Surnames and Locations Studies

When I agreed to talk last summer (before I hurt my back), the thought was to show a presentation by the Guild on YouTube and then be ready to answer questions. About the same time I had become involved in The Surname Society which was founded by a number of enthusiastic genealogists around the globe (and truly we live in four different countries in total). I had agreed to do the newsletter. I felt great enthusiasm for the group partly because the Guild was being ripped apart by dissension over how to expand in a meaningful way and widen the umbrella. Since then I have done a survey of Guild Members in Canada and discovered that they felt much the same way as I did. That the Guild is really super the way that it is, not to change it too much and forge ahead. This new Society would permit some of the deviations that were desired within the Guild and I continue a member of both. I gradually thought that my talk should really just be about surnames and locations studies. I feel somewhat limited because I mostly only look at England as my ancestors way back in time are all English. Gradually I can see my Scot line developing, a couple of Huguenot lines and perhaps even a German line. Tentatively in my mind I am also pencilling in the possibility of an Irish line. Although that does broaden my horizons somewhat, my yDNA and mtDNA tell me that my two lines, in that regard, are ancient to the British Isles so for the most part I still sound like I am mostly British Isles.

I have now put together 46 slides which I shall work away at all week to see if I can get them to evolve into an interesting and informative talk. This really is my last talk. I find it very time consuming to prepare talks and it takes away from my research time. As I have been preparing this talk I also realize that in my June newsletter to the Guild Members in Canada East I will be announcing my resignation as Canada East Regional Representative and as National Representative for the Guild. Although I am not spending a lot of time on either, I think that if I do step down then someone who has the interest in taking the Guild about to Conferences will come forward.

I am enthusiastic about the Society of one place studies but haven't really had a chance to spend time on Upper Clatford and Bishops Nympton pages. I want to add free standing pages to our website that can be accessed from the profile pages for those two items. Also more information up for a Blake standalone page.