ABOUT THE TRUST

The Trust is a non-profit making educational charity, governed by a Declaration of Trust that states its Objects to be:
"to advance the education of the public in the study of and research into family
history, genealogy, heraldry and local history through one-name studies generally,
but in particular with reference to all persons having the surname of Halsted,
and to promote the preservation, security and publication of the useful results
of such research."

A one-name study is the study of a particular surname (or surnames where it has variants), which researches and documents all persons bearing that surname, as distinct from researching all the ancestors or descendants of one person. A study can be confined to a country, or sometimes to a state, province or UK county, but surnames registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies are researched and documented on a worldwide basis.

The surname HALSTED and its variants were originally registered with the Guild in 1994 and subsequently transferred into the name of the Secretary of the Halsted Trust. Registration, as Member Number 4742, now covers the following surnames which include the known variants:

• HALSTED
  
• HALSTEAD
  
• HOLSTED
  
• HOLSTEAD
  
• ALSTEAD

The Trust is funded by a gift generously made by Mrs Lewis-Jones, the widow of the late Mr Raymond Lewis-Jones. He had carried out extensive research into the surnames Halsted and Halstead during his lifetime, and wished this to be preserved and continued after his death. Two of the current Trustees, Alec Tritton and Geoff Riggs (who were then Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Guild of One-Name Studies), set up the Trust in 2001 and the latter negotiated at length with the Charity Commission over an acceptable wording for the Declaration of Trust that would enable it to be registered as an educational charity, and this was finally achieved in March 2002.

As a result of Mrs Lewis-Jones's gift the Trustees are able to carry out her late husband's wishes. The Trust's Research Director is currently completing the indexing and archiving of the many files and source documents that Mr Lewis-Jones's research produced. She is also supervising the collection and collation by the Trust's Data Manager on an ongoing basis of a significant volume of more recent data relating to the surnames.

The results of the research will be made available as soon as practicable via the internet and other media. Answering queries on any significant scale is not envisaged until the current phases of the Trust's work have been completed. Meanwhile any enquiries regarding the Trust should be addressed to:

The Secretary, Halsted Trust,
postal address: 30 The Pastures, Hardwick, CB3 7XA
e-mail address: secretary@halsted.org.uk

In the meantime, the following data is already viewable online, as part of the archival records on the Guild of One-Name Studies' web site. The link on the left opens a page in a separate window in your browser: close that window to return here.

• Civil births in England and Wales, 1837 to 2006
  
• Civil marriages in England and Wales, 1837 to 2005
  
• Civil deaths in England and Wales, 1837 to 2006
  
• Adoptions in England and Wales, 1926 to 1969
  
• Civil births in Scotland, 1855 to 2006
  
• Civil marriages in Scotland, 1855 to 1930
  
• Civil deaths in Scotland, 1855 to 2006
  
• Civil probate in England and Wales, 1858 to 1944

The Trust has five Trustees - Alec Tritton, Else Churchill, Derek Palgrave FSG, Geoff Riggs, and Geoffrey Stone - who all have considerable experience in family history and the management of many of its charitable organisations. Its Research Director, Jeanne Bunting FSG, and its Data Manager, John Hanson FSG, are well-known throughout England and Wales as researchers and lecturers, and its Secretary is Marian French. Follow the link on the left for more details on these.

The Trust organises its own educational seminar every year on one-name studies, at which some of the Trustees may be amongst the speakers. It is open to the general public, and will be of interest to all family historians although those who are thinking of starting or extending a one-name study are particularly welcome. There is no admission charge but, if a buffet lunch and refreshments are provided, then there may be a charge per person towards the costs of this. Numbers are usually limited and places are booked on a first come, first served basis. The most recent Halsted Trust Seminar on One-Name Studies was held on 24th November 2007 at Skipton Castle, Skipton, North Yorkshire.

The 2008 Seminar, on Family History Research, is being held at 10am on Saturday 19th July 2008 at Eastergate Village Hall, Eastergate, West Sussex. If you follow the "SEMINARS" link, you can then view a map of the venue with directions for getting there and download a copy of the Booking Form for you to use, which also gives full details of the lecture programme.

As part of the Trust's educational aims, it also sponsors seminars and lectures on one-name studies organised by other bodies, at which the Halsted Study is referred to where appropriate. The Trust is prepared to sponsor and support other initiatives and projects that make additional information available to assist in the research of one-name studies. Follow the link on the left for more details on this, and on previous and future events.