The course will give you a practical
introduction to studying your family history. You'll learn how to use clues to
search for evidence and how to make sense of conflicting information (our
ancestors didn't always tell the truth!), so that you can put together and
share your family's story. Using one of your ancestors as a starting point,
you'll learn how to use the main genealogy websites, especially those that are
free to use, and you'll find out the best way to record what you discover.
If your family has secrets, you're not
alone! You may well discover something surprising or shocking as you go back
into your family history. We'll look at the different kinds of family secrets
that the records can reveal, and how we can understand more about our ancestors'
lives.
The second part of the course delves
into the nuts and bolts of how to actually do family history, giving you the
confidence that you are approaching it methodically, keeping accurate records,
and staying focused.
The third part of the course will show
you the records that family historians use. You'll focus on the building blocks
of family tree research (census records; births, marriages and deaths; and
parish registers) and learn how to find other kinds of records to add colour to
your tree. We'll also look at ways of getting round some of the challenges and
frustrations we all face when our ancestor doesn't want to be found!
Although the course mainly focuses on
UK records, we will also look at what's available for Scotland, Ireland, and
other countries, so don't worry if your ancestors were born elsewhere or
emigrated to another country - the principles are exactly the same, and you
will be able to find out what records are available and where to get further
help.
It is not necessary to do any reading
before the course, but please talk to other family members who might know more
about your ancestry, or have clues, photos, letters, or certificates that might
help you.
What to bring: please
bring a notebook or laptop for taking notes, and any family details that you
know, such as parents' and grandparents' names, and the dates and places where
they were born. If you have birth, marriage and death certificates, or
irreplaceable family letters and photos, please bring scanned copies (not originals).
Please note that it will not be
possible to print copies of records on site, but if you bring a smartphone,
camera or memory stick, you can save copies of the records that you find, or
email them to yourself and print/download them at home.
A computer will be provided for you,
but if you feel more comfortable using your own laptop or tablet, please bring
it with you.
Printed course notes will not be
provided, but teaching materials including lists of websites and other
resources will be available by email after the course.
Important note: you may wish to sign up for a free trial of Ancestry.co.uk and/or
Findmypast.co.uk, so that you can use the sites while you are at the summer
school. To do this, please see https://support.ancestry.co.uk/s/article/Ancestry-Free-Trial and https://www.findmypast.co.uk/free-trial.
Don't forget to cancel your trial at the
