Welcome to the Romsey HGS Family History Group Page!

We meet monthly for Talks and Visits to Inspire and Help your Research.

Come and meet us face to face; you’ll find us friendly and welcoming. Meetings are held at 7.30pm in Crosfield Hall (Annexe), in the centre of Romsey, on the first Monday of the month or the Tuesday following a Bank Holiday. There is plenty of room in the large car park and, being in the evening, the parking is free! Romsey is a small market town where you will find a famous Norman Abbey, once the church of a Benedictine nunnery, and Broadlands, the home of former Prime Minister Lord Palmerston and more latterly Earl Mountbatten of Burma.Our Group Members come from both the town itself and surrounding villages.

Why Join HGS Romsey?

Joining your local group provides a platform for you to meet other people who have the same enthusiasm for family history as you do. It also provides an opportunity to share skills and expertise in helping each other break down ‘brick walls’ in their research and have some help with your own. The talks, workshops, and social events provide a great opportunity to extend your knowledge and have fun!

If you have any articles that you would like included on our group page, then we would be delighted to hear from you!

Sometimes our Group meetings feature a talk from a speaker on a family history related subject; at other times we hold Members’ Evenings which are usually arranged around members’ interests or a request for a particular topic.

HGS Romsey Group Events & Meetings

• March 2, 2020, 7:30 pm: Brick Walls and Lost Ancestors: problem solving for family historians – David Annal

  Even the luckiest of family historians will come up against brick walls from time to time. We’ve all experienced the feeling that our ancestors appeared from thin air. This talk will aim to show that everyone left a paper trail and that it’s almost always possible to find it. It will introduce a number of strategies to help you get around the brick walls and dead ends in your research, paying particular attention to getting the most out of online databases and advanced techniques such as ‘family reconstruction’.

• April 6, 2020, 7:30 pm: The National Archives – Les Mitchinson

  How to get the most from your visit.

• May 4, 2020, 7:30 pm: In My Father’s Footsteps - Dave Lovell

  Dave will recount his father’s PoW experience during WW2 and the long march he and thousands of others were forced to make across Eastern Europe during 1945 when the war was coming to an end.

• June 1, 2020, 7:30 pm: Don’t Believe Everything You’re Told – Jane Fox

  What type of problems can occur, why they may occur and how we can get over them?
  Jane discusses the many false leads we can be given from the common documents relating to vital events in our ancestors lives. We look at how errors come to be made and how we can get over some of those ‘brick walls’.

• July 6, 2020, 7:30 pm: Lifting the Lid – Miranda Pender

  This talk is based on some of the more bizarre stories unearthed while Miranda was researching her own family history, and is accompanied by a slideshow. She also plays an acoustic guitar and sings songs she has written which have been inspired by the stories. It’s a very entertaining presentation, although not without its serious side!

• August 3, 2020, N/A: Summer Break - No Meeting
• September 7, 2020, 7:30 pm: Paupers, Peasants or Proletariat? Who were the Swing Rioters of Winchester? - Elaine Boyes

  A comparative study of Winchester's rural parishes 1825-1830.

• October 5, 2020, 7:30 pm: Family Legends, Part III – Kay Lovell
• November 2, 2020, 7:30 pm: Members’ Evening – Military Ancestors

  With November being the month of remembrance, and with 2020 being the 75th anniversary of the end of WW2, this meeting will focus on those who served in the military forces. It will be an opportunity for our members to share stories of their own ancestors and relatives.

• December 7, 2020, 7:30 pm: Christmas Meeting and refreshments

Find Us Here:

Crosfield Hall (Annexe)
Broadwater Road
Romsey
SO51 8GL