Much like Scheherazade’s husband, the BNA Team is lucky enough to hear a wonderful story almost every day from visitors to the website. So when Sarah Hayes, a freelance curator from the West Midlands with a passion for social and family history, tweeted to tell us about her research in the BNA, we were all ears. Sarah and her mum are researching their family tree and, well, they are certainly discovering some fascinating stuff. In particular, the story of one …
Genealogy & Family History
We had a grand day out in Dundee last Friday, at the ‘Tayroots’ Family History Day at Discovery Point. We heard some terrific and intriguing stories about jute workers, sailors, soldiers, terrible accidents, divorce cases, missing ancestors, dockers, ships – well, in short, life, the universe, everything. Here are some photos of the BNA Stand. You can see a full gallery of photos from this event on our Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/TheBritishNewspaperArchive Amy and Grant of the BNA Team Photograph courtesy and …
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We love hearing stories about what people are finding in the Archive. In particular, we enjoy hearing stories about how the newspaper reports have provided added insight into the lives of ancestors and helped people to gain a better understanding of their forebears. So we were delighted when Debra Watkins tweeted to tell us about how she had learned more about her ancestors through reading newspaper reports on the BNA website. In short, Debra had long been puzzled by the …
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The BNA Team will be attending a FREE family history fair at Discovery Point, Dundee, on Friday 5 April 2013, from 10am to 4pm. As Discovery Point is where Captain Scott’s ship, RRS Discovery is berthed, we’re looking forward to visiting this historical location. Organised by Angus Heritage, a number of other archive organisations will be present at ‘Tayroots’. So far, the line-up includes ScotlandsPeople, the Scottish Local History Forum, Angus Archives, Aberdeen City Archives, Tay Valley Family History, Aberdeen …
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We love hearing stories about what you’re up to in the Archive. Truly, we feel extremely privileged to hear your tales. So when professional genealogist, Matt Ball, tweeted us about his research on his music hall ancestors we were keen to hear his story. Through his research in The Era and other papers in the Archive, Matt has discovered some terrific stories about his theatrical ancestors. Matt very kindly agreed to be a guest blogger for us, and we’ve published …
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We enjoyed learning about the family history of John Barnes in this week’s episode of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ The programme highlighted the fascinating life of John’s grandfather, Frank Hill, who played a leading role in Jamaica’s struggle for independence – so the programme was an excellent mix of genealogy and political history. As Frank Hill was a journalist (and playwright), the programme featured dozens of clippings from historical newspapers that were published in Jamaica. Indeed, if you …
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If you happen to be in the Glamorgan area on Saturday 13 October 2012, then you might like to attend the Family History Fair that is taking place in Merthyr Tydfil. The event takes place at the town’s Leisure Centre, admission is FREE (with free parking, too!), and it runs from 10am to 4pm. – www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wlsglfhs/openday12.htm
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As many visitors to the BNA website are family historians, we thought we’d post some info about the West Surrey Family History Society Open Day and Fair, which takes place on Saturday 3 November 2012. The Fair contains a grand line-up of genealogy experts, who will be offering free tips and advice on how best to build your ancestral family tree. There will also be HelpDesks for people who are looking to trace their Scottish and Irish ancestors. The event …
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‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…’ As part of Angus Heritage Week, the BNA Team will be attending a family history event at Hospitalfield House in Arbroath. Since we love attending events in glamorous houses (e.g. Pemberley, Satis House, Manderley et al…) we’re very much looking forward to visiting the gothic paradise of Hospitalfield House. Also attending the event will be ScotlandsPeople, Angus Archives, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives, and the Tay Valley History Society. Guest speakers …
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The Anglo-Scottish Family History Society is holding a meeting in Manchester on Saturday 21 July, from 2pm to 3.30pm. At the meeting, people will share their knowledge about which websites they find most useful for their family history research. The meeting will be held in the Research Room at Clayton House at 59 Piccadilly in Manchester. – www.mlfhs.org.uk