In June last year (2015) I joined my local Family History Society in Norfolk for the first time. I had been to a number of their monthly meetings before, and joined expecting to attend several more meetings that looked to be of interest in the 2015 program (entrance to meetings being much cheaper for members than for visitors).
You can find your local Family History Society through the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) website.
As it turned out, I didn’t make any more of their meetings during 2015 (for various reasons!). But I have just renewed my membership and been to the first meeting of 2016. I have also written an article for the Society’s newsletter – all about starting this family history blog. I intend to post a copy of that article onto the blog here, once the newsletter is published (which I think is due at the end of February).
I have spent a while working out what to submit as “Names of Interest” to the local Family History Society’s “Member’s Directory”. I have just submitted my list along with my membership renewal, and I thought that I should also post that list here.
I have previously posted my “Names of Interest” onto AFamilyHistoryBlog and created a “Surnames” page which gives some additional details about some of the surnames, and includes some names that are not in the lists below. But the Family History Society has a specific format for the Members’ Interests, which I thought I should reproduce in this post.
I should say that none of my ancestry is very local to the area where I live. So it may be useful at some point for me to join Family History Societies in some of the areas where my ancestors did come from. There are links to some of these societies in the right-hand column of this website, and on the Resources page.
I have come up with two lists;
- a “short list ” – of the names of greatest interest to me, arranged roughly in order of interest; the greatest interest first (though this is flexible – it’ll change depending on what I’m particularly researching at any given time). Most of these surnames can also be found in “Categories” list, in the right-hand column of the website.
- a “long list” – including most of the surnames in my ancestry, which I arrange alphabetically for ease of searching.
Each entry in the list gives the SURNAME (in capitals), any spelling variations in brackets, then the location(s) – parish & county (using “Chapman Codes“), and finally the time period of interest. I will hyperlink each surname in the list to its relevant tag/category on AFamilyHistoryBlog so that you can quickly find all my blog posts relating to that surname.
Short list (greatest interest first);
| Surname | Location | Period |
|---|---|---|
| WALKER | Kirkliston, WLN | 1680 – 1900 |
| HUTCHISON | Kirkcaldy, FIF | 1700 – 1900 |
| ELLIOTT (ELLETT) | HRT | 1750 – 1900 |
| SWAIN | Bristol/ Birmingham/ STS/ LEI | 1800 + |
| CADZOW (CAGOW / KADZOW) | LKS | 1750 1900 |
| EYRE | LND | 19th C. |
| WALTON | Fallowfield, LAN | Pre 1850 |
| TWITE | Bath, SOM/ LND | 1750 – 1900 |
| JOHNSTON | Bathgate, WLN | 1650 – 1900 |
| FRY | Bristol/ WIL | All |
| BUCKNALL | Stroud, GLS | 1750 – 1900 |
| HENDERSON | REW | 1750 – 1900 |
| MAWER | Sibsey, LIN | 1790 – 1900 |
| OLIPHANT | Kirkcaldy, FIF | 1600 – 1900 |
| BARKER | Kirkcaldy, FIF | 1650 – 1800 |
| BARRON (BARON) | Corstorphine, MLN | 1650 – 1800 |
Long list (arranged alphabetically);
| Surname | Location | Period |
|---|---|---|
| BARKER | Kirkcaldy, FIF | 1650 – 1800 |
| BARRON (BARON) | Corstorphine, MLN | 1650 – 1800 |
| BELL (BETT/ BUTT) | Kirkcaldy, FIF | 1700 – 1800 |
| BINNIE | Cramond, MLN | 1700 – 1800 |
| BLACK | Lanark, LKS | 1800 – 1850 |
| BUCKNALL | Stroud, GLS | 1750 – 1900 |
| CADZOW (CAGOW / KADZOW) | LKS | 1750 – 1900 |
| CLARENCE | Stampford, ESS | 1700 – 1800 |
| ELLIOTT (ELLETT) | HRT | 1750 – 1900 |
| EYRE | LND | 19th C. |
| FLINT | WLN | 1700 – 1800 |
| FRY | Bristol/ WIL | All |
| GANDY | Fallowfield, LAN | Pre 1850 |
| GEDDES | MLN | 1700 – 1800 |
| HART (HEART) | STS | 1800 – 1900 |
| HENDERSON | REW | 1750 – 1900 |
| HENDERSON | Lesmahagow, LKS | 1700 – 1800 |
| HUTCHISON | Kirkcaldy, FIF | 1700 – 1900 |
| JOHNSON | Birmingham | 1750 – 1900 |
| JOHNSTON | Bathgate, WLN | 1650 – 1900 |
| KEY | ? WLN | 1800 – 1900 ? |
| MAIR | WLN | 1700 – 1850 |
| MAWER | Sibsey, LIN | 1790 – 1900 |
| MUIR | Lesmahagow, LKS | 1750 – 1800 |
| NEIL | Uphall, WLN | 1750 – 1850 |
| NICHOLSON | Forfar, ANS | Pre 1850 |
| OLIPHANT | Kirkcaldy, FIF | 1600 – 1900 |
| SMEAL | West Hempstead, LND | 1800 – 1850 |
| SMITH | Muiravonside, STI | 1700 – 1800 |
| SWAIN | Bristol/ Birmingham/ STS/ LEI | 1800 + |
| THOMAS | PEM | 1750 – 1900 |
| TWITE | Bath, SOM/ LND | 1750 – 1900 |
| URIE | REW | 1750 – 1900 |
| WALKER | Kirkliston, WLN | 1680 – 1900 |
| WALTON | Fallowfield, LAN | Pre 1850 |
| WEIR | WLN | 1700 – 1800 |
| WHITE | ? WLN | ? 19th C. |
| YOUNG | Ecclesmachan, WLN | 1700 – 1800 |
If you wish to contact me about any of the names listed above, please use the Contact Form. Thanks.
A Family History Blog 