Basic Electives

As genealogists and family historians we all dream of one day walking the land of our ancestors or going to ‘genealogy heaven’ in Salt Lake City. You can make those dreams come true, with sound practical advice. Researching away from home, especially abroad, can be productive and rewarding if adequate preparations are made. This course gives practical advice on travel, accommodation, what to take, and what to expect in libraries, archives, and other repositories. You need to be fully prepared to accomplish your research objectives. The second half of the course concentrates on the world’s largest genealogical library, the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. It is your guide in the planning process, familiarizes you with how the FamilySearch Library is organized, and gives all the practical tips anyone can use to get the most from their research trip.

Optional Print Course Material: Personal Historian: Beginning Genealogy

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

Genealogical research is one income stream you can add to your Personal Historian business whether you conduct the research or your hire a researcher. Family history information enhances a personal history project by providing more in-depth family details. This introduction to genealogy will address how to add this income stream to your business, what to look for when hiring a researcher, and how to do the basic research yourself. 

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Research: FamilySearch Resources: In Person and Online

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

FamilySearch is one of the important websites in the field of genealogical research. The FamilySearch, free, website is just one part of a larger network, provide by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch includes over 6.3 billion searchable records and indexes online. FamilySearch provides digital images, education, digitized books, online indexing, a library catalog, and online access to genealogy sources in a variety of forms. The services provided through the FamilySearch organization have proven time and time again to be invaluable to researchers of all experiences and levels of expertise. In this course we will review all aspects of using the FamilySearch website and how to use the website to find, learn, network, and share with other researchers. 

Course Length: 9 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Discover Your Family History

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

This is an introductory course to start tracing your family history. To begin your family history, we will start with answering the question “why should I trace my family history?” and then focus on “how do I trace my family history?” We will fill in a Pedigree Chart and Family Group Record to get started. We will then learn how to begin with family history research basics, from asking questions of living family members to finding “home sources” that provide relevant information. This will be followed with a review of the websites most used in family history research and sources that are available to research your family history. The course concludes with a look at next steps to continuing your research including DNA testing and hiring a genealogist.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Planning a Fabulous Family Reunion

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

Planning a family reunion is often something you have been thinking or dreaming of for years. But like most projects, at a certain point you must stop dreaming and start doing.

Let's not kid ourselves, planning a family reunion is a big job. It will take lots of hours, and many times you will wonder why you ever dreamed of this.

Yes, you can do this, just don't try to do it by yourself. If you've assembled a good planning team, your family reunion will be a success. This course will give you lots of ideas and suggestions to make the planning of your reunion a little easier.

Genealogy has been known to become a passion or become addictive. Well the enthusiasm in planning a family reunion is infectious, if you have the excitement, you will pass it on.

Course Length: 5 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Preserve Your Family History Documents and Heirlooms

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

You have taken the time to locate and acquire your family’s precious documents, photos, and heirlooms. Now take the time to protect, curate, and share them for future generations to enjoy. 

This course discusses how to preserve your family history items to minimize damage. The procedures for encapsulating documents and photographs will be explored, as well as other methods to protect your family heirlooms. You are your family’s archivist, and family history requires you to do more than research, you must also preserve material items of the past. This course will demonstrate the techniques and tools you need to do just that. 

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Writing Your Family History Book

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

Recording interesting family stories is essential if you want future generations to read your family history book. This course will help you write the story of your life or of your ancestors’ lives. Techniques for researching the facts, remembering the events, writing the text, adding visuals with graphics or photographs, and finally reproducing your book will all be discussed. 

Course Length: 6 weeks