The September FHSC Cheshire Research Buddies topic of the month is Alsager, Church Lawton, Rode Heath, and Oakhanger  - Do you have ancestors in the area, 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 Online Historical Newspaper Discussion group meets on the first Friday of the month at 2pm via Zoom.

The group is led by Margaret Roberts and all members are welcome to chat about using historical newspapers, to pick up hints and tips from other members and generally to discuss any successes or failures! 

To be included in the emailing list to receive the zoom link for these meetings please return to the Homepage of the website, scroll down the left-hand menu and click on Discussion Groups, then click on 'Subscribe' for this or any other Discussion Group you would like to attend.

The Family Historian Users Discussion Group, led by Geoff Johnson takes place on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 7:30pm.  This is the perfect place to meet other users and share frustrations, hints and tips when using the software. 

To be included in the emailing list to receive the zoom link for these meetings please return to the Homepage of the website, scroll down the left-hand menu and click on Discussion Groups, then click on 'Subscribe' for this or any other Discussion Group you would like to attend.

Sheila Jones, the Honorary Secretary of FHSC, will be talking about Conscientious Objectors in the First World War.

NOTE:  This meeting is via Zoom and takes place at 2pm 

This event is for members only and registration is open, please press ‘Register [Individual]’ button below on the left and then click 'Process your Registration, you will receive an email confirmation. Registration will close on 13th January at noon and the links will be sent out that afternoon. 

(Image: IWM (Art.IWM PST 0311))

There comes a point in your family history research when you have to stop researching & write up your family history. 

This session will help you generate order from chaos.

Most of us will have seen programs like Heir Hunters and shudder at the issues.

A look at probate records and what they can tell us.

Chris is a graduate of the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, Canterbury, where he is a course tutor. He also runs a genealogical research and education business from his home on the Suffolk Coast, specialising in East Anglia and heraldry and is the Chairman of Alde Valley Family History Society

This talk is a gentle introduction to the fascinating world of heraldry and how it can be used to further family history research.

This event is for members only and registration opens on 1st February, 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 February.

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 – . 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 FHSC Annual Quiz 2026 date is announced 

Save the date 19th February 2026 at 7:30pm and register today.

Attendees will be randomly placed into teams of 4 or 5 in breakout rooms - don't worry Zoom will do it all for you - and each team will have a question master.  All teams will be asked the same set of questions and then we shall come back together into the main zoom meeting to discover the answers and see which team is the winner. 

I'm hoping that many members will join us, last year's event was great fun and enjoyed by all who attended. 

You will need to register, registration is open and closes on 17 February 2026. Just press the 'Register [individual]' button below and then process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation of your booking.

Zoom links being sent out on the morning of the quiz - 19th February 2026