Somerset and Dorset photography project

Somerset and Dorset Family History Society (www.sdfhs.org) is establishing a searchable database of photographs from the region, and is seeking public contributions. From the society:

Although you would be welcome to bring your photographs in to the Family History Centre at any time (just give us a phone call, to let us know you are coming), we intend to hold a series of Photograph Open Days, to be run by our inputting team, when we shall also have our experts available to advise on dating and caring for your photographs. Have a look at the ‘Events’ page on this website to check for dates arranged.

Once the project is up and running, we may be able to extend it beyond Sherborne, by seeking the aid of the Society’s Groups to run similar Photograph Open Days.

We do have some criteria we need to observe to keep the database relevant to Somerset and Dorset.

• The photographs must be of people born in, or who have lived in, one or both of the two counties.
• Ideally no more than 3 images of one individual, for instance taken in youth, aged 20- 50, and 50 +.
• At least one of the subjects needs to be identified by name.
• A location and date, if only approximate, is desirable.

We would also like to have your permission to supply copies of photos to other researchers (we would make a nominal charge for this service, to cover costs).

We would also be interested in any old photographs of places and buildings in the two counties with known family associations; for example houses, churches, halls, pubs and hotels, farms, factories, railway stations, and anything of this sort.

To keep things manageable, we may, regrettably, have to decline offers which fall outside of the guidelines above.

For further details visit http://www.sdfhs.org/sdfhs-projects/introduction-to-sdfhs-projects/a-hidden-resource/.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

RCAHMW oral history project requires volunteers in Swansea

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales' CBA committee is looking for help with an oral history project in Swansea, to record stories about the city and to locate old photographic material.

For the full story visit the commission's blog at http://heritageofwalesnews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/call-for-volunteers-in-swansea-area.html

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians, whilst my new book British and Irish Newspapers is also now out. And FindmyPast - please reinstate the original Scottish census citations on your new site.

Surnames database project reaches 45,000 names

The Family Names of the United Kingdom Project, currently under way at my old university in Bristol, the University of the West of England, has now researched some 45,000 names to date in its project to document British surnames across time, completing the first phase of the project due to be published in 2016.

The project was recently revised and given additional funding to include surnames for which there are still at least 20 people bearing it as a minimum, as opposed to the previous 100.

The full update is available at both www.medievalists.net/2014/04/14/database-uk-surnames-reached-45000-entries-dating-back-middle-ages/ and www1.uwe.ac.uk/cahe/research/bristolcentreforlinguistics/fanuk.aspx.

(With thanks to Medievalists.net)

Chris

Now available for UK research is the new second edition of the best selling Tracing Your Family History on the Internet: A Guide for Family Historians. And for those wishing to take Scottish ancestral research a bit further, my next Pharos course, Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the Old Parish Records, commences May 14th 2014.