Wyvern Family History Society is a volunteer run society for people tracing ancestors in Somerset and Devon. We have been meeting monthly since 1987, and most of what we know is written down somewhere in our archive.
How we started
In the spring of 1987, eight people met in a church hall in Marlcombe because they were all stuck on the same problem. The parish registers they needed were split across three record offices, none of them had been indexed, and every enquiry meant a day off work and a long drive.
They agreed to divide the parishes between them and write down what they found. That list, typed and photocopied, became the first society index. It ran to eleven pages.
We were not trying to build an archive. We were trying to save each other the drive to Exeter.
Margaret Thorne, founder member
Where we are now
Nearly forty years on, our volunteers have transcribed and indexed more than 130,000 entries from 84 parishes. A good part of it exists nowhere else online, because nobody else has done the work. Transcription continues every month.
What we actually do
- Transcribe and index. Parish registers, monumental inscriptions, census returns and civil registration indexes, checked by a second reader before they go in.
- Meet every month. A talk on the second Wednesday, at Marlcombe Church Hall. Guests are welcome and do not need to book.
- Publish a journal. Four issues a year, posted to every member, with case studies and members’ appeals for help.
- Answer questions. Members can ask a volunteer to check the physical archive on their behalf.
Who runs it
Nobody is paid. The committee is elected each year at the AGM, and the transcription work is done by members at home, usually from scans, an hour or two at a time. If you can read eighteenth century handwriting, or would like to learn, we would be glad of the help.
Where the money goes
Membership is £15 a year and it is our only regular income. It pays for record office visits, scanning equipment, printing and posting the journal, and the hire of the hall.
Coverage
Our core area is the parishes around Marlcombe and the Ashen Hills, extending into east Devon. The table below gives a rough picture. The coverage page lists every parish with exact date ranges.
| Record type | Period | Entries |
|---|---|---|
| Parish registers | 1598 to 1901 | 61,400 |
| Census transcriptions | 1841 to 1911 | 38,200 |
| Civil registration index | 1837 to 1950 | 22,900 |
| Monumental inscriptions | various | 7,900 |
Come and find us
The easiest way to get a feel for the society is to turn up to a talk. You do not need to be a member, and you do not need to know anything yet. Bring a name and a rough idea of where the family lived, and somebody will point you at the right record set.