John Frearson provides assistance with Family History Research; Company Archiving and Company History Research and can provide Research Summaries or Reports or publish Books as required.

John Frearson has had some 20 years experience in these areas, including:-

–  Contributing a large proportion of the WWI soldier biographies for the ‘Rugby Remembers‘ blog which published a biography for the great majority of the 430 or so Rugby soldiers listed on the Rugby Memorial Gates.

–  Research for individuals to outline their family history, and family origins.

–  Research for a client company to establish history of a company that had been taken over, and whose records had not been preserved.

– Research for a client company on the history, ownership and boundaries of a newly purchased property, which required research at The National Archives, County Record Offices and the Canal and Waterways Archive.

–  Work with the Rugby Cement Company, now CEMEX, on the rescue and subsequent research and preliminary cataloguing of their Archives. 

– Assistance with for a Southam Heritage Exhibition, ‘Cementing Relations’,  presenting a lecture and preparation of supporting publications on Kaye’s and Nelson’s Lime and Cement Works [see Publications page].

–  Research on brick makers and coal merchants in Rugby to provide material for lectures and a publications.  [See Publications].

–  Curating of an Exhibition at Rugby Museum on the Rugby Cement Company history for the 100th Anniversary of its then new owners, CEMEX.

–  Assistance with an exhibition on the photographer, Gulliver Speight, at Market Harborough Museum.

–  Assistance with artefacts and documents for a small display about Rugby Morris Men for Rugby Museum; and provision of an accompanying talk on the history of Morris dance.

–  Family History research on the Frearson family and increasingly as a co-ordinator of a One-Name Study of the Frearson name. 

–  Research on the Tayler family of Northleach and publication of a booklet on the subject; also a similar project on the Loake family of Wilcote and Witney and publishing of a summary booklet.  More recent research into another barnch of the Loake family, and publishing books on theat branch of the Loake family, the related Deacon family and then producing a combined book on the Loake families of Desborough.

–  Provision of cataloguing and sorting of the Ashton Archive and determination of appropriate Archives and Record Offices for its preservation.  Research for the Executors, using the Archive material and other sources into the background and history of the Ashton family.  The Report being intended to be produced and published to provide a Memorial Album and to accompany the various archive materials to the selected Record Offices. [see Ashton Family page]

–  Research on the family and photographic businesses of the Speight family of Photographers – and publication of a Research Report and Booklet [see Speight Photographers page].  This has been the subject of numerous lectures/presentations.

–  Provision of “as required” Family History Research for British Ancestors Limited.

–  Provision of “Help Desk” Services at Rugby Library as part of the Rugby Family History Group on a regular basis.

–  Provision of illustrated Lectures and Presentations on subjects covered by the above Research and Family History.  To date these have been presented, variously, to:  the Rugby Family History Group [several]; the Long Itchington History Group; the Warwickshire Industrial Archaeology Society [three times]; the Stretton on Dunsmore History Society; the Guild of One Name Studies [GOONS] [Midands Seminar]; the Nuneaton [former] Lions Group; the  Kettering Art Gallery and Museum; the Bedworth Society; the Nuneaton Local History Group [twice]; the Market Harborough History Society; the Ockbrook and Borrowash Heritage Group; Rugby Art Gallery and Museum; Kenilworth Family History Society [twice]; Kimbolton Probus Club at Keysoe; the Birmingham and Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry; the Riseley History Group; The Willans Retirement Group, Rugby [twice]; Barby Local History Group, Bedworth and Nuneaton Parkinsons’ Support Group; Bedfordshire Family History Society [twice]; Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society [twice – at Leicester and on their Arnhem area visit in Holland]; Friends of Warwickshire County Record Office; Clifton Local History Group [twice]; Wellesbourne and Walton Local History Group; Coventry Family History Society [twice]; Hillmorton Townswomens’ Guild [twice]; Loughborough Family History Group; Nuneaton Museum [twice];WDYTYA? LIVE in 2014 in London and 2015 in Birmingham.

A listing of Lectures and Presentations can be found by clicking the link.