| Date | Talk | Speaker | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20-Jun-23 | How To Date Old Photographs | Stephen Gill bio
I have been a professional photographer in a variety of specialisms for over fifty years. For the last twenty-five years I have specialised in photo-restoration and research. With three published text books on dating old photographs and many years as a speaker on the topic I like to help people discover the secrets their old photographs can contain. | The talk follows a timeline of photographic history and how it can relate to your own research. We look at examples where looking at details can help put a photo into a time, place or context. If anyone wants a little help with their own photos if a decent scan can be sent to me with sufficient time I am happy to take a look and give my opinions. |
| 18-Jul-23 | How to use FamilySearch to Discover Your Ancestors? | David Purser bio David is a member H&DFHS and a volunteer at the FamilySearch Centre in Harrogate. He has been a user of FamilySearch and its predecessors since 1967 | David's talk will cover how familysearch.org website can provide useful clues and hints when researching your family history. |
| 19-Sep-23 | An (almost) Yorkshire Story Told through Sixteen Couples | Natasha Houseman bio
Outside of being a family story obsessive, I lead charities who work on the environmental challenges we all face and more specifically in support of those people most immediately & directly affected and least able to cope with what our changing climate is meaning. Through my work I work with people living in Africa, Asia, continental Europe and elsewhere and my best connecting conversations always start with family histories. You can find me at www.natashahouseman.co.uk. | Just two of my 3xg grandparents were not of Yorkshire stock, with one born in Gloucestershire and one in Pembrokeshire. These two, a couple, had met, married and moved to Yorkshire by 1851. Only one other 3x great grandparent was born outside of Yorkshire (in Lancashire). She was illegitimate, I am now convinced she was conceived in Yorkshire and she married back into Yorkshire folks.
Whilst I love sheet thirty-two of the Bartholomew half inch revised map “Wharfedale” from 1932 because it includes the branches from south of Leeds and west of Harrogate, my roots are predominantly in the Nidderdale, Upper Wharfedale and Washburn valleys.
This talk is a whistlestop tour of the sixteen couples (thirty two people) who are my 3xg grandparents. It covers farmers, miners, canal boat people, dressmakers, grocers, gamekeepers and yet more farmers as well as women’s (lack of rights) in the Victorian age, illegitimacy and painful deaths. It’s also about sources and local names. All within that small geographic radius we are all interested in. My intent is to open conversations and (perhaps) new routes to explore your own family history in this area.
|
| 17-Oct-23 | A Grandmother’s Legacy | Jenny Mallin | |
| 21-Nov-23 | Yorkshire Resources at the Society of Genealogists | Sue Gibbons bio
She is writing My ancestor was a shopkeeper and a second edition of her book German pork butchers in Britain for the Anglo-German FHS is nearing completion. | Yorkshire sources in the library of the Society of Genealogists We start with using the library catalogue online. Next how to find out about the broader jurisdictions for Yorkshire and your target parish, such as the Poor Law unions Then the talk follows the arrangement of books in the library: General eg.: Armed forces, Court records, Education, Manorial records, Occupations, Taxation, Wills etc Local histories and local history societies Registers and other sources for births, marriages and deaths Monumental (tombstone) inscriptions Censuses and census substitutes Directories Poll books and voters registers Periodicals of county and local record and historical societies etc Lastly we cover some of the special collections in the library and free access to subscription websites from the library |
| 19-Dec-23 | Christmas Quiz | Kevin Hawkins | Members Only event. This year the quiz master will be our chairman, Kevin Hawkins |
Supporting Family Historians with a connection with Harrogate, Knaresborough, Wetherby and surrounding villages
Old Town Hall Plaque, 31 Swan Road, Harrogate (now Mercer Gallery)
The plaque can be found on the left hand side of the door to the Mercer Gallery.
Mercer Gallery/Old Town Hall, 31 Swan Road, Harrogate
Erected in 1805 by private subscription to provide shelter and a meeting place. The Old Town Hall has been known as the Promenade Room, The Victoria Room and The Town Hall Theatre. 
Crown Hotel and RAF Connection
This plaque is on a side wall, facing The Old Bell Tavern. I will investigate further when I am able due to Covid restrictions at present.
Wesley Methodist Chapel, Oxford Street, Harrogate
The Weslyan Methodist Church dated 1862 is on Oxford Street. Harrogate.
Bettys Tea Rooms
Betty's Tea Rooms opened in Harrogate in 1919
Boots, Cambridge Street, Harrogate
The art deco building housed Woolworths before Boots took over. Boots in 1996 was on the other side of the street.
Cenotaph
Harrogate’s Cenotaph is located in the centre of Harrogate facing Parliament Street with Cambridge Road and Cambridge Crescent on either side.
The front brass plate is made up of 3 panels of 3 columns with the name of 641 people who lost their lives in the First World War.
On the rear plaque there are another 238 names of those who also lost their lives in the First World War.
On the lower half of the rear plaque are 314 names of people who died in the Second World War.
Conyngham Hall Hotel, Knaresborough Bygone Days
In 1796 Ellen the Dowager Countess Conyngham purchased Coghill Hall with 51 acres of land from Sir John Coghill and changed the name of the estate to Conyngham House.
Hoopers
Hoopers Store on James Street, Harrogate.
Royal Baths
The Royal Baths were built in 1894-7 by Baggerley Bristow. They were once Europe's premier destination for spa treatments and the pampered rich. Politicians and royalty came to 'take the waters'. There were also assembly rooms and a winter garden lounge.
The Crown Hotel, Crown Place, Harrogate
Since 1660 there have been many buildings called "The Crown". In 1847 The Crown Hotel on Crown Place had a central section rebuilt in a chaste neoclassical design. In 1870 the Crown estate ran as far as Parliament Street, was acquired by George Dawson, who employed J H Hirst of Bristol as his architect. The Crown’s Georgian wings were removed and replaced with a powerful pair of Italian Renaissance replacements which gave the building great character. George Dawson also planned a tower and new shops in Crown Place and Crescent Road, all of which were built after Dawson’s death in […]
Royal Baths, Harrogate
The Royal Baths were built in 1894-7 by Baggerley Bristow. They were once Europe's premier destination for spa treatments and the pampered rich. Politicians and royalty came to 'take the waters'.
There were also assembly rooms and a winter garden lounge.
Prospect Hotel, Harrogate
The picture shows the view from Prospect Hotel, towards The Valley Gardens
The building opened in 1818, is now occupied by the The Yorkshire Hotel.
Sue Gibbons was the Librarian of the Society of Genealogists for almost 20 years. During this time she was responsible for managing a major Lottery funded project to convert the old card catalogue into computer form and make it available on the Internet. She has been a member of the Anglo-German FHS since 1987 and is a life member and Fellow of the Society of Genealogists,