Course Descriptions

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The Poor, The Parish and The Workhouse: Records in the 18th and 19th Centuries (#203)

Poor, illegitimate, sick, temporarily out of work, old, deserving or undeserving, those who could not or would not support themselves obtained help, in England and Wales, either from the parish, before 1834, or the poor law union, after 1834. Careful records were kept and they are helpful to family historians not only for what they reveal about those receiving assistance but about the local people who paid the rates and made the system work. The course explains how poor relief evolved, functioned and recorded its activities. You will learn how to use these records, how they can solve genealogical problems and what fascinating insights they offer into the lives of your ancestors. Online information and data are integral to the course. The course is for anyone searching poor law records for the first time or wanting to build on existing knowledge.

Instructor: Gill Blanchard

• Records of the Poor: background, terminology, how the Internet can help
• Parish Poor Law Records (1) types, use, indexes, access
• Parish Poor Law Records (2) other related parish records - bastardy, accounts, etc.
• Workhouse Records: content, use, access, life in the workhouse
• Other Related Records of the Poor including orphanages and charities

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "I thought Gill was a great tutor and would be keen to take another course of hers in the future." "I would highly recommend this course for anyone interested in this subject and time period. The instructor is extremely knowledgeable about the records and where to find them."

Relevant Countries: England, Wales

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Discover Your Devon Ancestors (#220)

Devon, tucked away in the West Country of England, has a rich heritage that inspires and delights family historians. Devon’s recorded past is an equally rich source of information and this course presents county resources in the context of landscape, events and people. The four lessons describe the extensive resources available for your research and how to access them, including the benefits of joining a family history society. Local history and geography are themes within the course as you learn the value of maps and about the contrasts in the lives of the people in town and country.

Instructor: Kirsty Gray

• Online Sources for Devon
• Family History Society Sources
• Contrasting parishes and populations – ancestors of coast, town and country and their occupations
• Sources and Archives - the rich and the poor
• This Course has only 2 places left!! Email us if you want to take part

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England

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Scottish Research Online (#102)

Scotland was first to have major records digitized and offer indexes and images online. It has also been a leader in placing resource information on the World Wide Web. This course describes the major sites, the types of information and data that they offer, the forms in which databases are presented and how to analyze results. You will learn to lay the foundations for searching a family, how to select best resources and what to do next either online or in libraries and archives.

Instructor: Chris Paton

• Scotlands People, Family Search, Ancestry, FreeCen: content, comparison, assessment
• Essential Maps and Gazetteers
• Civil Registration and Census Research Online
• Searching in Church of Scotland Registers Online
• Scottish Wills and Inventories Online
• Take It From Here

Note: it is recommended but not required that students in this course sign up for the basic search option, 30 units/seven days, at ScotlandsPeople (cost is six pounds)

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat s See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "I particularly liked the fact that the course didn't just focus on the well-known BMD resources available, but on a much wider range of websites, including many which give extremely useful background information on the geography and history of the localities where our ancestors lived." "a very knowledgeable Instructor"

Relevant Countries: Scotland

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Climbing Trees: How to get children interested in family history (#820)

Leave a legacy. Keep the family’s past alive. This is a big part of why genealogy is so fascinating. Family history is filled with stories about people you knew or, if you did not actually know them, you feel like you did because someone told the family stories to you. This course provides practical activities, ideas, and guidance for passing along your knowledge and enthusiasm to children or grandchildren between the ages of 7 and 11. Many children enjoy history at school and you can foster or awaken interest by adding a personal, family perspective. The lessons look at ways to make your family stories interesting and relevant, not only with respect to the context of past times but with some help from favourite fictional stories. The course looks at a wide range of material designed to excite children about their history and enable you, with them, to produce creative and colourful projects to treasure. The practical nature of the “make and do” project suggestions will get children involved, designing, doing and problem solving. The course explores and evaluates the wealth of on-line material about family history aimed at children, as well as ways to digitally present and share your children’s projects in a simple and easy way. The course also shows you how working with your children on a family history project can help them with their learning skills in school. During the course you consider how different children learn in different ways and each activity will show which particular skills are being used so you can cater your activities to the interests of your children. All activities include a simple list of resources needed before you embark on a project.

Instructor: Hannah Baker

• Taking Root: Understanding the basics
• Climbing Trees at Home: storytelling and online research
• Climbing Trees Farther Afield: make family history visits interesting
• Creating Branches: Using technology to create, present and share your child\'s learning

Each lesson includes exercises and activities, and a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: General

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Advanced One-Name Studies (#902)

Take your one-name study to new levels. Whatever drew you into the investigation of your surname you are now deeply immersed in gathering and analysing data. You have mastered the practical aspects of managing your project and are eager for more discovery.

This course will give you the skills to venture into new territory. All one-namers with a substantial collection of data are potentially in a position to shed new light on old historical problems. A one-name study provides the glue that melds together disciplines as diverse as population studies, place-names, etymology, as well as genealogy and local history. Using an interdisciplinary approach your research and analysis will shed new light on the past and contribute to historical knowledge.

The course assumes you are familiar with the material covered by Introduction to One-Name Studies (Pharos course #901) and that you have collected a large amount of data from core records in at least one country. The next levels in this course include collecting data world-wide, a review of current published work on surnames, venturing into more complex interdisciplinary analysis, and working toward the publication of findings.

Students will normally have a registered One-Name Study with the Guild of One-Name Studies and should be familiar with the Guild’s seven pillars of wisdom.

If you are not already a Guild member, please contact us for advice before paying for the course.

The course offers two options and one of these must be selected when registering and paying for the course.

Option One – lessons contain short answer exercises within the lessons (responses not assessed) [£49.99]

Option Two – Same as Option One with the addition of the preparation of a 2 – 3,000 word written article about your one-name study (assessed). [£59.99]

The best articles from Option Two may be selected for publication in the Journal of One Name Studies. The Guild and Pharos will jointly be awarding a Certificate of Attainment for those successfully completing Option 2.

The course lasts for six weeks, with five lessons and a research week.

Instructor: Helen Osborn

• The world-wide One-Name Study
• Interdisciplinary studies – beyond Vital Records
• Surname case studies – Learning from others
• Research and Reading Week
• Synthesis – More than family history
• Spread the Word – Get Published

Set Reading: The Surname Detective, C D Rogers (1995), One hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: General

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Caribbean Family History (#150)

Britain’s first colony in the West Indies was settled in 1625. Over the next three centuries hundreds of thousands went out to the Caribbean as merchants, traders, soldiers, sailors, labourers, transported traitors and felons. The slave trade brought many times that many to the region. If your genealogical research has turned up a connection to one of Britain’s colonies in the Caribbean this course is your opportunity to expand your family history. You will learn about vital records, passenger lists, immigration sources and records of the slave trade. You will be able to make use of sources on the Web and learn about resources accessible in archives and libraries. For anyone with Caribbean connections this course will set your research on solid foundations.

This course will run over an extended period of time, with 5 lessons sent to you from 3 May - 18 July. Join in at any time during this period to receive the lesson materials and to participate in the forum and chats.

Instructor: Guy Grannum

• Caribbean Research: Essential Facts, Useful Background
• Web Resources, Archives and Libraries
• Records of Birth, Marriage and Death
• Migration and Settlement
• Sources for Researching Enslaved People and Slave Holders

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; 2 chat sessions in May and June and 1 in July. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: West Indies (Barbados, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad, and other islands that have been British)

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20th Century Surveys for Family and Local History (#329)

The two surveys covered in this course examined the ownership and use of land in the first half of the 20th century. The 1910 Finance Act survey took place just before the start of the Great War and provides a snapshot in time of Edwardian England, Wales and Scotland. You will see how survey records relate to household schedules of the 1911 adding valuable information such as location, ownership and descriptions of the dwelling house and surrounding area. The 1941/43 National Farm Survey, taken at the outbreak of WW2, provides an amazing picture of farm life in wartime with detailed descriptions of livestock and crops, machinery, and the workforce available. Links will be made to other contemporary resources to provide family and local historians with a detailed guide on how to make the most of these two modern surveys.

Instructor: Liz Carter

• The Second Domesday Survey - The 1910 Finance Act
• Connections from the 1910 Survey
• The 1941/43 National Farm Survey
• Making Use of the Modern Surveys

Each lesson includes exercises and activities, a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England, Scotland, Wales

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Organizing Your Genealogy (#805)

As you research your family history, you collect information, charts, copies of records, notes, lists of sources searched, etc. Whether you are just starting your research or whether you have been at it a while, it is important to be organized and have a record keeping system. It should be easy to file and store information when you get it, and to find it long afterward. Good organization and record keeping will help you assess what you have, what you have learned, and what you need to learn. This three-week course is designed to help you get organized, stay organized and be ready for research online and on location by developing good record-keeping habits.

Instructor: Barbara Baker

• Record Keeping Fundamentals
• Setting Up Your System on Computer
• Sources, Sources, Sources!

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID. This course more than fulfilled my expectations. It is true that genealogists tend to follow their own personal system. The three lessons on the course (one each week) ensures that class members are given excellent examples of different systems, together with contributions, advice and ideas all mooted on the forum and chat room sessions from all concerned. Record keeping; using computers and various programmes; useful websites; dealing with sources and citations - which from a personal point of view turned out to be the most important aspect of all.

Relevant Countries: General

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Tying the Knot: Marriage and its Records (#212)

Every genealogist wants to find marriage records because they connect two names and two families, thereby making both easier to find. Whether or not you find a marriage record is dependent on more than its survival. You also need to know something of the fascinating history of marriage, a tale of laws and the flagrant abuse of same, banns and licenses, of clandestine marriages, handfasting, bigamy, and more. This course not only follows the history of marriage it provides practical advice on records, finding aids and the best places to search, online and in archives and libraries, when you are faced with puzzles and challenges.

Instructor: Gill Blanchard

• Marriages Legal and Otherwise
• After Lord Hardwicke's Solution 1754 to 1837
• Marriage, Victoria to Elizabeth II

Each lesson includes exercises and activities and a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England

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Old Handwriting for Family Historians (#210)

Old handwriting, or palaeography, often presents difficulties for family historians. This course takes a practical approach to Secretary Hand which was a commonly used form during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Family historians will come across Secretary Hand in many types of documents such as parish registers and wills and inventories. The course aims to equip students with their own set of steps to successful transcription, as well as provide insights into the development of Secretary Hand.

Instructor: Ruth Davies

• Introduction to Secretary Hand and Methods of Transcription
• Challenging Details
• Steps to Successful Transcriptions

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. NOTE: Students are asked to purchase A Secretary Hand ABC Book by Alf Ison, which is available from the online bookshops of The National Archives and the Society of Genealogists. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "I liked the practical exercises" "our teacher was excellent"

Relevant Countries: General

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Become a Better Genealogist: Research in England and Wales (#101)

Genealogists who get results pay attention to methods, sources and the essential foundations of all research, history and geography. Regardless of how long you have been searching, there is something in this course that will make you a better genealogist. The lessons pay particular attention to how you tackle research problems, where you can find sources, and how to extract maximum value from online databases. Among classes of records discussed during the course you will discover some materials are available only in archives and libraries. You will learn how to locate original records, transcripts and copies. By the end of the course you will have acquired new skills and gained a better understanding of effective research techniques - from the present back to the 1830s.

Instructor: Gill Blanchard

• Looking Around: Your Genealogical Landscape, present resources and past locations
• Introducing Databases: large, small, free, paid etc.
• Civil Registration
• Directories and Electoral Registers
• Census Returns
• Parish Registers

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "everything was well laid out and explained" "I enjoyed the support of the tutor and the other members of the class."

Relevant Countries: England, Wales

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Introduction to One-Name Studies (#901)

A one name study is an exciting new journey into your surname’s past. It involves the collection of all the occurrences of a surname and biographical data about everybody who shares that surname. This course is an introduction to one name studies, written with the guidance of the Guild of One-Name Studies and is suitable for all genealogists who have woken up to the knowledge that they have an interesting and unusual surname.

You will learn about the history and study of surnames, which surnames are suitable for a study, what a one name study consists of, and how to get started. We cover how to collect and analyse data from the core records. You learn about all the practical aspects of running a one name study; collecting data, how to publicise your study, data protection, publish results and make sure your study is preserved for others in the future. You will also learn how the Guild of One-Name Studies guides and supports its members.


Non Guild members signing up for the course will get FREE Guild Membership for the remainder of the financial year.

Instructor: Helen Osborn

• About One-Name Studies
• Surnames and their History
• Core Records you will need and Informartion gathering
• Analysing and making sense of your data
• Practical aspects of running your own One-Name Study

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: \"I thoroughly enjoyed the course\" \"I really enjoyed the Chats\"

Relevant Countries: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

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Enclosure Maps and Records for Family Historians (#309)

Maps and records detailing the enclosure of open fields and common land in England and Wales are valuable resources for your family history. After 1760 over 5100 Parliamentary Enclosure Acts affected more than 6.5 million acres. The maps and award records are one of the best sources of information on land ownership, tenure and landscape change. This short course presents the background from Tudor times to the Victorian era and, through the use of case studies, demonstrates the research value of enclosure records. In addition, you will discover connections with familiar sources and view the context of your ancestors’ lives from a new perspective.

Instructor: Liz Carter

• The Enclosure Process: history and controversial issues
• Parliamentary Enclosure: The maps and awards
• Urban Enclosure: The development of the suburbs
• Links from the Enclosure Award and Map

each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "The course was excellent, well written and well directed"

Relevant Countries: England, Wales

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Scotland 1750 - 1850: Beyond the OPRs (#302)

This is an intermediate level course in Scottish family history for those who are going back beyond 1850. You should have some experience with research in the Old Parochial Registers of the Church of Scotland and in using major websites for Scottish research. This course discusses sources that fill the gap when the OPRs are uninformative or missing; for example, records of parish and town administration, occupations, land transfer and taxation. Using these records involves several different locations. You will learn how to check online finding aids and how to find the most effective way to obtain records that may be online, in print, on CD or microfilm. This is the second course on Scottish research. If you have not taken Scottish Reserach Online please check its description.

Instructor: Sherry Irvine

• Kirk Sessions records and parish poor
• Burgh records and town poor
• Occupations, taxation and early lists
• Land transfer and the value of sasines
• Land, inheritance and estates

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "well structured chats with opportunities for questions as well" "I will do Sherry's other courses as well"

Relevant Countries: Scotland

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The Parish Chest: There was more to life than baptism, marriage and burial (#310)

The records and accounts of the parish make up what is collectively called the parish chest. From the reign of Elizabeth I the parish’s role in local affairs expanded to include many civil responsibilities that affected the lives of your ancestors. Parish officers - the churchwardens and overseers - raised taxes, kept accounts and managed parish affairs including maintaining the church, providing relief to the poor, setting local rates, repairing roads, maintaining law and order, and operating schools. You will discover other fascinating records as well, among them the wills of benefactors, militia records and parish magazines. This course explains how to locate parish chest records, describes indexes and finding aids, and discusses how to interpret and use search results. As a result you will build your family tree and expand your understanding of the parish and its day to day activities.

Instructor: Gill Blanchard

• What is the Parish and what role did it play in your ancestors’ lives?
• Churchwardens, Overseers and Vestry Records
• Property and Land Records
• The Parish Constable, School Records and Other Records

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England, Wales

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Professional Genealogist: Become one, become a better one (#941)

You can be a successful working genealogist. Whether you are already researching for clients or planning to do so, this course guides you through the professional skills that form the foundation for success. The course has been prepared with the assistance of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives(AGRA).
The course begins by stressing how professional research differs from personal research with the focus on standards for research, analysis and reporting. You learn what AGRA requires of its members and how to ensure you measure up.

Equally important are the business skills that contribute to success. Topics in this segment of the course include advice on managing your office and UK regulations for the self-employed. Another section of the course presents a practical guide to marketing your business and yourself. We conclude with advice about the ways professional genealogists can stay current with new developments, including IT, and with advice on the advantages of diversifying into writing and lecturing.

Instructor: Helen Osborn

• What is Professionalism? Researching & Reporting
• Business basics - Managing your office
• Marketing the business, Marketing yourself
• Continuous Professional Development for Genealogists

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: General

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Dead and Buried, Not Forgotten: Churchyards, Cemeteries and Their Records (#214)

Finish them off! Properly see your ancestors out by searching for the records of the churchyard or cemetery where they were buried. Where and how, with or without expense, as well as the information recorded about a burial reveals family background and genealogical facts. This course provides the historical background and practical information you need to find records of burial in churchyards and cemeteries. It also gives practical advice about visiting graveyards and recording monumental inscriptions. Each lesson includes guidance and exercises to help you maximize the genealogical value of any information found. Is a churchyard visit among your list of summer activities? Take this course to make the most of it.

Instructor: Gill Blanchard

• Church, Churchyard and Burial Grounds up to 1853
• New Cemeteries, New Records, Different Searches: 1853 to the present

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England, Wales

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One-place Genealogical Studies

Do you have a family history problem that cannot be solved? It is quite possible that a new perspective is the answer. In this course you put genealogical methods to one side and learn how one-place studies can help. One-place studies involve the study of the people of a community within the context of the place they live. It may sound like local history but the approach is quite different. A one-place study is not the past described by residents but a careful analysis of data found in records that track the people of a community through time. The records are also used by genealogists – church registers, censuses, voters lists, land records, tax lists, etc – but there the similarity ends.

Learn how to carry out a one-place study. Find out how an unusual perspective and a totally different use of facts about people can open your eyes to a new appreciation of the past and new solutions for your research problems.

Instructor: Kirsty Gray

• Core Records: The one-place study viewpoint
• Methods of Historical Research in Village Communities
• Genealogical Spin-off: Family reconstruction

Each lesson includes exercise and activities and a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England, Wales

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The National Archives Catalogue - Finding People (#207)

Thanks to computers and the Internet, catalogues have come a long way, this one in particular. Not only does it describe more than 10 million documents, it can lead you to information about individual ancestors.

UK Government records, held at The National Archives (TNA), are a leading resource for genealogists. These are the historical records of a nation through more than a thousand years. They include documents about all parts of the British Isles and all parts of the world where the government had its agents, colonial officials or military forces.
Even if you cannot visit TNA in person, there is much to be gained from using TNA Catalogue online.

The lessons cover how to find the most genealogically valuable records and how to search for individuals. You learn what to do next, once you find an interesting listing, and how to discover useful background details about the records. The key to achieving this is navigation skill and you are shown how to navigate around the website. The emphasis is on remote access, how anyone, living anywhere, can make the most of The National Archives Catalogue.

Instructor: Guy Grannum

• An introduction to TNA online resources and Documents Online
• Using TNA Catalogue Effectively
• Widening your search: Global Search and links to other useful catalogues

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "I enjoyed the group participation particularly. The course material was excellent." "It opened up new avenues of investigation within the website which I had not realised were there."

Relevant Countries: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

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Manorial Records (#312)

Meet your ancestors in their local setting in manorial records, which recount the activities of the manor and its courts. The manorial system was a framework for your ancestors’ lives for hundreds of years, enduring into the 20th century in some rural areas. Manorial records can be used to locate ancestors within community and to set them in their social and economic context. Over the five weeks of this course you examine the place of the manor in the legal and social system, the records created by the manor, and changes that occurred through the centuries. You will read court rolls, look at court books and learn about property transactions, surveys, maps, accounts and wills that may not be recorded elsewhere. Manorial court records offer genealogists a glimpse of local justice being dispensed and a chance to hear the voices of ancestors in the verbatim reports of court sessions. The early records, written in Latin, are described, and guidance will be given on how to search and interpret these early documents. The course concludes with explanations of links to contemporary resources to help further your family history researches.

Instructor: Liz Carter

• The Role of the Manor – portrait of the manor in the community
• Manorial Records 1730-1920 – types of records and practical use
• Early Manorial Records – advice on using more challenging early records
• Local Justice and the Manorial Court – the courts and their documents
• Manorial Records in Context – links to other sources

Each lesson includes exercises and activities and a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England and Wales

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Searching for Wills and Administrations in England and Wales (#205)

Records of wills and administrations are potentially the most informative sources for genealogical research. The course explains the systems for probate before and after 1858, describes records and online resources, and takes you through the steps of finding and using wills, administrations and death duty registers. You will learn how to extract maximum genealogical benefit from these probate records.

Instructor: Gill Blanchard

• Wills Before 1858
• Administrations Before 1858
• Wills After 1858
• Administrations After 1858
• Death Duty Registers

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "I have already praised the course to several genealogical contacts." "I liked the ability to spend as much time as I wanted on each lesson; the lack of pressure; and the practical nature of the tasks."

Relevant Countries: England, Wales

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Developing and Writing Your Family History (#803)

Writing a family history is the logical step after genealogical research, and the best family histories are written to appeal to a broad spectrum of relatives and readers, not just those who are genealogical enthusiasts. Well-written family histories make ideal presents and can be the focal point of family re-unions. This course focuses firstly on ways to bring your family history to life and develop historical themes to make your work interesting and relevant. Themes within the lessons include occupations, women and children, taking photographs of significant places and setting up a family website. The course shows how the Internet and other resources can be used to broaden the appeal of family histories drawing on the social and economic conditions of the times when your ancestors lived. The third lesson focuses on the writing process, providing examples as the basis for discussion.

Instructor: Brian Drescher

• People.
• Time and Place.
• Writing Your Family History

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "The course gave good ideas on what to include and tips on how to lay it out."

Relevant Countries: General

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Researching Irish Ancestors Before 1820 (#330)

Irish research becomes particularly challenging when working before the 1820s. Anyone taking this course should have taken Course 103, Ireland: A Practical Approach to Family History or have equivalent knowledge and experience. The course covers the most important as well as the most accessible records. You will learn about content, survival, finding aids and location for many sources including but not restricted to: church registers, vestry minutes, grand jury and court records, estate papers, deeds. In addition, the historical context that generated these records and the administrative structure in which they were used is explained. You will learn how to locate and use inventories and catalogues to identify other surviving records. A main objective of the course is to help you plan effective strategies for pre-1820 research.

Instructor: Sherry Irvine

• Check Your Foundations,and be sure all church records are searched
• Local Administration and its Records
• Land History, Land Records
• Deeds and Other Legal Records
• Identifying Other Sources and a Strategy Challenge

Each Lesson includes exercises and 1 one-hour chat each week. See How the Courses Work. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: " I am so glad I discovered Pharos!"

Relevant Countries: Ireland

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Ireland: A Practical Approach to Family History (#103)

Research into Irish Ancestors is considered particularly difficult, a generalization that is too readily accepted. There are challenges, but until you match knowledge of resources - online and off - to the circumstances of your ancestors you do not actually know how difficult your own search will be. The focus of this course is on records, the context of your own Irish research and creating practical strategies. If your Irish ancestors were alive for any period after 1785, if you want to know whether you really can find your Irish origins and take them back beyond 1800, then this course is what you need.

Instructor: Sherry Irvine

• Then and Now: The Context of Your Search and Use of the Internet
• Civil Registration, Directories, Schools
• Land Valuations of the 1800s, Censuses and Lists
• Church Records and Probate
• In or Out of Work: Occupations and Poor Relief

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

STUDENTS SAID: "The amount of information is incredibly good - I tried to "dabble" in Irish genealogy by myself and found it very difficult to work out. Now I know what I am doing."

Relevant Countries: Ireland

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Victorian Families: Your Ancestors in the Census (#208)

Victorian ancestors - we all have them but what do we really know about them? Facts from civil registration and the census tell us something, but say little about how they lived. This course takes you beyond the facts and explains what census records reveal. The census is a window on the Victorian family and this course helps you take a closer look at life - in fashionable streets, back alleys and the countryside, in large houses, town houses, cottages and tenements. It looks too at food, work, fun, life and death. You will learn to interpret what you have found, get to know your ancestors better, and realize the genealogical value of a close acquaintance with past lives.

Instructor: Liz Carter

• A closer look at the census - finding your family
• Investigating the neighbourhood - putting your family on the map
• Inside the Victorian house - family life in the 19th century
• The Victorian Environment - from slums to palaces
• Knowing them better and taking it further

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England, Wales

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I’m Stuck! How Can the Society of Genealogists Help Me? (#921)

In this course Else Churchill of the Society of Genealogists will take you through the steps needed to help you think logically about your research problems and work through to a solution. She also introduces you to records and specialist indexes held by the Society of Genealogists which can be used to break down brick walls, and will demonstrate how these can help you extend a family tree. Emphasis is placed on learning how to apply research techniques to solve your problems. Students taking this course will find it helpful to have some familiarity with and an understanding of the use of major sources including census, civil registration, church records and probate.

Instructor: Else Churchill

• Understanding Your Research Problems
• Records Finding Aids and Services at the Society of Genealogists
• Putting the Analysis and Source Knowledge to Work
• SoG members should email the membership secretary for a discount code

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England & Wales

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Migration in the British Isles (#314)

Your ancestors moved about. Long before canals and railways some moved long distances, usually on foot. Most people moved within their own regions, seldom more than 20 miles in any direction. Seemingly unsolvable research problems may be resolved by studying causes and patterns of migration, both local and national, around the location where your genealogical trail stops. Around three themes – steam, disaster, people – this course introduces you to migration history, offers advice on expanding your knowledge and help with solving problems, the emphasis on those records that were likely to “catch” migrants.

Instructor: Sherry Irvine

• Steam: The impact of industry and railways
• Disaster: the impact of bad weather, famine, conflict, and economic depression
• People: law makers, local officials, labourers, entrepreneurs and dreamers

Each lesson includes exercises and activities and a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

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Records of the Tithe (#319)

In this course we study the early records of the tithe that were kept within the community, consider why the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 was needed and examine the records of the Act – the map and the apportionment. Each lesson is illustrated with copied original documents and case studies. The history of tithes dates back to Saxon times but the surviving records tend to be post 18th century and the regular collection of tithes was brought to an end with the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 when it was replaced with a new Rent Charge. We finish with links to other contemporary resources – census returns, enclosure records and parish records as well as printed sources, to help us put our ancestors literally ‘on the map’ in the 1840s and place them in a wider historical context.

Instructor: Liz Carter

• The Tithe - Background and context
• The Tithe Commutation Act - The map and the apportionment
• Links From The Tithe Records and Research Benefits

Each lesson includes exercises and activities; a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.

Relevant Countries: England, Wales

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