Intermediate English Records

Optional Print Course Material: English: Understanding Names in Genealogy

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

Genealogical research is largely based on names—but what is the origin of names—surnames, first names and place names. A knowledge of their derivation and how they are connected affords an increased understanding of the genealogical research process.

You will constantly be reminded of the inter-relationship of the names of places and people. You will also find references to the inter-connected naming of many things—as diverse as buildings, festivals, and special days—all of which have some bearing on the search for a family’s history.

Optional Print Course Material: English: Non-Anglican Church Records

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

This course complements the English: Parish Registers course which is about the Established Church from 1538 onwards when, apart from the brief reign of Mary Tudor (1553-1558), it had broken away from the Roman Catholic domination and moved towards Protestantism. This course deals with the other Judaeo-Christian denominations in England, excluding the Anglican Church. I use the word Non-Anglican as a general term for all of these. The term Nonconformist strictly refers only to Protestants, and it is used with that meaning in this text. Most genealogists will have need to examine the records of Nonconformists, Catholics, Jews, or other faiths at some time in their searches. Extensive material is waiting to be used in archives, libraries, and genealogy websites.

 Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to fellow researchers Peter Norfolk and Pam Ruschke for allowing the use of examples from their families.

Optional Print Course Material: English: Poor Law and Parish Chest Records

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

Family history is more than just collecting names, dates and places. In their efforts to recreate the lives of their ancestors, diligent researchers will follow the economic and social ups and downs of individual ancestors and of their family units. There could be considerable movement within an individual’s lifetime and certainly over a few generations. This course concerns itself mainly with the lows of life—and it is a very rare family indeed that will not have some of these. Some of your ancestors may feature in the parish administration or early ‘welfare system’ records. They may have been recipients or donors of charity, or serving their turn administering parish affairs. Equally important were those who did not need assistance but provided aid, were contracted to work or supply the church or workhouse and thus be mentioned as their accounts are rendered to the church.

This course discusses how to access records giving details of their daily lives, whether they were ‘on the parish’ or on the payroll. The highs and lows of life tend to be the best documented and material on the poor is in archives, libraries and the FamilySearch website.

Optional Course Print Material: English/Scottish: Occupations - Military and Services

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

Family history is more than just collecting names, dates, and places. In their efforts to recreate the lives of their ancestors, diligent researchers will endeavour to find details about home, schooling, work, and community. They will search for pictures of people, places, and events connected to the family to give visual impact to the history. The family historian can also discover much about the occupations of these ancestors. This course and the companion course English: Occupations-Professions and Trades deals with other methods of earning a livelihood. The extensive material on the occupations and on individuals is waiting to be used in archives, libraries, and FamilySearch and its Family History Centers/Affiliate Libraries.

This course will help you learn what material is available and how to use this material to help you recreate the lives of your ancestors. English: Occupations - Military and Services will deal with the use of army, militia, navy, merchant marine, and many other services records in genealogy. These include police, customs and excise, railways, and post office employees. Background information on each service will be included with copious references for further study. Listings and examples of the major record types for each branch will be included. The student will be well prepared to launch into researching these occupational records. 

Course Length: 9 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: English: Professions and Trades

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

Many of the basic sources for family history such as civil registration, censuses, parish registers and wills will mention the occupations followed by your ancestors. This course looks first at the many ways of finding out what they did, then mentions generally useful sources. This is followed by a study of the classification of occupations. Sections on training & qualification in trades and professions allow us to profitably use the records generated therein. An understanding of the role of the various occupational associations is the next topic. 

The bulk of the text consists of nine main groups of trades and professions. These are agriculture, building, commercial services, domestic services, fishing and whaling, manufacture, merchants and retailers, mining and quarrying, and professional activities. For each category there is an introduction to the available printed and manuscript sources regarding the nature of the various professions and trades, and then some indication of what records survive on the actual men and women engaged therein. 

In a course of this size these descriptions have to be short but they endeavour to cover the main points of significance for the genealogist/family historian. Such brevity invites superficiality and glibness; however, it is offset by the inclusion of a significant body of reference material which should lead the student to more detailed information about each trade and profession. 

Course Length: 9 weeks