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Kellaway coat of arms in Sherborne Abbey

Posted on 8th January 2014

SDFHS member Warwick Kellaway of Hamilton, New Zealand, has been researching his family history for many years The name Kellaway/Kelleway/Kelloway/Kelway/Callaway/Calloway/Calway/Callow/Kellow, and the other variants seen today, is reasonably considered to derive from the village of Caillouet, in Eure, northern France The first dated record of the family name in England has been accepted to be that of Philip de Chailewai in the 1165 Gloucester Pipe Rolls holding land in Wiltshire, probably... more

Your Journal needs you!

Posted on 7th January 2014

Bob Barber, the Editor of the Society's Journal The Greenwood Tree needs your help: Have you made any New Year resolutions Why not make it a priority to put pen to paper and write up some aspect of your family history research The Greenwood Tree is your journal and can only continue if members send material for publication Publishing your research gives it exposure to a wide audience and can often answer questions or help to make contacts with others interested in the same area In August... more

Mills on the Yeo and the men who worked them

Posted on 9th November 2013

Colin Dean reviews Mills on the Yeo and the men who worked them This must sound like the title of a serious study – and so it is Author Martin Bodman describes it as a gazetteer of 91 watermill sites in the River Yeo basin in south-east Somerset and north-west Dorset But when you see the colourful cover and the page lay-outs containing detailed maps and photographs of most of the locations, you will be drawn to pick it up And when you discover in the acknowledgements that respected family... more

A preview of the November ‘Greenwood Tree’

Posted on 26th October 2013

Bob Barber, Editor of The Greenwood Tree previews the latest issue The November edition of The Greenwood Tree will be reaching members shortly The cover features a snapshot from our Facebook page, recently set up by new website manager, Patricia Spencer You can read more about it on the Research and Society News page at the back of the journal The impact of social media will have important implications for family historians, and our Society And it will certainly be a challenge to see how The... more

Open Day on 12 October

Posted on 14th October 2013

Patricia Spencer reports on the recent SDFHS Open Day After a very wet start to the day, the sun came out in Sherborne in the late morning on Saturday, encouraging shoppers to drop into our Sherborne Research Centre for our Open Day Many commented on our lovely premises, which we lease from the Sherborne Almshouse, founded in the fifteenth century Our building isn’t quite as old - part of it was built in 1893 when the previous buildings on the site were demolished to widen Cheap Street;... more

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