FAMILYSEARCH LEARNING CENTER
Free Genealogy Classes Online

The FamilySearch website offers so much more than digitized images, indexes, and family tree links. Go to https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/home.html and you will find hundreds of free video tutorials, slide show presentations and audio classes that cover everything from U. S. and European genealogy to specialty subjects for beginning, intermediate, and advanced genealogists.

photo: courtesy of K. M. Grant

Having Trouble Reading Old-style Handwriting?

Learn about the letters of the “Secretary Hand,” a style of handwriting found in many English and colonial records created during the 1500s and 1600s at Reading English Handwritten Records Lesson 1: English Secretary Hand Letters. Explore abbreviations, different ways that dates were recorded, and Latin words that are commonly found in English and colonial records at Reading English Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Dates and Latin Words. Study English genealogical records, including parish registers, bishop’s transcripts, probate records, and court records at Reading English Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading Secretary Hand Documents.
Interested in Pennsylvania?

Begin with Pennsylvania Research: Vital and Church Records; then continue your research by looking at land records: Pennsylvania Research: Land Records: Field of Dreams; and finish your tutorials  with the last lesson: Pennsylvania Research: County Court and Probate Records. You will find that due to the lack of vital records and the difficulty of locating church records in Pennsylvania, court and probate documents are valuable tools. 

Looking for Special Newspaper Topics?

Learn how to use newspaper records that are available in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library to assist you with your African American research by accessing Using the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library's Newspaper Collection to Assist with African American Research.

Family History specialist Audrey Collins discusses how researchers can get the most out of the London Gazette, Britain’s oldest continually-published newspaper in her lecture The London Gazette: Not Just the Brave and the Bankrupt. This treasure trove for family and local historians can reveal details of gallantry awards, notices of bankruptcy, changes of name and much more.

Want to Learn about Your Ancestors’ Occupations?

Researching laborers can be very interesting, and much information can be found if you know where to look. Sources for Tracing Agricultural Labourers covers resources available in The National Archives, parish and county records, and manor, estate and farm records.

RESEARCH TIP: We all use online resources to help us research our ancestors; and, all too often, we follow one path, entering information in the same way on the same page, time after time. Get out of whatever rut you might be in, and explore the websites you use most often. You may be surprised by how many additional resources the website offers!