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Manchester & Lancashire Family History Society

Oldham & District Branch

Starting January 2008 the meetings are to be held on the second Saturday of the month in the Education Suite Gallery Oldham - which is situated off Union St close to Sainsbury`s.

We have speakers on many topics including genealogy, history - local and otherwise, and we also have occasional help forums. We have a help desk, a CD Loan Service and an Oldham members' interests index at each meeting.

We also provide a regular Wednesday afternoon helper at the Oldham Local Studies Library who is there to give help and advice to those starting out on tracing their family history and guidance on how to go about using the records in the library.

Oldham Branch - Programme September 2008 to December 2009  

SATURDAY MEETINGS COMMENCING 2pm No meetings in July and August.

at the EDUCATION SUITE GALLERY OLDHAM GREAVES ST OLDHAM

Special Note - Due to unforeseen circumstances at the Venue from September 2008 a door charge for both Members and Non Members will be introduced as follows:

Members £1.00 and Non Members £2.00

    Date

      Speaker

                           Subject

September 13th 2008

  Phil Stringer

   The Hidden Depths of the GENUKI site

Phil is the co-ordinator of the Lancashire pages on GENUKI, the site which contains thousands of pages of information. There is much more to the site than most of us realise. Phil will show us how to use the Parish Locator, the Gazetteer, the search facility and how to find our way through this fascinating site..

October 11th 2008

  John Marsden

   Evidence or Error?

Our aim in researching a pedigree is to establish a truthful line of descent. To do this we are reliant upon the experiences of and records left by others. We can be certain of little more in our research than that a person was born and eventually died. Beyond this we are resigned to establishing truth through the collection and critical evaluation of evidence. John will use his own research experience and family stories to illustrate this topic.

November 8th 2008

  Professor        Colin Pooley

   Understanding Migration & Mobility in the Past

How did the railway affect population mobility? Did your ancestors travel by road or canal when they left their villages for the industrial towns? Professor Pooley of Lancaster University will be explaining how different forms of transport affected migration and mobility in the past.

December 20th 2008

  

   Discovery Session at Oldham Local Studies and Archives

(Please note NOT at Gallery Oldham)

This session will take place at Oldham Local Studies and Archives at 84 Union St. There will be opportunities to find out what family history research resources are held here. Census info, parish registers on film, maps, newspapers on film, books, pamphlets, school records and much more. Come along, ask questions and find out.

Roger Ivens, the Local History Officer, will also lead a discovery walk along Union Street.

January 10th 2009

  Dr Elizabeth Roberts

   Working Wives & Mothers in the early 20c Cotton Industry

Elizabeth Roberts was a postgraduate student when she undertook her first , ground-breaking oral history project in the mid-1970s. The information gathered from this, and two subsequent projects, forms one of the country`s most important oral-history archives. Dr Roberts will be drawing on her vast experience when she talks to us.

February 14th 2009

  Gay Oliver

   Uploading Grannie - Getting Your Family History Online

Setting up our own website is something that we think about but never do through lack of skill. Look at Gay`s site at http://gayandmike.co.uk/index.htm then come along to hear how she set about organising her information, leant how to make it ready for the Web and then launched the site.

March 14th 2009

Colin McInnes

   Don`t Go Round in Circles at Manchester Central Library

A wide range of records is held at Manchester Archives, not only parish registers on film but much more than you might not have thought of using. Colin will give us the benefit of his experiences in finding and using these records to further our family history reseach.

April 18th 2009

Dr George Redmonds

   Your Surname is Unique

Dr George Redmonds is one of the country`s leading authorities on the history and development of surnames. He says that "The surname acted like documentation at a time when they didn`t have forms" It is not known how many people took the same surname, but those based on common trades, like Smith, may have had many original owners.

May 9th 2009

John Fidler

   Dr Kinder Wood and working conditions in Hollinwood in the early 1800s

Dr Kinder Wood gave evidence to a Goverment commission on the lives and working conditions of the people in Hollinwood. He also took a great interest in the mental health of the people. John will tell the story of this interesting man in his inimitable manner. Not to be missed.

June 13th 2009

Hilary Ambrose

   Mapping Our Ancestors

Hilary Ambrose`s talk will introduce us to the various types of maps that are available for different periods. Using examples from Lancashire she will show how much detail can be found to illustrate the surroundings in which our ancestors lived and worked.

July - No Meeting    
August - No Meeting    
September 12th 2009 Sandra McLaren

   My Domesday Ancestors

Sandra will tell us about her voyage of discovery which has taken her back to two generations before Domesday

October 10th 2009 Peter Park FGS

   Ins and Outs of Parish Registers

For family history research before 1837 parish registers are the most important records we use. We look at many other types of document to amplify them, or substitute for them if they are missing or defective, but they provide the basis of our research. This talk looks at the period they cover, how they were created, how they changed with time and, most importantly, their contents and how to interpret them.

November 14th 2009  

   Oldham Local and Family History Day

This event takes place at Gallery Oldham from 10am to 4pm. There will be many different organisations present of interest to local and family historians. There will also be a programme of talks during the day. Experts on family and military research will be on hand throughout to give advice. The event is free.

December 12th 2009  

  Visit to Clayton House Research Centre 59 Piccadilly Manchester

This will be an excellent opportunity to look at all the resources available at the Society`s Resource Centre in Manchester. There is a wealth of material collected by the Society over more than 40 years - you never know, that vital piece of information that has eluded you for years might just be sitting there waiting to be discovered. All welcome, Society membership not necessary.

There will be no meetings of the Branch in July and August.

To see the 2009 Programme Document Click Here

ALSO at our meetings we have the following:

Advice Desk

Bookstall

CD LOAN Service We offer a CD Loan Service to our members between meetings at £1.00 per month per CD, here are some of them

*Charge rate for National Burial Index Second Edition Seperate Rate Applies.

Burials in Chadderton,Failsworth & Hollinwood Churchyards  (over 28000)                   

Burials in Saddleworth & Lees Churchyards (over 40000)

Burials in Crompton & Royton Churchyards (over 31500)

Burials in Oldham St Mary`s Churchyard (over 50000)

Burials In Oldham St Peter`s +Waterhead & Moorside (c12000)

*National Burial Index  Second Edition (over 13million)

Scots Living in England in 1851

Horwich Reflections

The Deserter Index

Manchester City Battalions, Book of Honour

Manchester Crematorium Memorial Inscriptions 1892 to 1940

Directory of Irish Born People in Manchester in 1861

Little Lever Congregational Church, MI`s and Grave Registers

1891 Census of Bolton with Surname Index

1901 Census Surname Index for Oldham and District

And others…............

MISCELLANEOUS

A LIST of IGI BATCH NUMBERS FOR OLDHAM & DISTRICT CHURCHES (Courtesy of Dorothy Bintley)

        Did you know that the MLFHS was formed in Chadderton? take a look at this link

Projects and Services

For more information about work being undertaken by the Oldham branch, please take a look at the Projects Page

[Last updated  June 14th 2009. by  Colin Wood]