Federation Of Family History Societies

A Tribute to Elizabeth Simpson, F.S.G.

 

Elizabeth Simpson who died on Sunday 28th January 2007, aged 83, was one of the pioneers of the Federation of Family History Societies.

She always insisted that her real inspiration had been Colin Rogers who ran family history classes at Hulme in 1970. However joining the Family History Society of Cheshire certainly motivated her: she soon became its publications organiser and subsequently editor. Later on she was involved in a similar role with the North Cheshire FHS. She felt it was important to spread the word and to do so she made every effort to contact other societies and research groups. She encouraged them to work together and share their experiences, in particular by exchanging magazines, a worthwhile form of co-operation between societies which continued for many years to come.

Her publishing activities and bubbling enthusiasm did not go unnoticed by people like Don Steel and Cecil Humphery-Smith who were keen to see a major Conference devoted to Genealogy and Heraldry take place in Britain. The upshot was a proposal to set up a coherent organisation to focus support on this endeavour. In 1974, at a meeting in Birmingham, the Federation was launched and its first officers elected. The Chairman was Iain Swinnerton, Treasurer, Royston Gambier, and Secretary, Elizabeth Simpson who, incidentally, was not present at the election.

She tackled her new role with relish, setting her sights on the target of a family history society in every county. In 1975 she took part in an interview on the Jimmy Young programme which generated over 200 letters, an early signal that the level of interest in family history was beginning to grow. She contributed so much to the Federation News, the Federation's first periodical, that the Chairman, in his editorial capacity, had to constrain her enthusiasm to ensure that each issue appeared on time.

She was an excellent raconteur, using every opportunity to speak in public about the work of the Federation in supporting its member societies to promote the study of family history. Her stories about being pinned to the wall by family historians who were keen to tell her about their research were as hilarious as they were inconvenient. She was even pursued to the "Ladies" so she would be able to hear the rest of the story from the other side of the door.

In late 1975 Elizabeth's husband Phil was required to move to a new office so they left Sale for Nottingham. Fifteen years later, letters addressed to her in Sale were still being forwarded. Her address had been publicised all round the globe and people continued to contact her well beyond the year 1978, when she stood down as Federation Secretary. Within ten minutes she was elected unanimously as the Federation's first Vice President.

When Family History News and Digest was launched in 1977, Elizabeth compiled the news section by distilling information from all the Society Journals which then were being donated to the Federation to form a reference collection. She tackled this task with her usual gusto for a couple of years but, as the number of Societies joining the Federation increased, she found that it was no longer a practical proposition. However she continued to contribute articles, reports, and book reviews for a decade or more.

Producing Family History News and Digest was very much the effort of a team, in which Elizabeth was a major player, so everyone involved met on a regular basis at her house in Nottingham. These meetings eventually spawned the Federation Publications Committee which began the tradition of commissioning authors to write books about a wide range of family history and related topics. Elizabeth was always able to come up with a host of suggestions on new titles and potential authors. She also felt that member societies should be encouraged to publish more. By 1979, the idea had emerged for an award for the journal making the best contribution to family history: the following year, the first Elizabeth Simpson Award was presented.

In addition to her commitments to the Federation she also ran family history courses in the Nottingham area and lectured to Societies all over the UK and abroad. She also continued to work on her own family history. As an early member of the Guild (No 214) she registered the surname, FOINQUINOS, at one stage making a very eventful trip to Gibraltar to search for evidence.  Her account of this remarkable adventure remains one of the most amusing and amazing that many of us have heard.

She welcomed the appearance of the Genealogical Research Directory founded in 1981 by the Australians, Keith Johnson and Malcolm Sainty. She saw this as a valuable tool to enable researchers all over the world to share their findings with one another. She became their British Agent and for over 20 years was responsible for collecting entries and distributing the Annual Volumes in this country.

Since leaving office she maintained her abiding support for the Federation, appearing at Conferences from time to time in her Vice Presidential role and whenever possible making a special effort each year to present the Elizabeth Simpson Award in person. The original plaque, which was based on a drawing of her climbing a "family" tree, was made by Sheila Tarr of the Isle of Man. Although plagued by failing eyesight during recent years, she participated in the Federation Think Tank weekend at Wyboston in 2005.

Few people have put in anywhere near the time and effort she devoted to the Federation during its formative years. Not only did she have the passion and flair to motivate others to commit themselves to tasks which they might not otherwise have volunteered to do, but she also had a vision that the way forward was to foster co-operation at every level. She practised what she preached and was an inspiration to all of us. We shall miss her.

We express our sincere condolences to her husband, Phil, whom she married 58 years ago, her children Alan and Philippa, and the rest of her immediate family. A number of her former colleagues within the Federation were present at the funeral, which took place at Wilford Hill Crematorium, West Bridgford, Nottingham on Friday 9th February.

PML, DAP and ISS