Those of you who receive the Pharos Newsletter will know that we have had a new tutor join us this month. Richard Holt is joining us to tutor out Apprenticeship Records course. This course, part of our Intermediate Certificate programme, starts in September and there are only a handful of places remaining. We have some other great courses coming up in August and September too:

Researching in Archives for Advanced Genealogists
Progressing Your Irish Research Online
First Steps to a One-Place Study
Wills and Administrations; the riches of probate records
Organizing Your Genealogy
Building on a Solid Foundation – Genealogy methods and techniques
Apprenticeship Records
Old Handwriting for Family Historians
Practicalities of a One Name Study

Researching in Archives for Advanced Genealogists

* COURSE OF THE MONTH *

Tutor: Simon Fowler
Start date: 12th September 2022
Course length: 4 weeks

This course is part of our Family History Skills and Strategies Advanced Certificate programme but can also be taken in isolation by anyone wanting to learn more about how to get the most out of archives.

With such a small proportion of records available online, the serious researcher must make use of all repositories available to them. In order to have the greatest chance of success the researcher should understand how records are kept and how they are most effectively accessed.

In this course you will learn about the record-keeping framework in England and Wales and be introduced to the cataloguing process and the way archives are arranged and described. You will learn where to find national, local and specialist collections, recognise which repository or archives is the most likely custodian, and how to plan your research day in the archives to make the best use of your time. You will also be introduced to conservation and access issues for fragile documents and get practice finding the documents you are looking for.

Note: Whilst this course prepares you for your next visit to archives the course itself can be taken completely online.

Progressing Your Irish Research Online

Tutor: Chris Paton 
Start date: 19th August 2022
Course length: 5 weeks

There is a common belief that if you have Irish ancestors then you should give up hope of finding out about them, because ‘nothing survived the fire’, referring to the destruction of Ireland’s Public Record Office during the Civil War in 1922. The overall aim of this course is to point out that this is a nonsense, and that the glass is half full and not empty. Whilst there are certainly challenges to be overcome, a great deal can still be accomplished with the many resources now rapidly finding their way online.

This course will describe the many state created records and church records that can be used to research your Irish ancestry. It will provide a context to understand why they were created, and by whom and point out exactly where to find them online, and how to use them effectively.

Lesson Headings:
* Understanding Ireland’s boundaries, key repositories and platforms
* The vital records of Church and State
* Documenting the people: Irish censuses and substitutes
* Valuation records and inheritance
* The Decade of Centenaries

First Steps to a One-Place Study

Tutor: Janet Few
Start date: 24th August 2022
Course length: 5 weeks

One-place studies are a fascinating blend of local and family history. They are frequently undertaken by family historians wanting to create a context for their ancestors. Through a one-place study, you can investigate the friends, neighbours and associates with whom your family may have interacted and you can begin to understand the community in which they lived.

This course is designed for those who are just starting on their one-place journey and for more experienced one-placers who would like guidance or inspiration, or who are seeking a more organised approach to their study. It will also be suitable for those who may not want to undertake a full-blown one-place study but who wish to investigate an ancestral area in more detail.

Lesson Headings:
* Choosing and Discovering your Place and its People
* Data Collection 1 – Using more Common Sources (oral testimony, diaries and memoirs; photographs; vital records of birth, marriage and death; gravestones, newspapers, directories and gazetteers, censuses)
* Data Collection 2 – Further Sources (tax lists, records of land ownership, records of education and occupation, records relating to the movement of people, records of local government)
* Connecting and Analysing your Data
* Putting your Findings in Context and Publicising your Study

Partnership offer: Students on our First Steps to a One-Place Study course, who are not already members, may claim free membership of the Society for One-Place Studies for their first year (details in the lesson notes). Existing members of the Society can claim a discount on the Pharos One Place Studies course (see member benefits section of their website).

Wills and Administrations; the riches of probate records

Tutor: Linda Newey
Start date: 5th September 2022
Course length: 4 weeks
* FULLY BOOKED but booking now for February 2023 *

Organizing Your Genealogy

Tutor: Barbara Baker
Start date: 5th September 2022
Course length: 3 weeks

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.

Lesson Headings:
* Record Keeping Fundamentals
* Setting Up Your System on Computer
* Sources, Sources, Sources!

Building on a Solid Foundation – Genealogy methods and techniques

Tutor: Karen Cummings
Start date: 12th September 2022
Course length: 4 weeks
* FULLY BOOKED but booking now for January 2023 *

Apprenticeship Records

Tutor: Richard Holt
Start date: 13th September 2022
Course length: 4 weeks
* LAST FEW PLACES *

Apprenticeship generated a range of records, most of which provide invaluable information for tracing family history.

The practice of apprenticing young men to learn a trade is first recorded in twelfth and thirteenth century London. It gradually spread to many other towns and cities, and became subject to regulation. The Statute of Artificers 1563 required all tradesmen to serve an apprenticeship of at least seven years before they could trade.

Provision for apprenticeship was also made under the Poor Laws. Parish overseers could bind children as young as six or seven to serve as apprentices until they were adults. Such bindings were supposed to ensure that children were taken care of at little cost to the parish.

This course will familiarise you with apprenticeship records, and will explain how to find them. It will also give you a basic understanding of what being an apprentice meant in the period covered.

Lesson Headings:
* What was an Apprentice?
* Reading & Interpreting Apprenticeship Indentures
* Documents dependant on Apprenticeship Indentures
* Pauper Apprentices

This course is part of our Family History Skills and Strategies Intermediate Certificate programme but can also be taken in isolation by anyone wanting to learn more about these fascinating records.

Old Handwriting for Family Historians

Tutor: Susan Moore 
Start date: 12th September 2022
Course length: 4 weeks

Does reading old documents have you pulling out your hair? Old handwriting, or palaeography, often presents challenges for local and family historians. There is nothing more frustrating than finding a document that you are sure is relevant, but which you cannot read.

This course takes a practical approach to reading and transcribing old handwriting, starting with the records of the 19th century and moving backwards in time. Students will be given the opportunity to examine handwriting styles and develop an understanding of how handwriting developed over the centuries. The course will then focus on Secretary Hand, a commonly used form during the Tudor and Stuart period. Historians will come across Secretary Hand in many types of documents such as parish registers, wills and inventories. The course aims to equip students with their own set of steps to being able to read, and successfully transcribe, the handwriting in old documents, enabling them to read documents which at first sight might appear to be written using a different alphabet.

This course is part of our Family History Skills and Strategies Advanced Certificate programme but can also be taken in isolation.

Practicalities of a One Name Study

Tutor: Julie Goucher
Start date: 27th September 2022
Course length: 5 weeks

The course is designed to enable students to explore the practical steps of maintaining and developing their one-name study through a variety of media and to give some context to the various considerations they will need to explore.

Topics covered:
* Understanding and making the best use of spreadsheets in your study
* Genealogical Software, what to consider
* Online Trees and other software
* The next steps: Preservation and Sharing

That’s all for this month, happy studying!