 - Saturday 14.15-15.00

A visual presentation of family photographs in all formats (1850s ambrotypes, through cdvs and cabinet prints to 20th century ‘snapshots’) highlighting the main methods of dating photographs and discussing the subjects, meaning and value of surviving photographs to the family historian.

 

JOHN HANSON

 

John Hanson is a retired systems specialist and has been using home computers since their early days. He has over 25 years experience in family history and now writes, lectures and teaches family history with the emphasis on the use on computers as a means of research and record keeping. He is currently a member of the Society of Genealogists Board of Trustees and has served on almost all of the Society's committees. He was made a Fellow of the Society in 2005 for services to genealogy.

 

MY ANCESTORS WERE IN THE PARISH REGISTERS - WELL THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN - Friday 12.45-13.30

A look at what to expect from parish records and some ideas as to where to try and find your ancestors that seem to missing from them.

 

WHY PAY ? - Saturday 12.15-13.00

No one likes to pay for information unless they have to and whilst there is an increasing trend towards pay per view sites there is a lot that is still around for free – if only you know where and how to look.

 

JOHN HURLEY

 

Vice president of Wiltshire Family History Society and leader of a transcribing team which has been working at the Wiltshire & Swindon Record Office weekly for over 20 years.

 

PAROCHIAL & DIOCESAN RECORDS - Friday 12.45-13.30

A review of those parish and diocesan records, other than parish registers, which are of use to family historians.

JOSH TAYLOR

 

D. Joshua Taylor, "Josh", is Director of Education and Programs at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Joshua is a frequent speaker at genealogical societies, libraries, and other organizations throughout the United States. He has authored columns and articles in UGA Crossroads, FGS Forum, Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, New England Ancestors, and Digital Genealogist. He is a member of the board of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (US) and program director for the Massachusetts Genealogical Council. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts and is completing an MLS (Archival Management) and MA (History) at Simmons College.

 

IMMIGRATION RECORDS OF THE UNITED STATES - Saturday 14:00-14:45

Resource for those researching family in America. This talk will provide a basic overview of the immigration processes during America’s history, focusing on the records created during each period. Resources for finding records (both online and offline) will also be presented. Examples of ship passenger lists, naturalization records, and other records are discussed. The talk will also include an overview of the major ports used by immigrants from the U.K.

 

ONLINE TOOLS FOR LEARNING U.S. RESEARCH STRATEGIES - Sunday 11:15-12:00

This talk will explore a multitude of online resources which help any individual learn the processes for conducting research in records from the United States. The goal of this talk is to allow the audience to discover tools to answer their research questions relating to American genealogy and family history on their own, through online resources. Resources will include online articles and electronic publications, blogs and wikis, as well as community message boards and mailing lists.
 

Julian Litten

 

JULIAN WILLIAM SEBASTIAN LITTEN (b.1947) has a PhD from Cardiff University in History & Archaeology and an honorary degree of Doctor of Arts from De Montfort University, Leicester. On the curatorial staff of the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1966 and 1999, he was Visiting Lecturer in Built Heritage Conservation at Canterbury Christ Church University College between 1999 and 2004. He currently dedicates his time to built heritage and burial law issues.

Described as “England’s foremost funerary historian”, he devised the burial of the Unknown Mariner from the Mary Rose at Portsmouth Cathedral in 1984, was consultant to Westminster Abbey in 1987 for the re-display of its collection of royal funerary effigies, and staged the re-enactment of the heraldic funeral of Prince Arthur (d.1502) for Worcester Cathedral in 2002. His "English Way of Death: The Common Funeral since 1450" was published in 1991 and he has also produced a number of published essays.

Dr Litten is also Principal of the Society of the Faith, Vice-President of the Church Monuments Society, Chairman of the Ledgerstone Survey of England & Wales, Chairman of the Friends of King’s Lynn Cemetery, Founder of the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, Patron of Birmingham Brandwood End Cemetery, a member of the Association of Burial Authorities Executive and of the English Heritage/Church of England Human Remains Advisory Service.

 

KENSAL GREEN AND THE GARDEN CEMETERY MOVEMENT - Saturday 16.15-17.00

Opened in 1832, Kensal Green Cemetery became the model for the garden cemetery movement, its success leading to the Burial Act of 1854 and the establishment of local authority and municpal cemeteries nationwide. Precisely how this came to be, and what became of its founding fathers, will be the subject of this talk.
 

EXCLUSIVE TO CONFERENCE TICKET HOLDERS - THE ENGLISH WAY OF DEATH - Sunday 13.15-14.00

The Reformation and the Commonwealth both had a profound effect on the management of the English funeral, the latter giving rise to the undertaking trade. How this change came about and what its influence was on all sections of society will be the subject of this talk.

 

DR. KATE THOMPSON

 

County Archivist of Leicestershire (1979-90) and of Hertfordshire (1990-99). Co-author of Sources for Local Historians (with Paul Carter), author of Julian Grenfell. Soldier and Poet and editor of the 2nd series of Short guides to records. Vice-President of the British Association for Local History. Currently College Archivist for Downing College Cambridge and an archive consultant.

 

CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE WORKHOUSE: WHAT FAMILY HISTORIANS CAN FIND IN THE RECORDS OF THE NEW POOR LAW - Sunday 13.00-1345

Information and extracts from new poor law records with information about individuals, of interest to family historians

 

KAY GLADSTONE
 

 

Kay Gladstone of the Imperial War Museum Film and Video Archive has a long-standing interest in the importance, acquisition and preservation of amateur film.

 

HOME MOVIES – TRACES OF FAMILY HISTORY? - Friday 10.30-11.15

A look at the role of home movies in family history, including how they should be looked after and their significance

 

LAURENCE HARRIS

 

Laurence Harris is a professional genealogist and family historian www.LizLo.com . He has undertaken research for the Who Do You Think You Are TV series and specialises in tracing Jewish Ancestors and living relatives both in the UK and overseas. He is a former Chairman and Genealogical Enquiries Officer of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain.

 

JEWISH ANCESTORS – TOP 10 TIPS FOR TRACING THEM - Sunday 12 .15-13.00

Laurence will provide his top 10 suggestions for tracing Jewish ancestors which he uses both for professional tracing and also for tracing his own family ancestors

 

MARK PEARSALL

 

Mark Pearsall is The National Archives' principal family history specialist and works in the Advice and Records Knowledge Department. He is the author of The Family History Companion and co-authored The National Archives Guides on Immigrants and Aliens and Family History on the Move. He has also contributed articles to a number of family and local history publications and produced transcriptions and finding aids for various record series.

 

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES APPRENTICESHIP RECORDS - Saturday 15:15-16:00

This talk will focus on the apprenticeship system and how it worked in practice. It covers those records that survive in The National Archives, in particular the Apprenticeship Books in record series IR 1. It also suggests where to look for surviving apprenticeship records in other archives and record offices, as well as other useful sources for tracing apprentices where details of the apprenticeship indentures have not survived.

 

MAUREEN TAYLOR

 

Maureen Taylor lectures on family history, photography and scrapbooks. Her numerous books and articles explore the relationship between visual documents and family history. She has lectured throughout the United States. In 2007, The Wall Street Journal called her “the nation’s foremost historical photo detective.”

 

MORE THAN SCRAPS AND PASTE: SCRAPBOOKS AND FAMILY HISTORY - Friday 11:30-12:15

Attendees explore the history of scrapbooks and learn to interpret the evidence in them. They also learn how to create their own scrapbooks. Preservation of materials is covered.

 

MICHAEL GANDY

 

Michael Gandy is a Londoner and has been tracing his ancestry since 1963. He is a former Chairman of SoG and presently editor of the Genealogists' Magazine. He was Chairman of the Catholic FHS for 14 years, founding Chairman of the Quaker FHS and is Research Officer for the Huguenot Society. He is well known for his work on nonconformists, London and the Irish in England.

 

I’M STUCK! BREAKING DOWN GENEALOGICAL BRICKWALLS AND PROBLEM SOLVING - Friday 13.45-14.30
 

RESEARCHING THE IRISH IN LONDON - Friday 17.40-18.25

Irish people poured into the UK all through the 19th century. This lecture sets them in context and explains the records we can use in this country to try and find exactly where they were from.

STUCK IN LONDON? - Saturday 13.15-14.00 and Sunday 15.15-15.00

London has all the usual problems of family history plus some extra ones of its own. This lecture will make it all clear and explain the great developments of the last few years that have made research much easier.

 

MICHAEL J. LECLERC

 

Michael J. Leclerc is Director of Special Projects at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston. He edits the Society’s weekly electronic newsletter, and is a contributing editor to New England Ancestors magazine. He speaks regularly at programs throughout the United States and Canada. He is the author of dozens of articles for peer-reviewed journals and popular magazines. He is a former board member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and former Vice-President of Administration for the Federation of Genealogical Societies (US)

 

FINDING YOUR AMERICAN COUSINS - Friday 16.45-17.30

Get a general overview of recordkeeping in the United States and discover where you can find certain types of information on your relatives

 

ONLINE RESOURCES FOR AMERICAN RESEARCH - Saturday 11.15-12.00

Discover a world of resources online for finding your family in the United States.

 

RESEARCHING IN CANADA - Sunday 14.15-15.00

General overview of researching in Canada, with a special focus on the provinces of eastern Canada.

 

MICHAEL OKE

 

Michael Oke is author of bestselling books ‘Write Your Life Story’ and ‘Times of Our Lives’, both sponsored by The Daily Telegraph (30,000 copies sold).
Mike is the UK’s leading private biographer, having personally assisted with over 150 autobiographies, and his company with over 300. Mike’s team of 10 writing partners throughout the UK (and two in Sweden) assist clients in the writing and recording of their family histories. Mike’s work has been featured on BBC Radio 2, 4 and 5 as well as BBC2’s Dragons’ Den. Mike is the UK co-ordinator of the Association of Personal Historians.

 

WRITE YOUR FAMILY HISTORY - Friday 13.30-14.15

How do you turn all this wonderful research into something of value for you and your family?
Writing your life story, or the story of your family, is a fascinating journey that ensures all your valuable research is collected together into a book for future generations to treasure. This is the nuts and bolts of how to do it.

 

PAUL BLAKE

 

FAMILY HISTORY ON THE SOUTH BANK - Saturday 11.00-11.45

Researching London and Surrey Families

 

PAUL GORRY

 

Paul Gorry has been working in genealogy since 1979. He is a Member of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland (APGI) and a Fellow of both the Society of Genealogists and the Irish Genealogical Research Society. He is joint author, with Máire Mac Conghail, of Tracing Irish Ancestors (1997) and they are currently working on an updated edition He is a member of the APGI panel that runs the free Genealogy Service at the National Archives in Dublin. He writes a regular column – ‘A Problem Shared’ – in Irish Roots magazine and, with APGI colleagues, presents the Family History course at Independent Colleges in Dublin.

 

IRISH GENEALOGY MEETS THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY - Sunday 11.00-11.45

It is only in the last two years that a significant amount of Irish sources have appeared on-line, many of them free to view. This is a review of what’s available on-line now.

 

PETER BAILEY

 

Peter Bailey has a total of nine direct ancestors who served in India over four generations, mostly in the East India Company Army and the British Army. He is a longtime member and trustee of the Society of Genealogists. He is Chairman of the Families in British India Society (FIBIS) and has written several research articles and a book on research techniques for British India.

 

RESEARCHING FAMILIES IN BRITISH INDIA - Friday 13.30-14.15

Some 3 million Britons lived and served in India over the 350 years of British presence in that country. Records available to those undertaking such research are generally very good and becoming increasingly available as transcriptions. This makes it possible to undertake research without the need to travel in India. Peter Bailey will explain how one can do this.

 

PETER CHRISTIAN

Peter Christian has been researching his genealogy for over 30 years and first put his family tree on the web in 1995. A former editor of Computers in Genealogy and a regular internet columnist for Ancestors Magazine, he is the author of a number of genealogy books, including The Genealogist's Internet and Census: The Expert Guide. He is a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists and a trustee of Genuki.

 

USING THE CENSUS - Friday 15.45-16.30 and Saturday 13.00-13.45

Nearly all the publicly available census records for the British Isles are now searchable on the web; indeed, some of them are only accessible online. This talk will offer an overview of what is available from both the commercial data services and the many free sites, and look at the range of facilities they offer as well as their limitations. 
 

EXCLUSIVE TO CONFERENCE TICKET HOLDERS - WHERE IS THE GENEALOGIST’S INTERNET GOING? - Sunday 12.15-13.00

The internet is now an essential medium for access to genealogical records and has stimulated the digitisation of other historical materials. This talk will look at current projects and longer-term trends, to try and get an idea of what online resources and facilities family historians may expect to see in the future, and how far we can influence what happens. However, the internet also raises new problems, such as privacy and the preservation electronic data, so the online future is not going to be without issues for genealogists to solve or to live with, and we need to consider the effect these will have on our research.

 

PETER PARK

 

Peter has been actively involved in his own and other people’s family history research for thirty-five years. He is a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists and Vice President of Cumbria FHS. An international speaker on family history and associated topics, his books include My ancestors were manorial tenants, Cumbrians in Liverpool in 1851 and the Lancashire and Cumberland & Westmorland volumes of the National Index of Parish Registers. A number of his articles have appeared in The Genealogists Magazine, Ancestors and Your Family Tree.

 

LLOYD GEORGE’S DOMESDAY: THE 1910 CENSUS - Friday 15.30-16.15

The 1910 Finance Act created records for over nine and a half million properties, including terraced houses, in England, Ireland (N and S), Scotland and Wales. They give details of owner, occupier and use and include maps and plans. From the records you can tell exactly where your ancestors lived, who their neighbours were and much more.

 

LANCASHIRE AND NORTH WEST FAMILY HISTORY RESOURCES - Saturday 17:00-17:45

 

THE MANOR, ITS RECORDS AND ITS PEOPLE - Sunday 10.00-10.45

Looks briefly at the development of the manor from Anglo-Saxon times. Discusses manorial customs and tenancy from the feudal period to the twentieth century. Describes the procedures of the manorial courts, the records they generated, the relevance of their contents to family historians and how to find them.

 

 

REBECCA DE SAINTONGE 

 

An experienced editor and biographer, Rebecca de Saintonge began her career as a newspaper journalist and investigative reporter. In 2004 she co-founded LifeLines Press which specialises in designing and printing family histories, memoirs and biographies. She is also a social historian with a specialist
interest in the medieval period.
 

BRING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY TO LIFE - Saturday 17.10-17.55

Researching your family history is one thing, but turning all those facts – and sometimes the lack of facts – into an interesting narrative is quite another. This workshop will help you organize and transform your research into a well written and visually exciting journal.
 

ROGER KERSHAW

 

Roger Kershaw joined the National Archives in 1986 and is now the Head of Military, Maritime, Transport and Family records for the Advice & Records Knowledge Department. He has over twenty years experience in researching records at TNA and other archives and has published five books, Immigrants and Aliens – a guide to sources on UK immigration and citizenship, Emigrants and Expats – a guide to sources on UK emigration and residents overseas, Family History On The Move, New Lives for Old, the story of Britain's child migrants, and Migration Records.

He regularly appears at British genealogy fairs promoting TNA and has previously presented international papers in America and Australia
 

WHERE DID THEY GO? EMIGRATION RECORDS AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES - Friday 12:45-13:30

This talk will explain the reasons behind the emigration of some 16 million people since the It will discuss the most popular destinations and sources such as outgoing passenger lists, passport records, and a host of emigration schemes supported and fostered by the Government. It will also feature the various child migration schemes that have been responsible in migrating some 150,000 children from the UK between 1618 and 1967.Particular reference will be made to the growing number of online sources relevant to this subject.

 

 

ALIEN REGISTRATION & NATURALISATION - Saturday 10:00-10:45

An exploration of sources at TNA relating to alien registration and naturalisation. This talk focuses on sources from the mid-nineteenth century through to the 1950s and examines why legislation affecting both changed over time, particularly during war.

 

ROY STOCKDILL

 

YORKSHIRE FAMILY HISTORY - Saturday 12.00-12.45

MICHAEL BUNTING will give a brief introduction to the two main speakers. Michael was born in Sheffield and is a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists.

ROY STOCKDILL will speak on Yorkshire archives and records offices. Roy was born in Bradford and is Chairman of the London Group of Yorkshire Family History Societies. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the SoG and a regular contributor to Practical Family History magazine.

JACKIE DEPELLE will cover Yorkshire online resources on the Internet. A family history tutor, Jackie lives in Pudsey and is Chairman of the Yorkshire Group of Family History Societies, the Yorkshire Archaeological Society's Family History section and the Pudsey Civic Society.

 

Sarah Paterson and Jane Furlong

Sarah Paterson is Family History Librarian at the Imperial War Museum, and has worked there for 22 years. She is the author of Tracing your Family History: Army and edited the other books in this series.

Jane Furlong is Project Co-Ordinator of the United Kingdom National Inventory of War Memorials, based at the Imperial War Museum

 

SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND: FINDING OUT ABOUT PEOPLE IN SECOND WORLD WAR BRITAIN - Friday 17.40-18.25

This talk looks at the often overlooked participants in the Second World War in the United Kingdom, including Civil Defence workers, American GIs and other foreign service men and women, and Evacuees.

 

USING THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM AND THE UNITED KINGDOM NATIONAL INVENTORY OF WAR MEMORIALS FOR FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH - Saturday 12.00-12.45

 

SHARON HINTZE
 

 

Sharon Hintze is the Director of the London Family History Centre in South Kensington. She is a fifth generation family historian.

 

IRISH BMD, CENSUS AND CHURCH RECORDS at the LDS LONDON FAMILY HISTORY CENTRE - Friday 16.30-17.15

 

ENGLISH WELSH AND SCOTTISH CHURCH RECORDS ON FAMILYSEARCH - Saturday 11.15-12.00

 

WEBSITES FOR READING OLD HANDWRITING - Sunday 15.15-16.00

 

SIMON FOWLER

 

Simon Fowler is editor of Ancestors magazine and has written extensively on military and social history sources for family history. He is also an experienced lecturer.

 

MILITARY FAMILY HISTORY ONLINE - Saturday 15.00-15.45

A look at some of the most important, and also some lesser known, websites you can use in researching officers and other ranks from the 1760s to the 1960s.

 

SUE GIBBONS

 

Sue Gibbons is a career librarian and a member of the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals. She joined the Society of Genealogists as a member in 1986 to further her own family history research and became its first woman Librarian in 1991.

 

MY ANCESTOR WAS A SHOPKEEPER - Friday 17.40-18.25

This talk shows what the living and working conditions were like and covers sources for finding out more about the shopkeeper and his business.

 

TREASURES OF THE SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS LIBRARY - Saturday 12.15-13.00

 

USING THE SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS LIBRARY - Sunday 13.45-14.30