We have a bumper collection of courses coming up in June, including two BRAND NEW courses. Click on the links below to find out more:

Your Military Ancestors
Apprenticeship Records
So You Think You Know FamilySearch – A Guided Tour
Researching Your Welsh Ancestors
NEW Critical Thinking Approaches for Genealogy
NEW Researching Scottish Ancestral Crisis
Employment Records
Demystifying DNA for Family Historians

Your Military Ancestors

Tutor: Simon Fowler
Start date: 5th June 2023
Course length: 4 weeks
LAST FEW PLACES

This course is part of our Intermediate Certificate in Genealogy programme but can also be taken in isolation by anyone wanting to learn more about how to get the most out of military records. The course guides students through sources at The National Archives, at local archives and military museums, and an increasing number of online resources. In particular we will consider the service records for both officers and other ranks that can provide vital genealogical facts and a wealth of helpful detail that can take your research back into the 18th century and help reveal the life of your military ancestors.

Lesson Headings:

• British Army pre-1914
• Royal Navy pre-1914
• The two World Wars
• Online resources

Apprenticeship Records

Tutor: Richard Holt 
Start date: 5th June 2023
Course length: 4 weeks
LAST FEW PLACES

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. 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.

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.

Previous students said: Very informative, clear lesson notes and good questions in the chat sessions that made me think about how I was interpreting the notes and facilitated learning.

So You Think You Know FamilySearch – A Guided Tour

Tutor: Barbara Baker
Start date: 5th June 2023
Course length: 4 weeks

This aptly titled course reflects the fact that many of us use the FamilySearch website on a regular basis. However, with such a vast collection of historical document images, transcriptions, educational resources and a global family tree there is bound to be something new for everyone.

This course guides you through the ‘highways and byways’ of FamilySearch.org, offers tips about searching data and using the helps, and brings you to the point where you can say that you really know the FamilySearch website.

Lesson Headings:

• Introduction to FamilySearch and FamilySearch.org
• Exploring British and Irish data and resources at FamiySearch.org
• The British and Irish collection at the Family History Library
• The FamilySearch Family Tree and What’s New

Researching Your Welsh Ancestors

Tutor: Eilir Daniels
Start date: 5th June 2023
Course length: 5 weeks

Wales is unique and Welsh research is different. Despite the fact that, by and large, Wales used the same legal and bureaucratic framework as England, the country’s social, linguistic, cultural and religious fabric mean that a different kind of approach is necessary. The context of research is vitally important and there are difficulties, even for those who have a good level of knowledge and experience with family history research.

Aimed at those who have some knowledge of family history research in England, this course considers the aspects of family history research in Wales which are different to that of England. For example, you will learn how linguistic, social and cultural factors shaped the day-to-day life of your ancestors and how they coloured the historical documents you will be consulting. You will also have the chance to study how Welsh nonconformity could affect your own research as well as where to locate and how to get the most out of specific Welsh sources and Welsh repositories. There is now a good range of sources for Welsh research on the Web and this course includes lots of advice on finding and using online information and data.

Previous students said: I have learnt so much in just 5 weeks and I have used the information taught to find more details about my ancestors. I am so happy I have found Pharos Tutors!

NEW Critical Thinking Approaches for Genealogy

Tutor: Sophie Kay
Start date: 5th June 2023
Course length: 4 weeks
BOOKING FAST

In this course the family history research process is examined from start to finish, seeing how critical thinking has a role to play at every turn. Historical evidence is placed centre-stage and a range of analysis techniques are used to guide towards a considered, thorough research narrative. Subjects covered include the Perspective Pyramid for researching at different scales (e.g. individual, family, branch), the Negative Space approach for analysing research gaps, the Timebinding method for reconciling the different stages of an ancestor’s life, and the topping-and-tailing strategy for use with migratory ancestors.

This is combined with core skills such as developing research questions and performing effective searches and hands-on experience of the Genealogical Proof Standard.

Lesson Headings:

• Scaffolding: Skills for initiating and planning your family history.
• Building Blocks: Logical approaches to effective searching and research progression.
• Mortar: Engaging critical thinking methods for problem solving and brick walls.
• Vantage Point: Perspectives and techniques to ensure continued onward development of your research skills.

NEW Researching Scottish Ancestral Crisis

Tutor: Chris Paton
Start date: 12th June 2023
Course length: 5 weeks
BOOKING FAST

Many of our Scottish ancestors had to overcome great adversity on occasions to simply make it through the day. Illness, death, bigamy, abandonment, accidents, eviction, victimhood, ethnic cleansing, and so much more. And whenever such crises emerged, somebody was usually close to hand with a quill and ink to bear witness. In so doing, a great documentary legacy was created that can greatly help us to understand the true lives of our forebears, and the struggles that led to who we became today.

This course will reveal the many areas of Scottish ancestral hardship that have been documented over the last few centuries, and explore how to access the relevant records. It follows on from two previous Pharos courses, Scottish Research Online, which explores websites offering some of the more basic records for Scottish research, and Scotland 1750: Beyond the Old Parish Registers, which takes students to more advanced records found offline and online, and which flags up the importance of using catalogues. Although not compulsory, it is recommended that both courses are completed prior to studying Researching Scottish Ancestral Crisis.

Lesson Headings:

• Law and Order
• Family Events and Relationships
• Poverty and Debt
• Medical Issues
• The State and the People

Employment Records

Tutor: Alec Tritton
Start date: 15th June 2023
Course length: 5 weeks
LAST FEW PLACES

Many documents uncovered during our research indicate an occupation, perhaps several, in which our ancestor was employed. Many will have followed their father’s trade or occupation, and their children will have followed them. Others will have broken away, perhaps from the land and headed for the town to learn new skills and enter a different trade. Those more fortunate, at least financially or by birth, may have been destined for one of the professions.

Records of employment will vary from the scant to the copious; much depends on the occupation. This 5 week course examines what is likely to be found in official and unofficial sources and where and how the information can be used as further insights into the lives and times of our ancestors.

Lesson Headings:

• The Professions
• Merchant Seamen and Coastguard
• Government employees
• Town folk
• Country folk

Previous students said: This was a wide-ranging and very interesting and challenging course with a huge amount of information given. There is much to re-investigate for the future. The tutor gave some excellent advice in his assessment which I will follow in future work.

Demystifying DNA for Family Historians

Tutor: Karen Cummings 
Start date: 19th June 2023
Course length: 5 weeks

This introduction to DNA testing starts at the beginning, providing you with the tools to understand and demystify DNA testing for use in your own research. You will be guided through what to consider before testing, the different types of DNA, who can test and which test is the most appropriate in different circumstances. You will learn about how DNA is passed down the generations and why this is important and how much you really can rely on ‘ethnicity estimates’. You will work with examples of real data and have the opportunity to work through techniques with your own results (if you have tested already). At the end of the course you will have a toolbox of techniques to interpret your DNA matches with increased confidence.

Previous students said: Karen is an excellent tutor, explaining everything clearly. The course notes are full of information with links to websites, books etc that will be useful in the future.

Karen ‘demystified’ the science-speak and with the clear notes and charts, I now feel I have a good understanding of the area.

As a complete novice who has not done a test I feel that this course gave me a good understanding of the types of DNA, how they are inherited and how the results can be used. I really enjoyed it.

That’s all for this month, plenty there to keep you busy!