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. He has also been collecting and collating on an ongoing basis a significant volume of more recent data relating to the surnames.

Any enquiries regarding the Trust should be addressed to:

The Secretary, Halsted Trust,
postal address: 2 St Annes Close, Winchester, Hampshire SO22 4LQ
e-mail address: secretary@halsted.org.uk

The research is still ongoing, and answering queries on any significant scale is not envisaged until the current phases of the Trust's work have been completed. However, data is already being made available online on a progressive basis. The One-Name Study Narratives that have been compiled and are currently online can be viewed on the separate web site dedicated for that purpose. The link on the left opens the home page for that site in a separate window in your browser: close that window to return here.

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

The Trust organises its own educational seminar on one-name studies, which is held in a different part of the country each year, and at which some of the Trustees are 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 normally no admission charge, merely a charge per person towards a buffet lunch and refreshments. Numbers are usually limited and places are booked on a first come, first served basis. Recent Halsted Trust Seminars on One-Name Studies were held in 2007 at Skipton Castle, North Yorkshire and in 2008 at Eastergate, West Sussex.

The next Trust Seminar will be held on 11th June 2011 at Ruishton Village Hall, near Taunton.
Entitled "Taking Your Family History Further", it is aimed at those beyond the first flush of research and who are looking to extend their research. As with all the Seminars, it will be of interest to all family historians and specifically those looking to start or progress a one-name study.
A copy of the Booking Form for you to use, giving full details of the lecture programme and the speakers, will be available shortly. In the meantime, you can view the location of Ruishton Village Hall and directions for travelling there by following the link on the left.

In 2009, in place of its annual seminar, the Halsted Trust hosted a 4-day Conference for family, social and local historians with the title "Open the Door & Here are the People". Held at the prestigious East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham over the Bank Holiday weekend from 28th to 31st August, it was attended by over 200 people. With 4 sessions a day, each of which had up to 5 different presentations running in parallel for delegates to choose from, as well as renowned after-dinner speakers in the evenings, there was something for everyone.

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.