Halsted Trust

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.”

The Trust’s Origin

The Trust is funded by a gift generously made by Mrs Lewis-Jones (now sadly deceased), 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  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.

Halsted Research

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. For further details click here.

Education and Sponsorship

The Trust organises educational seminars usually every year. The Trust also establishes International Genealogical Conferences approximately every five years. The Trust is also willing to sponsor family history conferences and seminars held in England & Wales. The Trust has sponsored various conferences, equipment and books in recent years. Click here for details.

Please contact the secretary with any proposals.

Grant Funding

The Trustees invite, innovative and imaginative applications for grants of up to £2000 to the genealogical community, (although larger sums may occasionally be considered). The Trustees will consider both capital and other projects that further the Trusts stated aims on both national and local levels. The trust will pay up to maximum of 50% the total cost of any project. For further details see our Grant funding page