A Family History Open Day is being held at the Ty Glyn Hotel and Conference Centre, Ciliau Aeron, Ceredigion, on tomorrow (Saturday) between 10 am and 4 pm. The event is being organised by the Dyfed Family History Society and is open to anyone interested in family history.

The Dyfed Family History Society, established over 25 years ago, has continued to expand despite the division of Dyfed back into the three counties of Ceredigion (formerly Cardiganshire), Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in 1996. The Open Day offers an opportunity for genealogists - both expert and inexperienced - to get together and share their adventures in family history.

There will be a variety of stalls offering help and advice on family history, with representatives from the local archives services, the National Library of Wales, local history societies, one-name specialists and a selection of family history societies from neighbouring areas as well as the local branches of the Dyfed Family History Society. In addition, stalls from commercial organisations providing genealogical supplies, books and photograph restoration advice will be at the Open Day.

Have you ever wondered what your ancestors did for a living? Most of us have probably got a fair smattering of 'ag lab' (agricultural labourer) and 'F.S.'(female servant). Some of you may have been lucky enough to encounter an 'Ind.' (person of independent means) in their family tree. But what about the more unusual occupations?

Was your ancestor a slapdasher (rough-casting the outside of buildings)? Around the coast, you might find a relative working as a tide waiter whose job was to ensure that the correct duty was paid on imported goods. On the 1851 census for Pembroke, a quick glance down the occupations reveals a tinman (not from the Wizard of Oz!), an umbrella maker, a whitesmith (working in white metals such as zinc) and a collector of old rags. In the churchyard at Llanbadarn Fawr, there is a gravestone for Roderick Richards, tawer, who would have worked in the tanning trade.

Was your unmarried great-aunt an 'auld maid' or a 'humble companion'? Perhaps she could have been a bathing machine attendant on the beach at Tenby or Aberystwyth? Could your grandmother have been a staymaker? If so, she may have been a corset-maker or a maker of thick strong rope to support ships' masts.

Haverfordwest was home to a dancing master and several comedians could be found in Tenby. And what about the gentleman in Tenby who described himself as a Catholic priest - but had a young wife? The burial register for Haverfordwest St. Thomas church records the work of a body-snatcher named Brigstocke in 1823 and the 'Haverfordwest & Milford Haven Telegraph' of 1858 reported the sudden death of a mesmerist named Simeon Peels.

Admission to the Open Day is free. Refreshments (including lunches) will be available and there is plenty of parking space. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, there will be something for everybody at the Ty Glyn Hotel. The hotel and conference centre is just off the A482 between Aberaeron and Lampeter (turn off the main road opposite the primary school in Ciliau Aeron and follow a country road, taking the first turn right where the hotel will then be on your right-hand side). Why not go along and find out for yourself?