An overview of the life and lifestyle of Welsh agricultural labourers in the 19th century, including habitations, diet, wages, migration and agitation for change.

Have you noticed that the given names of our eighteenth and nineteenth century British ancestors were drawn from a surprisingly small pool? But how small a pool? How common were our ancestors’ given names? John for example was carried by one in every five English males. The four most popular male names were carried by one in every two males. And the top thirteen male names were carried by 87% of the male population indicating that all of the other male names in use at the time were together borne by only 13% of the population. That being the case, the usual popularity lists found on the internet – those that record the top 10, 20, 50 names – are unhelpful unless they provide frequency statistics. This seminar focuses on given name popularities, changes in popularity, and the reasons for such changes. It also covers spelling variants, abbreviations and diminutives. For example, if you don’t know that Polly was a diminutive of Mary or that Nellie was a diminutive of Ellen and Eleanor and Helen, you may struggle to find your ancestors’ entries. Our ancestors’ names provide the gateway into tracing our family history. Learning more about their names may prove useful in determining their ancestry or finding other family connections.

This talk briefly describes church and nonconformism and the major challenges for a genealogist in locating baptisms, marriages and burials in Wales.

This lecture will focus on the real-life account of how genealogist and writer, Nathan Dylan Goodwin worked to try and uncover the truth about his grandmother’s wartime romance; a romance which led to the birth of an illegitimate child, who was then adopted soon after her birth. Nathan will discuss each step of the complex process and methodology behind his research to identify that child’s biological father, sifting through official documents and revealing long-hidden family secrets. He will explain the range of genealogical methodology approaches, archives and services exploited, including DNA-testing, which assisted and ultimately confirmed this three-year search's discoveries.

This introduction in Dutch genealogy shows how to search for people in the Netherlands, what records to use (civil registration, censuses and church books) and where online to look for them.

The use of maps and gazetteers is essential in your family history. A good map will tell you a lot about your ancestor’s home village and its surrounds. This presentation shows you how to access a variety of maps, many of which can be downloaded to your computer. These will help you understand more of your ancestor’s life and times. Use of Meyers Gaz website is also explained. This website gives access to a comprehensive gazetteer that was published a few years before World War 1 when the German Empire was at its greatest extent and it has links to scans of historic maps of the area.

Have you got your ancestors back to the start of parish registers? You may still be able to go further back, by looking at records related to death, land and the law. Learn what records are available online for researching back into the medieval period.

Discover the wealth of resources at ScotlandsPeople to get you started on your Scottish research and a host of other websites you can use to build a great story of your family in Scotland. Make it personal – not just a collection of names and dates.

‘The law is a ass, Sir!’ (Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist). This presentation begins by discussing the big picture question of the British criminal justice system, including the contemporary attitudes to criminals and the policy of transporting them abroad. It then covers the types of records that deal with the crimes and punishments of British criminals.

For decades we’ve heard the statement – you can’t research your Irish ancestors – all the records were destroyed. This throw-away-line is still around today and is still incorrect. Many presumptions are made about Irish records but when we look at them in detail there are so many available on the Internet either free or through subscriptions. Ironically people still talk about records that were destroyed in 1922 when they were never available in the first place. It’s time to have another look at just what is and isn’t available for Irish family history research.

A plethora of information and data is available for you at the Queensland Family History Society’s website. Step through and glimpse the world from it’s website!. Sponsored by Queensland Family History Society

From the 300-page Addresses to Sir George Grey, to the Pioneer Women's Honour Roll, the Old Colonists Association Register to the C. Little & Sons Funeral Director cards, Auckland Libraries continues to digitise all manner of items for Aucklanders to enjoy. Join family history librarian Seonaid Lewis on a tour of these treasures and learn about the stories behind them, the information held in them, and how you can access them on Kura Heritage Collections Online.

”Breaking down brick walls in your family history research” looks at how to resolve stumbling blocks in your family history research using new and unique search strategies to find those missing relatives. Techniques covered include searching for a family using just the individuals' forenames, keyword search tools (using criteria other than a name to search on) and other advanced search techniques. The talk also covers unique data sets such as Tithe records, Occupational Records, Non-Conformist records, Will images, Parish Records, Military Records, Directories, Newspapers and more. This talk is suitable for all levels, for those with an interest in online research Sponsored by TheGenealogist.

Sponsored by VicGUM

Sponsored by TheGenealogist

Sponsored by Auckland Libraries

People from all around the world left their homes in search of a better life. Apart from those who came direct, many arrived In New Zealand having tried out Canada, the US, South Africa or Australia first. Let’s take a tour through New Zealand’s resources online available to help you find that lost Kiwi connection. Sponsored by Auckland Libraries

Findmypast is one of the UK’s largest family history websites and has the fastest growing collection of Scottish records online. With many more on the way, join resident genealogist Myko Clelland as we explore some of the key collections and expert techniques to get you further, faster. Let me know if you need anything else or if that's good - and if it is, I'll get on the recording and the rest of the preparations! Skill level - all levels Sponsored by Findmypast

The Victorian era is one of huge change in British society. Mass migration, the creation of new record types, and new technologies, all transformed our ancestors lives. This presentation will explore the records created during this period and how to get the best out of these on our genealogy journey. Skill level - all levels. Sponsored by Findmypast.

An overview of the online Diploma of Family History at the University of Tasmania – covering the course structure, what you’ll learn, and how we teach online.