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January 25, 2024

Digitising and destroying Wills

There is a consultation taking place regarding the digitising of Wills. It is all about saving money, as once digitised, the original Wills will be destroyed and not stored. BAFHS thinks this is a retrograde step, and should something happen to the digitised copy, or if it is incorrectly scanned, the Will can never be obtained again. We ask for your support by emailing your concerns to the ministry about this proposal. The full details are in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/storage-and-retention-of-original-will-documents
January 24, 2024

Help my Ancestors have vanished!

One of the commonest problems faced by family historians is that ancestors suddenly vanish from the records often for no seeming reason. Next Monday, Simon Fowler will be looking at why this might be so. The Bath Group meeting is online at 7.30pm on Zoom – joining details sent to members in advance. More details at Help my Ancestors have vanished!
January 23, 2024

Hidden in Plain Site – handout

We’ve had some lovely feedback following our last talk which was by Mia Bennett, looking at free online sources. Mia put together a handout to accompany her talk – this is available from your Member Dashboard on the website – you will need to log in as a member. Follow the link to “Recorded Meetings” and her handout is at the bottom of the Dropbox page.
January 13, 2024

Bristol’s Pauper Children

This month’s newsletter from our friends at Bristol Books includes an item on Bristol’s Pauper Children, one of their titles. The book is available via our webshop or at independent booksellers.

Family history for Bath, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire

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.