Genealogy 101: Course Materials

(All downloadable items on this page require Adobe Reader)

In these course materials, you will find helpful tips and hints, research guides, downloadable charts and articles on genealogy extracted from The Quinte Searchlight, our quarterly newsletter. We are planning to add more charts and articles to this page on a regular basis so come back often for a visit to see what’s new. New to Genealogy? See Getting Started by instructor Bob Dawes.

Irish Genealogy 101, Bibliography 
Irish Genealogy 101, Internet Resources 

Reproduced with kind permission from Terry Findley

These handouts for Terry’s presentation on March 15, 2010 will help you to get started on your research into ancestors from the Emerald Isle. 
The key to finding where your Irish ancestors came from, and hence where and what Irish records to look for, is to start with the jewel of Canadian genealogy, the resources at Library and Archives Canada (LAC). These include family histories, biographies, passenger lists, census records, parish records, land grants, grave markers, newspaper obituaries and army records. Understanding Ireland’s administrative units and their significance is also essential to wade through the Irish records. 

Genealogy 101 Course Outline 
UPDATED October 2016  
by Bob Dawes
This handout for the Quinte Branch OGS Beginners Course discusses using basic charts and forms, the seven golden rules of research, what records are useful, local area repositories, computer programs and using the internet.

Family Charts
Compliments of Quinte Branch OGS

Family Information Checklist
Reproduced with kind permission from Fawne Stratford-Devai
A guide to various sources of information you may find in your home or the home of a family member. Carefully check each type of source record for clues to your family connections.

Using a Spreadsheet to Record your Research Findings
By Bob Dawes,
Reprinted from “The New Searchlight”, Vol. 1, No. 1, March 2006

How to use a spreadsheet to organize your growing collection of disjointed research information about each of your family groups.

Relationship Chart
By Bob Dawes
Find the relationship between two individuals with a common ancestor.

Record Selection Table
Reproduced with kind permission from Fawne Stratford-Devai
This table can help you find which records to search for particular events. Most helpful for post-1800 research in Canada.

Ontario Records
Reproduced with kind permission from Fawne Stratford-Devai
A guide to using Ontario Vital Statistics records (post-1869); locating modern records for births, marriages and deaths; and where to find information about other Ontario genealogy resources.

Early Ontario Birth, Marriage and Death Records
Reproduced with kind permission from Fawne Stratford-Devai
How to find pre-1869 Vital Records in Upper Canada / Canada West

The Canadian Vital Records Closure Gap
By Bob Dawes, reprinted from “The New Searchlight”, Vol. 1, No. 3, Sept. 2006
A look at what rules the difference provinces employ with regard to the privacy of their vital statistics.

Researching Canadian Military Records
Reproduced with kind permission from Rick Roberts
An introduction to researching military records using traditional and online methods.

Ontario Immigration Records
Reproduced with kind permission from Fawne Stratford-Devai
A guide for locating emigrant and immigrant records at Library and Archives Canada, the Archives of Ontario, Family History Centres (includes AO and FHC microfilm number listings) and on the internet. 

Using www.familysearch.org 
Reproduced with kind permission from Fawne Stratford-Devai
FamilySearch.org is the main genealogy website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), a non-profit service sponsored by the Church. The Church is home to the largest genealogical library in the world. The library catalogue is found through the FamilySearch site, but FamilySearch.org is much more than a library catalogue, it is home to many databases filled with millions of entries to primary and secondary family history sources. 

Starting Out on the Internet
By Bob Dawes
How to make best use of the internet for genealogical research.

Using Unorthodox Ways and Websites to Break Down Brick Walls
Reproduced with kind permission from Bob Dawes
This paper presents not only unusual websites as the answer to breakthroughs but also how computer technology can offer some solutions beyond the Internet. Breaking through brick walls takes perseverance and creativity. Search through your geographic origin, in general, to see what is available and to understand the nature of the locale in different timeframes. Try to track down a sibling of the elusive person. Organize all of your disparate data into a spreadsheet and sort it different ways to see if something you already have jumps out at you.  Build a Word table or Excel spreadsheet of a family line, decade by decade, including new spouses and offspring and then colour code the repeated people in each decade. Remember if the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer then all of your problems will look like nails and you have lots of different tools at your disposal.

The Risks and Rewards of Pay-per-View Websites
Presented by Bob Dawes
At the March 18, 2006 Quinte Branch Meeting

The rewards associated with using commercial genealogy websites far outweigh the risks which can be controlled by using some simple, common sense precautions.

For more research resources explore the links to other websites in the Tool Kit for up-to-date genealogy news, finding aids, resource and research guides, “how-to” articles and helpful reference.

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