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The SDFHS Blog

The Railway History of Yeovil, South Somerset & West Dorset

Posted on 2nd June 2018

On Saturday 9 June, Roger Marsh will be giving a talk for the Society on The Railway History of Yeovil, South Somerset & West Dorset in the Raleigh Hall, Digby Rd, Sherborne DT9 3NL at 230pm With the advent of Brunel’s broad gauge railway from London to Bristol and onwards to the west and the London & South Western Railway line from London to Southampton under the leadership of Joseph Locke, South Somerset and West Dorset found itself in an area eagerly wanting to join the new era in... more

The Greenwood Tree – June 2018

Posted on 26th May 2018

Paul Radford, Editor of the SDFHS Journal, The Greenwood Tree, previews the contents of the June issue which is now being printed and will be posted to all members in early June SDFHS members can already download the electronic version from the Members' Area of the Society's website Migration from the West Country to the New World and the colonies is the main theme of the June edition of The Greenwood Tree, coinciding with the staging of what should be one of the most exciting family... more

Emigration from the West Country

Posted on 11th May 2018

It is now twenty years since the successful ‘Dorset and the New World’ event took place in Lyme Regis in June 1998 when more than 250 people attended, including a group of Americans from the Mary & John Clearing House who happened to be in the area at that time The Mary and John was the ship that sailed to Dorchester, Mass in 1630 carrying settlers from Dorset, Devon and Somerset The voyage was arranged by the Rev John White, the vicar of St Peters, Dorchester The speakers in... more

The Greenwood Tree – March 2018

Posted on 20th February 2018

Paul Radford, the new Editor of the SDFHS journal, The Greenwood Tree, previews the contents of the March issue which is now being printed The first issue of the year of The Greenwood Tree marks a new era for the Society with the transfer of our headquarters from the centre of Sherborne to Broadway House in Yeovil By sheer coincidence, my first task as the new editor of The Greenwood Tree is to bring you the story of the move and what it means for members and for the Society The change had to... more

Family Tree Maker and the Ancestry App

Posted on 16th February 2018

It was two years ago in February 2016 that I wrote my first blog while trying to understand what was going on between Ancestry and the software Family Tree Maker that I had been using successfully on my desktop computer for some years I am one of those who uses a program on a computer without any idea about what is going on behind the scenes to keep that software up-to-date and working properly Added to this I had discovered the joys of carrying around with me, on an iPad, my family tree so... more