Meetings Programme
All meetings are on Zoom. Those wishing to attend Woolmer Green for the Zoom meeting, this venue will be available from April through to October except during August. Non-members may join the Zoom meeting. The meetings may change according to circumstances.
All meetings, except in May, start at 2.30pm UK time. Access through Zoom may be booked in at 2.15pm UK time. Meeting details will be made available when due in the Members' area, including the various query sessions.
| Date | Subject | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ||
| Jan 25 | Where does my family come from? Unlocking the secrets of DNA Testing — This talk covers understanding how the test works in very general terms, what the results mean and how to use the results to validate paper research or overcome brick walls such as illegitimacy. It also highlights the range of DNA tests and the pitfalls that you may not be aware of. | Karen Evans |
| Feb 22 | What Would Great Aunt Emily Think? — Finding my grandmother’s older sister and unearthing an amazing series of coincidences in my family’s lives. This search enabled me to locate my mother’s last living cousin who was able to fill in gaps in my family history and identify many of the photographs in my mother’s 1920s photo album. | Frances Francis |
| Mar 10 | Researching in Hertfordshire — Online event. A collaborative FREE online event with The Society of Genealogists, Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies (HALS), Hertfordshire FHS, Vision of Britain and VCH. Book direct with Society of Genealogists at this link here/td> | Various Speakers |
| Mar 15 | HALS special opening for members from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. This is a Help Session with HALS staff and HFHS committee | Various speakers |
| Apr 26 | The Devil’s Daughter and Me — It turns out I'm descended from the Devil which explains why I've always been a bit of a maverick. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself anyway! Having discovered my own family history, it's been very enlightening to find out that I'm in very good company. Allow me to show you the underside of Victorian respectability through the eyes of some of my ancestors who had a devilish streak. There’s Aaron who broke with his religion and his community to be with the woman he loved. And Caroline whose passions for a dashing Parisian left her in total disgrace. Then we'll travel to Mexico City in 1596 and see what the Inquisitors make of my non-conforming ancestors there. And finally we'll meet Melusine herself... | Ben Nicholls |
| May 31 | The AGM followed by My 400 Years of Harpenden History — Our speaker will briefly cover his 400 years of Harpenden ancestry, which will lead on to one particular character born in Harpenden in 1791. Peter Parrot was ‘transported overseas’ on more than one occasion and Peter will give a detailed account of the background of the offences and his time ‘overseas’ | Peter Wilson |
| Jun 28 | The Baldock Wagon — How short-haul London wagons operated pre-railways, the people who ran them, the sort of inns they used and the goods they carried | Brendan King |
| Jul 26 | The Old and New Poor Laws — The talk is about the legislation and the records it created, both under the old poor law and the new poor law | Kate Thompson |
| Aug 30 | Trip in person — Day trip to the historic market town of Hitchin | Details to come |
| Sep 27 | Heraldry for Local and Family History — Discover how the study of heraldry can enhance your local and family history research. Our speaker will include local examples together with a basic introduction to the subject. Apart from being our Programme Secretary, John is also Secretary of The Heraldry Society and Chairman of Suffolk Heraldry Society. | John J. Tunesi of Liongam |
| Oct 25 | Researching your Second World War Ancestors — Simon Fowler is a professional researcher specialising in the records of central government and the two World Wars. Join Simon as he shows you how to find out more about your parents and grandparents service in the forces and on the Home Front between 1939 and 1945. | Simon Fowler |
| Nov 22 | Walls Come Tumbling Down — David Annal is a professional researcher with over 40 years experience. He is a former Principal Family History Specialist at the National Archives and worked at the Family Records Centre for many years. Dave’s been researching his own family history since the mid-1970s and hasn’t finished yet! Brickwalls are an inescapable component of every family historian’s world. If you think about it, every line you’ve ever researched starts (or ends, depending on which way you look at it) with an individual whose parentage is unknown. In this talk, Dave takes a practical, hands-on approach to solving brickwalls using worked examples | David Annal |
Venue: Woolmer Green, nr. Knebworth, Herts.
All meetings are held on a Saturday. Times are UK times.
Woolmer Green Village Hall, off Bridge Road, Woolmer Green, SG3 6XA.
The venue will open at 1.30pm.
For Zoom meetings, sign on at 2.15pm.
The speaker will commence at 2.30pm.
Refreshments are available normally about 3.30pm.
The meeting closes at 4.00pm.
Note: The AGM starts at 2pm followed by the speaker at 2.45pm.
Zoom meetings for the AGM will be advised nearer the time.
Visitors are always welcome to come to the Meetings.
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