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December 3, 2024

Have you discovered the world of genetic genealogy?

If you haven’t, or if you want to know more, join us next Monday (9 December) for our Bristol Group meeting where Donna Rutherford will be talking about the use of DNA in genealogy research – including what is DNA, what types of tests are available and how to interpret the results. The talk is online only and starts at 7.30pm – members will be sent details by email.
November 30, 2024

Did you know? Latimer’s Annals of Bristol

John Latimer (1824-1904) was a journalist who wrote a history of Bristol from 1601 to 1900 from old documents and chronicles. Many of these histories have now been scanned and are accessible for free through the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/ which is also a fantastic resource for all sorts of books and other published material.
November 28, 2024

Consultation on burial grounds and cremation

You may have seen in the media that there is currently a consultation at The Law Commission to reform the law of burial and cremation in the UK. They have produced a consultation paper and a summary and are looking for comments by 9 January 2025. We suggest you view the papers and respond using their online questionnaire if you wish to comment. There is a short video to watch as well explaining this and all the details at https://lawcom.gov.uk/project/burial-and-cremation Have your say!
November 22, 2024

Bath Historical Map & Pageant books – available now!

The Bath group attended the Bath History Fair last weekend which was very successful. The most popular item was the new Bath Map which shows the town in 1904, with surviving and vanished buildings. We also had a number of enquiries for “The Year of the Pageant” which tells the story of the Bath Pageant of 1909. One of the places you can buy a copy of either is our own BAFHS Webshop – https://bafhs.org.uk/shop / where both are currently available.

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About BAFHS

Founded in 1975, we are a well established Family History Society focussing our activities on Bath, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (the former county of Avon 1974 to 1996) and its constituent predecessor and successor counties. We are also frequently referred to by our initials - BAFHS. The hub of our activities is our Research Room where enthusiastic volunteers give their time for the benefit of the Society.

What we do:

  • Encourage the public study of family history with reference to the historic county of Avon and its successor counties.
  • Publish a quarterly Members' Magazine (available in digital or paper format).
  • Transcribe and publish source material of interest to family historians.
  • Hold regular in-person and online meetings with a programme of illustrated talks and lectures.
  • Operate a Research Room where advice and resources are freely available.
  • Operate this website which is dedicated to family history.
  • Organise outings to places of interest.

Members:

Members are at the heart of our Society. By becoming a member, you will be joining a like-minded group of people who support our work. There is also the opportunity to become actively involved with a wide range of activities - you'd be surprised what it takes to run a modern family history society. It is quick and convenient to join online.