QUESTIONS   ON   THE   SERVICES   OFFERED

Can the Society supply a sealed copy of the Will of one of my late RAYMENT relatives, which I need for legal reasons?

Yes, but a sealed copy usually takes about two weeks to obtain and costs £10-00 plus postage.   A copy of the probate documents will normally be supplied at the same time, without any additional change.

Does the Society have anyone who could draw out my family tree on velum or parchment, using copperplate writing?

No, but we can supply a list of professional calligraphers who have advised us that they are prepared to undertake such work in return for a fee.

I recently tried to apply for the birth certificate of a RAYMENT who was born in 1950, but have been refused it on security grounds because I cannot supply all of the information required in section B of the application form.   Can the Society help me in any way?

Yes, as a registered Family History Society, we have been able to make special arrangements with the Office of National Statistics, which allow us to by-pass these security checks.

I urgently need to contact one of my RAYMENT relatives who has an ex-directory telephone number that I have managed to lose.   Can the Society give me their number?

Yes, but only if the person concerned is a member and has not told us that he or she is unwilling to accept such calls.   In special circumstances it may be possible for us to pass on a message.

I’m returning home to Australia in a few months time and, as a result of the time difference and the need to use my work telephone, I’ll only be able to make calls to leave messages for the Society during your night time, will this disturb you?

No, because when it’s unattended, the Society's Helpline telephone number is switched through to an answering machine that has no bell.

What can I, as an individual member, do if I strongly disagree with any of the Society’s policies?

Please contact the Chairman, who will hopefully be able to speedily resolve a complaint.   If, after having done this, a member remains dissatisfied, then his or her only recourse would be to raise the whole matter at the next General Meeting, which every member has the right to attend.

I would like to join the SoG (Society of Genealogists), membership of which is by election only, requiring my application to be sponsored by two of their existing members, but I don’t know any.   Can the Rayment Society help me?

Our Society was always happy to provide its members with the necessary sponsors to enable them to lodge an application for membership of the SoG but this is no longer neccessary because the SoG relaxed this requirement some time ago.

Does the Society have plans for any big new projects in the future?

Yes, there are a number of new projects upon which we would dearly like to embark, but we are currently prevented from doing so by financial constraints.   An example of this, costed at approximately £5,800, would be the purchase of all of the Rayment and variant surname birth, marriage and death certificates for the years (apart from 1881) for which census records are currently available. A project recently considered, but postponed indefinitely due to lack of finance, was the re-introduction of the NEWSLINE service, this time using a modern menu-driven system.   This would apparently cost about £3,500 to provide and a further £270 per annum to run. A major project, which has now been given a very high priority, is the replacement of the existing program used to display Family Trees on the website with a more modern system. A number of other projects are currently underway, including the replacement of some of the older search engines with new ones offering improved facilities.

[This page last updated on 25th January 2016]

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