Feedback from recent talks:
As usual, I found your talk to be a mine of useful information and potential leads, so thanks for condensing all of this information in such a helpful way.
What a wonderful insight to life pre 1900. You made it so interesting with your descriptions of the people involved, the work that they did, different types of work depending on where they lived, how they were paid and so much else. You brought it all to life in your talk.!!
My talks include:
Researching Your Pauper Ancestors
At some point in their lives, many of our ancestors would have been in receipt in some form of poor relief, either from the parish or from a Poor Law Union. This talks discusses the records that you can use to find out more, especially:
- Accounts of the Overseer of the Poor
- Settlement records
- Vagrancy examinations and passes
- Pauper apprenticeships
- Workhouses pre and post 1834
- Pauper migration
Discover your Irish Roots
An introduction to the main sources of information available to start your Irish family history. Not everything was lost in a fire!:
- 1926, 1911 and 1901 Censuses
- Civil registration records
- Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland and Presbyterian parish records
Explore the Parish Chest: beyond the registers
Discover the wide range of records created by the parish and how they can help you research your family including:
- Churchwardens’ accounts
- Vestry Minutes
- Settlement examinations and certificates
- Bastardy records
- Vagrancy examinations and passes
Researching your Rural Ancestors
Until well into the 19th century, England and Wales was predominantly rural in nature. As a result, most of us will find our roots in the English and Welsh countryside. But where can we find out more about the lives that our rural ancestors led?
This talk will introduce you to some of the main sources for rural life including
- Official reports
- Estate records
- Labour/wage books
- Manorial surveys and rentals
- Tithe records
- Enclosure records
- Records produced by unions and societies
The Victorian Hiring Fair
An important time of the year for any rural community, the Hiring, Mop or Statute Fair reached its peak popularity in the 19th Century as a way to seek and to provide employment. This talk will outline:
- How, when and where the fairs worked
- The evidence they leave behind
- The campaign against the fairs
- Registration societies
- Why the fairs declined as employment tools
- Some of the other attractions provided
Life in the workhouse
A large number of people in England and Wales spent some time in a workhouse during the 19th and early 20th centuries, but what was life like as an inmate? This talk looks at:
- Admission
- Diet
- Work
- Rules and punishments
- Religion
- Medical care
- Casual wards
Researching Roman Catholics in England and Wales
From the reformation until the end of the 18th Century it was illegal for everyday Roman Catholics to practice their religion in England and Wales. This talk looks at some of the records that were produced as a result of this prohibition such as Pipe rolls, recusancy rolls, forfeited estates and oaths, as well as later records of baptisms, marriages and burials.
An Introduction to Family History
A talk on how to get started and the main sources of genealogical information for England and Wales.
Online talks cost £45 and are accompanied with a handout. To book a talk please email herefordshiregen@gmail.com
Herefordshire Genealogy 