Bringing the past into the present (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bringing the past into the present

2:56pm Friday 29th December 2006 in Analysis By Emma Clayton

Bradford Family History Society, which has 1,000 members worldwide, is preparing to celebrate its 25th anniversary. EMMA CLAYTON finds out how the society helps people trace their roots.

Christmas is said to be a time for families. It's a time when people come into contact with relations they may not have seen for some time.

And while the annual get-together with great aunts and in-laws is a living hell for some people, for others it may be something of an inspiration.

At the local studies department at Bradford Central Library, the post-Christmas period is the busiest time of year. Carol Greenwood, senior information manager for local studies, is expecting a stream of people keen to trace their family history.

"Over Christmas we often meet older relatives at family parties and we get talking about the past," she says. "Last year a man came in who discovered over Christmas that his grandfather had won a war medal and he wanted to find out more."

The department has microfilm/fiche copies of Census returns, the General Register Office index to Births, Deaths and Marriages and free access to the Ancestry.co.uk website.

There are hundreds of taped interviews with local people on areas such as textiles, health, war and immigration; books, periodicals and articles on family history; local newspapers; Ordnance Survey maps; electoral registers; indexed illustrations and photographs of Bradford buildings and people; trade directories; parish and non-conformist register copies and monumental inscriptions covering churchyards.

And upstairs on the sixth floor is West Yorkshire Archive Service's Bradford collection which recently moved to the library from its previous base at Canal Road. The collection includes documents from Bradford Council, schools, churches, businesses, family estates, sports clubs, community organisations, choral and dramatic societies, boy scout packs, museums and theatres.

There are mill records and a literary section containing poems, plays and short stories by local writers, and a Yorkshire Television project called History Archive containing video interviews with Bradford people about their experiences throughout the 20th century.

Carol Greenwood says an early port of call for anyone getting into genealogy is Bradford Family History Society.

"We'd always recommend that people join a family history society, in addition to visiting the library," she says. "Family history is extremely popular and the internet has made records more accessible. The BBC1 series Who Do You Think You Are? sparked lots of interest. We have an urge to find out about our roots.

"The family history society has regular meetings giving people who are new to genealogy help and advice from more experienced members."

Founded in 1982, Bradford Family History Society has around 1,000 members around Britain and Europe and in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and America.

The volunteer-run society - a member of the Federation of Family History Societies - meets in Bradford Central Library on the third Monday of each month from 7pm and the first Thursday from 10am.

The society recently donated £500 to the local studies library towards the cost of its online subscription to Ancestry.co.uk.

Society chairman Elvira Willmott says genealogy is addictive. "It's a personal treasure trail," she says. "When you start finding out more about your family - where and how they lived and worked, who they married and where they moved to - you want to research even further. Disproving something is just as interesting as finding out something new.

"People move around more now. To find out about your past, and to visit buildings where your ancestors lived, worked or went to school has a stabilising influence in a fast-changing world. Even if a particular building doesn't exist anymore, you can find out from old maps where it used to be and visit that place."

Part of the appeal of family history is discovering a black sheep or someone who was well off and successful.

"At the headquarters of the West Yorkshire Archive Service in Wakefield you can find out who had a brush with the law," says Elvira. "And looking at churchwardens' accounts you may discover your family member was a landowner.

"In the mid-19th century Bradford was the country's second fastest-growing city; people migrated from all over to work here, largely in the mills. Many people tracing their family in Bradford could go back further and discover ancestors from different regions."

The society's worldwide membership stems largely from mill workers being recruited to work in countries such as America and New Zealand at the beginning of the 20th century. "It was a bright new world," says Elvira. "Now we're regularly contacted by people in these countries trying to trace relatives over here. We have a link scheme, a network of members who help out with providing information."

Elvira has been a member of the Bradford society since its early days and she says family history is now more popular than ever. "You need to know a bit about your past before you start looking at old Census returns so you don't end up tracing the family tree of someone else with the same name," she says. "The further back you go the more limited number of names there are.

"It's always worth rummaging in your attic to start with, you never know what you'll find in that box that came from Great Aunt So-and-So that's never been touched.

"You have to fix the links first - the link between you and your parents, them to your grandparents and so on. It helps just chatting to relatives about their experiences, you build up a picture of family life.

"Joining the family history society enables people to discuss their research problems and successes with other members. They can borrow other societies' magazines from our library, and we have speakers at monthly meetings who can shed light on certain aspects of research."

In 2007 the society celebrates its 25th anniversary with a series of events including a day school looking at the living and working conditions of Bradford's past. There will also be meetings and talks on basic sources of family history.

A look ahead to next year's meetings reveals a variety of topics, including 19th Century Bradford and its Irish Population; Hidden Away: Mental Health and Family History; Bradford Disasters, including the Low Moor explosion and the Newlands mill chimney; In Our Ancestors' Homes and, intriguingly, a talk called What About Auntie Jenny?

"If any non-members would like to come along to meetings they will be made very welcome," says Elvira.

• For more information about the Bradford Family History Society ring Elvira Willmott on (01274) 565983 or visit www.bradfordfhs. org.uk