If you can be in London 4-5 May, circle those dates on your calendar.
That is the weekend of the Society of Genealogists’ annual Family History
Fair. This is the premier genealogy event in the U.K. and always attracts 4,000
or so genealogists.
The annual Family History Fair offers three major attractions:
lectures on a number of topics by leading genealogists, computer demonstrations
(also by experts), and a very lively exhibitors’ hall where you can find
a wide variety of books, maps, CD-ROM data disks and software for sale.
This year’s schedule shows thirty lectures planned. Topics
range from "Basic Use Of Computers For Family Historians" through
"Tithe Maps, Apportionments, Twentieth Century Valuation Office Maps and
Field Books at the PRO," and on to "How Did They Live? An overview
of the essential books to keep by your bedside for some light social history
reading."
The scheduled computer demonstrations include:
- Family Tree Maker by Helen Williams
- Using FamilySearch by John Hanson
- Generations by Tim Powys-Libbe
- Family Origins by Fred Jackson
- Scanning by Jeanne Bunting
- Personal Ancestral File 5.0 by David Lumley
Finally, the exhibits hall will feature more than sixty-five exhibitors.
The fair features exhibits by all the leading U.K. genealogy vendors as well
as a few from overseas. A couple of the American vendors on the list caught
my eye: Ancestry.com and the Genealogical Research Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Those folks are a few miles from home! Of course, the publishers of the Genealogical
Research Directory will be there as well – and they are from New Zealand.
I was at the Family History Fair a few years ago and was impressed
by the constant activity in the exhibits hall. The noise level never seemed
to drop off, as the hall was a beehive of activity constantly for two days.
I suspect this year’s event will be the same.
The Society of Genealogists’ Family History Fair will be
held at the New Hall and Conference Centre of the Royal Horticultural Society
on Greycoat Street, Westminster, London SW1. Admission tickets may be purchased
at the door for only £6.00, equal to about $8.70 in U.S. money. There is an
extra fee for attending the lectures: £2.00 per day, roughly $3 in U.S. funds.
Full details, including a list of all the lectures, computer presentations,
and exhibitors, are available at: www.sog.org.uk/events/fair.html.
Dick Eastman Online
