Date
The last Wednesday of each month, except December.
Time
7.00pm – 9.00pm.
Normally it is 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start, but people do start arriving from about 6:30pm. However we can always do with a hand setting up!
Venue
Doncaster School for the Deaf
Race Course Roundabout
Leger Way, Doncaster
South Yorkshire, DN2 6AY
(opposite the Doncaster Race Course Exhibition Centre).
Parking
There is adequate free parking and facilities are available for the disabled.
- Meetings are free to members; Visitors £3, from January 2017, (refunded if you join on the night).
- It’s a good chance to meet with other members with the same hobby. You will be able to talk to others, obtain advice and be part of a vibrant Family History Society.
- Each month there is a speaker, and the talks are all so varied.
- On the Bookstall you will be able to purchase the Society’s and other publications. We have over 400 publications, most of which will be available at the meeting.
- At the the Exchange Journal Table you can borrow journals form one of our fellow societies.
- Our Journal, the Doncaster Ancestor, is also available every quarter, February, May, August and November.
2018
| Date | Talk | Speaker |
31 January | In Search of my George Ravenhill
The story of how persistent family history research turned a name on a family tree into a fascinating life. Hear about the life of a Doncaster man who joined the army and travelled across India and a life blighted by tragedy. You will get many tips on how to conduct your own research, and break down some of the brick walls. | Karen Walker |
28 February | Fraud and Bigamy in Mid Victorian Britain
The case of the Italian imposter, Count Borromeo. This was just one of the many names he used. He spent most of his life defrauding individuals and businesses and marrying or propositioning women. He was also a well-educated, multi lingual, well-travelled showman, and British
| Richard Axe |
28 March | AGM & Trust me, I am your Plague Doctor
Directly from the plague village of Eyam. David’s talk looks at how we tried to stay fit and well 300 years ago. From outrageous enemas to tongue in cheek bladder stone procedures. Just what the doctor ordered. David will make you thankful for today’s NHS, and you will wonder how the plague could be such fun. | David Bell |
25 April | Mother’s Little Helpers
This talk is a light hearted look at historic infant and parenting and Practices, but it also has a serious side. Ignorance, superstition, fashionable beliefs and practices, all contributed to the high mortality rates of young children in previous centuries. Unsuitable foods, poor hygiene standards, as well as the items used to “help” mothers also had their part to play
| Susan Watts |
30 May | Footpads, Kings and Highwaymen
The A1 renowned as being the route from London to Edinburgh,
has changed its path and route. Do the passengers who pass this way know just how fortunate they are? Our journey covers just 34 miles, and in that short journey we shall see the haunts of highway men, the sites of murders and much, more. Get ready for a roller coaster ride of horror and humour.
| Ian Morgan |
27 June | West Riding Pauper Lunatic Assylum Wakefield
Life as a patient in the West Riding Wakefield Pauper Lunatic Asylum in the 19c. In the words of some of the patients’ their experiences, case notes and asylum records. | David Scrimgeour |
25 July | Lady Randy
Hear just what sort of person the mother of Winston Spencer Churchill was. | Pat Osbourne |
August | NO MEETING | |
26 September | Wills Before Solicitors
Some interesting wills held at the Borthwick York. Held from the times that the Church made your will, unlike today when it’s the solicitor you use. | Gary Brannan |
31 October | So You Think You Are British
Just like “Who do You Think you Are”. are we as British as we would seem? Come along and find out the possibilities of who you are. | John Taylor |
28 November | The British Empire
The role of the British in the British Indian Empire. Did you have ancestors out in India? Do you know anything of their work and travels. | Edgar Holdryd-Doveton |
December | NO MEETING | |
Please Note – There will occasionally be a change to the pre-advertised speaker due to circumstances beyond our control. If you are coming to hear a specific talk, please check our website before you travel or contact the Programme Secretary
Palgrave Research Centre