1036 Beginning Family History Course (Register)

This course is a hybrid meeting open to members of the public and FHACT members. After registering to attend via Zoom, you will receive an email with a link to the external Zoom website to complete the registration.

Please note that all places to attend in-person at our Library at Cook are now booked. You can still book to attend via Zoom.

The course runs for three weeks with a variety of speakers:

Week 1 Saturday 18th March 2 pm - 5pm

Building a family tree/pedigree - Where to start? Organisation, Documentation, Referencing. This session is an introduction to the practice of genealogy (pedigrees) and family history (stories). This session will cover basic rules, the use of paper and computer storage, group sheets, pedigree charts, and the essential need for referencing.

Week 2 Saturday 25th March 2pm - 5 pm

Discovering detail and content - Once you know who is in your family, you will want to know more about their lives.  The vast array of information about people in the past needs to be brought into a coherent structure for the beginner researcher.  The sort of information about a person’s life might include education, employment, military service, criminal activity, travel and immigration, land ownership, and sporting or recreational achievements.  What is out there? What are the best ways to chase these sources? 

Week 3 Saturday1 April 2 pm - 5 pm

Making sense of your family history - Family History is never-ending and always enlarging.  Research is an iterative process informed by some ‘educated guessing. Our knowledge of our family will be enhanced by understanding some of the backgrounds of their world.  You never know where you will end up.

We use the textbook Family History for Beginners and Beyond 16th Edition, available from our bookshop. Notes and handouts will be available,