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Somerset & Dorset
Family History Society
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Welcome to the SDFHS

How can we help you? We will help you to find documented facts about the lives of your former family members which will unlock doors to your own personal family story. Although we do specialise in Somerset and Dorset and have extensive records from our two counties, our experienced Research Volunteers have skills which can help you trace your family roots, regardless of where they might have originated.

SDFHS Family History Centre

Broadway House Family History Centre, our home in Yeovil, is an ideal location in the centre of the town.

Centre Information

Online Talks

Online talks are being hosted by some of our local Groups, giving us the opportunity to engage with our members and the family history community worldwide.

Online Talks

Visit Our Shop

Are you looking for family history publications? Why not try looking in our on-line shop. We have a wide range of books and CDs relating to both Somerset and Dorset, as well as more general family-history and local-history publications.

SDFHS Centre
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Latest Blog Posts

The Greenwood Tree – March 2023

The theme of the March issue of The Greenwood Tree was Setting Sail and members responded with tales of their seafaring ancestors and stories of those who took the long voyages to the New World, Australia and New Zealand. Editor…..

Snapshots in Time (First in a series)

In July 2022 Rachel Hassall, Sherborne School Archivist, was invited to examine a collection of glass plate negatives and lantern slides located in the library/muniment room in Sherborne Abbey. Rachel used a scanner to take high resolution digital images of…..

The Greenwood Tree – December 2022

The theme of the December issue of The Greenwood Tree was the 1921 Census but members contributed articles on a wide range of other family history tales. Editor Paul Radford previews the edition which will be mailed to members at…..

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Somerset & Dorset Family History Society

March 13th, 5:13 pm

Somerset & Dorset Family History Society
We will be opening a new museum 🥳 in Street by 2025 which will celebrate the rich and diverse history of not only our local area, but also the wider shoemaking industry. Our museum will be rooted in our shared community values of equality, integrity, sustainability and civic pride.We will serve our communities and inspire learning and play and we invite you to join us on this adventure.Help us shape the future of our heritage by completing this survey www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/P8QC2G2 The survey closes on 31 March 2023 and everyone who completes it will be in with a chance to win a £50 voucher. #newmuseum #shoes #alfredgilletttrust ... See MoreSee Less

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Somerset & Dorset Family History Society

March 8th, 11:08 am

Somerset & Dorset Family History Society
Happening today! Free sessions this afternoon and this evening with talks on women in history ... See MoreSee Less
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Somerset & Dorset Family History Society

March 5th, 11:05 pm

Somerset & Dorset Family History Society
The latest issue of SDNQ (vol. 39, part 397) contains the following articles, notes and queries:• East Somerset maltsters in 1647 by Steve Hobbs.• Establishing the date of document M179 in two cartularies of the Augustinian Priory of Bruton and the Cluniac Priory of Montacute by Allan Sheppard.• The Great Plague in Dorset 1665-1666: an order made at the Quarter Sessions to preserve public health by Barry Brock.• Two Catholic families: the Keynes family of Compton Pauncefoot and the Ewens family of Wincanton by Stuart Raymond.• Disputes over the supply of Portland Stone for St Paul's Cathedral from the Tucker family papers in the Bodleian Library by Joseph Bettey.• Canons of Bruton 1408-1539 by R.W. Dunning.• A 16th century blacksmith's workshop in Cranborne by Mark Forrest.• James Buglar alias Buckler of Thornford: an old soldier from Waterloo by Ann Smith.• An unidentified sketch by Somerset artist Harry Frier (1849-1921) by Adrian Webb.• Tracing the Talbot family of Dorset by Daniel Talbot.• Paddy Thompson queries the use of amusing illuminated initial letters on documents in the Somerset Archives relating to Low Ham (ref. DD/MKG/14).• Steve Hobbs replies to Todd Gray's article about bribery in the election of MPs for the borough of Ilchester, with evidence from the 1818 parish register against Sir William Manner's manipulation of the voting system.• Roger Guttridge replies to Roger Ottewill's article on Pokesdown Congregational church during the Edwardian era with photographs of and information about earlier Congregational churches in Pokesdown.• Adrian Webb reviews Ian Coleby's West Somerset Railway Guide Book and Paul Upton's James Date, Watchet Photographer 1807-1895. ... See MoreSee Less

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Somerset & Dorset Family History Society

March 3rd, 6:21 pm

Somerset & Dorset Family History Society
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨We’re pleased to announce that we've awarded Ancestry UKthe contract to digitise the first tranche of MOD service personnel records.Both parties are looking forward to working to make these important records accessible in digital format. Details of the schedule will be announced soon.More about the records themselves, including answers to the most frequently asked questions about the transfer, here 👇nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/mod-service-personnel-records-now-available-update/ ... See MoreSee Less

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Somerset & Dorset Family History Society

February 21st, 9:01 pm

Somerset & Dorset Family History Society
Don't forget our talk on Peter Wickens Fry on Wednesday 22nd at 7.30pm! He was a fascinating gentleman involved in the pioneering time of early photography. Refreshments will be available.The talk is being held at Somerset Heritage Centre. To book please email: [email protected] or call 01823 272429(Suggested donation of £5) ... See MoreSee Less

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Somerset & Dorset Family History Society

February 21st, 8:20 pm

Somerset & Dorset Family History Society
For a few weeks last summer Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme, with an amazing band of volunteers, went in search of a lost medieval manor that had been forgotten for three centuries.At the foothill of the Quantocks, with the magnificent Crowcombe Court as the backdrop, the community excavation for Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme proved to be a most memorable experience.But did they find what they were looking for?At 2pm on Saturday, February 25th at Crowcombe Village Hall they will present the results of the excavation for the first time. ... See MoreSee Less

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Somerset & Dorset Family History Society

February 17th, 9:37 pm

Somerset & Dorset Family History Society
Timeline photosFREE ACCESS* to our entire newspaper collection now through Monday! Use the link below to search 22,000+ papers in the largest online newspaper archive! What will you discover this weekend? USE THIS LINK FOR FREE ACCESS: bit.ly/3Saa5tK(*Free Access only available through the link in this post. Terms apply. Free Access ends 20 Feb 2023 at 11:59 PM MT.) ... See MoreSee Less

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Somerset & Dorset Family History Society

February 17th, 8:38 pm

Somerset & Dorset Family History Society

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Recent Twitter

Retweet on Twitter Somerset+Dorset FHS Retweeted
tynehamdorset Tyneham | Where time stopped in 1943 @tynehamdorset ·
March 4th, 5:19 pm

We've transcribed the 1921 Census for the Parish of Tyneham. There is an alphabetical index and a downloadable pdf.
https://tynehamopc.org.uk/censuses/1921-census/
#Tyneham #OnePlaceStudy #FamilyHistory #Genealogy #LocalHistory

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Retweet on Twitter Somerset+Dorset FHS Retweeted
dave_lifelines Lifelines Research @dave_lifelines ·
March 2nd, 11:42 am

📢 It's here! It's live! It's out there!

Episode 8 of Setting The Record Straight, in which I look at the different approaches by the big commercial genealogical websites to the thorny question of 'correcting' transcription errors...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN3p56HqxIw

Reply on Twitter 1631258799477518338 Retweet on Twitter 1631258799477518338 9 Like on Twitter 1631258799477518338 28 Twitter 1631258799477518338