The Pharos Bulletin

Tuesday 24, April 2012

Dear Reader,

Welcome to our April newsletter and some terrific offers exclusively for newsletter readers!

Spring into Summer Course Sale

Get ahead with your family research for less. Take advantage of our great Spring/Summer course discounts we are offering exclusively to our newsletter readers to help you kick-start your genealogy project.

We are offering 20% off the course price to the first five newsletter readers signing up to any of our courses in May. A great reason to get started!

back to top

Tutor Spotlight - Chris Pomery

DNA expert Chris Pomery has been researching his immediate family history for fifteen years. In 2000 he launched the Pomeroy DNA project, which for a while was the largest surname-based DNA project in the world.

Chris has written several books on the subject and lectures all over the country as well as contributing to several family history magazines around the world. Since 2009 he has been helping Family Tree DNA, the leading supplier of DNA tests to the family history community, to develop its presence in the UK.

Chris is probably the most well known expert on using DNA in your family history and we are delighted that he is our exper tutor on the exciting course, Genetic Genealogy - DNA and Your Research.

Throughout this course he will share his own experiences and lessons from Project Pomery, as well as teaching how a DNA test will lend credence to your own non-scientific research.

Chris' own website can be found here.

back to top

Course Highlights

Genetic Genealogy - DNA and Your Research | Chris Pomery

8th May 2012 | 4 Weeks | £39.99

DNA expert Chris Pomery leads this exciting course where you will learn how a DNA test will lend credence to your own non-scientific research. During this course you will understand the why, how, what and limits of DNA testing; you will learn to read and analyze results and result comparisons; and you will gain experience in DNA projects: including how to find and/or join one or how to go about setting up your own.

This course is a useful introduction to the follow-up course Genetic Genealogy, Managing a Surname DNA Project.

>> 20% off the First 5 Places: Use Discount Code: SPRING20 <<

Discover More or Sign Up Here.

back to top

Course Reminders

Australian Roots and Branches | Jeremy Palmer

2nd May 2012 | 5 Weeks | £45.99

This course is not only for Australians wanting to trace their ancestry but also to those with relatives down under too. This course will teach you how to navigate various state records such as birth, marriage and death, church registers, wills, passenger lists and of course Australia's controversial convict records.

Using both online and offline tools and through the use of case studies you will be given practical help to progress your genealogical research to reveal a very personal historical view of this fascinating country.

>> 20% off the First 5 Places: Use Discount Code: SPRING20 <<

Discover More or Sign Up Here.

back to top

Irish Family History and the Use of Land Records | Sherry Irvine

2nd May 2012 | 3 Weeks | £33.99

In the 200 years from the Plantation of Ulster and the potato famine, the land map of Ireland had changed completely. Post famine it changed yet again providing historians with a rich legacy of land ownership, transfer and taxation records. This course helps you find valuable sources for research in Ireland before 1830. Using your existing knowledge of boundaries and jurisdictions in Ireland, you will learn about the purpose and contents of estate records, deeds, encumbered estate papers and other records.

Whether or not your ancestors were landlords, estate managers, tenants, renters or labourers, using land records will bring you a step closer.

Advance Level Course. It is recommended that you first complete our course, Ireland - A Practical Approach to Family History.

>> 20% off the First 5 Places: Use Discount Code: SPRING20 <<

Discover More Here.

back to top

Tying the Knot - Marriage and its Records | Gill Blanchard

8th May 2012 | 3 Weeks | £33.99

Discovering marriage records is a valuable source that connects two names and two families to reveal a fascinating chapter of your history. This course provides practical advice on marriage records, finding aids and the best places to search. Learn about the intriguing history of marriage itself from tale of laws and the flagrant abuse of same, banns and licenses, clandestine marriages, handfasting, bigamy, and more.

This is a very interesting and captivating course.

>> 20% off the First 5 Places: Use Discount Code: SPRING20 <<

Discover More or Sign Up Here.

back to top

Scotland 1750 - 1850 - Beyond the OPRs | Chris Paton

16th May 2012 | 5 Weeks | £45.99

Led by expert Scottish researcher, Chris Paton, this is an intermediate level course in Scottish family history for those who are going back beyond 1850. You should have some experience with research in the Old Parochial Registers of the Church of Scotland and in using major websites for Scottish research.

Discover the most effective way to obtain a selection of records that may be online, in print, on CD or microfilm. Learn about additional sources that fill the gap when the OPRs are lacking; such as records of parish and town administration, occupations, land transfer and taxation.

Advance Level Course. It is recommended that you first complete our course, Scottish Research Online.

>> 20% off the First 5 Places: Use Discount Code: SPRING20 <<

Discover More or Sign Up Here.

back to top

Your Family in Stuart England | Liz Carter

18th May 2012 | 3 Weeks | £33.99

This short and absorbing course examines the life and times of our 17th century ancestors, covering the period from the death of Queen Elizabeth and the start of the Stuart dynasty and taking in the English Civil War. Through this course you will discover the background of the social, political and economic strands that made up the fabric of Stuart society.

Put your ancestors within the context of this period of advancement that saw revolution in science and discovery as well as  exploration and conquest at home and overseas.

Through your research you will meet religious groups and map-makers; skirt round the plague pits and the Great Fire of London; read about some of the new books and plays and observe family life across the social scale in Stuart England & Wales. This is a captivating chapter of history that remains popular today.

>> 20% off the First 5 Places: Use Discount Code: SPRING20 <<

Discover More or Sign Up Here.

back to top

Michael Isherwood

Finally, to end this month's newsletter, it is with great sadness that we report the death of Michael Isherwood on 14th April.

Michael wrote and taught the Nonconformity course, one of the ten Family History Skills and Strategies modules in our joint programme of courses with the Society of Genealogists.

Michael was a member of the Society's Education Committee and a long-standing Open University and further education teacher. He provided us with much advice and support in setting up the programme as well as a considerable amount of his own time given freely.

He was lovely to work with and will be much missed.

Pharos Tutors