What you'll learn

How to trace their English and/or Welsh ancestry back several generations to the early 19th century
How to use the online genealogical search websites in a professional way
How to use old photographs to enrich your family history research
How to Create a basic family tree chart using pen and paper or software
How to search for and read birth, marriage and death certificates
How to search and read the UK census records
How to search and read the UK parish registers
How to avoid the common errors of amateur genealogists
Students will gain a deeper understanding of the most commonly used family history resources

Course content

6 sections • 46 lectures • 5h 8m total length

Introduction3:01
Why Genealogy?2:50
In order to get you started, here are some reasons for tracing your ancestors, followed by a video to get you thinking about your own reasons and goals in your search for your ancestors.

Section 2 - Introduction1:37
Ask the Family4:20
How to prepare for your research by gathering any information you can from your family. (BTW - the checklist I mention towards the end is in the attached pdf)
Photographs1:27
My Family Album7:00
Some examples of how photographs can spark off research, as well as enhance it. (Spot the mistake! When I say 'my grandfather had no brothers' - I mean, of course, my grandmother!)
Charting Your Progress4:24
I discuss how to start charting your family history, creating trees and pedigree charts.
The website I mention in this session is My History - and the website is https://www.my-history.co.uk/ (not myhistory.com as I wrong state in the video!)
Create Your Own Charts0:26
Have a go at creating your own family history charts, using what you already know, or have learned over the past few days about your own family.
Organisation1:53
Check List for Section20:20
Section 2 Summary1:10

Section 3 - Introduction1:16
A note on Spellings3:59
A History of Civil Registration1:32
A Brief History of Civil Registration
It is always important to understand the sources we use so that we use them effectively and with insight. This article gives you a brief explanation of when Civil Registration was introduced across the United Kingdom, and how the certificates were recorded and administered.
Make a note of the dates here, as you could waste a lot of time by searching for certificates if they had not come into practice for the time you are searching!
You will need this preparation before our next lecture, when we will be carrying searches of the Civil Registration indexes.
Searching for a Birth Registration14:50
Searching for a Post 1912 Marriage3:57
Useful facts to have before your marriage search4:00
Searching for a Pre-1912 Marriage5:21
Carry out your own research!1:30
Ordering a Certificate10:33
Watch me order a certificate from the GRO. Please note that the GRO website has changed since I made this video, so the pages might look slightly different, but the process is basically the same, so this should not cause too much of a problem.
Reading the Certificates22:25
Here I go through a birth, marriage and death certificate in detail, to help you get as much information as possible out of each record. These records are provided by the General Register Office under Crown Copyright 2020.
Civil Registration Quiz
Section 3 - Outro3:33

Introduction1:23
The Parish Registers - a Brief Overview12:52
Baptism Search9:15
The International Genealogical Index7:31
Searching the IGI7:24
What's in the Parish Registers?5:39
Searching Baptisms & Marriages8:13
Watch me search for baptisms and then a marriage (and spot the deliberate mistake ;)) - when I mention 'mother' at 7.02, I, of course, mean 'wife'!
Browsing the Parish Registers7:45
Searching PRs on FindMyPast6:34
Carry Out Your Own Research3:24
Brick Walls19:21
Parish Registers Quiz
Section 5 Outro2:37

Congratulations!1:33
Your Next Steps - Bonus Lecture13:47
Some of the further resources you can use after you've done the basic steps. See also my course on Researching Wills and Probate Records: https://www.udemy.com/course/researching-wills-and-probate-uk/?referralCode=D42E3529E43A1AFFB20F
Bonus lecture - Online parish registers2:07
A short bonus lecture about county parish register websites. The link I mention in the lecture is: www.ukbmd.org.uk/online_parish_clerk

Requirements

Internet access and basic knowledge of using websites. Some experience of using search engines would be useful.

Description

Have you ever wondered how to start genealogy research? This course will take you, step by step, through the most important processes of researching your family history. After learning how to construct your own family history charts, and find family photographs and other ancestral documents, you will learn how to use the most important sources used in searching for ancestry: civil registration, census records and parish registers. The course covers mainly genealogy in England and Wales - but there will also be useful information about Scottish and Irish genealogy.

Who this course is for:

People who want to start tracing ancestry in the UK
People who have done some UK genealogy, but have got stuck and would like to start from scratch
Amateur genealogists who want to find out more about the basic research sources
Amateur genealogists who have hit a brick wall and want to check if they've missed something
People who would like to find out more about Civil Registration and certificates
People who would like to find out more about the UK Census records
People who would like to find out more about researching parish registers in the UK
Genealogists in US, Australia, and elsewhere, who have found they have UK ancestors they would like to trace
Amateur genealogists would like a deeper understanding of some of the basic UK resources

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction2 lectures • 6min

Getting Started - Your Family9 lectures • 23min

Beginning the Research - Civil Registration11 lectures • 1hr 13min

Section 4 - The Census9 lectures • 1hr 38min

Section 5 - The Parish Registers12 lectures • 1hr 32min

What Next?3 lectures • 17min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: