International Institute of Genealogical Studies

Note: This course requires compulsory materials to be ordered. 

The book(s) are available at GenealogyStore.com

Mills, Elizabeth Shown, Your Stripped Bare Guide to to Citing & Using History Sources (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2025). This book is the least expensive, but offers only the most important information. The Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, though more expensive, offers more comprehensive details. Either book is acceptable for this course.

OR

Mills, Elizabeth Shown, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, Fourth Edition Revised (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2024). Deeper information for the discerning genealogist who wants more answers.

Optional Print Course Material: American: Census Records

This course is designed to give you a better understanding of the history, content, and uses of census records and related material. Much census material is available on computerized databases located in many familiar places—libraries, archives, etc. This course focuses your search for documents and information. We review common pitfalls and offer tips on how to avoid them.

Note: This course requires compulsory materials to be ordered. The book(s) are available at GenealogyStore.com

• Mills, Elizabeth Shown, Your Stripped Bare Guide to to Citing & Using History Sources (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2025). This book is the least expensive, but offers only the most important information. The Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, though more expensive, offers more comprehensive details. Either book is acceptable for this course.
  

OR

Optional Print Course Material: American: Vital Records, Understanding and Using the Records

• Understanding the creation of vital records in the United States
  
• Locating vital records in the United States
  
• Evaluating information in these records 
  
• Creating a research plan based on availability of records 
  
• Securing documents needed to prove your family lineage

Optional Course Print Material: American: Religious Records - Part 1

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

Optional Print Course Material: American: Land Records

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

Overview of the history and types of land documents in the United States with Colonial Records (English, French, Mexican, Spanish). We examine land grants, the history of homestead records, and the development bounty lands are discussed. Deeds and maps are examined. The availability of statewide and Internet land record sources and resources, where located ,and how to contact the appropriate repository are integral to this course.

Optional Print Course Material: American: Cemetary Records

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

This course will explore the history of cemeteries, the symbolism used, and the types of cemeteries. We will discuss the records created, how to locate a gravesite, and a summary of records published in books and online.

Optional Print Course Material: American: Religious Records - Part 2

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

In this course we discuss American religions in the United States primarily after 1800, including the Orthodox, Easternrite Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, groups of the Restoration Movement, and others. The course will explore types of religious records available, how to use them, and where accessed. History of religious groups as relevant to their records is included.

Optional Print Course Material: American: Immigration and Naturalization Records

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

In this course we discuss how to trace your immigrant ancestors to the United States. Includes the various immigration and naturalization sources such as passenger arrival lists. Other sources and strategies for documenting immigrants are explored. Historical background of immigration to the United States as relevant to genealogy is covered.

Optional Print Course Material: American: Migration Patterns

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

The purpose of this course is to discuss and illustrate the history of migration across the United States. This includes particular routes individual ancestors would have followed in the migration westward. the time period of settlement of areas of the United States, and specifics about the common patterns of movement of people between areas and states through the decades.

Optional Print Course Material: American: Probate Records

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

This course discusses legal records created by the courts when an ancestor died. Some individuals had wills written before death, and in other cases “administration” records were kept of people who died without a will. Many other records could have been created depending on the time period, place, and prominence of the ancestor.

Optional Course Print Material: American Institutional Records

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

Focusing on vital records and the census can yield a rather incomplete picture of our ancestors’ lives. Many researchers may avoid examining institutional records because they believe it is demeaning to the ancestor, or they believe the records will not shed any new information. Institutional records often contain a wealth of information. This course will introduce the student to records of institutions such as orphanages, prisons, poor houses, asylums, and schools. Students will learn how to determine the correct institution, how to find the records, and how to use the records to lead to new sources. The course also covers possible difficulties in records access.

Optional Print Course Material: American: Newspaper Records

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

This course will introduce you to newspapers as a genealogical resource; from an introductory overview of newspapers, and a look at the history of American newspapers to accessing newspapers online. A look at how you may already be using newspapers will be examined. The different kinds of information, from basic vital record details to local news and historical or biographical items will be discussed with emphasis on how to get the most genealogical information by knowing what types of news items will have what kinds of facts and what may require additional research. Finally, you will be introduced to the different ways to find and access newspapers including interlibrary loan, newspaper morgues, microfilm, and online.

Optional Course Print Material: American: Military Records

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

Within this course, there is a discussion of the various types of records created by military service, such as service records, muster rolls, pension records, and draft registration. The content of the records and their usefulness for genealogy and immigration research are described. Records of conflicts of the United States and colonial America from the early colonial wars of the seventeenth century to the Second World War are included. The Army, Navy, and other branches of service are detailed. History of military action in America as it relates to records is also included.

Optional Print Course Material: American: Court Records

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

This course provides an overview of United States court records, selected finding aids to United States court records and strategies for gleaning the records of the courts. It introduces additional resources and strategies for documenting the interaction of your ancestors and the United States courts; and provides a brief historical background as is relevant to various court records.

Students will be encouraged to share their findings (including additional sources and strategies) while studying the interaction of their families and the courthouse.

Students enrolling in this course will have successfully completed the International Institute of Genealogical Studies’ courses United States: Land Records, United States: Probate Records, and United States: Immigration & Naturalization Records, or have a great deal of experience researching land, probate, and immigration & naturalization records.

At the end of this course, an exam will be provided to evaluate your understanding of the course materials.

Optional Course Print Material: American: Occupational Records

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

Genealogy and the study of family history are more than just the gathering of names and dates. To understand our ancestor, we must look at all aspects of their life, including what they did for a living. This course will focus on occupational records and what they can reveal about our ancestor’s lives.

To learn more about an individual’s occupation the researcher must utilize more than one record. Once the researcher has searched familiar records like the census, city directories, and newspapers, they must continue on with archival records that may document the ancestor’s specific occupation and activities surrounding that occupation. This requires the researcher to access data from many different sources and then analyzes the data to gain the most complete picture of an individual and their occupation or life’s work.

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Births, Deaths and Marriages

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

This course will concentrate on the birth, death, and marriage information gathered by the various churches as parish records, as well as the civil records gathered by colonial, state, and territory governments. An understanding of the historical context is included to explain which authority collected the information and how the records varied over time. Births, deaths, and marriages records from various periods and jurisdictions will be examined to determine how much information is actually available and helpful for the genealogist, as well as how and where the records may be found.

The course also looks at why the information in such records may not always be accurate, as well as what to do when records are not available in the expected place.

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Other Sources for Births, Deaths and Marriages

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

While the course Australia: Births, Deaths and Marriages concentrates on the various sources of church parish records and government civil certificates of births, deaths and marriages, this course focuses on other sources to obtain birth, death, and marriage information. Birth, death, and marriage information may be found in newspaper notices, naturalization documents, and military service records. Divorce records provide information about births and marriages, as well as details about the ending of marriages. In addition, there are many other records associated with deaths, including wills, probate, deceased estate files, intestacies, letters of administration, cemeteries, undertakers, and inquest records.

Military records and biographical dictionaries will be mentioned briefly as a source of information about births, deaths, and marriages but these topics are covered in more detail in other courses.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Immigration Records - Free Settlers

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

The study of immigration includes more than finding dates and shipping records. An understanding of some Australian history (as well as major events in other places of the world) is necessary to comprehend why large numbers of people chose to leave the places they were living and take the arduous and often dangerous journey to the other side of the world.

The course will discuss the migration of free settlers, and consider significant emigrant groups, government policies, sponsored and assisted passages, voyage conditions, and ships’ passenger lists as well as denization, naturalization and citizenship.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Convict Records

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

A study of convict records includes some discussion of the British legal system and the conditions that led to convicts being transported to the colonies of Australia. Governments kept copious records at all stages of their control of the convicts and these provide more information about the convicts in Australia than for free settlers of the same period.

The passage of convicts through the legal system may be traced from their trials and imprisonment, transportation, the convict administration in the colonies, as well as their various assignments until the eventual end of their imprisonment (by death or freedom).

 In addition, the course includes some records of the changing attitudes toconvict heritage and the impact that has on the records that are available.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Newspapers and Biographies

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

Newspapers are a wonderful research tool as they can provide background information on our ancestors that may not be found in official documents. As well as the expected notices of births, engagements, marriages, deaths, burials and obituaries we may also find reference to their sporting activities or involvement in community events. References to insolvencies, bankruptcies, other misdemeanours or more serious crimes can lead to court and criminal records at the archives. This course focuses on using both historical and current newspapers to flesh out our knowledge of our ancestors and the communities in which they lived.

 A useful companion to newspapers are biographical resources and these can be for an individual or a defined group and based on a local, state or national level. Often referred to as biographical dictionaries or pioneer registers these resources can provide a quick background on an individual which can then be followed up in newspapers and official records.

 By using these two types of resources, you will be able to add substantially to your knowledge of your ancestors. As more and more of these resources are digitised and placed online making them easier to access and to search, there is a constant need to go back and revisit your research to find any new material on your ancestors.

 By undertaking this course on Australian newspapers and biographies you will find lots of additional material on your families as we make our way through the modules. In the course of writing this module and undertaking the assignments, I even added to my own family knowledge which was a bonus for me.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Church Records

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

This course examines religious resources that are available in Australia. Major emphasis has been placed on Christianity and the various church records available for the main Christian denominations in Australia. Parish records such as baptisms, marriages and burials and other lesser known church records are examined. Religions other than Christianity are also looked at briefly as Australia has been a multicultural country since the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Local History and Regional Sources

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

This course includes newspapers, maps, directories & almanacs, electoral rolls, government records, local council records, sewerage and utilities, libraries, universities and museums, cemeteries, local area studies, including regional histories, business records, membership records, and records relating to land and its uses.

 A study of local history informs us about how our ancestors lived as part of a community as well as where they lived. This course first examines the records that can identify those locations, and then proceeds to the regional sources that allow us to see ancestors in the context of where they lived and who lived near them and what that can tell us about their lives. Some of these sources include lists of names, while others provide background information about places as well as the lives of the people who lived and worked there.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Course Reading Material: Australian: Military Records

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

This course discusses available documents and the information included about those who served in British regiments in Australia as well as Australians who served in military forces in Australia and overseas. Military records from the earliest days of the colonies through various twentieth century conflicts are included.

 Various types of records created by the military are discussed, including service records, muster rolls, campaign documents, pension records and draft registration. The content of the records and their usefulness for genealogy is described. The course includes historical background as well as some background to the changing social perceptions towards the military.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Course Print Material: Australian: Occupational Records

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

Genealogy and the study of family history are more than just collecting names, dates and places. This course focuses on occupations and how someone’s occupation could change over time, have a significant role in a community and even impact on a family’s lifestyle. Miners, for example, often moved around following the gold or other minerals and their families moved too. Tracing them can be difficult but occupation records may provide clues.

 To determine someone’s occupation usually means that we need to use more than one kind of record to build a complete picture of their working life. As we gather the pieces of information we can then analyse what it is telling us about the person, their family and community life. There are lots of ways to discover someone’s occupation including BDM certificates, directories and almanacs, electoral rolls and newspapers.

Occupational records can provide additional information on our ancestors. By knowing an occupation, we can then look for supporting information in staff records of businesses and governments and if they work as farmers and graziers then land records may be useful.

 Knowing where to look is the key issue and this course will help you to discover a person’s occupation and then to follow up where there might be additional information in government archives, libraries and other resources. Where applicable, guides and other finding aids are listed together with any indexes, databases and digitised records.

Optional Course Reading Material: Australian: Education Records

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

Education records can be a fascinating resource to add more detail and interest to our ancestor’s lives. The records may not always give us biographical information to take our family lines further back in time, but the records will tell us more about the lives they lived. Today’s education arrangements are quite different from those in the 18th and 19th centuries.

 For the purposes of this course, we will mostly be looking at educational records from 1788 through to 1950. We will explore education records which can include archival records, memorabilia, photographs, building plans, newspaper reports, published school histories and local histories. Archival records are those created by the school such as administrative files, correspondence files, building files, pupil admission registers, corporal punishment registers of teachers, photographs of buildings and pupils, building plans, sporting memorabilia and other records. Records explored will span primary school to adult education and will include students as well as staff.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Australian: Health Records

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

This course looks at how health records can help with family history research. Records for general hospitals, maternity hospitals, asylums, sanatoriums and other health institutions will be looked at together with staff records. In addition it looks at selected epidemics and medical treatments that our ancestors might have been familiar with.

Optional Print Course Material: Research: British India Ancestors

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

This course gives an introduction to researching ancestors in India, during the time of British involvement and rule. The course focuses mainly on British ancestors, but includes records that are relevant to other Europeans in India, as well as Anglo-Indians. 

In this course, the author will use primary and secondary material to demonstrate how to research ancestors in British India in depth. 

Optional Print Course Material: Research: Child Migration from Britain

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

This course provides an overview of the history of child migration from Britain and an introduction to the records that can be accessed to research them. Britain has a very long history of exporting children. Child migration from Britain occurred over a period of nearly 350 years through various private and government sponsored emigration schemes. 

This course is a good starting point for anyone who knows, or even suspects, that they have a British child migrant ancestor in their family tree. Children were sent to the American Colonies, the West Indies, Australia, Canada, Southern Rhodesia, South Africa and New Zealand. The major recipients of children, based upon numbers, were Canada and Australia. 

The course is structured to address research in each of the receiving countries, in Britain and from the sending agencies themselves. The course concludes with a case study which uses a child who migrated to Canada during a time period when child migration to Canada was near its peak. 

Optional Print Course Material: Research: English and Welsh Ancestors

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

This course gives an introduction to the first two centuries of family history research in England, Wales, Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. The course will concentrate on the major sources. It will also offer a sound strategy for using these sources to gain a firm foundation for subsequent research.

Optional Print Course Material: Research: The National Archives of England

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

Many of us can trace our ancestry back to England and the British Isles and for this reason, The National Archives is one of the most important, if not the most important, source of information on our family history. 

The old children’s rhyme about tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, really does apply here. If your ancestor was English, it is essential to know what records are available here and how to access them, whether in person or from a distance. 

The foundation stone of this archive is the Doomsday Book, the record of the whole country, a census if you will, instigated by William I in 1086. Records of British monarchs and governments through the ages are here from Henry VII’s Court of Star Chamber to the 1911 census. 

The records may have been created by Kings or Queens or their governments but in the end, they are about people, our people, the ordinary man in street, who appealed to the Court of Star Chamber for justice or fought for his country in battles overseas. 

This course is designed to help you learn how to explore this great archive, its holdings and how you can access them to help your research. It covers records about our ancestor’s occupations, criminals, military men and emigration as well as records of divorce and dispute. 

Course Length: 6 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Census Records - Part 1

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

Census records are a pivotal source in trying to document our ancestry. They are among the most useful and commonly utilized records available to genealogists. By documenting the individuals and families in each census year, they provide a snapshot of what was happening at that time. This course will instruct the student in how to access Canadian census records and how to analyze the information provided. Differences between rural and urban censuses will be examined. Suggestions for using census substitutes, census finding aids, and resources will also be provided. A short history of census records in Canada is included.

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Vital Statistics Records - Part 1

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

The recording of an individual’s vital statistics was most often done at the time the event occurred. This usually means that the information is considered accurate. Unfortunately, vital statistics records can often be very difficult to find. This course will concentrate on the vital statistics gathered by the provincial governments and the various churches. Birth, marriages, and deaths records will be examined to determine how much information is actually available and helpful for the genealogist. How and why the information was gathered as well as when it began will be discussed.

Suggestions for using the Internet for researching many vital statistics records will also be provided. A short lesson in the history and geography of each province is included.

Finding an ancestor’s last will and testament is exciting. A great deal of valuable genealogical information is available in wills and estate files. These records should not be overlooked.

Whether the deceased was testate or intestate, this course teaches where to search for wills and estate records. Keep in mind the historical era and the geographical location in Canada. What type of genealogical information is also available.

Historical: This course originated September 2025. Current version copyright is September 2025. If you have older material, it needs to be replaced. Use the chat app to order your replacement materials. 
Formerly was Canadian: Wills & Estate Records-Part 1, originated May 2000, final version copyright October 2003.

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Wills and Estate Records - Part 1

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

It’s exciting finding an ancestor’s Last Will and Testament and a great deal of valuable genealogical information is available in these documents. These records are often overlooked.

 Whether the deceased was testate or intestate, this course will show where to search for wills and estates keeping in mind the historical era and the geographical location in Canada. We will also show you what kind of genealogical information you will find.

We will examine how these documents will reveal not only the distribution of the property and possessions of your ancestors but also what other relevant historical information is sometimes available.

Wills & Estates records can lead to new clues in your research.

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Land Records - Part 1

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

This course provides an overview of both early Crown land records and private property registrations in Canada. Major record groups, such as Land Petitions, the Ontario Land Record Index, and the Abstract Index to Deeds will be examined with particular attention to their genealogical significance.

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Census Records - Part 2

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

This course is a continuation of Canadian: Census Records-Part 1. Both courses are required for the Certificate Program in Genealogy. 

This Intermediate Level course will build on the basic skills developed in Canadian: Census Records-Part 1, with emphasis on interpreting the information found in census records, analyzing the information and formulating a research plan to prove or disprove the hypothesis formed in your analysis.

 As the Intermediate Level course is a compulsory portion of the Certificate Program in Genealogy, skills required by professional researchers will be developed. Students should bear in mind that assignments submitted should be clearly written, with appropriate explanations and suggestions. Not all students will have the same timely access to actual census records. In order to provide each student with the necessary information for every Case Study, the information will be based on a hypothetical family and census records, and all pertinent information will be supplied to the student with their Course Notes and Assignments. The census information will follow the format of an actual census for the year indicated, and all data that might be found in an actual census record for that year will be included. The names of family members and their personal information will be hypothetical, as will the documentation of the census page. However, it is expected that by now the student has consulted some actual census records in order to familiarize themselves with the process of locating and using these records.

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

You were probably surprised by the amount of information included in the Canadian: Vital Statistics Records - Part 1 Course. You will recognize that some material in Part 2 was included in the basic course. It is being repeated in order for the student to focus on this particular facet of present day documents. The Canadian: Vital Statistics Records - Part 2 course will continue to describe the whereabouts of the records that are available at government archives as well as government offices and court houses records, i.e.: government present day registrations for births, marriages and deaths; adoption records from government offices and divorce records from both. The other area we will cover is that of adoption records and their accessibility. An adoption search is quite different from any other search you will ever undertake and should be done with great care. It affects the lives of the living more profoundly than you would ever imagine. We will also be examining the procedure for finding and using divorce records in genealogy.

Optional Course Print Material: Canadian: Religious Records

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

For many regions of the world, the records associated with the ancestral place of worship are the backbone of genealogical research. Registers of baptism, marriage and burial are of great use prior to vital statistic registrations in Canada. In the early years of settlement, the Government passed laws which forbade certain groups from performing various services.

This course will cover where to look for these registers and other religious records in Canada, what type of data you should expect to find, and how to evaluate what you have found. Information found can also provide stories that can be added to the family history.

This course builds on the Basic level Canadian: Wills-Part 1 as it delves deeper into the intricacies of researching wills and estate records. Several examples illustrate the various documents. Rather than focusing heavily on course material, the emphasis is placed on case studies to increase familiarity with the documents.  By reviewing the documents, case studies allow one to get familiar with their language, format, and content. Lastly, the course discusses sources which shouldn’t be overlooked when researching wills and estate records.

Note: Due to large files with images, some record examples provided in this course are accessible online only. Working with these course materials as well as the online content is required to complete the course.

Course Length: 8 weeks

Historical: This course originated March 2026. Current version copyright is March 2026. If you have older material, it needs to be replaced. Use the chat app to order your replacement materials. 
Formerly was Canadian: Wills & Estate Records-Part 2, originated June 2001, final version copyright June 2009.

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Wills and Estate Records - Part 2

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

The course Researching Canadian Wills & Estate Records builds on the introductory level as it delves deeper into the intricacies of research when dealing with wills and estate records. Numerous examples, including their transcriptions for easier reading, will illustrate the various types of documents. Less emphasis has been focused on the course material and much more into the case studies in order to allow you to become much more familiar with working with the documentation. Several case studies will give you the opportunity to examine the documents yourself and become more accustomed to their wording, their look, their feel, and, importantly, the wealth of information they hold. Lastly, the course should reinforce that there are a variety of sources which should not be overlooked when researching for wills and estate records.

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Land Records - Part 2

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

When land was “granted” from the Crown to individuals or companies specific records were created to document the change in ownership. Record groups such as Military Grants, Township Papers, the Canada Company Papers, the Peter Robinson Papers, Correspondence to the Surveyor General and Commissions as well as various other land companies will be reviewed with the goal of determining where these records are today and how they may be of benefit to a genealogist.

It is vital that you become comfortable with the documentation and writing style so that you will be able to glean the correct information from the material. You will find the examples and assignments to be of interest and useful in this regard.

By following the family of John Newell through several examples and with his Case Study we can follow various transactions as they occurred for one family over a period of time.

Note: This course requires compulsory materials to be ordered. These are available at GenealogyStore.com

Douglas, Althea, Genealogy, Geography, and Maps: Using Atlases and Gazetteers to Find Your Family (Toronto: Ontario Genealogical Society, 2006).

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Geography and Maps

Genealogy, geography and maps are inextricably entwined, particularly in a country like Canada where almost everyone has ancestors who came here from somewhere else. If you are looking for their records you must travel across geographic boundaries as well as across time. Wherever you travel, maps are essential.

Can you read a map? Did you hate geography in school? You know what road maps tell you, but are you aware that topographical maps tell you much more or that geographers and cartographers now use maps to show us all sorts of information both about the here and now and the worlds our ancestors once inhabited.

 While many Canadians look back to Europe or the British Isles, in the multi-cultural society we have become some of us will need maps of every continent except Antarctica. Not just maps of the place as it is today, but older maps that show former political divisions and place names, where old roads, canals or railways once ran, perhaps ownership of land, or city plans that show every building, including the one where the emigrant ancestor was born.

If you plan to be a successful family historian you must learn to look at maps and extract the basic, secondary, and even the third level of information they offer, and then evaluate that information. Is what it shows accurate, up to date or obsolete, misleading or intended to deceive? Maps can be many things and the more you know the fewer traps will catch you.

 The International Institute for Genealogical Studies is extremely pleased to be able to use, as the primary text for this course, an outstanding book on this subject, authored by Althea Douglas, Genealogy, Geography, and Maps: Using Atlases and Gazetteers to Find Your Family (Ontario Genealogical Society: Toronto, 2006).

 Because the course reading material is not proprietary to the International Institute’s course, access to the electronic text of mandatory course reading material will NOT be available online. The course syllabus will  primarily serve as a guide to the content of Douglas’ book. In addition it will present some brief supplemental material, as well as the assignments.

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Archival Centres

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

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to using archives in genealogical research, to examine the kinds of records which you will encounter, and to see what kinds of archives there are in Canada which can provide venues for genealogical researchers. 

This is a gigantic topic, so some thought was given to a point of view which might help us enter it. As this course is given via the Internet and as websites may be the first and easiest contact which a genealogical researcher will have with an archive, we have used archival websites as a principal point of discussion regarding specific archives and kinds of archives, and as a way of getting to know the institutions involved. The website can be seen as a summary of the personality of the place, and this is how we have used it. We continue to stress that archive websites should not be ignored in research. 

Examples of archives of various categories will be mentioned. It should be emphasized that the examples given are just that, examples. They are not meant to indicate ‘best’ (although they may be) and they cannot be exhaustive in any category, because there are simply too many archives in the country. Take the example given and then use the idea to search for similar archives which will help you. 

Comparing this course to the others in the Canadian series, students may notice a certain amount of overlap. The Saskatchewan Homestead records, for example, may well also show up in a course on Saskatchewan research as well as a land records course. There are useful things to say on such a topic in each course and we can only hope a second or third encounter with a topic will help to imprint it on the student’s memory! 

Many of the archives under discussion in the text have very long names, which may include people after whom the institution is named, the name of the larger institution of which the archives is part, or a government department. Although the full name will be given in the first instance, a shorter or familiar version of the archives’ name will be used for convenience later in the text. 

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Immigration Records

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

The study and understanding of immigration is more than just dates and ships’ lists. Learning where our ancestors came from, and why, is a major goal for family historians. Canada was a beacon drawing waves of hopeful immigrants, even before it became a country in its own right.

The course will emphasize the “push-pull” principle underlying two centuries of population growth, including significant emigrant groups, travel routes, government policies, sponsored and assisted settlement plans, ports of arrival, ships’ passenger lists, North American border crossings, naturalization and citizenship. Each module will cover at least one immigration group or programme which made a significant contribution to the settlement and growth of Canada.

Attention is given to special collections such as Home Children and Russian Consular records. Students will learn about access to such sources and strategies for making the important connection to the ancestral country of origin.

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Newspaper Records

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

Newspapers are an important source of genealogical information, not only hard date and place information, but also background material which will add to the interest of your family history. This information may also supply hints which will lead to other resources. The purpose of this course is to examine:

•   the historical development of newspapers
  
•   the kinds of information we can find in newspapers
  
•   how to interpret the data we find
  
•   how to find the newspaper we need to research
  
•   other serial publications (journals and newsletters) we can use.

Military records constitute a major source of genealogical material in Canada. Emphasis during this course is on the correlation between personnel records, land transactions, and nominal roles from the period of New France to the Korean Conflict.

Course Length: 8 weeks

Historical: This course originated October 2002. Current version copyright is April 2026. If you have older material, it needs to be replaced. Use the chat app to order your replacement materials. 

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Military Records

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

Military records constitute a major source of genealogical material in Canada. Emphasis during this course will be on the correlation between personnel records, land transactions and nominal roles from the period of New France to the Korean Conflict.

 At the end of this course, you will be able to search for your ancestor from a nominal role to the land acquisition or pension from various records groups located at Library and Archives Canada or the provincial archives (including records of those who fought against the government of the day). 

 You will be able to use other sources such as medal registers, battalion histories, militia pay lists, etc. to help you build a better genealogy.

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Migration Patterns

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

This course provides an extensive overview of migration in Canada. Canada is a diverse nation, made up of many peoples, all of whom came from somewhere. The study of migration does not just involve one movement but recognizes that for a number of reasons, it is natural for peoples to move and settle from one place to another, be it a new country or a new community.

The history is explored, concepts explained, definitions offered. In the study of migration, it is vital it remember that while we speak in general of peoples, each individual has a story, waiting to be explored.

Optional Print Course Material: Canadian: Local History and Special Collections

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

This course is designed to go beyond the basic genealogical sources of censuses, vital statistic records and church records by introducing the professional to other collections that could enhance their search. Emphasis will be on the variety of sources held at Library and Archives Canada, company and professional archives, and local archives. Among other sources to investigate will be professional and fraternal associations, Dunn and Bradstreet, law reviews, photographic collections, maps, etc. Consideration will also be given to the burgeoning resources now available on the Internet, such as digital libraries. 

This course will inspire you to think about spreading your wings and venturing “outside the box” when you hit your brick wall.

NOTE: There is a lot of interest in DNA and Forensic topics. Please read carefully before registering to take one of these courses. The DNA and Forensic courses offered by the International Institute of Genealogical Studies provide instruction on DNA methods as used in genealogical research. We recommend that students without the basic knowledge of genealogy methods and genealogical research should register in the Methodology - Part 1: Getting Started and Methodology Part 2 - Organizing and Skill-Building courses prior to registering for this course.

Optional Print Course Material: DNA: Introduction to Genetic Genealogy

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

This course is a comprehensive introduction to genetic genealogy. The basics of DNA and genetic inheritance are explained in detail. The three main test types, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (YDNA), and autosomal DNA (atDNA) are explored as they relate to genealogy. The study includes an overview of laboratory procedures for each kind of test, data interpretation techniques, database searching, match interpretation, and case studies for the three kinds of DNA testing. This course includes comparisons of tools and companies, as well as the genetic stories of famous people.

Historical: This course originated 2014. Current version copyright is November 2024.
If you have older material, it needs to be replaced. Use the chat app to order your replacement materials.

Optional Print Course Material: DNA: Introduction to Genetic Genealogy

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

NOTE: There is a lot of interest in DNA and Forensic topics. Please read carefully before registering to take one of these courses. The DNA and Forensic courses offered by the International Institute of Genealogical Studies provide instruction on DNA methods as used in genealogical research. We recommend that students without the basic knowledge of genealogy methods and genealogical research should register in the Methodology - Part 1: Getting Started and Methodology Part 2 - Organizing and Skill-Building courses prior to registering for this course.

This course is a comprehensive introduction to genetic genealogy. The basics of DNA and genetic inheritance are explained in detail. The three main test types, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (YDNA), and autosomal DNA (atDNA) are explored as they relate to genealogy. This includes an overview of laboratory procedures for each kind of test, data interpretation techniques, database searching, match interpretation, and case studies for the three kinds of DNA testing. This course will include comparisons of tools and companies, as well as the genetic stories of famous people.