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Cambridge City (St Laurence) Branch Meetings

The Cambridge City Branch of the Cambridgeshire Family History Society hold their meetings at St Laurence Church Hall, 91 Milton Road, Cambridge,CB4 1XB. We aim to offer a lively and varied programme of talks, events and assistance to appeal to family historians where ever their interests lie.

The Meetings are currently held on the 3rd Friday of each month (except July & August); they start at 7.30pm, and finish around 9.00pm. There is ample parking, and refreshments are available. Non-members welcome.

Contact details :
Email : cfhs.citybranch@googlemail.com
Phone :01223-811901

Cambridge City (St Laurence) Branch Programme for 2010
Date
Topic Speaker/Venue
  2010    
15 January 2010
Family History from Wills – There are many ways wills can help in research other than just naming wife and children. They may reveal religious views, family feuds, illegitimate children and much more. The illustrated talk looks at wills from before parish registers to the twentieth Century, explaining how to find them and how to use them to (occasionally) get past that 'Brick Wall'..
Gill Shapland
19 February 2010
Writing Up Your Family History – part 2 – We are often told that writing up the fruits of our research, is something we should all aspire to do. It’s a way of telling the “story” of the ancestors encountered, of explaining the genealogical “data” on your family tree, and, is means of preserving your family’s story for posterity. Most of us, however, never get around to doing anything about it – perhaps put off by uncertainty over how to start. This will be a follow-up to last year’s talk (which concentrated on styles of story, the intended audiences and on compiling biographical details of your ancestors – the “characters”) by focusing on some ideas for researching and compiling the background story against which YOUR ancestors lived out their lives.
Caroline Norton
19 March 2010
In and Out of London - It’s probable that most family historians will eventually find someone among their ancestors who went to London, came from London, or spent, at least, part of their life in London. However, many researchers find it difficult and somewhat daunting when their ancestors move into or around London. Research in the capital has its own challenges which can easily be overcome. This talk suggests how to do it.
Ian Waller
16 April 2010
Who’s Been Living In MY House? - Whether you are wanting to try and find the actual location of an ancestor’s house, or are looking into the history of a particular property or plot – it’s two sides of the same coin, as the research will largely be using the same types of record. The talk will consider some of the clues to follow, the sources and resources that could be consulted, and be illustrated with examples of the sort of information that might be found.
Caroline Norton
21 May 2010
Newspapers for family Historians - The talk will cover a number of topics by looking at more than just the “Hatched, Matched and Despatched” --- a little of the history of newspapers; the Newspaper Section, of the British Library, located at Colindale in north London and the future of this place; and, of course, at what newspapers can give you both about your family history and about the places in which your ancestors lived.
Chris Morris
18 June 2010
Vanishing Cambridgeshire – the great photographic survey - (from the synopsis accompanying the book advert on www.amazon.co.uk) - “In 1925, a group of Cambridge antiquarians set off on a journey into the unknown. They loaded their car with cameras, tripods and glass-plate negatives and their journey took them into a landscape of ancient remains, crumbling churches and dilapidated cottages where residents drank water from wells. While others explored the relics of ancient Egypt, these intrepid explorers never strayed more than a few miles from the magnificent towers of the university town of Cambridge. For this was Cambridgeshire in the inter-war years. The explorers - a printer, a doctor, an anatomist and a pathologist - were members of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society and they were reviving a project that had begun at the start of the century. Their mission was to produce a photographic survey of Cambridgeshire, to record both buildings and a way of life, the vanishing landmarks of a region. Now Cambridgeshire historian Mike Petty has made a powerful selection of photographs from their pioneering survey to give this insight into a way of life that has disappeared forever. The photographs of the town of Cambridge show streets that have since changed out of recognition and industries, shops and homes that have vanished from the map. Many of the pictures have been copied from glass lantern slides that have never been seen since they were taken over 60 years ago. The photographs are supplemented by contemporary reminiscences and newspaper stories that paint a picture in words of the hardship of country life before World War Two. The result is a compelling study of a county that in many ways has changed beyond all recognition - Vanishing Cambridgeshire.”
Mike Petty
July/August 2010
No meetings
 
17 September 2010
Civil Registration - Revisited - A fresh look at using this important, essential, family history resource. Birth/marriage/death certificates are a key source of information – however, unless we win the lottery, the recent price rise (and, withdrawal of the checking service) will no doubt be making many of us think twice before ordering some certificates. This talk will provide some suggestions about how to try and get far more out of the indexes than just the certificate references, in particular, the online searchable versions. A lot of information can be “deduced” – which can often be used in conjunction with other resources -- and may either reduce the need to obtain some certificates, or, perhaps enable better “educated guesses” to sometimes be made when the researcher is faced with a number of possible candidates.
Bernard Amps
15 October 2010
Researching Illegitimate Children - Trying to research beyond an illegitimate birth can be one of the major “brickwalls” faced by the researcher. Although once something to keep quiet and be shrouded in secrecy, the stories behind these events can be very moving, and may be suggestive of either great hardships or sheer bad luck. Many of us will, at some point, encounter at least someone, somewhere, in one of our ancestral families who was born “out of wedlock” identifiable through blank spaces in the records of birth, baptism or marriage, or because details don’t quite add up. But, as we shall hear, all is not necessarily lost -- as there a number of records which may, if you’re lucky, throw some light on the true paternity of the individual.
Gill Shapland
19 November 2010
Market Towns since 1750 - For very many of our rural ancestors, much of their lives were undoubtedly played out against the comings and goings in their local market town – their world may well have revolved around it. Drawing on examples from across East Anglia, the talk will look at how markets towns "worked", what made them tick, how they have changed since the mid-18C, as well as at the community and society they housed – the communities and societies in which YOUR ancestors may well have lived and experienced. (Re-arranged from June)
Tony Kirby
17 December 2010
Resources Evening - An informal evening with some seasonal refreshments. Take the opportunity to either bring along some fruits of your researches to show off, or to pose your queries. Or, just come for the mincepies and a chat!. We will have internet access and be able to offer live demonstrations of some web-based resources to suit the wishes of the audience, or to offer advice on particular websites, as requested. A number of general reference books and articles will also be available for consultation – let us know in advance if there are any specific subjects or resources you’d like some information about, and we’ll do our best to include the topic.
Hosted by David, Caroline, Lisa & Chris


Last Updated on: 27 May, 2010
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