No 1 Objectives of this Blog

I was delighted to be invited to write a regular blog on Family History as this is now my main hobby. I was also very apprehensive as I know there are many people who have far more expertise in this subject than I have. What I’ll be doing, however, will be trying to give some of my experiences in discovering my family history and giving information which I hope will be of help to others who are trying to trace their ancestors. I shall be aiming to produce these notes every fortnight and there is also a facility for you to send in your questions or comments. I shall attempt to answer your issues or direct you to an appropriate source for you to pursue the issues yourself.

In our grandparents’ day people tended to live their lives in the same community and they knew exactly who their relatives and ancestors were. As people became more mobile in looking for work family ties became looser and we became less knowledgeable about our family history. People are now realising their loss and there has been a huge increase in people researching their family history in recent years. The spate of recent television programmes on the subject is proof of this interest.

There are many sources which you can use to search for information about your ancestors and in recent years there has been a big increase in the information that is available on websites. During the next few months I’ll be trying to give you some guidance on the services that are available.

Locally we have the Gwynedd Family History Society which has regular monthly Branch Meetings in Bangor, Caernarfon, Dolgellau, Llandudno, Llangefni and Pwllheli from September to April or May. These meetings consist of talks by people either talking about aspects of their own family history or about interesting characters, families or events from the past. The meetings in Caernarfon, Dolgellau and Pwllheli as always in Welsh, those in Bangor and Llandudno are always in English and meetings in Llangefni are in either language as advertised. The meetings for January 2008 are as follows:

Bangor, 8 January (first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: Margaret Dunn, “Dating old houses in Snowdon�

Caernarfon, 31 January (last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the The Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Heulwen Jones, “Hanes teulu Nantmor, Beddgelert�

Dolgellau, 10 January (second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: Gareth Haulfryn Williams, “Hen Ewyllysiau�

Llandudno, 14 January (second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at The Library, Mostyn Street: Einion Thomas, “This Barbarous tongue “Merioneth� and the Welsh Not�.

Llangefni, 17 January (third Thursday of each month) 7.15pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: A visit to the Angelsey Archives.

Pwllheli, 18 January (third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Noson yr aelodau.

If you’re interested in researching your family tree why not come along to one (or more!) of these meetings. You’ll hear an interesting talk, you’ll learn something about researching family history and you’ll meet people with the same interest and who will be able to help you get started. You may even find someone who turns out to be a distant relative!

Gwynedd Archive Services

As I complete these notes I’ve become aware that the Gwynedd Archive Services is offering half day and one day courses for people who have not previously used the archive services.

The first introductory sessions will be held on SATURDAY, 12 January 2008 as follows:

Course: Sesiwn Blasu: Beth sydd ar gael yn eich archifdy lleol? (Welsh course)
Location: Caernarfon Record Office, Caernarfon
Time: 10.00am – 12.00pm

Course: Introductory Course: What is in your local Record Office? (English course)
Location: Caernarfon Record Office, Caernarfon
Time: 2.00pm – 4.00pm

They also have a one day Family History Course in English starting at 10.30 am in Caernarfon on Saturday, 19 January 2008 and in Dolgellau on Wednesday 30 January.

Courses are free, but it is ESSENTIAL that you book your place with the record office where the course is to be held:
Caernarfon Record Office: (01286) 679095/679092
E-mail: archives.caernarfon@gwynedd.gov.uk
Dolgellau Record Office: (01341) 424681
E-mail: archives.dolgellau@gwynedd.gov.uk

I intend to give some guidance on the services provided by the Gwynedd Archive Services and those provided by Conwy and Ynys Môn County Councils in a later blog.