PROVISIONAL SYLLABUS
The aim of this course is to give Students who have had no experience of researching their family histories knowledge of sources dating back to the 1830/40's. The course will also seek to develop the researchers' confidence in using these sources and visiting record repositories. The tutor aims to facilitate students learning and research by weekly report back sessions. Each week Students will be given a lecture on one or more specific record or period. Hand-outs will be used to assist in lectures. Resources available in the Reference Library of the City Library will also be used where possible. Students are expected to be researching a Family History Project.
THE SYLLABUS OF THE COURSE
1. Week one - The students will be encouraged to look at their immediate family information sources and choose which family history project they will undertake. They will be informed of the value of oral history. The students will be informed about York Library services that will help their researches and the new 1881 Census Index.
2. Week two - The history and background of Civil Registration. Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates, and ways in which they can save money when obtaining these will be suggested. The Family Record Centre in London will be introduced.
3. Week three - The 19th Century Census. Printouts will be used to identify the information that students can gain from this important source material. Information on local availability will be given. Suggestions will be made about how 1891 Census material can be obtained on microfiche.
4. Week four - Local Electoral Registers and the Franchise. The students will be shown how to evaluate this source in the light of changes in the franchise over the period.
5. Week five - The students will be shown how to evaluate and obtain information from Wills (post-1858). The students will be referred to library newspaper indexes to the family history researcher.
6. Week six - Whilst the majority of the lectures will be concerned with English and Welsh Records, one week will be dedicated to Scottish, Irish, Channel Islands and Isle of Man civil registration and state records will be examined to show the contrast.
7. Week seven - An introduction to some IT based resources for the Family History researcher. The Internet and the Mormon's International Genealogical Index will be explained to the student. The International Genealogical Index will be discussed and students will have the chance to examine printouts of the Index usually found on fiche in the Library.
8. Week eight - Photographs, collecting and identifying hidden information. Students will be encouraged to bring their own sources. In the same session the students will be given a short talk on the background to Parish Registers of the post-1837 period, their location and content.
9. Week nine - Military ancestors, or ancestors who fought in the World Wars, one session is dedicated to giving the students knowledge of the relevant sources.
10. Week ten - The last session, a simple introduction to the handwriting differences that they will meet in consulting records of the nineteenth century.
It is hoped that Students will go on to study as part of the Intermediate Course, Family History - Further Steps.
1. Recognise various sources used in the research of family history and gain the confidence to search for them.
2. Organise their researches so that they can recall people, facts and places easily and accurately.
3. Develop their researches and be able to show their grasp of asking analytical questions.
4. Recall the period before the 1840's with a knowledge of the social and economic changes over the historical period.
5. Evaluate the sources to determine the most useful and accurate for their own researches and assess the information received from these.
6. Have some knowledge of the use of Information Technology in family history research.
7. Students will be encouraged to contribute to the class with their ideas and experiences allowing for these points to be developed in class.
The students will be encouraged to use books on the Genealogical Research Shelf in the Reference Department of York City Library or books from the borrowing shelves (Dewey 929). If the student wants to buy a useful reference book the following might fit the requirement:
TRACING YOUR FAMILY TREE, Jean A. Cole and John Titford, Countryside Books, 1997.
FAMILY AND LOCAL HISTORY HANDBOOK, GENEALOGICAL SERVICES DIRECTORY, Robert Blatchford, GR Specialist Information Services. 2002. For more information try their Internet Page
(Annual publication full of addresses, telephone numbers and information).
Be aware when buying a Family History book that: St Catherine House, Chancery Lane PRO and Somerset House have closed, and the New Family Record Centre has opened. It is a good way of judging if a book is up to date.
I would advise the student to wait until they attend the class and discuss this with the tutor.
An extended background reading list will be given to the Students on the second session.
Tel: 01904 654144/655631 Fax: 01904 611025
The collection of the Library includes:
Periodicals Newspapers Maps
Illustrations - including photographs, prints and drawings. Directories Census
Enumerators' returns General Register Office Index containing information from the Family Records Centre, International Genealogical Index Parish Registers -
Printed, with some Photocopies and Transcripts, and some very useful CD ROM's
containing modern indexes of use to the Family History researcher.
This page is compiled by the tutor who resides in the City
of York in England.
You can E-mail Tim Owston at: Mail
Tim Owston's home page is at: Home Page - (non-frames)