News and Notices

August 10, 2022

Due to a lack of volunteers to help run groups, unfortunately we have had to suspend the current programmes for both the Portsmouth and the New Milton & Christchurch groups. The Portsmouth group was the original HGS group formed 48 years ago, with the New Milton & Christchurch one a few years later. Should you […] – read more…

August 1, 2022

Rescanning of the original BDO index cards started in May of this year with the first phase of transcription starting later that month. This first phase, a verbatim transcription of the scanned card content on to XL spreadsheets, is progressing satisfactorily with approximately 4,500 cards transcribed by mid-July. The transcription team involved in this work […] – read more…

April 1, 2022

Read an article published in the Hampshire Chronicle on 3rd March 2022 about the HGS collaboration with HRO “Family History has never been so easy.” A walk-in enquiry and support service in Winchester and other important new developments offer family historians a first-class service, writes Barry Shurlock  Read the full page article as published HERE. – read more…

March 1, 2022

Saturday 18th June 2022 Macdonald Botley Park Hotel Winchester Road, Boorley Green Southampton, SO32 2UA Featuring Genealogy Experts and talks from guest speakers Open to all – Members, Friends and Family with a passion for family history Tickets – £15.00 Programme 9.30 – 10.00          Registration Tea, Coffee and Light Refreshments available upon arrival.  10.00 […] – read more…

February 21, 2022

Hampshire Genealogical Society New Milton and Christchurch Branch It was with great sadness that we heard John Heighes had passed away last week. It is a great loss for his wife, Janet, and their daughters and families. Our thoughts are with them. John had been the leader of the New Milton and Christchurch Branch for […] – read more…

February 4, 2022

Members can now watch our recording of FindMyPast’s presentation “Introducing the 1921 census of England & Wales” with Paul Nixon (FMP’s Content Licensing Manager). You’ll find it in the Members’ Area under Members’ Only Data    Then choose ‘Group Zoom Presentations’. If you watched it live (on 1st February), you may wish to see it […] – read more…

December 19, 2021

On Wednesday 8th December, at Hampshire Record Office in Winchester, Record Office staff and Hampshire Genealogical Society volunteers came together to celebrate their recent partnership. To kick off the evening, Emma Noyce, Assistant Director – Culture and Information Services [Hampshire County Council]; Caroline Edwards, the previous Chief Archivist at HRO and HGS Chairman, Paul Pinhorne, […] – read more…

December 15, 2021

Following on from this year’s success of the International Group we wanted to establish a similar group for our members who do not live in Hampshire.   We felt this was particularly important as many of our Area Groups are returning to face-to-face meetings and it would mean that many of our members who do […] – read more…

December 12, 2021

County Council agreement with Ancestry® set to make 500+ years of historic records available online Anyone with Hampshire roots anywhere in the world will be able to learn more about their ancestors thanks to an agreement between Hampshire County Council and Ancestry®, a global leader in family history. Read the official announcement here. As part of […] – read more…

December 4, 2021

Special Announcement Tuesday, 1st February 2022, is a date for your diary! We’re delighted and very excited to tell you that HGS shall be hosting a special Zoom presentation entitled, “Introducing the 1921 Census of England & Wales”. Paul Nixon, from FindMyPast, will be telling us all about the newly launched 1921 Census and how […] – read more…

November 15, 2021

This is a photograph of the war horse statue in Romsey, Hampshire, where there was a Remount Depot during WW1 for the training and conditioning of horses for use in battle. In nearby Southampton, the Swaythling Depot sent horses direct to France. The Army required huge numbers of horses and thousands were requisitioned for army […] – read more…

November 9, 2021

Our Facebook page can be found here……. https://www.facebook.com/HGSfamilyhistory We know we’re not the only Family History Society to have a Facebook page but we’re quite proud of ours! At least one item is posted every single day; sometimes more. If you ‘follow’ us, these regular posts will pop up on your own newsfeed. There are […] – read more…

November 5, 2021

Do you struggle to read old handwriting – especially in wills, probate inventories and manorial documents? If so, Hampshire Records Office is offering classes to help you. There are two classes left, and we would like to encourage more bookings. read old handwriting, Book here Our events, including free onsite exhibitions, are also listed at […] – read more…

November 5, 2021

During the summer we were busily organising our move from our former location in Cosham [near Portsmouth] to Hampshire Record Office in Winchester where we have been welcomed with open arms. We ‘opened for business’ on Tuesday 3rd August and we now have a regular presence every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am till 4.00 pm. […] – read more…

August 29, 2021

It has been brought to my attention that the village booklet for East Meon (VB003) has two websites listed that are no longer active. The defunct ones are http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/eastmean/register.html and www.lesleeztreez.com/east_meon_index.htm They have been replaced by www.eastmeonhistory.org.uk/content/catalogue_item/architecture-2/records-registers/registers-baptisms-marriages-deaths Roy Montgomery – read more…

August 6, 2021

New one-stop-shop for family historians as Hampshire Genealogical Society creates new base in county Record Office Finding out more about your ancestors is set to get easier as Hampshire Record Office in Winchester becomes the new home of the Hampshire Genealogical Society – with the Society’s volunteers and Record Office staff together offering a one-stop-shop […] – read more…

March 5, 2021

Chairman Paul Pinhorne is extremely pleased to announce that the HGS has agreed with Hampshire Archives and Local Studies to relocate its Research Centre to the Hampshire Record Office in Winchester. This will allow HGS members and others interested in family history to use both our resources and expertise whilst having convenient access to Hampshire […] – read more…

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…

January 25, 2021

Our research team at the University of Newcastle (Drs Shaw, Donnelly, Burke and Parkes from the School of Education) are conducting research into family history and DNA testing and its impacts on people’s understanding of themselves and their place in history, as well as some general demographic information. To this end, we are conducting an […] – read more…

January 14, 2021

We are very excited to share some good news. Having turned to Zoom to hold Group meetings and our AGM last year, we have reached not just our out-of-county members but also members from as far afield as Australasia and North America who have managed to attend regardless of the time differences!   We are […] – read more…

October 11, 2020

We’ve recently added 21 new products to our series of ‘Alan Godfrey Historical Maps’. See the whole collection at our online shop at https://www.hgs-familyhistory.com/shop/historical-maps These black and white reproductions of old Ordnance Survey maps are an invaluable resource for family historians.  They show towns and villages in detail, with individual buildings marked, as well as […] – read more…

August 12, 2020

The Findmypast collection of Hampshire records is growing with the addition of over 50,000 records for various parishes in the north east of the county. These records have been released in conjunction with Surrey County Council. Parish records pre-date the introduction of civil registration in 1837 and are a vital source of information. Details of […] – read more…

July 25, 2020

We are very pleased to let you know that we have been able to re-open this week following the prolonged lockdown period.  This is ahead of most, though not all, archive services across the country. Our new arrangements are quite different due to new distancing, hygiene and quarantining requirements, as might be expected. Please note […] – read more…

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…

June 9, 2020

Although there has been some relaxing of the lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic in the UK, we are still not allowed to meet in large numbers. In March, we advised groups that they should cancel all meetings until July at the earliest. Who knows when this will change? As you are probably aware, over […] – read more…

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…

May 7, 2020

On Tuesday 10 March, Fair Oak Group were joined by the HGS Secretary, Gwen Newland, and Bookstall Manager, Elaine Boyes, who have been visiting all the Society’s groups to demonstrate the revamped website. The only date available was the slot scheduled for a members’ evening … and the only problem was that this is Elaine’s […] – read more…

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…

April 30, 2020

Due to the continued uncertainty of the ‘Lockdown’ in the UK caused by the Covid-19 crisis, we wish to announce that the proposed 2020 Conference Day has been cancelled. I can confirm that the 2021 Conference Day (including AGM) will take place on Saturday 12th June 2021. Monies received for 2020 tickets already booked will be […] – read more…

April 24, 2020

In normal times, The National Archives at Kew is a great day out for Genealogists. It can be a bit daunting at first because of its size, but it is wonderful to go there and look at old documents that in some cases go back one thousand years. It is amazing to find an ancestor […] – read more…