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GENERAL QUESTIONS |
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Is it true that the RAYMENTS are descended from Huguenots? |
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Several possible links with the Huguenots have so far been discovered but none have yet been proven. However, since we know from the surviving records that there were many RAYMENT and RAYMOND families living in England long before the arrival of the Huguenots, the odds are heavily against any living RAYMENT in general being of Huguenot descent. |
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Does a RAYMENT family crest or coat of arms exist? |
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There are a number of companies, mostly American, who offer to supply versions of a RAYMENT coat of arms, but the authenticity of these is open to serious doubt. As far as the Society is aware, none of our members have yet carried out any detailed research in this field, although approximately half-a-dozen examples of Rayment and Raymond crests are currently held in the database. |
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If anyone would care to investigate the matter further, the Society would certainly be very interested in the results. The best place to start might be at The Heraldic Society, 44 Museum Street, London WC1A 1LY, or at The College of Arms, 128 Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4BT. |
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Who actually started the Society and what is its history? |
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The Society was founded in 1991 by Roy Rayment, following about 15 years work on a One-Name Study by himself and several others. For anyone interested in the details, a short history has been prepared and is available elsewhere on this web-site. |
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Do the Society’s Officers have any qualifications? |
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Assuming that the question relates only to genealogy or family history, the answer is no. All of the Society’s officers are just very enthusiastic amateur family historians who share a common interest in researching the RAYMENT name and its variants. |
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Is the Society a member of any regulating body? |
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Through it’s Chairman, the Society is a full (category A) member of the Guild of One Name Studies, who lay down a code of practice by which all of their members must agree to abide. The Society’s registration number is 1424. |
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Does the Rayment Society belong to the Federation of Family History Societies? |
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No, not yet, but it is our intention to join The Federation soon. |
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Why are the majority of the Society’s meetings held in Essex, rather than London? |
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There are several reasons, notably, the cost of hiring premises in which to hold meetings is generally much higher in London, coupled with the fact that statistics clearly show there to be more RAYMENT families resident in the county of Essex than in any other area of the world. |
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The Society has been very helpful to me; can I offer my assistance to the Society in any way? |
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The Society is always very grateful for offers of assistance, irrespective of whether in financial terms, materials or research time. In a Society such as ours, which is run entirely by unpaid volunteers, one of the biggest problems is the cost of printing and photocopying large numbers of documents. In the past, most of this cost has been met from the committee’s own pockets, but, if anyone is able to offer to make even small numbers of photocopies for the Society, this would be of immense help. |
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The Society would also be more than pleased to receive any old used or unwanted box-files, loose leaf binders, punched pockets, index dividers, A4 paper, A4 cardboard, lever arch files, hanging files, envelopes, sellotape, fax paper, computer floppy disks, old provincial telephone directories, old family history magazines and old ordnance survey maps. |
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Anyone able to help in any way is urged to contact the Secretary or the Chairman, either of whom will be delighted to hear from them. |
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On behalf of several members who, like myself, don’t live in the South East of England, I’d like to ask if it would be possible to hold future meetings of the Society in a location more accessible to the long distance traveller who uses public transport? Places that spring to mind are the SOG, FRC and LMA for example. |
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We’ve already looked into the feasibility of using either the SOG or the FRC as a possible venue for meetings, but these were ruled out on cost grounds alone. Whilst sympathising with the members who have to travel long distances in order to attend the Society’s meetings, it has to be said that the position appears unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, unless our treasurer manages to preside over some sort of financial coup! |
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I have been thinking about researching my Rayment ancestors, but have no real idea where to start. What would you suggest that I should do first? |
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As you would probably expect, the best suggestion that I can make is for you to apply to join the Rayment Society, from which you will be able to obtain unlimited free advice, using the Society’s telephone Helpline. |