GROS

[DorothyCoe]

I missed that charge! It's extortionate! How on earth do they justify that? I'm getting quite cross now! It seems that you can only really trace your family if you have enough money to do it. That's at odds with the Scottish Government's official approach isn't it I feel a letter to my MSP coming on...

What a good idea to take blank sheets with correct headings...so obvious when you say it, but I wouldn't have thought of it. Or I could set up appropriate forms on my laptop, which I see is also allowed, or is there a charge for that too? If there's not much room for a notebook is there room for a laptop?

[Rach]

There are group sessions available in the evenings. At £200 per session you would have to make sure that you had the maximum number of 20 to go!
I think that local family history societies sometimes organise those.
Rae

[DorothyCoe]

Local as in blocal to the surname one is researching or local to where one lives?
I see you're in Tweeddale rach..is there anything local here?

[Ted]

Dorothy

Apologies for gatecrashing your thread - if you have borders ancestors - Borders FHS has small space at Old Gala House in Scott Cres - lots of stuff there. Link:-

http://www.bordersfhs.org.uk/

SBC Library Services HQ has lots of records at St Mary's Mill in Selkirk.

Regards

Ted

[DorothyCoe]

Ah thanks Ted. Not gatecrashing at all! That's useful information.

No my ancestors are not from the Borders, and I've only lived here for 29 years so a mere newcomer. (However, it's funny that all my children would say they are "from the Borders"! )

Like some of yours, many of mine are from Aberdeen and Banffshire, some from Lanarkshire, and more recently Clackmannanshire.

My question was really about Family History Societies organising evening visits to GROS and whether a local FHS like Borders FHS would organise an evening visit to GROS for people living in the Borders, whether researching Borders names or not, or whether in my case I'd have to find a Banff FHS and see if they ever organised such a thing. Would I have to join these Societies in order to find out?

[Rach]

Hello Dorothy,
I am also in Peebles. However, I am retired and can get into Edinburgh easily. Gala House is open until the autumn but don't think that will fit into a working week either. [No, just checked.] The brand new Heritage Hub at Hawick is open from 10am to 4.45pm on a Saturday but you would have to check their website or phone to see whether it has the records you would require. When the archives were in Selkirk I went a couple of times a year but haven't been since it moved to Hawick.
Rae

[Ted]

Hi Dorothy

Like you I'm a 'newcomer' to the Borders - only been here 20 years.
Forgot that the records have moved from Selkirk to the new centre at Hawick - thanks for the prompt Rach.

I have previously and successfully asked other FHS's for general info without joining - most folk are up for lending a hand - after all we are all playing the same never ending game!

Most of the Banff stuff is at Aberdeen & NE Family History Society - some particularily good MI free searches there:-

http://www.anesfhs.org.uk

Ted

[AnnieMack]

I took mine the last time, just make sure when you email to book that you tell them you are bringing one so you get a seat with access to a socket. I was quite good as I just typed the info straight in to my family history programme.

I have blank copies of the template forms you can buy at NRH to help with searching that I bought way back when I started, if you like I could scan them in and email them to you to give you an idea of the info to collect for dissecting later.

Annie