“In Loving Memory”
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SCOTTISH ASSOCIATION of FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES BULLETIN APRIL 2013 Executive Committee - Chairman: Bruce B Bishop; Deputy Chairman: Stephen Benson; Secretary: Ken Nisbet; Treasurer: John W Irvine; Editor: Janet M Bishop ******************************************************************************************************************************************* *** 2013 SAFHS Conference FUTURE CONFERENCES "Comings and Goings - Migration and 2014 SAFHS Homecoming Conference, Scotland" Dunfermline, 26 April 2014, Carnegie Conference Centre Saturday 11 May 2013, Scottish Borders A Matter of Life and Death Campus, Nether Road, Galashiels, TD1 3HE, 2015 Central Scotland FHS, Stirling, April 2015 10-4 ___________________________________________________ The programme and online booking for the OTHER SAFHS NEWS conference is available at www.bordersfhs.org.uk/BFHSConference.asp Executive Committee The Executive committee has met twice since Please support the event. We look forward to October, in Edinburgh, and minutes of the meetings have been sent to member societies. seeing you there. Post of Deputy Chairman SAFHS CONTACTS We are pleased to announce that Stephen Benson (Fed FHSs) has been co-opted onto the Chairman Bruce B Bishop: Executive Committee as Deputy Chairman. His Deputy Chairman position will be ratified at the 2014 AGM. Stephen Benson: Secretary Website Ken Nisbet: Treasurer Items for the website should be submitted to John W Irvine: Doug Stewart direct, including any changes to Editor your website contact. Janet M Bishop: Webmaster Doug Stewart: Contacts List The official contacts list is maintained by the Editor, then circulated to members of the Executive. If there are changes to office The next meeting of SAFHS is on bearers, reps, email addresses, mailing Saturday, 12 October 2013, at 1pm, in the addresses, phone numbers, etc, between Boardroom, Edinburgh Youth Hostel, Council Meeting update forms, please send Haddington Place, Leith Walk, Edinburgh. there direct to Janet Bishop. Agendas will be circulated prior to the ScotlandsPeople Voucher Orders meeting. If you have not received an Orders for vouchers should be sent to John agenda 7 days before the meeting, please Irvine, accompanied by a cheque, and should contact the Chairman or Editor. include postage, as per the current agreement: Minimum order 20 vouchers www.safhs.org.uk SAFHS BULLETIN APRIL 2013 Postage: being candidates to have a plaque erected in 21-50 vouchers - £6 their memory. 51-100 vouchers - £7.20 101-175 vouchers - £8.50 November saw a talk by Alison Cameron of 176-250 vouchers - £10.50 Cameron Archaeology, an Aberdeen-based More than 250 vouchers by arrangement company. She gave a fascinating and informative talk on the results so far of the ScotlandsPeople User Group research on the human remains found during Bruce Bishop represents SAFHS on this group. the 2006 excavation at the East Kirk of St Ken Nisbet and Janet Bishop also attend, Nicholas. She discussed the information which representing the amateur and professional could be found by such research, including genealogists respectively. details of the lifestyle and the health of the people of the time. The total of 10,114 teeth The Scottish Council on Archives from the bodies revealed evidence of tooth Bruce Bishop represents SAFHS on this council. decay, which became worse after the 15th century due to changes in diet, and the National Committee on Carved Stones in availability of sugar. Scotland Bruce Bishop represents SAFHS on this The speaker at the Glasgow meeting in committee. November was Sandy Duncanson, who gave a brief history of the Latter Day Saints beliefs and Visit Scotland Ancestral Tourism Steering genealogy. He also explained the new Family Grou Search website. In February Danny Cordiner Bruce Bishop represents SAFHS on this group. presented his new and updated talk on ‘Computers, the Internet and DNA Genealogy’. News from Member Societies The Edinburgh meeting in November saw a talk by Richard Torrance on the Old Photographs of Aberdeen & NE Scotland FHS Edinburgh and Aberdeenshire, in which he showed examples of the various types of early The meetings of the Society in Aberdeen, photography, and the way that fashions can be Glasgow and Edinburgh continue to be well- used to date these early photographs. He also attended, and a new organizer has now been discussed the various uses of these early appointed for the Moray/Banff branch. photographs, and lamented the lack of names on the reverse, especially of group The Aberdeen meeting in September was a talk photographs. by Professor Peter Reid entitled ‘Genealogy – the Census and Social History. He spoke firstly The January meeting was a presentation by about what we know about the census as tool Bruce Bishop about pre-1855 BMD’s, ‘Why are to track our ancestors, and then the second my ancestors not in the records’. He discussed part of his talk was about the use of the census the various non-Established churches, and in Social History research. He then went on to suggested many other sources of records which consider four examples of research into his own may be useful for family history research at this family. time. The October meeting was a talk by Chris Croly, Membership continues to be strong, although Historian with Aberdeen City Council Museum the number of new members is very slightly and galleries, in which he chose 7 people, and 4 down when compared with last year. Aberdeen streets, as being of special interest. He then told the audience how they could The Society has a very full calendar of events nominate specific individuals, now dead, as during 2013, in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh SAFHS BULLETIN APRIL 2013 and in Elgin. A full list of these can be found on during the Beeching era. Members were the ANESFHS website. encouraged to go along to the special steam days at the Scottish Industrial Railway Centre at For further information contact: Hon Secretary, the Dunaskin Heritage Centre. See the Ayrshire Aberdeen and NE Scotland FHS, 158-164 King Street, Aberdeen AB24 5BD. Tel 01224 646323; Fax 01224 Railways Preservation Group 639096 http://arpg.org.uk/wp/category/news/ for more Email: [email protected] information. Website: www.anesfhs.org.uk On 14 March 2013 we will be joining East Alloway and Southern Ayrshire FHS Ayrshire FHS when they host the Joint Ayrshire FHSs members’ meeting at 7.30 pm in The Members gathered in the Burns Birthplace Gateway, Kilmarnock where Margo Graham will Museum in December to enjoy a Social Evening give a talk entitled "100 years of lace. which included an excellent Festive meal and Tuesday 19 March 2013 will be our Workshop musical entertainment. It made for an Evening for members and the Committee will enjoyable end of year celebration. be on hand to provide assistance for members. The Society continues to hold meetings on the Our Annual General Meeting will take place on third Tuesday of the month in the Alloway Tuesday 23rd April 2013. This will be followed Church Halls from September to May. by a members-only questions and discussion session. In January, Edwin Lawrence spoke about his fairground ancestors in a talk entitled “All the On Saturday 11 May we are working with other Fun of the Fair”. He evoked many happy Family History Societies in Ayrshire to arrange a memories of traditional fairs and nostalgia for “combined outing” to the SAFHS Conference what we seem to have lost in this area. He also hosted by Borders FHS in Galashiels. gave a fascinating description of how Fairs changed over the centuries as new technology On Tuesday 21 May 2013 we are travelling to came along causing rides and stalls to be the South of the County and the meeting will be modified or new ones brought in. For example, held in The McKechnie Institute in Girvan. The the horse-drawn carriages on rides were Speaker will be Professor Ian Arbon and he will replaced with motorbikes and cars as these talk about “History of St. John's Episcopal became more common. Church, Girvan from 1847." In February, Gordon Thomson talked on Our project to transcribe the early Parish “Ayrshire’s Railway Heritage”. It was Records of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Ayr interesting to hear about the many different continues with almost all of the baptism scans types of train which operated in and around now being complete, ready for transcription – Ayrshire including some which were actually but that still leaves a lot of marriages and made in Kilmarnock, including the unusual deaths to work on between 1839 and 1862! “Fireless” engine made by Andrew Barclay & Sons. This was in demand for environments A full report of our talks can be viewed on our where sparks could be dangerous such as website: www.asafhs.co.uk munitions factories, paper mills and fuel depots. For further information, contact: To bring us up to date it was noted that there is The Secretary, Alloway & Southern Ayrshire FHS, c/o Alloway still a railway works in Kilmarnock today. The Public Library, Doonholm Road, Ayr, KA7 4QQ tremendous changes which took place over the 20th century were described with the move from Email: [email protected] steam to diesel to electric followed by the Website: www.asafhs.co.uk closure of many smaller stations and lines SAFHS BULLETIN APRIL 2013 Anglo-Scottish FHS reason and then do not renew but sadly several have been long standing members who have Maintaining a trend set last year, for the passed away. greater part of this year our presentations have again been member lead. These included Our syllabus has been excellent but we did presentations on the development of steam in have two speakers who had to withdraw for Britain’s 19th century maritime trade, on different reasons but we were able to find a researching military ancestors, looking beyond substitute, not an easy task if it is short notice.