He joined the Guild of One-Name Studies in 1996 where he served on its Executive Committee for several years and was also its Data Processing Manager for five years. John was also a Trustee of the Society of Genealogists for many years. He has been interested in genealogy for the past thirty years and particularly in the use that computers can play in research and record keeping.
He has written extensively on family history subjects for Family Tree Magazine and Practical Family History, including several series of articles. He is the author of “Getting the best from the 1911 census”. He has been a lecturer and teacher in family history for over ten years and has lectured throughout England including at the Who Do You Think You Are? Live shows and at its predecessor, the Society of Genealogists Family History Experience.
He is currently the researcher for the Halsted Trust, maintains its database and looks after its research website www.halstedresearch.org.uk
He was born in Edmonton, North London and lived there until the family moved to South East Hertfordshire in 1950. He worked for many years for one of the country’s major building societies and banks, ending up as a Systems Specialist in mainframe databases. He took the opportunity of early retirement in 2001 with the intention of completing some more of his own family history and is still trying. Married with three children and two grandchildren, and currently lives in Milton Keynes. His other interests, if he has time from family history, include jigsaw puzzles and walking.
Presentation
Getting the best from passenger lists
Many of our ancestors travelled overseas but trying to track down the records of their movement can be difficult at the best of times.
The presentation will look at the history of passenger lists, where to find them and what they may contain. It will attempt to cover others countries and not just the UK.
In addition it will cover what is available online and getting the best from the websites.