International Institute of Genealogical Studies

Optional Print Course Material: Research: Danish Ancestors

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

Beginning research on Danish ancestry requires a foundation in certain basics. Before beginning research in any new locality, a fundamental appreciation of the historical background of the area is always required. Most Danish records are organized by parish, so knowing the structure and geography of the country is important to finding the correct records. 

The patronymic system of naming was used throughout Denmark until nearly the end of the 19th century. Learning the techniques appropriate to research families under this system is essential to the student of Danish genealogy. 

The calendar changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and the first day of the year was changed to 1 January. Some dates will be entered based on the “feast days” rather than the calendar day. These dating issues are important to finding and recording information. 

Although fluent Danish is not required to research in Danish records, general genealogical terminology will be introduced. 

Since genealogical research in Denmark relies heavily on church records, the new researcher should first understand how to find and use these books.  From the time the Lutheran Church was established in Denmark in 1536, there have been changes in the format of the record books, but not in the essential content. In this section of the course the student will review the principle sections of parish registers and their use, including some sections which changed over time; when forms became the norm, and what that means to the researcher; the first section to be studied in depth will be the Index. If used by the parish, this is key to unlocking the church life of an individual, and sorting out the many duplicate names; and, where parish records may be accessed―online, Danish archives, and the Family History Library Catalog. 

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Connecting Family: Online and Virtually

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

Computers and the Internet have revolutionized the way families communicate. This course will highlight a few specific ways to use your computer and the Internet to build and strengthen family ties. Topics will include using multimedia techniques to preserve and share family photographs, building an online family tree, creating virtual family history tours/videos, creating online family newsletters, digitizing scrapbooks, publishing an online family history and creating and maintaining family websites, using communication tools such as Skype, and using social media (blogs, Facebook, and Twitter) to find long lost cousins and stay in touch with relatives. 

Course Length: 6 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Social Media Tools for the Wise Genealogist

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

Genealogy has come a long way from the days when networking meant writing a letter and waiting for a reply. With the advent of social networking and social media tools you can network with researchers worldwide, find distant relations, curate content, and share your research. This course will provide you with just some of the tools to help you take advantage of Web 2.0. 

Most people automatically associate social networks with websites like Facebook, Twitter, and even The International Institute’s own GenealogyWise. We will explore these websites and others that help you share your family tree, family stories, and even your personal library. The course demonstrates that the concept of social media is all about sharing, education, mobility and yes, networking. Each module concludes with recommended resources that provide the student with additional learning tools to get the most out of their social media experience. 

Course Length: 9 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Research: U.S. Colonial New England Ancestors

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

This seven module course will give the student a basic foundation to research using colonial records in New England. It focuses primarily on the most common records used for research. The student will learn about strategies for finding colonial New England records while incorporating colonial town records, colonial census records, colonial land records and maps, the colonial wars, religious records, and court documents. 

Note: The student who undertakes this course should have familiarity with United States vital, religious, census, land and military records, as well as have a good knowledge of genealogical methodologies. 

Course Length: 8 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: Research: New Zealand Ancestors

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

This course provides a detailed description of how to research ancestors in New Zealand. Learn about the historical background as well as records such as births, deaths and marriages, wills and cemetery records, immigration and naturalisation, military records and other archives held by government and non-government institutions. In the absence of census records, learn how to use census substitutes such as electoral rolls, directories and newspapers. 

Course Length: 7 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: English: Census Records Including Wales

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

An examination of the history, structure and genealogical research possibilities of the 1801-1911 censuses, as well as the 1939 National Register of England and Wales. Strategies for research, location the records, reading and recording methodology and documentation will be discussed.

 During each module the student will be introduced to an aspect of research, such as terminology, indexes or search methods. There will be a detailed look at some of the censuses. Students will receive in-depth instruction as to the contents and usage of each census. Available websites and indexes with census records will also be discussed. The many pitfalls unnoticed by the unwary will be described.

Upon completion of this course will be fully prepared to utilise this source with confidence.

Optional Print Course Material: English: Civil Registration Records Including Wales

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

Obtaining birth, marriage and death certificates is an essential element of good genealogical research. This course will provide practical details needed to understand the system of civil registration; how to use indexes, both in microform and online, and how to interpret certificates. Numerous examples are used from birth, marriage, death, and overseas certificates to illustrate the care that must be taken when reading the documents and deciphering the information. The course is aimed at those needing a thorough understanding of this original source. Note that it is important to remember that when dealing with information found in England and Wales, vital statistics are not the same as civil registration.

Optional Print Course Material: English: Parish Registers

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

The course provides a significant overview of what is involved when researching English Parish Records. Given that every person in England was assigned to a particular parish regardless of their religious denomination, it is crucial to develop a greater understanding of how the record keeping system was established and developed. This will greatly enhance your ability in tracking down desired documentation. The course material will cover the main categories of birth, christening, marriage, death and burial; but will also go far beyond to include a variety of other record sources as well. A great deal of emphasis will be placed on examples in order to introduce you to the text and flavour of the contemporary language used in record keeping. Lastly, an ability to find information must be consistent with an ability to organise and make use of that information. To this end, numerous techniques, tips, and ideas will be shared which you can adopt and adapt as you develop your own organization style.

This course examines some aspects related to English probate records. The most important probate documents are wills, inventories, administrations, guardianships, and Death Duty Registers.

Wills are a valuable source for genealogists because they usually mention family members, sometimes two or three generations. They're often the best or only means of verifying a family tree compiled from civil registration, census, or parish registers.

Optional Course Print Material: English: Probate Records

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

This course will examine in some detail many aspects related to the subject of probate. The most important probate documents are wills, inventories, administrations, guardianships, and Death Duty Registers. 

Wills are one of the most valuable sources available for the genealogist because they usually mention several family members, even from two or three generations. They are often the best or only means of verifying a family tree compiled from civil registration, census or parish registers. This course also offers suggestions and tips when visiting the FamilySearch Center or other sites holding documents, how to fill out forms requesting information, and how to interpret the documentation you receive. 

Course Length: 7 weeks

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

Optional Print Course Material: English: Education, Health and Contemporary Documents

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

This course starts with a survey of English education records including basic history and types of schools, including adult and post-secondary institutions. The emphasis is on the surviving records of students, what they contain and where to find them. We then look at health and hospital records which can be surprisingly detailed and are now becoming more available. The third section is a really mixed bag of all kinds of contemporary documents with which the student should be familiar, and which can add so much to the family history. Included are passports, records associated with death, diaries & letters, directories, newspapers, magazines, illustrations & photographs, titled and landed families, topography and much more.

Optional Print Course Material: English: Taxes, Lists, Business and Insurance Records

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

This course is a survey of the many records to do with land that are helpful for the family historian. We shall examine maps, gazetteers, title deeds, land tax, ancient & modern Domesday books, tithes, enclosure, manorial records, quit claims, estate papers, Land Registry & Valuation Office and many other types of records. Their availability & practical details on how to use them in genealogical research will be emphasized.

Optional Print Course Material: English: Land and Property Records

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

This course is a survey of the many records to do with land that are helpful for the family historian. We shall examine maps, gazetteers, title deeds, land tax, ancient & modern Domesday books, tithes, enclosure, manorial records, quit claims, estate papers, Land Registry & Valuation Office and many other types of records. Their availability & practical details on how to use them in genealogical research will be emphasized.

Optional Print Course Material: English: Court Records - Criminal, Civil and Ecclesiastical

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

This course deals with records of use by genealogists and family historians from the many English courts that controlled our ancestors’ lives—canon law, feudal law, customary law, common law and equity.

The former importance of ecclesiastical courts is emphasized. Civil ones comprising manor courts, petty, borough and quarter sessions as well as chancery and exchequer courts are covered. Criminal assizes and records of prisoners and convicts, gaols and transportation are discussed. The availability of original records and indexes to the researcher situated anywhere in the world and their relevance to genealogical investigations is explained. 

Course Length: 6 weeks

Optional Print Course Material: German: Introduction to German Research

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

According to census reports, German ancestry is the largest single ethnic group in North America, even out-pacing the English or Irish. Although the vast majority of Germans in North America are in the United States (where 15-20% of the population claim German ancestry), a significant number also settled in Canada, both before and after the American Revolutionary War, as well as other parts of the world.

Unfortunately, most of those of German descent have been reticent to begin research on those German ancestors due to perceived barriers of language, geography, and understanding the records. The purpose of this course is to begin the teaching of genealogical concepts pertinent to German research. It introduces basic concepts needed to succeed in German research and begins to dispel the notion that German research is difficult. Actually, from a research perspective, it is much easier than Canadian, American, English, or Irish research. The purpose of this course is to serve as the foundation for the German Records certificate program.

Course Length: 7 weeks