OLDHAM & DISTRICT PROGRAMME OF MEETINGS
All Meetings at Gallery Oldham CANCELLED until further notice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Monthly Talks on Zoom
12 months ago, when we uploaded the 2021 programme, for the Oldham & District Branch, it started with the words, "We anticipated that at least the first three meetings, in the programme for 2021, would be online but we still don't know when things will change and are constantly re-assessing the situation." We never imagined that we would be saying exactly the same thing for 2022!
Our first three meetings in 2022 will definitely only be on zoom. Hopefully, by then we may have more positive news about holding our meetings, in person, in the library again. However, as we have found such a great deal of support for our zoom meetings, we are hoping to continue running the meetings as hybrids, in both the library and on zoom but this, as yet, is still at the planning and testing stage!
At present, all our online Branch Meetings will remain free to both members, and non-members alike, of MLFHS.
In order for us all to get the most enjoyment possible out of our on-line meetings, you can download a couple of .pdf files that explain the process of actually joining a meeting with zoom, and the protocols which help to make the meeting run as smoothly as possible. 'New to Zoom' HERE and our Branch Protocols HERE.
Booking is essential ... online, on Eventbrite.
A reminder email will be sent out to you a few days before the talk, a zoom meeting link the day before the talk and one in the morning of the talk.
If you do not receive the scheduled link from Eventbrite, email me, before 1pm on Saturday, and I will send one.
There will be a Q&A session at the end of the talk and, if you do have any questions, please type them into the chat box and the host will read them out.
If you are new to zoom, please take the time to read our two zoom meeting help-sheets HERE & HERE
We continue to look forward to welcoming you to our online talks in the months to come.
2022 PROGRAMME
Hanging the Pacifist: Margaret Ashton (1856-1937), Manchester's first woman councillor
A short introduction to the life and times of Margaret Ashton. The talk will look at Ashton's extraordinary life, her political career, her involvement in the suffrage movement and, during WW1, her work in the anti-war and pacifist movement. It will look at the story of her lost portrait, rediscovered in 2006, and rehung in the Town Hall - hence the title of this talk ... 'Hanging the Pacifist.'
A free, online talk, given by Dr Alison Ronan
Saturday 8th January 2022, at 2pm, on zoom
Booking on Eventbrite
A Grandmother’s Legacy: the Early Days
How Benjamin Hardy in 1798, a seventh generation weaver ancestor of Jenny Mallin from Mirfield in Yorkshire, sails to Madras with his British Army unit, fights for the next 22 years in India and decides to settle his family there for the next five generations. Through new research I have been able to offer more on the three ancestors that have an ancestry going back to the 17th century. They were all in the British Army and came from different backgrounds.
A free, online talk, given by Jenny Mallin
Saturday 12th February 2022, at 2pm, on zoom
Booking on Eventbrite
Edwin Butterworth – Oldham's Forgotten Historian
Michael Winstanley became interested in Edwin Butterworth during the 1980s while researching Oldham history. He tells us about the importance of Edwin’s travels and historical researches on Lancashire and the news reports he supplied to Manchester newspapers in the 1830s and 1840s. Edwin’s journals and publications provide an unparalleled insight into life in early industrial Lancashire. He died young in 1848 aged just 35
A free, online talk, given by Dr. Michael Winstanley
Saturday 12th March, 2022 at 2pm, on zoom
Booking on Eventbrite
Venue for Meetings after March :
on Zoom, in Oldham Library or as Hybrid, but yet to be confirmed
Joseph Briggs and the Tiffany Glass Collection at the Haworth Art Gallery Accrington
One of the world’s finest collections of classic American art glass by Tiffany is not in New York or London or Paris - it’s in the old Lancashire mill town of Accrington. Joseph Briggs, was a native of Accrington and emigrated to America.
An llustrated talk given by Douglas Jackson, author of 'Mosaic'
Saturday 9th April at 2pm
Booking will be on Eventbrite
A History of Midwifery
Women have given birth since time began. Hear about some unusual birthing practices from around the world.
A talk given by Linda Sawley
Saturday 14th May at 2pm
Booking will be on Eventbrite
Greater Manchester Police Museum
A dive into the archives of GMP Museum : what we collect, why we collect it and how it is used now. Featuring case studies of some of our most unique items.
An illustrated talk given by Katie Henderson
Saturday 11th June, at 2pm
Booking will be on Eventbrite
The area between Manchester Cathedral and Victoria Station
The area between Manchester Cathedral and Victoria Station is the mediaeval heart of Manchester but largely unknown. There is a forgotten school, a lost river, the first site of Manchester Grammar School and a cemetery that refused to stay hidden.
An illustrated talk given by Geoffrey Scargill
Saturday 9th July, at 2pm
Booking will be on Eventbrite
The Life of the Late James Johnson
Around Sept 1866 James Johnson arrived in Oldham looking for work. Many people did, but James Johnson was different, he was a slave. James escaped from North Carolina in 1862 during the American Civil War. After many escapades and adventures, he settled in Oldham and found work. He married a local woman who taught him to read and write. He remained in the town until his death in 1914.
An illustrated talk given by Carol Talbot
Saturday 13th August, at 2pm
Booking will be on Eventbrite
Agricultural Hiring Fairs of Northern England
Agricultural Hiring Fairs of Northern England Most of northern England remains rural to this day, and its farms played a vital role in feeding the ever-growing industrial workforce.
An illustrated talk given by Stephen Caunce
Saturday 10th September, at 2pm
Booking will be on Eventbrite
“Not just the 3 R’s” : Life in a Lancashire School
Louise, who was born in Ashton-Under-Lyne but now lives in Wigan, has been tracing her family history since she was 10years old (that’s over 40 years!) and has been fascinated by some of the characters she has “met” whilst time-travelling.
An illustrated talk given by Louise Wade
Saturday 8th October, at 2pm
Booking will be on Eventbrite
Exploring some of the city's finest underground spaces, that are shrouded in mystery and myths.
Keith Warrender, an historian, author and publisher, has produced two books on what lies below the Manchester streets. They are sites usually out of bounds to the public, but the speaker has had access to most of them and in his presentation reveals the true stories about these mysterious places. They range from underground canals, air-raid shelters and cold war networks to subterranean mazes.
An illustrated talk given by Keith Warrender
Saturday 12th November, at 2pm
Booking will be on Eventbrite
No
Meeting
in
December
Where to find it ...
Navigate the Branch website pages and see at a glance where you might find what you are looking for, with this site map, HERE
MANCHESTER & LANCASHIRE FHS was formed in 1964 and is now one of the largest family history societies in the world. Although the Society is united by a common interest in Genealogy and Family History, members also pursue interests in closely related fields.
