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The SDFHS Blog

The Dirdoe family of Gillingham, Dorset, and their capture by pirates

Posted on 23rd February 2016

Thomas Dirdoe who was born in 1588 in Gillingham, Dorset, was the 11th Great Grandfather of SDFHS member, Arnaud Aurejac-Davis, who tells the fascinating story of the capture of Thomas and his son by Barbary pirates The first Thomas Dirdoe (1588-aft1643) was baptized on 22 March 1588, at Gillingham, Dorset, the fourth son and child of Charles (described as a ‘gent’) and Joane Thomas must have been a boisterous young man since in July 1613, at the age of only 25, he was granted a pardon for... more

Family Tree Maker and Ancestry

Posted on 20th February 2016

Like many family historians I wanted a computer program where I could keep all the information I was finding out about my family When a friend emailed me a report she had produced I realised I wanted to be able do the same and so I turned to Family Tree Maker, paid for the 'package' and loaded it onto my home computer I loved it from the start A lot of my information had been gleaned by my cousin and she would send me bits of paper with hand written notes on them or copies of censuses and I... more

Two men with multiple ‘marriages’

Posted on 7th February 2016

I suspect that many family historians who run into a ‘brick wall’ when trying to pin down an ancestor do the same thing as I do and try to ‘sneak up’ on them by looking at other people with the same surname in the same area at the same time, in the hope of being able to connect to the right family Doing this for one of my GGGGG Grandmothers, Jane Storrow/Starrow, meant that my research wandered off at a tangent and I started investigating the marriages of a man whose gravestone lists... more

‘The Greenwood Tree’ – February 2016

Posted on 28th January 2016

The February 2016 edition of The Greenwood Tree is now being mailed to members and the Editor, Bob Barber, gives a preview of its contents A new year brings two new ideas which we hope will become regular features in The Greenwood Tree The 'People, Places and Problems' column has appeared since the very beginning of the journal, offering readers an opportunity to share problems and ideas with the wider membership Whilst this can establish useful links with others researching similar family... more

Remembering a Generation

Posted on 1st January 2016

In November 2015 the Society published Remembering a Generation The World War One servicemen of West and Middle Chinnock by Phil Nichols, who describes the origins of his research and new contacts he has made as a result of the publication While writing this book, I came to see how little I had appreciated the significance of the war memorials, both inside and outside of our two village churches, and the names inscribed on those memorials It was very clear, however, that the collective... more