Family history event

25th anniversary

Monklands residents researching their ancestors can attend Lanarkshire family history society’s show this Saturday.

The event at Motherwell concert hall and theatre is described as “Scotland’s largest local and family history show” – and this year forms part of the celebrations of the organisation’s 25th anniversary.

It opens at 10am with a free talk on military records, and will be followed throughout the day by further keynote speeches on the history of Strathclyde Park, using social media to research family trees, and researching ancestors.

Exhibitors will include Summerlee museum, Culture NL archives, a range of genealogy and research organisations including the Scottish local history forum and the Scottish military research group, plus local schoolchildren displaying their projects.

There will also be an “ask the experts” area with professional researchers, Lana r k s h i re society members and expert guests offering free one- to- one advice on visitors’ studies.

Entry costs £2 per person, with talks priced at £4 each and allowing free entry to the show, while under-12s go free with a paying adult.

Meanwhile, the society will meet next Thursday, September 8, when the guest speaker will be former Chatelherault Archive researcher Sharon Paton.

She will reveal some of the hidden stories from a project which discovered a wealth of history of the estate in Hamilton, giving a unique snapshot of 18th-century life.

It takes place in the GLO Centre in Motherwell at 7pm.