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
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Date
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Topic |
Speaker/Venue |
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2010 |
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| 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 |
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