Oxford University Press have published the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, the culmination of a recent research project (Family Names of the United Kingdom) into 45,600 surnames in Britain and Ireland.
The team researched records from sources dating from the 11th to the 19th century to identify new and sometimes detailed explanations for surnames, even those held by as few as 100 people.
The 4 volume set is published at £400 but some public libraries may get it as part of their online Oxford University Press Reference subscription.
Until the end of November, you can use it online for free, using
Username: fanbi
Password: onlineaccess
Search the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names.
The Arts and Humanities Research Council have awarded the team a grant to continue the project so that another 15,000 surnames with as few as 20 current bearers can be researched.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Friday, September 2, 2016
Time-Travel in Peebles, Tomorrow (3 September)
Their day starts off with a walk round Peebles with Gerard Bakker, looking at some of the interesting houses built as a result of the coming of the railway. At the event there will be displays on travel themes, three talks about the railway, drovers and the impact of transport changes in Victorian Peebles, two film shows, and a walk along the drove road out of Peebles. They’ll have a colouring corner for children, too.
The event is free and I’m looking forward eagerly to the day.
Borders Family History Society will be there with a range of mainly Peeblesshire publications including Innerleithen Shops, Innerleithen Monumental (Gravestone) Inscriptions, Snippets & Photos About Old Innerleithen. Come and meet Davina, John and Peter and ask us for help with your family history.
Programme:
9.30am-11am Walk: A stroll round Peebles with Gerard Bakker, looking at some of the interesting houses built as a result of the coming of the railway
10.30am Exhibition opens with displays and objects on the theme of:
- Horse and carriage
- Highways and byways
- Impact of the Railway
- Borders Family History Society
- Children’s colouring corner and “memory lane”
Noon – 1pm Walk Discover with Stuart Akers where visitors to Peebles by rail and road recovered from their journeys.
Noon – 1pm Films A series of short films about transport in Tweeddale, by Brian Whitnell, featuring local people, and exploring working horses and the people who look after them - then and now.
1.15pm – 2pm Talk Mud, mayhem and merriment: Three Victorian Peebles’ residents talk about the changes brought about by the momentous developments in transport in 1864– not all of them desirable!
2.15pm – 3.15pm Talk Who were Scotland’s own “cowboys”? Drovers passed through Peebles on the long journey south across the hills. Was it the ‘wild west’ out there? Where can you find their paths? Ronnie Watt tells their amazing story.
3.15pm – 5pm Walk Take to the hills with Francis Mordaunt and Ronnie Watt - in the footsteps of the Drovers.
3.15pm – 4pm Films A series of short films about transport in Tweeddale, by Brian Whitnell, featuring local people, and exploring working horses and the people who look after them - then and now.
4pm Exhibition closes
Outside the hall
- See horseshoes made and Ross Philips, a farrier, at work
- Get up close to a Vintage Tractor
- Go back in time with the Tweeddale Travel Timeline
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Was there a Red Cross Volunteer in Your Family ?
The Red Cross have now made their World War I collection of records partly available with an index of World War I volunteers.
At the outbreak of war in 1914, the Red Cross formed a Joint War Committee with the Order of St John, raised funds, organised volunteers and paid staff to provide equipment and services in the UK and the theatres of war. Everyone was trained in first aid, some trained in nursing, cookery, hygiene and sanitation.
Most of the women became nurses, initially in hospitals in Britain, but as the casualties mounted, more were sent overseas to casualty stations on or near the battlefield or to hospitals. Many people offered their houses as convalescent homes for the wounded or as auxiliary hospitals; some town halls and primary schools were used too.
There were over 3,000 auxiliary hospitals across the UK. They were staffed by a commandant, a quartermaster, a matron, a cook and nurses. Local GPs often volunteered for work in the hospitals in addition to their ordinary work. The nurses were all volunteers, often they were too young or old or had family commitments to serve full-time. Male volunteers usually drove or accompanied the ill or wounded to and from hospitals, many acted as stretcher-bearers, a lot were sent to France as ambulance drivers, some being wounded in enemy action.
Volunteers also collected clothing and books for soldiers in hospitals, raised funds, made bandages and splints, acted as cooks, store-keepers, worked in the offices and just as importantly, provided food and cigarettes to soldiers arriving by ambulance train. One of my great-aunts married a soldier she met on such duty.
A lot of people were displaced by the war, in 1915, volunteers started visiting hospitals looking for people who had been recorded as missing; work that the Red Cross is still involved in. By the end of the war in 1918, 90,000 volunteers had worked in the UK or abroad. There were lots of famous volunteers including Agatha Christie and Vera Brittain, perhaps some of your family were volunteers.
To find out, use the index of World War I Red Cross volunteers..
You can search by forename, surname, location or hospital or role. The initial search takes you to a search results page that shows name, county, date of engagement, age when engaged. Clicking on the name takes you to a detailed page about that person.
The information provided comes from record cards and may include name, address, age, character, service dates, hospital, rank, pay, duties, commission, honours awarded. Pictures of the cards are also included. Annoyingly, first names weren’t always recorded, some just gave initials.
At the outbreak of war in 1914, the Red Cross formed a Joint War Committee with the Order of St John, raised funds, organised volunteers and paid staff to provide equipment and services in the UK and the theatres of war. Everyone was trained in first aid, some trained in nursing, cookery, hygiene and sanitation.
Most of the women became nurses, initially in hospitals in Britain, but as the casualties mounted, more were sent overseas to casualty stations on or near the battlefield or to hospitals. Many people offered their houses as convalescent homes for the wounded or as auxiliary hospitals; some town halls and primary schools were used too.
There were over 3,000 auxiliary hospitals across the UK. They were staffed by a commandant, a quartermaster, a matron, a cook and nurses. Local GPs often volunteered for work in the hospitals in addition to their ordinary work. The nurses were all volunteers, often they were too young or old or had family commitments to serve full-time. Male volunteers usually drove or accompanied the ill or wounded to and from hospitals, many acted as stretcher-bearers, a lot were sent to France as ambulance drivers, some being wounded in enemy action.
Volunteers also collected clothing and books for soldiers in hospitals, raised funds, made bandages and splints, acted as cooks, store-keepers, worked in the offices and just as importantly, provided food and cigarettes to soldiers arriving by ambulance train. One of my great-aunts married a soldier she met on such duty.
A lot of people were displaced by the war, in 1915, volunteers started visiting hospitals looking for people who had been recorded as missing; work that the Red Cross is still involved in. By the end of the war in 1918, 90,000 volunteers had worked in the UK or abroad. There were lots of famous volunteers including Agatha Christie and Vera Brittain, perhaps some of your family were volunteers.
To find out, use the index of World War I Red Cross volunteers..
You can search by forename, surname, location or hospital or role. The initial search takes you to a search results page that shows name, county, date of engagement, age when engaged. Clicking on the name takes you to a detailed page about that person.
The information provided comes from record cards and may include name, address, age, character, service dates, hospital, rank, pay, duties, commission, honours awarded. Pictures of the cards are also included. Annoyingly, first names weren’t always recorded, some just gave initials.
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