Genealogy Courses
Genealogy Courses Roadmap
Let genealogist and author Carol Baxter help you begin your family history research journey.
LEVEL
COURSE NAME
LINK TO COURSE DETAILS
Research Rudiments
- Begin at the Beginning
FREE LESSON
Tracing Your Family History
What's the elephant in the genealogical bedroom?
This lesson offers a humorous look at the fundamentals of family history research.
Hatch, Match & Dispatch
Research and write about births, marriages & deaths
The fundamentals that most family historians try to find about their ancestors are their birth, marriage and death details. This course helps you to find these vital entries. It also shows you how to write about them in a way that will interest your readers.
Research Rudiments
- Evidence analysis
(Lesson coming soon)
The Truth, The Truth, Nothing but ...!
What do you do when you have two sources of contradictory information? How do you work out which is correct? This course explores the research fundamentals in terms of finding facts, weighing evidence, and determining the truth.
British and Irish Surnames
Have you struggled to find an ancestor's entry in a document that should include it? You might be looking in the "wrong" place. This course explains the sounds and letters of the English language and how easily a surname can be recorded "incorrectly". Gaining this knowledge might help you break down some resistant brick walls.
(This course is building itself as lessons are prepared for other sessions. Annual Members can view a detailed lesson in the A Helpful Miscellany series)
Research Rudiments
- Given name analysis
(Not yet available)
A Rose by any other Name
Have you largely ignored your ancestors' given names unless they happened to be especially rare? You might be surprised at what "rare" really means in terms of our ancestors' given names, and how this information can add substance to our family histories and biographies.
(This course is building itself as lessons are prepared for other sessions. Annual Members can view a detailed lesson in the A Helpful Miscellany series).
Adding Padding
- Venturing to the Dark Side
(Not yet available in full)
Rogues and Rapscallions
Has your ancestor broken the law? Or has your ancestor been pulled into the judicial system as a victim, witness or juror? This course on British and Irish crime and criminality doesn't only explore the "what" questions: the judicial and penal systems and their associated record-keeping. It also explores the "why" questions: the historical attitudes to crime and to the "individual" in general, and how these attitudes influenced the criminal justice system. Thus, this course is helpful for anyone with criminal ancestry, whatever their country of origin.
(Course not yet available however Annual Members can view a detailed lesson in the A Helpful Miscellany series).
Adding Padding
- Venturing across the oceans
(Not yet available)
Bound for New South Wales
Did your ancestors make the journey from Britain, Ireland or Europe to the state of New South Wales in Australia in the 1700s or 1800s, either voluntarily or involuntarily? This course will provide a wealth of research advice.
(This course will build itself from past lessons that will hopefully be recorded and published in 2023, and from future lessons.)
And more to come in the future ...
