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Guild of One-Name Studies

One-name studies, Genealogy

Is your surname here?

    • 2,223 members
    • 2,138 studies
    • 7,589 surnames

Most Surnames come from Somewhere – September 2024 webinar

Posted 17 September 2024 by Julie Goucher

Photograph courtesy of Stephen Daglish, 2022

The September webinar from the Guild of One-Name Studies is with Howard Benbrook, our President, here is what Howard said:

Whereas many surnames like Shepherd and Baker have origins in the occupation of their original bearer, there are many others whose origin is, sometimes surprisingly, in a very specific place.  

Whilst knowing the geographic origin of a surname will not, in itself, help determine a family history, the historical location of a surname can be enormously helpful in focusing research.” 

The webinar features England and Wales only, but will hopefully inspire researchers to explore surnames from other parts of the world using some of the strategies and techniques gleaned from this webinar.

About the speaker:

Howard served as the bookstall manager for many years, and was a familiar face at many genealogical events where he represented the Guild.  Howard had previously served as Guild Chairman, before becoming a Vice President in 2011, a position he held until July 2022 when he was appointed by the Trustees as President of the Guild of One-Name Studies.

Howard family was resident in the East End of London, where they’d been living since approximately 1750. In order to tackle a Benbrook brick wall, the Benbrook One-Name Study was born and you can read about it HERE.

About the Webinar

7.30pm BST on Wednesday 25 September. The webinar is available FREE of charge to both members and non-members, but registration is Essential, please do share to others that might be interested. To register for the event click HERE. The session will be recorded.

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