Hi, I will soon be travelling to the UK and plan on visiting the forest to do some family history, my family appear to all be from Lydney (main surname Saunders) and I'm just wondering if anyone is familiar with that area and visiting the forest in general to do family research and can give me some pointers on where to visit to get info and the local cemeteries?

Try Dean Heritage Centre at Soudley they have a family history department I understand. A very good Centre to visit informing you all about the area. They also have a very good web site tells you about the museum and how to find it plus opening times well worth a visit. Hope you find what your looking for and enjoy your visit.

Emma's previous thread

http://forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=36844

A number of trees on Public Members Trees on Ancestry

Which includes from the Fod Records - the Inquest held 18 Day of May 1896 at The Seamen's Mission Rooms in the parish of Lydney on view of the body of John James PALMER SAUNDERS age 39, Dock Labourer….

and copy of press-cutting

Lydney:

Sudden Death whilst Fishing: A middle-aged man John SAUNDERS, living in the neighbourhood of Lydney Dock, died very suddenly on Friday whilst fishing with a lave net.

One tree has a copy of William Naylor SAUNDERS' death certificate - 24 September 1899 age 67 (Carpenter) - died of Bronchitis Asthernia? at 110 New John Street, Aston - daughter Sarah N HARRISON present.

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previous thread on another family of Saunders

http://forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?mode=thread&id=10751
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Fod Records

Burial at Lydney

19 May 1896

John James PALMER SAUNDERS age 39 years

Register Reference: Lydney P209 IN 1/14

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Lydney Parish Church

http://www.lydneyparish.org.uk

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Royal Forest of Dean Herefordshire & Monmouthshire Tourist Information and Travel Guide

http://www.royalforestofdean.info

And try gfhs.org.uk which is the Gloucestershire Family History Society. They might have something on Saunders of Lydney, and they have occasional meetings of their Forest of Dean branch so that they could probably put you in touch with somebody who might know something.

Also Kelly's Directory of Gloucestershire, 1861 (detailed in www.genuki.org.uk)gives two farmers named Sanders (at Nass and Blackrock) plus Thomas Saunders as a beer retailer and Williams Saunders as a butcher and beer retailer, both of Lydney. This in turn means if you search "Saunders" on gloucestershirepubs.co.uk you might find a link in the 21 pages that come up.