The STEAD/STEED One-Name Study

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About the Study

The STEAD/STEED One-Name Study, a non-profit making Family History Society, was formed on 1st April 1996 by Shelagh Mason after a sizeable number of enquiries regarding these surnames. The Study is registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies in London (No. 2519), where it can be found on the Guild's homepage.

In October 2005, the running of the Study was taken over by Bob Steed (of Somerset). Since its inception, the Study has amassed a huge amount of genealogical data, and we have enrolled over 250 members worldwide. Click HERE to find out HOW TO JOIN the Study.

Our Aims

The Study aims to collect all possible information on the STEAD and STEED surnames and all variants, including STEADE, STEADS, STEDE, STEEDE, STEEDS, &c. worldwide from as diverse a range of sources as possible, including:

Parish records (all denominations) and Bishop's Transcripts, &c. International Genealogical Index (IGI) transcripts The General Record Office Index Census returns and indexes Marriage licences and banns Poor Law and Resettlement Indexes Rate books, poll books, tithes and other local records Wills, probate, indentures and inventories, including some from the Borthwick Wills Collection Directories, newspapers and magazines Heraldry Photographs, certificates, family trees and other personal records and finally, but far from least, the Internet &c.

The study is producing databases of both the parish register and census types &c. by county/country. Searches of the databases are free, but an SAE or equivalent is always gratefully received. Wherever possible, the information is from original documentation or microfilmed copies of the originals.

Services to Members

The study publishes a quarterly newsletter which contains new members information and contact (address and email only - it is not our policy to publish member's telephone numbers) and the information they have or are searching for. Other sections may include: new records available; work in progress; computers and the internet; miscellaneous articles of interest (a right hotch-potch!); census returns, and there is at least one large article per newsletter - but contents do vary.

A directory is published annually listing all member's names, postal and e-mail addresses, their Stead/Steed Interests and the other surnames they are researching. The directory also lists the current records held by the Study in considerable detail. Both the newsletters and the directory are included in the annual subscription.

Our main aims are to connect as many people as possible, and to flesh out the bare information to make the study both interesting and useful. In this, we have already been more successful than we could possibly have hoped.

We also hold reunions, the latest being the April 1999 4-day extravaganza in Canterbury, Kent, England (above).

Click HERE to find out how to Join the Study