The Hampshire Family Historian | Vol.48 No.1 | June 2021

Local Group Programmes

ordered them from your sitting room...except during lockdown, that is, because up to 50 records per month are completely free if you register - and Les’ mantra is, “If nothing else, register!” To show how to make best use of TNA’s website, he took us right through a couple of specific ADM (Admiralty) searches as examples and it was illuminating just how much is available, if only you know where to look – and now we do. (March) Secrets and Lies: adventures in other people's family history – Dr Frances Hurd. Frances is a historical researcher who has explored both her own family history as well as those of private clients and she utilised some of her more fascinating findings to illustrate her talk to us. She immediately gained our attention by mentioning that she very often trips over murder, incest and/or illegitimacy in the course of unpacking the secrets and lies hidden alongside the various skeletons that lurk within the closets of her clients’ families. She showed us a marriage certificate from 1841 which, when cross-referenced with censuses from the same year, was shown to have recorded multiple lies about names, ages and occupations – and that was just the first of many fascinating scenarios on offer. The motto? Never take records or rumours as unequivocal fact. (April) My Website – Kay Lovell Our group organiser Kay kicked off the evening with a few notices, including information about the forthcoming AGM on 12th June and then told us how she is making sure that her family research is able to be shared with friends and family, is protected for the future and yet is accessible for constant updating. She felt that technology must be the answer and so is now the proud owner of an evolving website. It is not open to the world, in that search engines cannot find it, but individuals whom Kay has invited can access it freely. The beauty of it, she says, is that she can add to it a little bit at a time and build up a picture of a person which does not rely purely on statistical evidence. “It’s little stories that make family history so interesting” she said and then illustrated the point by showing us a photo from her website which depicts her grandmother’s washing line which was made from a ship’s mast, the height allowing for two lines of laundry to dry simultaneously, genius! We then had a very lively question and answer session and heard briefly about the mechanics of setting up a website, the costs involved, the need to back up data and also about the various merits of different family tree software packages and even how one might like to print a book on one’s research, something we have addressed in a previous meeting. This was a lively, well-attended Zoom meeting and enjoyed by all. Forthcoming Meetings: 10th June Members’ meeting “Making the Most of the British Newspaper Archive” 1-hour video. 7th July Don’t Believe Everything You’re Told Jane Fox (repeat of 6 years’ ago) August No meeting 6th Sept Bringing it up to date: Research in the 20th Century Dave Annal

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