Cambridgeshire Family History Society - What we do

We attend various Family History Fairs and Conferences taking the bookstall with us. The bookstall takes has credit card facilities using the site www.genfair.com or www.parishchest.com. As well as the CFHS publications you will also find books of local interest which our book stall managers go to great lengths to search out and acquire.

Above: The CFHS Bookstall with from
left to right, Wendy Doyle, Carol Noble and Philip Noble.

Each year, along with our A.G.M. we try to organise a one-day conference or event which makes a day out for those attending the A.G.M. and allows members to interact with one another.

We make regular donations to local organisations of microfiche, equipment, funds for the acquisition of new records, sponsorship of local projects.

Above: Carol Noble (left) of the CFHS presents a new microfiche reader to (left rear) Gill Shapland and (right) Philip Saunders of the Record Office, Cambridge.

In order to make the correct selection of microfiche and CD-Roms from the bookstall a series of searchable databases have been compiled to enable thenright information to be located.

All we do is covered in the Constitution of the Society.

What we do - What you receive
The Cambridgeshire FHS offers a multitude of varied options for you. So what are these, we have outlined some of them below.
We publish books that relate to genealogical research in Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely. These are either written by members or they are publications that have been offered to us.		The last Wednesday of each month, except in the summer (July and August), we hold a meeting at St. John's Hall. A wide variety of topics are covered. Here is one such example. Agricultural Labourers in the 19th Century On 22nd March 2000 Dr. Simon Pawley gave a talk entitled 'Agricultural Labourers in the 19th Century, their life and work. If you thought you knew everything about agricultural labourers then think again. This talk was informative and eye opening. Simon covered settlement examinations, the difference between Farm Servants and Farm Labourers, open and closed parishes, hiring fairs, the movement of single persons over wide distances and why, by marrying, their employment status changed. Those employees on a farm called 'Farm Servant' or the like were hired at the hiring fairs, they dressed according to their skills and those taken on as 'servants' lived on the farm. A servant living in was hired for one year and was single. This accounted for movements of single people over distance as they would tout for work at the hiring fair which could be up to 10 miles further away. The hiring farmer could life a further 10 miles away and so in one job change a person could move 20 miles from home. Once a person married they were no longer a 'servant' living in, they had to find accommodation outside of the farm and their contract was terminated. The effects of enclosure were also covered. Cambridgeshire being a rural community felt the effects of enclosure more than most. Where people lived off their own small workings they were independent, working the common land for their existence. Enclosure threw these people into turmoil, robbing them of their living and forcing them to become agricultural labourers. The Poor Laws further tied these people holding them to a parish. Simon described how difficult it was to gain residency of a parish and how 'closed' parishes, those not admitting outsiders, relied on 'open' parishes next door to supply their labourer who came into the parish in the morning and left it in the evening. The burdens of the parish and the effect of the Union Workhouses were described and the fact that many of the laws governing the poor were still in effect until 1947. All in all a very interesting and enlightening evening. Dr. Simon Pauley addresses the meeting See also Straw Plaiting
Every quarter we publish a Journal containing a wide variety of topics designed to help our membership in their research.
We have an active, and full, programme of transcriptions in progress which includes parish registers and census.
We publish and sell these transcriptions on microfiche and CD-Rom. We also publish members interests on a regular basis.
We attend various Family History Fairs and Conferences taking the bookstall with us. The bookstall takes has credit card facilities using the site www.genfair.com or www.parishchest.com. As well as the CFHS publications you will also find books of local interest which our book stall managers go to great lengths to search out and acquire. Above: The CFHS Bookstall with from left to right, Wendy Doyle, Carol Noble and Philip Noble. Each year, along with our A.G.M. we try to organise a one-day conference or event which makes a day out for those attending the A.G.M. and allows members to interact with one another. We make regular donations to local organisations of microfiche, equipment, funds for the acquisition of new records, sponsorship of local projects. Above: Carol Noble (left) of the CFHS presents a new microfiche reader to (left rear) Gill Shapland and (right) Philip Saunders of the Record Office, Cambridge. In order to make the correct selection of microfiche and CD-Roms from the bookstall a series of searchable databases have been compiled to enable thenright information to be located. All we do is covered in the Constitution of the Society.
Why not join us?

What we do - What you receive