Discovering Your Quaker Ancestors - Webinar - 19th September 2026
Are you researching Quaker ancestors—or wondering whether your family tree might contain a hidden connection to the Society of Friends?
If so, our upcoming webinar, “Quaker Family History and Records,” offers a fascinating opportunity to discover more about Quaker history, culture and the wealth of records available to family historians.
Quakerism has a distinctive history stretching back to the 17th century, and its communities have left behind a remarkable range of records. These sources can provide valuable clues about the lives, families and experiences of our ancestors, sometimes allowing researchers to trace family connections across several centuries. This engaging presentation will begin with a brief introduction to the history of Quakerism in the British Isles, providing essential background for anyone new to researching Quaker ancestors. We will also explore some of the characteristics of Quaker culture and explain why an understanding of the Society of Friends can be so helpful when interpreting historical records.
The main focus of the webinar will be the wide variety of Quaker sources available to family historians. For anyone accustomed to working with parish registers, census returns and civil registration, Quaker records can open up an entirely new avenue of research. The webinar will be presented by Ben Beck, whose interest in Quaker family history is both personal and longstanding. Ben was brought up as a Quaker, although he left the Society of Friends on reaching adulthood. On his mother’s side, most of his ancestors were Quakers, with family connections reaching back to the 17th century. His involvement in Quaker family history extends well beyond his own research. Ben joined the Quaker Family History Society when it was first formed in 1994 and has served on its committee for most of the past 30 years. During that time, he has successively served as Editor of the society’s journal, Quaker Connections, Secretary and, currently, Chair. He is also a member of the Friends Historical Society.
Whether you are an experienced genealogist or are just beginning to investigate a possible Quaker connection, this webinar promises to be an informative and rewarding introduction to an important area of family history research. Come along to learn more about Quakerism, discover the records that could help take your research further, and gain a deeper understanding of the people and communities who shaped your family’s past.
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Collaborate, Connect, Discover: WikiTree for Surname Researchers
WikiTree is a free, worldwide genealogy website built around the idea of creating one shared family tree. Rather than each researcher maintaining a completely separate tree, members can contribute information, sources, photographs and family knowledge to a common tree. This collaborative approach can be particularly valuable when researching a surname that appears in many branches and across different countries.
For a surname studier, WikiTree can provide a place where researchers can bring together discoveries that might otherwise remain scattered among individual family trees, research notes and archives. One member may have information about a family in Scotland, while another has traced a related branch that emigrated to Australia, Canada or the United States. By sharing their findings, researchers may be able to identify connections that would otherwise be missed.
An important feature of collaborative genealogy is the emphasis on evidence. WikiTree encourages contributors to add sources and explain how relationships have been established. This helps other researchers assess the reliability of information and provides a starting point for further investigation.
We are delighted to have Azure Rae Robinson from WikiTree speaking to us on Saturday 15th August at 4pm UK time. She coordinates several Surname Studier herself and we look forward to hearing her insights.
The strength of collaborative genealogy is simple—the more researchers who contribute carefully documented evidence, the more complete the picture of our shared surname history becomes. Please join us to learn more!
Tracking Surnames Through the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes
Every family historian is familiar with the census and parish registers, but the UK's three official journals of record offer an entirely different dimension of discovery. The London, Edinburgh, and Belfast Gazettes have spent centuries documenting the legal, military, and financial milestones of millions of individuals. For anyone undertaking a surname study or tracing a specific family branch, these archives are indispensable.
The Gazette has served as the UK’s official public record for centuries, publishing notices that document significant legal, governmental, and personal events. From military appointments and honours to company registrations, insolvencies, name changes, and estate notices, these records offer fascinating insights into the lives of people who shared your surname.
One of the greatest strengths of Gazette records is their reliability. As official publications, they preserve information exactly as it appeared at the time of publication. This makes them an excellent source for verifying details you’ve uncovered elsewhere, such as dates of appointments, probate notices, or business activities. Cross-referencing Gazette entries with census records, parish registers, birth and marriage certificates, and newspaper archives can help build a richer and more accurate family history.
This month we will be hearing from Simon Davies, founder of online archiving and community provider, WeAre.xyz.
WeAre.xyz is a space designed to with genealogists in mind, offering an interactive platform for building a living family archive—a place to store, organize, and share your genealogy research in a way that engages your whole family. It goes beyond a traditional family tree by turning your GEDCOM, photos, documents, and stories into a dynamic, collaborative website your relatives can explore and contribute to.
