~The Story of Kelsall by Elspeth Thomas~
[with thanks to our friends at the Kelsall Family History Group for news of this]
Local historian and Kelsall resident Mrs Elspeth Thomas for many years researched the history of Kelsall.
Sadly, she died before it was finished and so members of the Kelsall & District Rural Amenties Society [KADRAS] completed & published it in c1996.
This book can now be viewed online via the Kelsall Village website.
Direct link to the PDF: bit.ly/2Px0qBn
For those members who are particualry interested in maps then you might like to know that the National Library of Scotland Map Collections have added another layer of historical maps to the geo-referenced viewer namely:-
1:25,000 scale Ordnance Survey Great Britain outline layer, published 1945-65.
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=5&lat=55.74538&lon=0.60635&layers=219&b=1
One hundred years ago, the 1918 influenza pandemic wrought havoc across the globe. The first wave of the ‘flu appeared in the spring of 1918, followed by a more virulent second wave in the autumn, and a third wave in the spring of 1919. In total, it is estimated that the epidemic claimed 225,000 lives in Britain. While the end of the First World War has overshadowed the pandemic in history books, and within collective memory, recent scholarship has sought to uncover the impact of the pandemic on a war-torn society.
This talk will dive into the government’s response to the pandemic, at a time when the cause of influenza was unknown and there was no consensus on treatment. Alongside a look at commentary within national newspapers, this talk will take a look at what records can be found within the state archive: from the response of military institutions and the impact on soldiers to the public health response and concern for citizens.
This talk will be delivered by Laura Robson-Mainwaring, Health Records Specialist, lasting approximately 30 minutes followed by a 15 minute Q&A.
This online talk will be presented on Microsoft Teams. You will be emailed an access link 24 hours in advance.
Please note you do not need a Teams account to join this event. Instead you can select the ‘Join anonymously’ option if preferred.
Link to register - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/public-health-and-the-1918-1919-influenza-pandemic-tickets-131463864959
FHSC has had to embrace the change in taxation rules brought about by Brexit.
This only impacts those who live in the European Union:
- if you are a member then tax will be added to your membership fees paid from the 1 January 2021 onwards. These are automatically calculated if you pay by card or PayPal via the website. Other payment methods for EU or ROW memberships have been removed.
- if you purchase products from the shop then tax appropriate to your country of residence will be added to the costs if you live in the EU
FHSC will have to forward this tax to the EU on a quarterly basis
We apologise for the increase in costs for those of you still in the EU. This was deemed preferable to the alternative which was to prevent EU based members and prevent shop sales into the EU.
Alan Bennett
Chairman
British History Online [BHO] offers enhanced access to online material
BHO is a digital collection of key printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland, with a special focus on the period 1300 to 1800.
At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic the BHO decided to make all transcribed content freely available to individual users
They have now added 200 volumes of the Premium Content from 2020. This material will remain available until 30 April 2021 in the first instance.
The link to the blog post below [first published for the 2020 offer and now updated] describes what’s included in this latest move.
The Genealogy Show is ONLINE this year with a Virtual Weekend
June 25-26th 2021
Link with all up-to-date details below, I will keep you informed of news as and when it comes in:
Cheshire's Charms: Ancient Villages & Hamlets - a new book by Tony Bostock
120 pages; 177 colour photos, Paperback (6”x9”) coloured,
AVAILABLE NOW from AMAZON BOOKS UK (www.amazon.co.uk/books) or contact the author at
Price £12.99 E-book (Kindle), price £4.99
TONY BOSTOCK is the author of a number of books and many articles on various aspects of Cheshire history, contributing regularly to the annual journal, Cheshire History. Much of his work is published on his web-site: www.tonybostock.com. He is a regular speaker to local history and family history societies and other organisations throughout the county. As well as being a member of a number of academic societies in the region, he has been an active member of the Executive Committee of Cheshire Local History Association since its formation in 1998: he was chairman for several years. He has also chaired the Northwich Heritage Society and is a member of the Winsford Local History Society, of which he was also chairman for many years. Having retired from a professional life in public service, Tony applies himself to the research and study of local history, heraldry and genealogy
History and Archaeology Dept at the Univeristy of Chester Autumn/Winter Seminar Series
Full details are in the poster image above - all these sessions are online and all free and ANYONE can attend
To attend any (or all!) of our seminars, please email Kara Critchell: to receive a link to the Microsoft Teams site
FREE ACCESS
FREE ACCESS It includes attestation forms, which were completed by the individual when they enlisted; medical history forms; casualty forms; disability statements; regimental conduct sheets; awards; and proceedings on discharge.
Other free record collections include Civil Gallantry Awards, which were awarded to members of the Civil Defence Volunteers for bravery; the First World War Medal Rolls Index; and lists of First World War prisoners of war.
More speaker and information on the Family History Federation: Really Useful Family History Show on 14th November:
Ask the Experts Announced
FHF are pleased to be able to offer expert advice at the show from a wide range of family history disciplines. A
At the FHF REALLY USEFUL Family History Show advice will be provided by professional genealogists who are members and associates of AGRA (Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives) plus information and assistance from specialist family history society members.
They are available to help with questions you may have about resolving research challenges and general assistance on a wide range of family history topics.
Learn more about this service NOW at https://www.fhf-reallyuseful.com/ask-the-experts/
More Speakers also announced -
IAN WALLER - The railways were one of the largest employers in the United Kingdom and some of the 900 or so pre 1923 companies have left a legacy of staff records. This talk examines how those records can help piece together the career of a railway worker using a variety of records up to grouping in 1923 and nationalisation in 1948. You may even have railway employees that you did not realise. They also employed merchant seamen, chambermaids and artists! Many of us will have railway navvies amongst our ancestry and these were not employed by the railway companies but by the contractors building the railway network. Part of the talk is devoted to finding their details, Ian's talk is called - On the Right Track – Railway Ancestors
JIM RYAN - This fully illustrated talk will outline Irish Catholic records and the history of their creation and survival. It will detail the format and content of surviving records and where they be accessed. Ireland has historically been a predominantly Catholic country. However, for historical reasons, the earliest Catholic church record is for 1670, and records are sparse until the early 19th century. Nevertheless they are the only evidence of most 18th and 19th century Irish people. It is therefore useful to understand the history of Irish Catholics, and the political and social factors which affected record-keeping. The talk will be a comprehensive account of Irish Catholic records and the historical events which affected their creation and survival. It will cover which records survive and what they contain; why the availability of records varies between regions and parishes, and other factors. It also covers where the records may now be accessed; which have been indexed, and other useful background. The talk is titles - Irish Catholic Church Records
EMMA MAXWELL - A look at the sources you will need to begin your Scottish family history research. This presentation will focus on ScotlandsPeople by showing you how to get the best out of the website and how to interpret the records you find. We will also look at some other sources you will need to research your Scottish family tree. This talk is titled - Beginning Scottish Research
JEANETTE ROSENBERG - The presentation will cover both UK and overseas resources and will mention specialist Jewish community records and archives and how to find them, Jeanette's talk is called - An introduction to Jewish Genealogy Sources and Resources
Time is running out so why not take advantage of the EARLY BIRD ticket offer.
Don't delay book your ticket today Early Bird ticket Offer valid until midnight (GMT) on 18th October 2020
Stockport council are proposing to close and replace Stockport Central Library with a much reduced library service located in the empty ex-Argos unit in the Merseyway. The link below will outline the propsosal and it implications, and also allow you to sign a petition opposing the proposal.
*** this webinar series will launch at 8.00pm [London, UK time] on Wednesday October 7th ***
In place of the planned virtual seminar at Solihull being run jointly by the Guild and the Local Population Studies Society this will now be a series of weekly ‘tools and techniques’ webinars and features six speakers looking at ways of collecting, analysing and interpreting data collected in the process of one-name or one-place studies, family history or local population analysis. The data is based mainly on UK records, but records from other countries are cited where appropriate. It will be possible to submit questions for speakers to respond to following each presentation.
The Guild will launch all of these presentations at 8.00pm [London, UK, time] on 6 consecutive Wednesdays starting on October 7th. You may watch them at any time over the following 14 days (at which time they will be only available to Guild members on the website).
You will need to register to take part in each webinar. Please go to the seminar webpage - https://one-name.org/seminar-events/ and click on the event you wish to attend to register
| 20:00 Wednesday | Presentations available online |
| October 7th | Mortality and Morbidity: a study of National Registration death certificates for two families 1837 to 2009 – Elizabeth E Green |
| October 14th | One-Place Studies – thinking laterally: how a one-place study can support surname and population studies – Paul Carter and Pam Smith (Co-founders of ‘Name and Place’) |
| October 21st | Creating a publicly-available common format database of parish register data on baptisms, marriages and burials – Dr Andy Hinde (University of Southampton) |
| October 28th | The Ruby One-Name Collaborative Study: how it worked and what I learned – Dr Nikki Brown |
| November 4th | Looking at single trees and whole orchards: how genealogists and demographers can work together – Dr Eilidh Garrett (University of Cambridge) |
| November 11th | Identifying business proprietors from the census; and using the online Atlas on entrepreneurship – Professor Bob Bennett (University of Cambridge) |
After 14 days each presentation will be only available to Guild members logged into the website.
If you need any further information please email or telephone the Guild Help Desk on 0800 011 2182.
