Our courses starting in May will appeal to a wide variety of interests: Scottish research, title deeds and Chancery records, one-name studies and the road to professional genealogy.

Scotland 1750-1850 – Beyond the Old Parish Registers

Tutor: Chris Paton
Start date: 9th May 2022
Course length: 5 weeks 

This is an intermediate course in Scottish family history and assumes students have some experience with research in the Old Parish Registers (OPRs) of the Church of Scotland and in using major websites for Scottish research.

The 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.

Deeds and Disputes

Tutor: Susan Moore
Start date: 9th May 2022
Course length: 6 weeks (5 lessons with a reading week)

Title deeds and the records of the equity courts, such as Chancery, are often neglected sources for family history, because they are considered “too hard”. In this course they are brought to life by Susan Moore, the recognised expert on Chancery records and a published author on the subject.

As this course is part of our Advanced programme good palaeographical skills for the periods covered are assumed. A knowledge of Latin, while helpful for some title deeds, is not essential.

Professional Genealogist – Become one, become a better one

Tutor: Karen Cummings 
Start date: 16th May 2022
Course length: 4 weeks

Do you have ambition to become a professional genealogist? Have you already started taking on clients but are looking for guidance or want to check you have thought of everything? Whether you are already researching for clients or planning to do so, this 4 week professional genealogist course guides you through the professional skills that form the foundation for success.

This course was developed in association with the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA), the professional body for genealogists in England and Wales.

Introduction to One-Name Studies

Tutor: Julie Goucher
Start date: 31st May 2022
Course length: 5 weeks

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. 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.

Lesson Headings:
* About One-Name Studies
* Surnames and their History
* Core Records you will need and Information gathering
* Analysing and making sense of your data
* Practical aspects of running your own One-Name Study

That’s all for this month, happy studying!