Researching Family History - An Introduction - Worksop Library - Adult Learning

About this course

Are you interested in tracing your family tree but don’t know where to start? This could be the perfect course for you! Over six sessions, you will be introduced to the main types of records available for your research. You will discover where to locate family history documents and online information, as well as developing your research skills to help you make sense of what you find.  

At the beginning of the course, we will discuss important first steps to take before starting to explore family history records, indexes and information available online, as well as in libraries and archives. Focusing mainly on records of England and Wales, we will look at birth, marriage and death records, census returns, the 1939 Register, and parish registers. The course will also give a brief introduction to other sources including newspapers, trade directories, electoral registers, and wills/probate records.

Using sample documents and case studies, you will develop your research skills and learn search strategies to help you when growing your own family tree. Suggestions will also be given on how to organise and present your research.   The course is suitable for complete beginners in family history but may also be useful for those with some family history experience who would like to update their knowledge, particularly in terms of online records.

What you will need to bring to the course:

Please bring paper and a pen to each session.

Recommended books for independent reading:

- Annal, David, 2012. Easy Family History: The Beginner's Guide to Researching Your Family History. London: Bloomsbury

- Golds, Pauline, 2023 (Revised edition). Grow Your Own Family Tree: A Comprehensive Guide to Tracing Your Ancestry. Derby: Straightforward Publishing

Booking your place and fee information

If you receive certain benefits you will be offered the course for free, however if you have a financial barrier which may prevent you from enrolling on the course, please visit our funding page for further information.

Residency in England

To book and enrol on one of our courses, you must be living in England permanently and live outside of the devolved areas listed below or live within the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) devolved area (Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire).

• Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield 

• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

• Greater London

• Greater Manchester

• Liverpool City Region

• Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland

• Tees Valley

• West of England

• West Midlands

• West Yorkshire

Residency Eligibility – other criteria

If you are living in the UK on a visa we will require evidence of this in order to be funded for the course, you can upload this evidence when you apply for the course. (completion of a questionnaire will be required).

Some exceptions may apply for example

• Your visa expiry date must be beyond the end of your course

• Asylum seekers must have lived in the UK for 6 months or longer while their claim is being considered by the Home Office

• You are receiving local authority support under section 23C or section 23CA of the Children Act 1989 or the Care Act 2014

Any learner who is not funded full cost fees would apply to these courses.