North West Kent Family History Society Annual General Meeting.

North West Kent Family History Society Annual General Meeting.

131 members turned out to attend the AGM on 28th April 2012 and heard Dr. Nick Barret talk about 'The Media and Family History'. Nick Barret is well known for his connection with the Who Do You Think You Are television productions and the Find My Past television family history programs. He is also Editor-in-Chief of Your Family History Magazine and President of the Family History Societies and a Trustee of the Society of Genealogists.

He explained what television producers look for when creating programs about family history and future developments in the media and for Family History Societies. The impact of commercial companies and how this has not only changed the way people research but the possible long term effect on Archives and Record Offices and Libraries.

Footfall is down in many Archives and how this could have a detrimental impact. Family History Societies need to adapt and they need to help all who are researching their family history, especially those starting out to understand that many records are not available on the Internet. Going along to an Archive, Records Office or Local Studies at a Library is important. Many records are not digitised and can be found there that will help and provide information about individuals, families, where they lived etc.

He also pointed out that Local History and Family History are not separate studies or areas of research but are closely connected, in fact they are two sides of the same subject. Local Historians study and research an area, occupations, who lived there, buildings and so forth, Family Historians research their ancestors and families, where they lived, their occupations.  Members of FHS and LHS have a lot of expertise and knowledge and this is available to anyone who joins a FHS or LHS.

Other talks by Dr. Dr Ann Kneif  on 'The Bevin Boys' and the always popular Michael Gandy entitled 'Seeing it through their Eyes - Social History Customs also took place.

More details and pictures can be found at A day in Sevenoaks.

Opening of the Kent History and Library Centre 23 Apr 2012

Opening of the Kent History and Library Centre 23 Apr 2012.

Representatives from many Kent Societies, including North West Kent Family History Society, attended the formal opening of the new Kent History and Library Centre at James Whatman Way, Maidstone, Kent.

The building houses some 14 kilometres of historic material relating to Kent dating back to 699 AD. There is also  a community history area, archive search room, not to mention a digital studio, free public internet access and wifi, also a large space for displays and events.

Not everyone has been happy at the new location and there is no car parking. It is about a ten minute walk from the previous location of the Centre for Kentish Studies at County Hall. However, if you have trouble walking it is a bit of a problem. You also have to cross a very busy main road to reach the building. Only time will tell how much of a problem this will present for visitors and users of the Library.

For a more in depth view of the opening and of the centre see NWKFHS- Kent Library & History Centre 

KCC Cabinet member for Customer and Communities Mike Hill cutting

 ribbon to open Centre.

Archive Kent History and Library Centre.

Soldiers Wills Crimean War - WWI and WW2 found. Replacement of the National Archives DocumentsOnline service at the end of April 2012.

Soldiers Wills Crimean War - WWI and WW2 found.

There is news, via the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS), of the discovery of some 300,000 Soldiers Wills in boxes which have never been entered in the Calendars. It is expected that they will become available online by the end of the year. They cover the period of 1858 (Crimean War) through to 2nd WW, they include WWI wills. They appear to be the wills of non commissioned officers.

The information was given at the Probate Stake Holders Meeting held in London on 17th April 2012. Lady Teviot was the FFHS representative at the meeting.

Replacement of The National Archives DocumentsOnline service at the end of April 2012.   

The new catalogue is called Discovery and it will allow users to search the collection and download any available digitised documents all in one place.

The Catalogue will be completely replaced by the end of June 2012. The Discovery catalogue will offer additional features to the current DocumentsOnline Catalogue, including displaying search results in order of relevance, filtering of search results by subject, date range and collection, and enabling users to tag records with keywords to expand on catalogue descriptions.

More details can be found at New National Archives Catalogue

Archives for London seminar Dickens and the Workhouse-Thursday 3 May 2012. London Metropolitan University’s Board of Governors seek a new home, custodian or sponsor of The Women’s Library’s collections.

Archives for London seminar "Dickens and the Workhouse"-Thursday 3 May 2012. 6:00pm (doors 5:30pm) - 7:30pm at London Metropolitan Archives - Huntley Room 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB.

Charles Dickens obviously has a strong association with Kent the Archives for London (AFL) is holding a seminar about the story of the recently discovered London workhouse that inspired Charles Dickens.

Dr Ruth Richardson, the historian who discovered these details, will reveal how very important the time Dickens spent living next to a workhouse was to his literary career.

The seminar is free to AFL members. £5 for non members. Advance booking is essential. Full details can be found at AFL Dickens Seminar 

London Metropolitan University’s Board of Governors seek a new home, custodian or sponsor of The Women’s Library’s collections.

The London Metropolitan University’s Board of  Governors announced that they are looking or a new home, custodian or sponsor of The Women’s Library’s collections. If a new home is not found by the end of December 2012, the Library will only open one day per week for a period of three years, then the situation will be reviewed.  Located at Old Castle Street, next to London Metropolitan University's Calcutta House it is a cultural centre which houses the most extensive collection of women's history in the UK. Full details can be found at The Women's Library

Further details can be found at History Workshop Online  (HWO) It would seem that the Library Staff were not involved in these decisions despite seeking input into the reviews that lead to this decision. You can also find a link at the HWO site or at Care2 Petition if you wish to support and sign a petition against this closure.

North West Kent Family History Society Meetings for April and May, 2012, including the talks are open to visitors. The Certificate of Irish Heritage issued by the Government of Ireland. Archives, Digitisation and Heritage (Ancestral) Tourism.

North West Kent Family History Society Meetings for April and May, 2012, including the talks are open to visitors (a donation is appreciated). It is a good opportunity to meet fellow family historians and to see what a Family History Society can offer you in your research.

Bromley Branch, Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley BR1 3NS Open at 9.45am, the meeting proper is due to start at 10.30am.

Saturday 21 April 2012, Helen Allinson "Life in the Victorian Kentish Workhouse"
Saturday 19 May 2012, Else Churchill "Researching before 1700 using alternative resources".

Dartford Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford, Kent. Open from 9.45am with the meeting proper starting at 10.30am.

Saturday 7 April 2012, Meryl Catty & Audrey Gillett "An Enumerator's Tale"
& Annual Meeting .

Saturday 5 May 2012, Pauline Watson "Greenwich Heritage Centre and its resources".

Sevenoaks Community Centre, Otford Road (at junction with Crampton Rd.), Sevenoaks, at 7.15pm.

10 May 2012 Dr Ron Cox "It’s where you sleep that counts". 

Please check the NWKFHS website for further details and before you travel for any meetings.  

The Certificate of Irish Heritage issued by the Government of Ireland.

Many families in England have at least one person of Irish Ancestry in their family tree. If one of your direct ancestors was Irish you might be interested in The Certificate of Irish Heritage issued by the Government of Ireland.

The Certificate of Irish Heritage can be purchased for yourself or as a gift for a family member, friend or colleague. The recipient of the Certificate must have an ancestor who was born in Ireland. For full details Certificate of Irish Heritage

Archives, Digitisation and Heritage (Ancestral) Tourism.

The Federation of Family History Societies FFHS) has a report on the workshop at the Centre for the Historical Record at Kingston University held on 22 February 2012.

The four speakers were Dr Nick Barratt (FFHS President and well known among other things as lead consultant for the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?; Geoff Browell (King’s College Archive); Phil Cooper (Surrey History Centre); and Mark Dorrington (Nottinghamshire Archives). 

The thinking behind ancestral tourism was given by Nick Barratt and Mark Dorrington gave details about the project in the East Midlands, and the Nottinghamshire network in particular; Phil Cooper spoke about online access to archives based on the Exploring Surrey’s Past website; and Geoff Browell gave details of the iPhone app ‘Navigating Nightingale’s London’.

If you are interested in how Family History might develop and how it could help you in your research more details can be found at FFHS Archives, Digitisation and Heritage (Ancestral) Tourism

Eden Valley Festival Heritage Evening - The Arts and Craft Movement 19.00 for 19.15 Friday June 15th 2012 at St Paul's Church, Four Elms, TN8 6NE. Eden Valley Festival Heritage Walk on 16 June 2012 organised by the Edenbridge and District Historical Society. PortCities of London.

Eden Valley Festival Heritage Evening - The Arts and Craft Movement 19.00 for 19.15    Friday June 15th 2012 at St Paul's Church, Four Elms, TN8 6NE.

There are two talks being held as part of the Eden Valley Museum's Arts for Living series. Proceeds to Eden Valley Museum and St Paul's Church. Edenbridge and District Historical Society in association with the Eden Valley Museum Trust
"The Arts and Crafts Movement - Tradition versus modernity" Dr Anne Anderson, University of Kingston, NADFAS lecturer.

"Baillie Scott: nature and ornament" Diane Haigh, architect, writer and lecturer.

Price £12, under 18 years £6 and £10 for Edenbridge and District Historical Society and Eden Valley Museum Trust members.  Tickets, including refreshments, available from Edenbridge Bookshop, Eden Valley Museum or  E-mail Don Garman

Eden Valley Festival Heritage Walk on 16 June 2012 organised by the Edenbridge and District Historical Society.

The Wealden Iron Industry in the Cowden Area Start 9.30a.m.  Saturday June 16th at Cowden Village Hall car park, Cowden, Kent.  

Route will include furnace sites, sources of raw materials, including mine pits, and the homes of iron masters. Distance is 3 miles on footpaths and minor roads. Stout shoes and waterproofs required.

The Walk is free but donations to the Eden Valley Museum would be very welcome. To book and for further details E-mail Don Garman

PortCities of London.

At PortCities of London you can find London's collection of maritime artifacts by Port People. If your ancestors, including those from NW Kent, worked, lived or were associated with the London Docks and the Thames there are thousands of illustrations and details of River Workers, Ship Workers and Crew that can provide a lot of background details and information about their lives. 

Titanic records free to view until 31 May 2012. Guild of One-Name Studies Industrial Revolution Seminar, Ironbridge- Saturday 19th May 2012. Unwanted BMD certificates for Sale. The BMD Certificate Exchange website. North West Kent Family History Society-Free articles on prominent Dartford Families updated.

Titanic records free to view until 31 May 2012.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary, Ancestry have range of new records including the official passenger list, which reveals the names, ages and occupations of ‘those who bought the sought-after tickets. There are also crew records that reveal addresses, nationalities and positions. there are also photos of some of their memorials in the graves collection.

There is also a passenger list from the Carpathia, which rescued more than 700 people from Titanic. Ancestry Titanic 100th Anniversary  They can be searched for free until 31 May 2012.

Guild of One-Name Studies Industrial Revolution Seminar, Ironbridge- Saturday 19th May 2012.

The Seminar will be held at Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge Community Centre, 2 Wellington Road, Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, TF8 7DX 09:30 for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday 19th May 2012.

The day will appeal to anyone who has an interest in research around the time of the Industrial Revolution, 18th to 19th century. There will be a selection of speakers specialising in surnames or population movement around this time period.

Booking needs to be made by the 13th May and costs £16 for the day. Full details, including how to book can be found at Guild of One-Name Studies Seminar

Unwanted BMD certificates for Sale.

Birth, marriage and death certificates that have been ordered but turn out to be the wrong person is not an uncommon occurrence. The Federation of Family History Societies has listed some locations where such certificates have been donated and if you find one that is connected to your family the certificate can be purchased for a fraction of the original cost.

For example the Birmingham & Midland  Society  for Genealogy and Heraldry have some 16000 unwanted BMD certificates for sale. You can download the Unwanted certificate Index at BMSGH and see if any of them might be your family.

The BMD Certificate Exchange website has over 4000 BMD certificates listed that you can search free of charge.

North West Kent Family History Society-Free articles on prominent Dartford Families updated.

The NWKFHS has a series of articles on some prominent Dartford families that can be read free of charge at On-Line Articles. There are 11 articles written by Philip Taylor, the two added this month are: 'William Cogger (1820-73) : Advocate of Temperance Reform' and 'Alfred Thomas and Alfred John Penney : Prominent Citizens of Dartford'. They are in pdf format.

Petition for Research Copies for Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates for Genealogical Research Purposes. Kent History & Library Centre, Maidstone, Monday 23 April 2012. Kent Family History Society Talk on 16 May 2012.

Petition for Research Copies for Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates for Genealogical Research Purposes.

At the moment the General Record Index can only release BMD Certificates as paper copies.  The petition proposes legislation to allow uncertified certificates to be issued via email.  The cost of this could be much lower than the current £9.25 cost of a paper certificate.  It is suggested that the cost be £2 when ordered on-line and the GRO Index Ref is Provided and  issued in a electronic  format or a plain paper in the same way as The Republic of Ireland.

If you support this petition further details can be found on the UK Government website, where you can also sign the petion at  Research Copies for BMD Certificates

1841 Census for Kent.

At 1841 Kent Census free transcriptions of the census of 1841 for Kent is in progress. Some of the County is already available to search. It is worthwhile checking out the site to see if the area you are interested in has been completed.

Kent History & Library Centre, Maidstone, Monday 23 April 2012. Kent Family History Society Talk.

As already posted the new Kent History and Library Centre at Maidstone, Kent opens on 23 April. The Thanet  Branch of the Kent Family History Society has a talk on May 16, 2012  "An Introduction to the Kent History and Library Centre"

The speaker is Suart Bligh of the Centre and it could be an oportunity to find out more about the centre. The meeting takes place at The Birchington Village Centre, Alpha Road, Birchington. 7.30 p.m. for 8.00 p.m. KFHS state that "Non-members are very welcome to attend  our meetings". Further details can be found at KFHS Branches