Surname Society launches

The Surname Society is a new online society for individuals, groups and associations with an interest in surname studies, regardless of their location in the world, the surname they are studying, or their level of research expertise.

Focusing on single surname studies, the society meets the needs of researchers in the world of family history and genealogy as it evolves in the 21st century. The Surname Society’s vision is to connect likeminded people by providing facilities which enable members to share knowledge, data and good practice with others. The society allows members to register both worldwide and limited studies and is entirely online. Collaboration is facilitated and encouraged as it is the core ethos of the society.

Surname researchers collect data relating to all name bearers, either on a global or restricted basis. The society does not mandate study methods and members are encouraged to develop their own approach to the investigation of their surname to advance their knowledge and expertise in areas such as etymology, DNA, name collection and family reconstruction. The Surname Society will help and advise inexperienced members on ways to conduct their study and how to avoid the pitfalls which can occur. A truly global organisation from the outset, the committee members are located around the world from Australia to England, Spain and Canada.

The cost of membership to The Surname Society is just £5 per annum with no hidden extras. You can register as many names as you want on either a restricted or worldwide basis, collaborate with others, share in the educational opportunities offered and numerous resources in the members’ area of the website including a quarterly e-newsletter and the School of Surnames.

For more information visit http://surname-society.org or @surnamesoc on Twitter.

Imperial War Museum Library closure threat

The Imperial War Museum Library is under threat of closure. The museum is facing an annual deficit of £4m because of cuts in government funding. Proposals to manage this include the closure of the library, the loss of 60-80 jobs and the loss of some education services.

The Museum’s library gives ordinary people access to research materials on all aspects of British and Commonwealth involvement in conflict since 1914.

The Prospect trade union has launched an online petition to help ensure that the Imperial War Museum continues to provide for, and encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and ‘wartime experience’. The petition – at chn.ge/1ATJ2rc – has already attracted more than 10,000 signatures.

Mixed reactions to online probate search service

As of Friday 12 December, the UK’s Probate Service will make its records from 1858 to the present and the records of some soldiers who died on active military service between 1860 and 1982 (predominantly those who died in World War) available for searching online.

This means anyone will be able to search, order and receive copies of wills direct from their own computer without waiting for the Probate Registry to send them to you or visiting in person. Searches of the index are free and a fee of £10 is charged to order the actual documents.

This means that from the same date the Probate Service will cease to provide a personal copy ordering service and the search room in London will close permanently from Friday 19 December.

The service can be found at www.gov.uk/search-will-probate.

The announcement of an online service has been welcomed in principle, but there have been criticisms of the way the search feature has been implemented.

The Society of Genealogists has issued the following statement: “Genealogists will be aware that an online index of wills from 1996 to the present has been available since October. However this index has severe limitations. The search functionality is very limited – particularly when searching for a common name or if you do not have an indication of the year of death.

“The Society of Genealogists has already told the Court Service that adding a place or address search (as is noted in earlier printed and fiche indexes) could help enormously when trying to identify someone with a common name. There will be genealogists who will be interested in obtaining all wills for people with a particular surname in common from all years. Limiting the search to a year of death makes such broad searches very impractical. This it would be better to have a wider date search range than just one year of death.

“Other members have pointed out that it is very disappointing to discover that the search engine provided for wills from 1996 does not include the same level of information as the existing calendars. Specifically, all versions of the calendars from 1858 to date include the address of the deceased, whether searched in the annual calendar books (for grants dated 1858-1992), on microfiche (1993-5) or on the Probateman computer database (1996-present). If a search is to be made for someone with a relatively common name and the exact date of death is not known, the new search engine will not provide any way of positively identifying the correct person.

“The Courts Service has been asked whether there is any plan to add the address of the deceased to the list of search results at a later date. If not, it was asked whether any assurance could be given that the London search room will remain open so that a manual search can still be made. Otherwise, the online search will not be fit for purpose as it will not enable a searcher to order the correct copy.

“Clearly the Court Service does not intend keep the search room open. We do not know if the Court Service will take our suggestions on board when providing an online to wills back to 1858. It is evidently not sensible to introduce a new and essentially untried online ordering system while at the same time withdrawing the personal service and search room at the Principal Probate Registry at the Royal Courts of Justice.”

The Probate Service is holding a users’ meeting from 1-2pm on Tuesday 2 December, at the search room in Court 38, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London. Anyone wishing to attend or send feedback on the new service should email [email protected].

The Society of Genealogists has confirmed that it will have a representative at the meeting.