Worthing

David will take us on a journey between four National Trust properties in the High Weald area, exploring the history and its industrial heritage on route, whilst recounting tales of people and events which had added to this area's rich and colourful past.

Please note: this will be in the Lewes Room at Field Place.

Mathew's talk is based on his research using 36 English Villages and the National Census of 1851.   Its aim was to establish where migration took place as families and individuals moved and adapted to industrial towns and away from the traditional trades found in local communities.   He also examines the 'friends and families' effect on migration at this time.

Ian's background is as a stage/set designer in the theatre and his talk looks at how the history of aspects of theatre from 'Sophocles to Spiderman' as he takes us on a journey of understanding how it has evolved and will continue to do so.

The Centre AGM including election of Officers followed by a talk by Eileen who attends this Centre who is taking a step back in time to discover the history of this historic Manor House in Sompting and the people who occupied it

Please note our meeting will take place in the adjoining Lewes Room due to refurbishment work at Field Place.

AGM.  Rescheduled from January.

Searching for Dora is a case study by experienced genealogist, Les Mitchinson, that has more red herrings than an Agatha Christie novel.   Les will explain how one surprise entry in a census return set him off on a 15 year quest to find Dora.  He will expain how modern search techniques and a bundle of patience and perserverance enabled him to break down a brick wall to uncover the truth.

Helen Poole is returning to our Centre with a talk on Sussex and influence of the 17th Century Civil War between Cromwell and the supporters of Charles I of England.    Helen will look at the loyalties and activities of the people in this part of England and what remains to be seen from this divisive period of English history.

Colinis Reid a SFHG member who attends the Worthing Centre and has researched his Sussex roots and published a book detailing his ancestors' lives and he will recount some of the many stories he has unearthed over many years.

Our Speaker, David Williams, is a City of London Guide and Lecturer who will give us an insight into the 19th Century as an age of invention, mechanisation, railway building, a vast empire and dramatic urbanisation.  Fortunes were made and lost whilst squalid living conditions added to the misery of those who struggled, but there were also peope devoting their lives to improving working and social conditions.

Eileen Colwell has carried out research over many years on the local history of Sompting and its surroundings and will be taking us back to discover some of the history of Cokeham Manor House in Sompting and the people who occupied over time.

Dave Annal returns to our centre with a talk which explores the untruths which hamper our research.

Sifting through the evidence to find the truth (or what passes for the truth in the world of genealogy) is a skill which all serious family historians need to develop.   The information left by our ancestors is all too frequently misleading, inaccurate or just plain wrong!  As we become more experienced we find that they had any number of reasons to be economical with the truth. Sometimes our ancestors simply did not know the answer to questions thrown at them by the Clerks. Registrars and enumerators.   Using real examples, this talk will look at some of the reasons why our ancestors might have lied and offer suggestions on how to recognise their varying degrees of ignorance, half-truths and wilful deception.