Genealogy Articles
Using the Census for Family History
February 1, 2021
What is the purpose of taking a census? It certainly was not originally intended to help would-be genealogists! Run by the Office of National Statistics [ONS] and completed every 10 years since 1801, this year it is on Sunday 21st March. They say they are making it easy for everyone to take part because you […] – read more…
Ancestry DNA matches to be removed?
July 16, 2020
ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! It seems that AncestryDNA will be making changes meaning that 1000s of people who currently appear as DNA matches will disappear, as soon as 1st August (exact date not known). This is being reported from various sources, who attended a conference call with Ancestry. There are ways to keep some of these […] – read more…
Free copies of historical wills from TNA
May 29, 2020
The National Archives (TNA) at Kew is currently closed to the public. While this continues, it is allowing people to download up to 50 digitised items per 30-day period free of charge. Usually the price is £3.50 per will. Only 10 items can be downloaded at a time, but when you have done so you […] – read more…
Hampshire Rural Churches Appeal
May 10, 2020
There is an HGS project of producing a DVD/memory stick for sale in the future containing photographs and details of Hampshire rural churches for sale by the HGS. The idea is to contain as many photos of the churches as possible so if any members would like to send copies of their own church photos […] – read more…
Online VE Day event
May 4, 2020
Wessex Film and Sound Archive / Hampshire Archives and LocalStudies VE Day online event. We hope you are keeping safe and well during the current situation, and have enjoyed 100 Days of Film and our social media posts. In common with many organisations, we are moving our planned VE / VJ Day event online, with […] – read more…
Spanish Flu: 1918-1920
May 4, 2020
I have been inspired to share this story now because, at the time of writing, the world is in the grips of another pandemic: Coronavirus (Covid 19). In UK, we are in lock-down and there seems to be no end anytime soon. The fact that much of the world was suffering from similar circumstances a […] – read more…
The Name Game
November 23, 2019
As part of the preparations for a forthcoming village booklet on Burghclere I did a search through the HRO CALM Index for any relevant details. I found what appeared to be an interesting marriage license. – read more…
Protestant Dissenters Burials Grounds
August 22, 2019
There is an interesting insight into the use of separate burial grounds for dissenters written onto the first page of the burial register for the Christchurch Independent Church that is in reference RG4/399. – read more…
Young Lovers in Alton
April 4, 2019
A brief paragraph in the 15th of February 1873 issue of the Hampshire Telegraph announced the death of Ellen FOWLER in Alton, the wife of George who was a millwright’s apprentice. On the face of it this was nothing unusual except that the report gave the ages of the couple; Ellen was only 15 – read more…
Portsmouth Road Names (Then and Now)
April 3, 2019
Some of the streets of Portsmouth and Portsea mentioned in the old registers and census returns have had their names changed over the years. In the following table are a few of them which were originally shown in our Journal the Hampshire Family Historian of November 1985. Vol XII No. 3 pages 192-193. – read more…