Helen Baggott is a freelance editor and writer from Dorset. Her most recent project is researching the stories behind postcards sent more than 100 years ago. So far, two collections of stories have been published as Posted in the Past and Posted in the Past Second Delivery.

This talk explores the lives and times of our ancestors through the messages they wrote and the postcards they sent: mill workers in Yorkshire, families affected by the first national railway strike, visitors to London and the execution of murderers are just some of the stories included in this talk. Our ancestors left a remarkable record of their lives; will you discover your own ancestors through postcards from the past?

This event is for members only and registration opens on 1st May, when the ‘Register [Individual]’ button will show on the bottom left of the Event details on the FHSC website for you to click and then process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation. Registration will close on 19th May.

The zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded the day before the talk.  If you run into any difficulties with this, then please contact us on the dedicated seminar email address – or see the 'Seminar Talks and how to Register' section under 'Online Talks and Meetings' in the FAQ section of the website.

The Seminar series is co-ordinated by Margaret Spate, Jean Laidlaw and Margaret Roberts and ALL correspondence, queries etc should be sent to the dedicated email address -   

PLEASE NOTE WE DO NOT RECORD SEMINAR TALKS

The May FHSC Cheshire Research Buddies topic of the month is Ellesmere Port - Do you have ancestors in the town, or are you researching a local family and want some help, perhaps on the other hand you live in the locality and could offer help with photographing gravestones or buildings. This is the chance for members to help each other, I'm sure there are many members out there with knowledge of the area that they could share. If you have a research question then please feel free to email me on   and I will circulate it among attendees beforehand.

You will need to register to attend, to do so please click on the 'Register [Individual]' button below on the left and process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation and the zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded the morning of the helpdesk meeting. If you run into any difficulties with this then please contact Margaret Roberts on 

NOTE that registration closes at 10am on the morning of the meeting.

Do you have ancestors who worked in the police force? During this presentation, Tom will be talking about some of the means by which police ancestors can be traced.  Police officers are at face value some of the easier to find descendants, albeit the role only goes back for 200 years to the commonly held starting point of the police in 1829. There are some challenges however in that there is no centralised records system, owing to the current 43 force model in England and Wales, and historically up to 400 different forces! Every force takes a different approach to preserving (or not) and providing access to these records, and Tom hopes to offer some key launch points for genealogists to investigate their police ancestors.

Tom Andrews is a Lecturer in Policing and a former police sergeant, he is the Editor of the Journal of the Police History Society and author of serval books on the history of the police.

This event is for members only and registration opens on 1st June, when the ‘Register [Individual]’ button will show on the bottom left of the Event details on the FHSC website for you to click and then process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation. Registration will close on  16th June.

The zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded the day before the talk.  If you run into any difficulties with this, then please contact us on the dedicated seminar email address – or see the 'Seminar Talks and how to Register' section under 'Online Talks and Meetings' in the FAQ section of the website.

The Seminar series is co-ordinated by Margaret Spate, Jean Laidlaw and Margaret Roberts and ALL correspondence, queries etc should be sent to the dedicated email address -   

The June FHSC Cheshire Research Buddies topic of the month is Crewe and surrounding area - Do you have ancestors in the town, or are you researching a local family and want some help, perhaps on the other hand you live in the locality and could offer help with photographing gravestones or buildings. This is the chance for members to help each other, I'm sure there are many members out there with knowledge of the area that they could share. If you have a research question then please feel free to email me on   and I will circulate it among attendees beforehand.

You will need to register to attend, to do so please click on the 'Register [Individual]' button below on the left and process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation and the zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded the morning of the helpdesk meeting. If you run into any difficulties with this then please contact Margaret Roberts on 

NOTE that registration closes at 10am on the morning of the meeting.

This talk explores the history of will making from mediaeval to more recent times, some of the customs and the process of making and proving a will. It looks at how people ensured their loved ones received their inheritance and those out of favour didn’t, using examples of loving and not so loving families.

Anne Mealia is a professional genealogist and family historian researching in Yorkshire and Lancashire and a member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA). Anne was archives researcher on the Channel 4 documentary The Queen’s Lost Family, researching Princess Mary’s archives at Harewood House and has carried out research for BBC’s Who do you think you are?

This event is for members only and registration opens on 1st July, when the ‘Register [Individual]’ button will show on the bottom left of the Event details on the FHSC website for you to click and then process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation. Registration will close on 14th July.

The zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded the day before the talk.  If you run into any difficulties with this, then please contact us on the dedicated seminar email address – or see the 'Seminar Talks and how to Register' section under 'Online Talks and Meetings' in the FAQ section of the website.

The Seminar series is co-ordinated by Margaret Spate, Jean Laidlaw and Margaret Roberts and ALL correspondence, queries etc should be sent to the dedicated email address -   

PLEASE NOTE WE DO NOT RECORD SEMINAR TALKS

The July FHSC Cheshire Research Buddies topic of the month is Frodsham  - Do you have ancestors in the town, or are you researching a local family and want some help, perhaps on the other hand you live in the locality and could offer help with photographing gravestones or buildings. This is the chance for members to help each other, I'm sure there are many members out there with knowledge of the area that they could share. If you have a research question then please feel free to email me on   and I will circulate it among attendees beforehand.

You will need to register to attend, to do so please click on the 'Register [Individual]' button below on the left and process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation and the zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded the morning of the helpdesk meeting. If you run into any difficulties with this then please contact Margaret Roberts on 

NOTE that registration closes at 10am on the morning of the meeting.

Adoption affects many families but is a difficult area to research due to secrecy and privacy issues plus the legislative framework which surrounds it. The talk will look at the history of adoption in England and Wales and the records which might help when researching an adoption. The impact of consumer DNA testing will be covered as well as access to birth records, Intermediary Services and the regulations around making contact.

Kathy is a full Member of AGRA and has worked in adoption for nearly 30 years. She has an Advanced Diploma in Local History from Oxford University and recently passed the University of Strathclyde PG Diploma in Genealogical, Palaeographical and Heraldic Studies with Distinction. Alongside traditional genealogical research, Kathy works as a researcher with a number of Adoption Agencies including Barnardo's and PAC-UK, and is also an adoption Intermediary with PAC-U

This event is for members only and registration opens on1st August, when the ‘Register [Individual]’ button will show on the bottom left of the Event details on the FHSC website for you to click and then process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation. Registration will close on 18th August.

The zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded the day before the talk.  If you run into any difficulties with this, then please contact us on the dedicated seminar email address – or see the 'Seminar Talks and how to Register' section under 'Online Talks and Meetings' in the FAQ section of the website.

The Seminar series is co-ordinated by Margaret Spate, Jean Laidlaw and Margaret Roberts and ALL correspondence, queries etc should be sent to the dedicated email address -   

PLEASE NOTE WE DO NOT RECORD SEMINAR TALKS

The August FHSC Cheshire Research Buddies topic of the month is Poynton and Prestbury  - Do you have ancestors in the town, or are you researching a local family and want some help, perhaps on the other hand you live in the locality and could offer help with photographing gravestones or buildings. This is the chance for members to help each other, I'm sure there are many members out there with knowledge of the area that they could share. If you have a research question then please feel free to email me on   and I will circulate it among attendees beforehand.

You will need to register to attend, to do so please click on the 'Register [Individual]' button below on the left and process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation and the zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded the morning of the helpdesk meeting. If you run into any difficulties with this then please contact Margaret Roberts on 

NOTE that registration closes at 10am on the morning of the meeting.

The September FHSC Cheshire Research Buddies topic of the month is Tattenhall and Beeston  - Do you have ancestors in the town, or are you researching a local family and want some help, perhaps on the other hand you live in the locality and could offer help with photographing gravestones or buildings. This is the chance for members to help each other, I'm sure there are many members out there with knowledge of the area that they could share. If you have a research question then please feel free to email me on   and I will circulate it among attendees beforehand.

You will need to register to attend, to do so please click on the 'Register [Individual]' button below on the left and process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation and the zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded the morning of the helpdesk meeting. If you run into any difficulties with this then please contact Margaret Roberts on 

NOTE that registration closes at 10am on the morning of the meeting.