Research Centre is Moving

[Posted 14 Apr 2024]
As announced in the society’s journal, the research centre has been forced to move out of MEA house. Our new home is New England House, Ridley Place, Newcastle.
In preparation for the move, the centre in MEA house will close for the last time at 3pm on Thursday, 2nd May.
Between Tuesday 7th May and Monday 13th May, excluding Saturday and Sunday, all of the contents of the research centre has to be put into crates for the removal company to transport to NEH.
The society needs your help in this task. if you are able to, please come along.

The Society hopes to reopen the doors to the Research Centre around about the middle of June. Members will be informed when it is ready.

Durham County Record Office Reopening – Friday 14 June 2024

[Posted 29 Mar 2024]
A brand-new visitor attraction telling the tale of County Durham’s heritage will open this summer.
The Story, based at Mount Oswald in Durham City, is scheduled to open to the public from Friday 14 June.
See here for more details

Heritage Festival Bishop Auckland

[Posted 2 Sep 23]
The Society will be attending the Heritage Festival Bishop Auckland on Saturday 23rd September from 10am til 4pm.
It is being held in Bishop Auckland Town Hall, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 7NP
See here for more details

Forum Closure

[Posted 18 Jul 23]
It is with regret that we must inform you that the Forum will be closing down on the 31st October 2023. The reason for this is that the Forum requires upgrading to improve the security of the system, and there is no administrator available to undertake the work. Any members who which to save the posts or discussions should do so before the 31st October as they will not be available after this date.

We are sorry for the closure and would like to thank the previous administrators for there work in developing the website.

North East Roots Chat

[Posted 8 Jul 23]
Thank you to the 68 members who took the time to complete our recent survey, in particular to the three members who said they would help to host our meetings.

The results showed a preference for a Wednesday evening and a Thursday morning get together, so we will try this out. This months chats will take place on Wed 12th July @ 8pm (BST) and Thu 13th July @ 10:30am (BST).

If you wish, you can join either or both get togethers. The meeting rooms will open 15 minutes before the scheduled start time to allow members to connect to the meeting. Each session will last between 60 and 90 minutes.

We have also produced a short YouTube video to help members connect to the Microsoft Teams meeting. Please follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItRTHq7icF4

This months get together will be hosted by Dennis. The subjects for this get together are:
• Dennis’s top 5 tips on researching family history
• Brick walls
The link to the sessions is below. The same link is used for both sessions. Microsoft Teams can be run in a web browser (MS Edge, Google Chrome) or it can be downloaded as an application to your device. If in doubt, use a browser. If you cannot connect, paste the URL below into a different web browser.
Please note – The privacy of our members is very important to us. We would ask that members do not record the chat. If any member is concerned about being recorded, please use a fictitious name when you connect to the meeting and turn off your camera.

Best regards, Gillian, Jennie, Dennis and Kevin
ne_roots@ndfhs.org.uk

North East Roots Chat

[Posted 30 May 23]
You are cordially invited to join our “North East Roots” chat.

The chat will take place online using Microsoft Teams on Monday 5th June 2023.

To allow members from around the world to join in, there will be two sessions.
• The first will take place at 10:30am BST (9:30am GMT). This is to allow members in Australia and New Zealand to join in during their evening.
• The second will take place at 8pm BST (7pm GMT). The will allow members in America and Canada to attend during their afternoon.

If you wish, you can attend either or both sessions.

The meeting rooms will open 15 minutes before the scheduled start time to allow members to connect to the meeting. Each session will last between 60 and 90 minutes.

It has been suggested by branch representatives that meetings work better if they have a topic to focus the meeting. Therefore, the topic for this chat is “something I have discovered that would be of interest to members”. e.g discovered family connections, interesting stories.

The link to the sessions was emailed to members. If you did not receive it, please email membership@ndfhs.org.uk

Please note – The privacy of our members is very important to us. We would ask that members do not record the chat. If any member is concerned about being recorded, please use a fictitious name when you connect to the meeting and turn off your camera.

Best regards, Gillian, Jennie, Dennis and Kevin

Newcastle Family History Fair

[Posted 7 Apr 23]
The Family History fair will take place in Newcastle Central Library on the 27th May 2023 between 10:30am and 3pm.
Two talks on the day:
11am. Lizzie Baker – Tyne & Wear Archives- News from the Archives.
1.30pm. Joyce Jackman – Beyond the basic Family History Records – Estate Papers

In addition to the NDFHS, the following groups will be in attendance:
Northumberland Archives, Tyne & Wear Archives. St James Group – West End.
We also hope to see Durham Archives, but that has not been confirmed.

This fair is part of the Newcastle Local History Month. Details of which can be found here

1921 Census for England and Wales

[Posted 4 Mar 23]
The Society’s Licence for FindMyPast in our Research Centre has been extended to include the 1921 Census for England and Wales.
FindMyPast is only available on one PC in the Research Centre, so a booking system has been implemented.
Each booking is for one hour and can be made through the reception at our Research Centre. Telephone: (0191) 261 2159

Zoom Presentation by County Durham Forum for History and Heritage

[Posted 4 Mar 23]
County Durham Forum for History and Heritage invites you to their next zoom talk on Wednesday 8th March, starting at 7pm. The waiting room will open at 6.45pm.

Gertrude Bell – ‘The Desert Queen’

Presented by Anthony Atkinson

Details on how to connect to the meeting have been emailed to members.
If you have not received them, please email membership@ndfhs.org.uk with your name and membership number.

Zoom Presentation by County Durham Forum for History and Heritage

[Posted 10 Feb 23]
The announcement below has been sent to us by the “County Durham Forum for History and Heritage” to which the NDFHS is affiliated.

County Durham Forum for History and Heritage invites you to their next zoom talk on Thursday February 16th, starting at 7pm. The waiting room will open at 6.40pm.

Family History and the Media: behind the scenes of Who Do You Think You Are

By Nick Barratt – Genealogical consultant leading the team of researchers for the first four series of Who Do You Think You Are

Details on how to connect to the meeting have been emailed to members.
If you have not received them, please email membership@ndfhs.org.uk with your name and membership number.

Records added to Court database

[Posted 12 Jan 23]
2,725 names from the proctor’s papers and 172 names of persons mentioned in causes have been added to the index of Court records on our website.

Closure of Alnwick Branch

[Posted 26 November 2022]
It is with regret that we announce the closure of the Alnwick Branch.
Many thanks to all branch officers for their work in recent years.

More transcriptions added

[Posted 10 November 2022]
New transcriptions have been added to the NDFHS database and are accessible via the members area of the NDFHS website.
• Baptisms 26,334
• Marriages 192
• Burials 3,328
• MIs 5,385 Individuals, 2,162 Inscriptions

This brings the total transcriptions to 1,019,036 baptisms, 489,586 marriages, 1,404,423 burials plus 556,834 names mentioned in Northumberland and Durham Probate records between 1701 and 1858, and 34,933 of monumental inscriptions

New Venue for South Tyneside branch meetings

[Posted 13 October 2022]
South Tyneside Branch have been in negotiation with South Tyneside Council and the Library and we for the moment we have made a room booking in The Word for the 19th October and 16th November 2022. We are proposing to continue meeting in The Word but there may be occasions when we can get away with using the Cafe.

The new address is:
The Charles Dickens Room (1st floor)
The Word
Market Place
South Shields NE33 1JF

See the Branch page for a map of the location and details about the meeting.

Society Facebook Group

[Posted 4 October 2022]
Here’s some great news! NDFHS now has a Facebook GROUP for members! Great way to learn and share and move forward in your family history research journey. If you’re a member head on over to the Facebook Group.
Note – This is a private group restricted to members of the Society

New venue for London Branch meetings

[Posted 30 September 2022]
London Branch is pleased to tell you that their next meeting is scheduled to be held in person.

Our new meeting place is:
Wesley’s Chapel and Leysian Mission (Kwanglim Room)
49 City Road
London
EC1Y 1AU

London Branch’s next meeting will be held in person on Saturday 12 November, during the afternoon.
Programme details will be posted on the website when everything has been confirmed.

The Chapel is just a short walk from Old Street Underground Station
Underground stations: Old Street (due to building works at Old Street, please use subway 3) (Northern Line City Branch)
Moorgate (Northern, Circle and Metropolitan Lines).
Buses: 21, 43, 55, 76, 141, 205, 214, 243, 271
Railway Stations: Old Street, Moorgate, Liverpool Street, City Thames Link, Farringdon

See Wesley’s Chapel for more information on the venue.

AGM Update – Venue Changed

[Posted 10 September 2022]
 

NDFHS AGM 

SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2022 at 11am
RIDING MILL PARISH HALL
Millfield Road
(Not the Millennium Hall as previously announced)

Google Map

Coffee served before the AGM

Also: THE ICONOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT GRAVESTONES

SPEAKER: MARK HATTON

 
BY CAR: Limited car parking is available at the Parish Hall, Millfield Road, NE44 6DJ for SatNavs (please car share if possible).
 
BY BUS: The Tyne Valley 10 bus (operated by Go-Ahead) runs between Newcastle Eldon Square and Hexham. The major stops are Newcastle, Metrocentre, Blaydon, Ryton, Crawcrook, Prudhoe, and Stocksfield travelling west, and Hexham bus station and Corbridge travelling east.

In either direction, please alight at The Wellington pub.

Millfield Road is almost opposite the Wellington pub. The hall is about 20 metres from the A695.

BY TRAIN: Riding Mill station is on the Newcastle to Carlisle line. If travelling from Hexham or Corbridge you will have to walk up metal stairs and over a footbridge – there are no lifts available. Then follow the directions below.

From Newcastle just exit the station, walk along Station Approach towards The Wellington, cross the A695, and walk 20 metres along Millfield Road.

IF YOU NEED FURTHER HELP ON THE DAY, PLEASE CALL JOHN HARRISON ON 07986768056

FHF Really Useful Family History Show

[Posted 9 September 2022]
The Society will have a virtual stand at the event organized by the Family History Federation.
The event will take place on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th November 2022.
The normal price of the ticket is £12. However, as we are members of the FHF, we can get the tickets for £10.
Use the discount code SOCIETY when you checkout to get this offer.
See the website for more information.

Trade Directories

[Posted 19 July 2022]
The Society has made a number of business directories available for members to download. The directories include:

• 1787 Whiteheads Directory of Newcastle and Gateshead
• 1829 Pigot’s Directory of Northumberland
• 1833 Ihler’s Directory of Newcastle and Gateshead and their suburbs
• 1838-39 Richardson’s Newcastle and Gateshead Directory
• 1846 Walker’s Almanack and Directory for Durham [city]
• 1847 Walker’s Durham Directory and Almanac
• 1848 Walker’s Durham Directory and Almanac
• 1849 Walker’s Durham Directory and Almanac
• 1850 Walker’s Durham Directory and Almanac
• 1851 Hagar & Co’s Directory of County Durham
• 1852 Walker’s Durham Directory and Almanac
• 1853 Walker’s Durham Directory and Almanac
• 1854 Walker’s Durham Directory and Almanac
• 1857 Walker’s Durham Directory and Almanac
• 1858 Walker’s Durham Directory and Almanac
• 1861 Walkers Durham Directory and Almanac
• 1870-71 Christies Directory of Newcastle & Gateshead
• 1873-74 Christies Newcastle & Gateshead Directory

To access the directories, follow this link directories

Annual General Meeting 2022

[Posted 16 July 2022]
The Annual General Meeting of the Society will take place on Saturday 24th September 2022 at 11am in the Riding Mill Millennium Hall. Map

This will be followed by a presentation by Mark Hatton on “The Iconography of Ancient Gravestones”.
Further detail will appear in the Autumn Journal and on this Webpage when available.

New maps available

[Posted 9 June 2022]
Alan Gibson has produced new maps for Co. Durham and the adjacent areas during lock down.
They are released and available from the Society’s Shop

Summer 2022 Journal Available

[Posted 7 June 2022]
The Society’s Summer journal has just been published.
Members who have chosen to receive the journal via email will have received it this afternoon.
Members who have chosen to receive the journal in the post will receive it in the next few days.
All members can access the current and previous issues of the journal through the Members Home page.

Changes to our Website

[Posted 28 Apr 2022]
The Society has made the following changes to our Website:

Family Research Interests

This is a new facility which will allow:

• a member to record details of their ancestors (originating member)
• other members to search and identify possible common ancestors.
• a message to be sent by the researcher to the originating member without revealing details of the originating member (e.g. name or email address).

Cause papers and Proctor’s papers relating to court cases in the church courts

This is a new database of people identified in court documents. It is a small database at present (aprox 3,500 records) but will grow over time.

Changes to the Wills and Census forms to make the results clearer

New Acting Chairman

[Posted 27 Apr 2022]
To All Members
To advise that, as from today, Douglas Burdon is Acting Chairman of the Society – acting until the next Annual General Meeting.

At the last Annual General Meeting on 26 October 2021, Joyce Jackman gave six month’s notice of standing down as Chairman, as well as giving up the positions of Acting Events Coordinator, Acting Publicity Officer, and Acting V​olunteer Coordinator. Joyce is remaining as an Elected Trustee.

Data added to our parish databases

[Posted 17 April 2022]
New baptisms, marriages, burials and MIs records loaded into our database
• Baptisms 27,184
• Marriages 10,320
• Burials 23,478
• Monumental Inscriptions 360

Family History Festival on 28th May

[Posted 11 April 2022]
The NDFHS, in partnership with Newcastle City Libraries, is holding a Family History Festival on the 28th May 2022 between 10am and 3pm.
The event will take place in the Bewick Hall, City Library, Charles Avison Building, 33 New Bridge St, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8AX.

As well as the NDFHS, the following organisations will be present:

• Tyne and Wear Archives
• Northumberland Archives
• Weardale Museum
• West End Local History Group

Speaking at the event will be:

• 10.30am Winfred Stokes – Victorian Women and their money.
• 11:45am Anthea Lang – Those Capable Collinsons 1810.
• 1.30pm John Heckles – DNA Family History.

Changes to the Membership System

[Posted 17 Jan 2022]
The Society has made changes to the Membership System on the NDFHS Website.
Once you have logged in, click on the My Account button on the right hand side of the screen.
Through the My account form, you can:

• Change your name, postal address, telephone number or email address
• View your subscription payments
• Change your password
• Renew your membership

Also, there is a new option when you renew your subscription.
If you are a regular visitor to our research centre, you can decide to collect your copy of the journal from the Research Centre.
This removes the possibility of it getting lost in the post.
Don’t worry, if you have not collected the journal by the end of the month, it will be posted to you.

Last updated: 14th April 2024