The Family History Society of Buchan

Registered Scottish Charity SC035593

Press Releases

7 Oct 09 Busy Week for the FHSB

The Family History Society of Buchan has a busy time this week with three separate events planned.

On Thursday (8th) the Society is holding its first open meeting outside Peterhead when it comes to the Saltoun Chambers in Fraserburgh. The meeting starts at 7pm, with two speakers, Rita Gordon and Shirley Dickie. Together they will be exploring the records that are available locally for the family history researcher, from old parish records, through statutory records to other archived material such as kirk session records and school logs. For anyone starting out to trace their roots this is an invaluable guide to what is out there to be discovered, and for those who are more experienced it is useful in highlighting sources which may have been overlooked.

As is usual the talk is followed by a question and answer session then a cuppa and a chance to look at the bookstall and chat to others.

On Saturday members of the Society will be attending the Heritage Fair at the Lighthouse Museum, with a display of local photographs, and the bookstall. 

Finally on Sunday members of the Society’s Graveyard Group will be at St Fergus Graveyard. 

Society Chair Anne Allan explained, “The Society is working to uncover the forgotten, lost or hidden heritage of some of Buchan’s inhabitants who lived and died long ago. Anyone is welcome to come along and help us as we record and identify the memorial inscriptions on the gravestones.  We will be plotting the positions of the gravestones onto a plan of the site, and writing out a full transcription of the wording on each one. The published results of our research will, it is hoped, benefit those researching their family history as well as local and social historians. We welcome all the help we can get, but please let us know in advance that you are coming, so we can ensure we have we have plenty work for everyone. We also need to know who is coming in case we have to call it off if the weather is bad.”

12 May 09 - St Fergus Kirkyard

Would you like to help uncover the forgotten, lost or hidden heritage of some of Buchan’s inhabitants who lived and died long ago?  If the answer is yes, then you may like to join the Family History Society of Buchan as they record and identify the memorial inscriptions on the gravestones at St Fergus Kirkyard. 

Members of the Society are having an outing on Sunday 24^th May to do some of this work, and is issuing an open invitation to anyone who would like to come along and help.

Although a lot of computer and other related work is carried out behind the scenes, much of the research is carried out on site. We will be plotting the positions of the gravestones onto a plan of the site, and writing out a full transcription of the wording on each one. Photographs are then taken of every gravestone. The published results of our research will, it is hoped, benefit those researching their family history as well as local and social historians. 

Work started at St Fergus last year, and we now need to put an effort into completing the transcribing. The work that has been done already requires to be checked, and there are still a great number of gravestones that will require cleaning before they can be read. 

Anyone is welcome to come along, but please let us know in advance that you are coming, so we can ensure we have we have plenty work for everyone. We also need to know who is coming in case we have to call it off if the weather is bad. You can contact us through our website, www.fhsb.org.uk , or leave a message at the Family History Centre on 01779 481819

5 May 09 - Lottery Award for Local Genealogy Group

The Family History Society of Buchan is delighted to have been awarded a grant of £9456, for the purchase of microfilms, in the latest tranche of grants from Awards for All.

The Family History Centre, run by volunteers from the Society, is situated within the Arbuthnot Museum in Peterhead, and is a small state of the art facility, with film and fiche readers as well as several computers

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Cllr Stuart Pratt presenting the Certificate to our Chair, Cllr Anne Allan

The money will be used to purchase additional microfilms of Old Parish Records and census returns for the Buchan and surrounding areas. This will enhance the facilities available within Peterhead for those researching their ancestors.

Anne Allan, Chair of the Society commented, “In this year of Homecoming, the Society has already been contacted by people coming over to this country from abroad to research their roots, and the addition of these microfilms will prove to be a great boost. For local people also, it will be much more convenient than having to travel to Aberdeen or Edinburgh to access these records.”

Since the Centre opened last summer, many people have visited it to undertake their research.

Rita Gordon, the Family History Centre Manager, said, “This is a great boost for the Society and for the Peterhead and Buchan Area. Our volunteers will now be able to offer much more help and advice to our visitors.”

The presentation of the Certificate of Grant took place at the Society’s Open Meeting on Monday 11^th May 2009, at the Society’s Open Meeting at Arbuthnot House, Broad Street, Peterhead. The Certificate was kindly presented by Cllr Stuart Pratt of Aberdeenshire Council

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