Our Magazine

Continuously published since the Society was formed in 1975.

Published and distributed to all members in March, June, September and December, our Magazine is available in both paper and digital formats. It has twice won the Family History Federation's award for Best Overall Journal of the Year. A complete set is available for reference in our Research Room .

Each issue aims to keep members up-to-date with Society business, news and forthcoming events including local talks and fairs. There are regular features such as reports from meetings, progress on projects, members’ research enquiries, details of new publications and a selection of articles about family or local history topics submitted by members.

Your articles, letters and reports should be submitted to the Editor at: editor@bafhs.org.uk.

December 29, 2019

On the internet – December 2019

This is a shorter article than usual, because some of the time and space has been taken up with a separate review and commentary of the Bristol parish registers which are now on Ancestry.

September 7, 2019

On the Internet – September 2019

Except for the famous, whose lives may be documented in the serious newspapers when they die, obituaries can seldom be found these days. It was different when local newspapers were keen to publish anything about local residents, on the basis that it was bound to increase sales...

June 11, 2019

On the Internet – June 2019

When I first started writing about the internet, many of the family history sites which I described had been set up locally and included transcriptions and information compiled by an individual or by a small group. Over time, the people involved have lost interest or been unable to maintain or grow the site, and the sites have closed down as the fees to host them went unpaid...

March 11, 2019

On the Internet – March 2019

The GRO website, with its increased information and flexible search options has been of great value to family historians, but all is not perfect. It has now emerged that some index entries are missing, and in some cases, duplicated...

November 25, 2018

On the Internet – December 2018

Recent articles have tended to concentrate on the major family history websites, so it is good to start this time with some useful data collected and published locally. The website of Keynsham & Saltford Local History Society already contains some excellent transcriptions of records, including baptism, marriage and burial records from both Anglican and non-conformist churches...

September 5, 2018

On the Internet – September 2018

The first development to report is that Know Your Place has been extended again and now includes the County of Devon. Many Devon people came north to Bristol in the early nineteenth century, and the site can now help you locate more precisely where they came from, with its collection of Ordnance Survey maps, tithe maps and town plans...

June 19, 2018

On the Internet – June 2018

Findmypast seems to have been making the running in recent weeks as regards new releases. Ancestry in contrast sometimes claims something as new when it has already been announced...

April 3, 2018

On the Internet – March 2018

A variety of sources are used to write these articles. I seldom use the information which appears in the glossy family history magazines, since these are often press releases written before the new data is actually available, so can be uncritical and lacking detail. Some websites are suggested to me, and I naturally use the regular announcements made by Ancestry, Findmypast, and other well-known sites...

December 10, 2017

On the Internet – September 2017

Just after I wrote my previous article, it was announced that North Somerset maps had been added to Know Your Place and that there was now complete coverage for Bristol and the old counties of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset...

December 10, 2017

On the Internet – December 2017

About a year ago, the General Register Office launched the provision of new indexes of some births and deaths, and also trialled, for a limited period, the supply of certificates in pdf format at a lower price, something that family historians had been requesting for many years...