The Index of Births Marriages and Deaths is one of the best transcribed and studied collections of documents in family history research. What many people often overlook is that there is also the index of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Sea.
A person being born, married or dying on a ship is often part of a much more interesting story than if such an event occurs on land. Findmypast.co.uk is setting up an online database where anyone can join in on transcribing records from the index of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Sea between 1854 and 1888.
These records could explain how a great aunt got onto a boat for America and came off with a different surname, or perhaps how a second cousin went on a voyage and returned with a child in tow. Clear instructions and a simple interface will be provided by the people running the project, so if you've got a computer and a broadband connection there's nothing to stop you getting involved.
Friday, 4 June 2010
Monday, 17 May 2010
New Certificate of Family History Skills and Strategies (Intermediate)
The Society of Genealogists & Pharos Teaching & Tutoring today announced a new joint programme, the distance learning Certificate of Family History Skills and Strategies (Intermediate).
The Society of Genealogists, in conjunction with Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd is now bringing its popular classroom programme to the Web. Following successful pilot courses last year, the Society and Pharos have teamed up to make available a full course of instruction, with assessment, to any interested genealogist anywhere in the world. First modules in the Skills and Strategies programme will be offered in September 2010. It will be possible to complete all 10 modules in an 18 month period.
The modules are listed here in alphabetical order. I teach two of these - The Poor, Parish & Workhouse and Wills and Administrations - and am really looking forward to being involved with this programme.
Apprenticeships & Guilds
Employment Records
Lists & Sources from Georgian England
Migration in the British Isles
Military Ancestors
Nonconformity in England and Wales
The Poor, the Parish and the Workhouse
Victorian Crime & Punishment
Wills and Administrations
17th Century Sources
Tutors include the well-known authors and genealogists, Gill Blanchard, Liz Carter, Else Churchill, Simon Fowler, Sherry Irvine, Michael Isherwood and Stuart Raymond. All have made significant contributions to the world of family history and bring a wide array of records knowledge and teaching experience to the online classroom.
The Skills and Strategies course is suitable for genealogists who have had at least two years experience in family history research in England & Wales and have mastered the fundamentals of census, civil registrations and parish registers but who now wish to move on to new records and a greater understanding of research methods and skills.
Students choosing to take all ten modules as a full programme with assessments leading to the Intermediate Certificate can sign up now at an introductory price of £450. This represents a saving of £42.90 on the full listed price. Each module is monitored by the Society to ensure excellent standards of content and teaching.
Students may, alternatively, choose not have work assessed and to take any arrangement of individual topics. Courses taken individually without assessment cost less.
To find out more or sign up for this great learning opportunity, visit http://www.pharostutors.com/
Information abut the course and a link for bookings can also be found on the Society of Genealogists’ website at http://www.sog.org.uk/
Helen Osborn, Managing Director of Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd, said today
“We are very pleased to continue and build on our collaboration with the Society of Genealogists. We know that many Pharos students are interested in working towards a certificate that acknowledges their achievements and that others are looking for a wider range of choice in online programmes. The Skills and Strategies course meets those needs, offered by organizations and teachers with shared standards of excellence.”
Else Churchill, Genealogist at the Society & tutor on the new programme, said today
“The Society of Genealogists is delighted join forces with Pharos to offer the highly regarded SoG courses and education programme to a wider audience than can attend the Society’s classes in London. The Skills and Strategies course will offer a practical opportunity for family historians to take their research further and to develop their own expertise and understanding of genealogical sources and techniques.
Contacts:
Pharos Tutors: Helen Osborn
Telephone: 020 8542 6552
Email: helen@pharostutors.com
Website: http://www.pharostutors.com/
Society of Genealogists: Else Churchill
Telephone: 020 7702 5488
Email: genealogy@sog.org.uk
Website: http://www.sog.org.uk/
Notes for Editors:
The Society of Genealogists is the National Family History Library and Education Centre. The Society of Genealogists offers a unique combination of research material, guidance and support for those interested in family history and the lives of earlier generations. It is a charity whose objects are to "promote, encourage and foster the study, science and knowledge of genealogy".
Founded in 1911 the Society now has over 12,000 members spread across the world.
More information about the Society can be found at http://www.sog.org.uk/
Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd was the first British organisation to provide online courses for genealogists. The Company is run by two professional genealogists, Helen Osborn and Sherry Irvine. Pharos exists to teach the best and most rewarding ways to search for ancestors in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and to help others discover as much as possible about the lives of their ancestors.
More information about Pharos and their courses can be found at http://www.pharostutors.com/
The Society of Genealogists, in conjunction with Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd is now bringing its popular classroom programme to the Web. Following successful pilot courses last year, the Society and Pharos have teamed up to make available a full course of instruction, with assessment, to any interested genealogist anywhere in the world. First modules in the Skills and Strategies programme will be offered in September 2010. It will be possible to complete all 10 modules in an 18 month period.
The modules are listed here in alphabetical order. I teach two of these - The Poor, Parish & Workhouse and Wills and Administrations - and am really looking forward to being involved with this programme.
Apprenticeships & Guilds
Employment Records
Lists & Sources from Georgian England
Migration in the British Isles
Military Ancestors
Nonconformity in England and Wales
The Poor, the Parish and the Workhouse
Victorian Crime & Punishment
Wills and Administrations
17th Century Sources
Tutors include the well-known authors and genealogists, Gill Blanchard, Liz Carter, Else Churchill, Simon Fowler, Sherry Irvine, Michael Isherwood and Stuart Raymond. All have made significant contributions to the world of family history and bring a wide array of records knowledge and teaching experience to the online classroom.
The Skills and Strategies course is suitable for genealogists who have had at least two years experience in family history research in England & Wales and have mastered the fundamentals of census, civil registrations and parish registers but who now wish to move on to new records and a greater understanding of research methods and skills.
Students choosing to take all ten modules as a full programme with assessments leading to the Intermediate Certificate can sign up now at an introductory price of £450. This represents a saving of £42.90 on the full listed price. Each module is monitored by the Society to ensure excellent standards of content and teaching.
Students may, alternatively, choose not have work assessed and to take any arrangement of individual topics. Courses taken individually without assessment cost less.
To find out more or sign up for this great learning opportunity, visit http://www.pharostutors.com/
Information abut the course and a link for bookings can also be found on the Society of Genealogists’ website at http://www.sog.org.uk/
Helen Osborn, Managing Director of Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd, said today
“We are very pleased to continue and build on our collaboration with the Society of Genealogists. We know that many Pharos students are interested in working towards a certificate that acknowledges their achievements and that others are looking for a wider range of choice in online programmes. The Skills and Strategies course meets those needs, offered by organizations and teachers with shared standards of excellence.”
Else Churchill, Genealogist at the Society & tutor on the new programme, said today
“The Society of Genealogists is delighted join forces with Pharos to offer the highly regarded SoG courses and education programme to a wider audience than can attend the Society’s classes in London. The Skills and Strategies course will offer a practical opportunity for family historians to take their research further and to develop their own expertise and understanding of genealogical sources and techniques.
Contacts:
Pharos Tutors: Helen Osborn
Telephone: 020 8542 6552
Email: helen@pharostutors.com
Website: http://www.pharostutors.com/
Society of Genealogists: Else Churchill
Telephone: 020 7702 5488
Email: genealogy@sog.org.uk
Website: http://www.sog.org.uk/
Notes for Editors:
The Society of Genealogists is the National Family History Library and Education Centre. The Society of Genealogists offers a unique combination of research material, guidance and support for those interested in family history and the lives of earlier generations. It is a charity whose objects are to "promote, encourage and foster the study, science and knowledge of genealogy".
Founded in 1911 the Society now has over 12,000 members spread across the world.
More information about the Society can be found at http://www.sog.org.uk/
Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd was the first British organisation to provide online courses for genealogists. The Company is run by two professional genealogists, Helen Osborn and Sherry Irvine. Pharos exists to teach the best and most rewarding ways to search for ancestors in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and to help others discover as much as possible about the lives of their ancestors.
More information about Pharos and their courses can be found at http://www.pharostutors.com/
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Writing Family History workshops
My Writing Your Family History course at the Norfolk Family History Society is now under way. Should be an interesting and stimulating few weeks.
If you missed out on this or couldn't get to Norfolk I will be running 3 Writing Family History workshops at the Society of Genealogists in London this summer. The first is 'Starting Out' on Saturday 3 July at 2pm. The second is 'Expanding Your Family History Biography' on the 17th of July and the third is 'Developing Your Writing Further' on the 31st of July.
The cost is £17.50 or £14 if you are a SoG member. Book via www.sog.org.uk Email events@sog.org.uk or Tel: 020 7553 3290
If you missed out on this or couldn't get to Norfolk I will be running 3 Writing Family History workshops at the Society of Genealogists in London this summer. The first is 'Starting Out' on Saturday 3 July at 2pm. The second is 'Expanding Your Family History Biography' on the 17th of July and the third is 'Developing Your Writing Further' on the 31st of July.
The cost is £17.50 or £14 if you are a SoG member. Book via www.sog.org.uk Email events@sog.org.uk or Tel: 020 7553 3290
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Norwich Family History Fair - 29 March
The Norwich Family History Fair is on at St Andrews Hall on 29 March, I shall be there along with representatives of many family history groups and businesses in Norfolk.
The event is an opportunity for the public to come and meet experts and fellow enthusiasts and learn a bit about their favourite topics in family history.
It is also a good place to go if you are looking to commission research or enroll on courses because it allows you to meet researchers and teachers and see exactly what is on offer.
The fair runs from 10:00am to 4:00pm and costs £2 admission for over 16s.
The event is an opportunity for the public to come and meet experts and fellow enthusiasts and learn a bit about their favourite topics in family history.
It is also a good place to go if you are looking to commission research or enroll on courses because it allows you to meet researchers and teachers and see exactly what is on offer.
The fair runs from 10:00am to 4:00pm and costs £2 admission for over 16s.
Vaccination Records Article in Ancestors Magazine
I’ve written an article on vaccination records in the upcoming April edition of Ancestors Magazine.
We often think of vaccinations as being part of modern medicine, but inoculation against smallpox was compulsory in England and Wales between 1853 and 1948, taking vaccination records well back into the Victorian era.
After the Second World War many other vaccinations became compulsory, in effect handing the baton of vaccination records from the smallpox jab to a new generation of vaccines.
Smallpox is probably the most famous vaccine in medical history because it was one of the first to be documented in a scientific way. From the 1770s onwards smallpox was widely feared in England because of its near one-in-three mortality rate and disfiguring effects on the body.
Scientist Edward Jenner noticed that the milk maids on the farmland surrounding his Gloucestershire home did not contract it.
Jenner’s investigations lead him to establish that they had all contracted the much less virulent cowpox when they were young, and for some reason this more benign disease protected them form smallpox in later life.
Jenner tested his theory on n 14 May 1796, inserting material from a milk maid’s cowpox blisters into an incision in the skin of eight-year-old James Phipps. Phipps contracted cowpox and suffered a slight fever, but afterwards he never contracted smallpox.
This inoculation works because cowpox and smallpox are similar in make-up. Once the body has developed the ability to recognize cowpox, including a set of antibodies to fight the pathogen, it has also done the same for smallpox. Thus upon infection by either disease the immune system reacts instantly and effectively to prevent it taking hold.
The use of cowpox to inoculate against small pox had been recorded in China and the Ottoman Empire since the 1500s, but Jenner’s great breakthrough was scientifically testing the method and starting the basis of modern immunology.
We often think of vaccinations as being part of modern medicine, but inoculation against smallpox was compulsory in England and Wales between 1853 and 1948, taking vaccination records well back into the Victorian era.
After the Second World War many other vaccinations became compulsory, in effect handing the baton of vaccination records from the smallpox jab to a new generation of vaccines.
Smallpox is probably the most famous vaccine in medical history because it was one of the first to be documented in a scientific way. From the 1770s onwards smallpox was widely feared in England because of its near one-in-three mortality rate and disfiguring effects on the body.
Scientist Edward Jenner noticed that the milk maids on the farmland surrounding his Gloucestershire home did not contract it.
Jenner’s investigations lead him to establish that they had all contracted the much less virulent cowpox when they were young, and for some reason this more benign disease protected them form smallpox in later life.
Jenner tested his theory on n 14 May 1796, inserting material from a milk maid’s cowpox blisters into an incision in the skin of eight-year-old James Phipps. Phipps contracted cowpox and suffered a slight fever, but afterwards he never contracted smallpox.
This inoculation works because cowpox and smallpox are similar in make-up. Once the body has developed the ability to recognize cowpox, including a set of antibodies to fight the pathogen, it has also done the same for smallpox. Thus upon infection by either disease the immune system reacts instantly and effectively to prevent it taking hold.
The use of cowpox to inoculate against small pox had been recorded in China and the Ottoman Empire since the 1500s, but Jenner’s great breakthrough was scientifically testing the method and starting the basis of modern immunology.
Monday, 15 March 2010
National Burial Index Third Edition
Burial records are part of the bread and butter work of genealogy; accessible to new starters and equally essential to the well versed.
The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) has just published its third edition of burial indexes. The National Burial Index (NBI) takes in 18.3 million entries from non-conformist, Quaker, Anglican parish, Roman Catholic and cemetery burial registers.
The entries cover 9100 burial locations in 50 counties across England and Wales. A copy of NBI3 costs £30, or £15 for those who already own the second edition. Over five million entries have been added to the Second Edition to create the Third Edition.
Even if the NBI leaves you cold the FFHS is a really interesting and worthwhile organisation. They draw together not only family history groups based around geographical area, but specialist groups such as one-name societies are also welcomed.
Individuals cannot join the society directly, instead you join an affiliated group in one of your areas of interest. If you’re looking for a group to join, the FFHS are good people to ask because they know which groups offer good quality know-how, resources and events to their members.
The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) has just published its third edition of burial indexes. The National Burial Index (NBI) takes in 18.3 million entries from non-conformist, Quaker, Anglican parish, Roman Catholic and cemetery burial registers.
The entries cover 9100 burial locations in 50 counties across England and Wales. A copy of NBI3 costs £30, or £15 for those who already own the second edition. Over five million entries have been added to the Second Edition to create the Third Edition.
Even if the NBI leaves you cold the FFHS is a really interesting and worthwhile organisation. They draw together not only family history groups based around geographical area, but specialist groups such as one-name societies are also welcomed.
Individuals cannot join the society directly, instead you join an affiliated group in one of your areas of interest. If you’re looking for a group to join, the FFHS are good people to ask because they know which groups offer good quality know-how, resources and events to their members.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
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