On-campus Beginner to Intermediate Level Genealogy
Do you have a personal interest in genealogy? Perhaps you have been working on your own genealogy project and would like to know how to progress further?
Our multi-week daytime classes run throughout the year, with numerous start dates and topics to help develop your knowledge and understanding in the field of genealogy.
We also offer one-day workshops focusing on a variety of subject areas including 'Clans, Families, Chiefs and Tartans in Scotland' and 'Scottish Emigration to America'.
Some of our courses are credit bearing and you can accumulate credits in genealogy classes leading to an Open Studies Certificate in Genealogical Studies.
You can also combine your Genealogy classes with other subjects in the programme to gain an Open Studies Certificate. Find out more about studying for credit.
Class prices range from £82.00-£98.00; an overview of class content can be found below.
Researching your family roots can be a great emotional and intellectual achievement.
In this class, you will find out where to uncover the sources useful for tracing the story of your own family and discover what information they contain.
These will include indexes and original records, online and published. Case studies of family histories will show how various sources can be used to build the information found into a meaningful genealogical record on paper and on computer.
You will be provided with a copy of the ‘Family Record: a workbook to record your family research’ by H Craig. The text for this class is ‘Discover your Scottish ancestry: internet and traditional resources’, G Holton and J Winch, 2nd revised ed. 2009, (Edinburgh University Press).
The internet provides unparalleled access to genealogical and family history resources and more becomes available every day. Research your ancestors - when they lived, where they lived and what they did.
Learn about genealogy software, using local and international resources, creating effective queries and using online reference sites.
This class is based in a computer lab and aims to combine both practical and theoretical skills to enable you to research your ancestry more effectively.
It will use research methods and information technology to develop your analytical skills and to increase your understanding of the web as a research resource.
Students should bring along a USB memory stick to the class to save their work.
Please note: A basic knowledge of genealogy along with basic PC literacy is required for this class.
10 credit points (at Level SCQF 7)
Most family historians are comfortable working with the birth, marriage, death and census information readily available for Scotland and England. This class takes you beyond these basic sources and examines a wide range of resources for Scotland, England and Ireland, including testaments, land and property registers, maps, valuation rolls, street and trade directories, newspapers, census substitutes and church records. You will also look at research methods and ways of recording your findings, and introduce palaeography (old handwriting), heraldry and genetic genealogy.
The required reading for this class is: Bruce Durie, ‘Scottish Genealogy’, 3rd edition (History Press, 2012).
Many families in the West of Scotland can trace at least some of their family roots back to Ireland. Until recently, this has often been considered to be a genealogical ‘brick wall’, due to the loss of certain historical Irish records a century ago. This perception is now changing, due to the increasing availability of important records for family history research.
This class aims to help you uncover what records are now available to help you enhance your knowledge of these elusive family branches, and place this new information in the wider context of your family history project.
Family history research can gain a great deal of social, historical and cultural context from studying records of the occupations pursued by our forebears. This class aims to help you discover the genealogical records that will tell you more about your ancestors’ working lives, and place them within their historical environment.
The main focus will be on the Victorian era, but you will also look at some aspects of occupational history in earlier and later periods. Glasgow will feature strongly, but other parts of Scotland will also be considered.
Short genealogical seminars & one-day workshops.
This one-day seminar will focus on the records available to family historians arising from the systems of welfare and local government that existed in Victorian Scotland, particularly Glasgow. Join us to explore the history and records of the Scottish Poor Law from the viewpoints of both applicants and governing bodies. Illustrated lectures will be supplemented by group work using family history case studies, and there will be opportunities for discussion and Q&A.
How to Book
You can 'Browse & Book Online' using our new online booking system - MyCLL - on the right hand side of this page.
To locate classes, select 'Genealogy' in the 'Search by Subject' box down the the right hand side of the MyCLL Catalogue.