RESEARCH and RESOURCES

November 16, 2023

The HGS Help Desk in the search room at Hampshire Archives in Winchester will be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 10am – 4pm from Tuesday 21st November. Up until now we have only been open Tuesday and Thursday. Click to find out more about visiting the Centre. – 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…

April 30, 2020

1. When searching online, remember that ‘less is more’ try to enter as few details as possible on the search screen try different combinations of name, age and birthplace try searching using just the first name or just the surname 2. Try using wild cards to find those difficult names * stands for any number […] – read more…

April 15, 2020

Are you just beginning to research your Family History? Not a beginner? You may find some reminders useful! Look at these tips for researching: Start your family tree with the information you know. Add yourself and all the relatives whose names you know to your tree, and add any birthdays and other life facts you […] – read more…

March 1, 2019

Did anyone in your family serve in the Home Guard during WWII?   They may be included in the number of members in the Hampshire Home Guard who have been mentioned in the HRO catalogue and either appear in documents and photographs. Check out the table below. – read more…

January 2, 2019

Knowle Hospital was open in 1852 as the Hampshire County Lunatic Asylum. The asylum was renamed Knowle Mental Hospital in c.1923 and following the 1948 introduction of the National Health Service Act, became Knowle Hospital. At the beginning of the 20th century, Knowle Hospital was home to over 1000 patients and staff and was a self […] – read more…

December 14, 2018

Herbert Frank FRENCH was born on 21st April 1884 at 11 Hyde Close in Winchester, the illegitimate son of Emily. On 18th January 1908 he married Sarah Ann (Annie) BIGNELL in Meonstoke and then settled in the village to raise their daughters Emily and Ivy. Herbert was initially in the Territorial Army then when WWI […] – read more…

February 19, 2018

In the 1840s there was a legal requirement for every county to have its own asylum, the result being that Hampshire purchased the land at Knowle Farm near Fareham in order to construct the Hampshire County Lunatic Asylum. – read more…

February 26, 2017

Teacher at a private school in Odiham around 1900 Ellen Valentine James HGS member Peter GODWIN’s Great Aunt was Ellen Valentine JAMES. She was the youngest of three sisters and was born on St. Valentine’s Day 14 February 1869 in Notting Hill.  Her parents were Henry George JAMES who had married Ellen MOREY in the […] – read more…

October 7, 2016

Looking through old bits and pieces can prove rewarding Gordon Brine Many older HGS members will remember my husband Gordon BRINE who unfortunately died on 8 May 2007. As often happens at these times documents, photos and other memorabilia get put away.  These tend to become forgotten over the years.  Sorting through some of Gordon’s […] – read more…

September 30, 2016

Fordingbridge boy dies from rabies The Hampshire Telegraph published on 17 July 1826 reported the death of James HASKEL.  On 18 June he was attacked by a rabid dog.  The bites around the face were so severe that treatment was difficult.  At that time treatment for rabies was very limited. The surgeon Mr. BUDD from Fordingbridge […] – read more…

August 30, 2016

Have you an ancestor you cannot find before 1837? Have you thought that they may be non-conformists? Ancestry have scanned the non-conformist registers handed to the authorities in 1837. – read more…

June 15, 2015

Francis FREEMAN and Sarah Ann ROGERS from Odiham, Hampshire had legally married in 1854. The Hampshire Advertiser reports how they were then induced by their local curate in Greywell to a re-marriage in 1855. – read more…

March 1, 2015

The 1899 Hampshire murder of young Dorcas HOUGHTON resulted in nationwide publicity.
Eighteen year old Dorcas was killed in Swanwick by her jilted boyfriend Charles MAIDMENT aged 22. Despite a plea of insanity Charles was found guilty and hanged 3 months later. – read more…

February 22, 2015

An 1855 Portsea Hospital bed shortage raised concerns when a man who was turned away later died. – read more…

October 19, 2014

After the Napoleonic wars many suffered hardship that often resulted in lawbreaking and people being taken to court. William ATRELL and John CHAMBERLAIN were two such cases reported in the Hampshire Telegraph in 1817. – read more…

July 28, 2014

Family trees can benefit greatly from genealogical information contained in wills.

This Portsea Will of John BIGGNALL written on 8 February 1684 is a good example, with the large number of names and relationships of the beneficiaries he included. – read more…

April 14, 2014

An 1810 Hampshire newspaper carried an appeal for information by the wives of two Gosport men who drowned in a Solent tragedy. Who were these men? – read more…

February 17, 2014

In 1900 the body of a Portsmouth man was taken to Woking by train to be cremated in the first crematorium in the country. – read more…

January 13, 2014

This destitute Portsmouth woman stole and sold a coat and was punished with seven years transportation. – read more…

October 22, 2013

Bigamy cases can be very interesting but are more intriguing when the accused is a woman. On this occasion the offending marriage took place nearly thirty years before coming to court. – read more…

September 22, 2013

A family bible that records an interesting sequence of events illustrating how useful these volumes are in tracing family movements. – read more…

August 26, 2013

What happened to these pauper children who were sent from Alverstoke workhouse as Manchester cotton mill apprentices ? – read more…

August 26, 2013

The death was reported in 1850 in Portsmouth local newspaper of George Burton, an English immigrant living in New York. So, who was George Frederick Burton? – read more…

July 16, 2013

See how HGS resources were used to research the EAMES family of East Tisted who were affected by a series of tragic events that began in 1810. – read more…

July 9, 2013

Criminals were often sentenced to whipping in Hampshire Quarter Sessions courts. Here are some examples from the 1800s. – read more…

June 20, 2013

A couple from Portsmouth married in Bombay in 1899. The announcement was in a Hampshire newspaper nearly three months later. Who were they and why were they in India? – read more…

June 6, 2013

The National Archive have made available for search and download the records of thousands of C19th immigrants. HGS would be interested to hear from anyone with ancestors who migrated and settled in Hampshire. – read more…

June 6, 2013

Wills are a valuable resource for family historians. See how HGS researcher Roy Montgomery used an old will to reveal new information about a Hampshire shopkeeper. – read more…

May 22, 2013

Snippets from old newspaper articles can add interesting detail to your family history project. HGS researcher Roy Montgomery shares a story he unpicked connecting Hampshire and the Anglo Boer War. – read more…