Tracing Your European Ancestors

In her first presentation Julie Goucher will deliver a broad overview enabling research in Europe.

A continent spanning more than thirty countries and has been subjected to wars, political unrest, and border changes. Europe is a Continent with different languages, cultures, and religions, all of which play a part in family history research. We look at the obstacles and pitfalls a researcher may encounter, and the major historical events – those that have had a marked effect on family history – are identified, especially the impact of the world wars and regional conflicts, border changes and movements of populations. We also explore the concept of researching European Surnames and how that might link into European DNA projects.

In the second presentation of the day, we will be featuring key resources, some well-known and others less so for researching European ancestry.

Enabling researchers to not just explore ancestral and family history sites, but also great resources for embracing the cultural, social, economic, and political lives of our European ancestors. Researching them in the historical context of the time – Your people in their place in their time. Understanding that is vital to successful European research and enables you to bring your ancestors to life so that they become more than just names.  

1. Tracing your European Ancestors with Q & A

2. Resources for researching your European Ancestors with Q & A

Can't make this time? Book anyway as this talk will be recorded and available to watch for 2 weeks. 

About the speaker: Julie has been actively researching her own ancestry since the late 1980s and that of her husband since 1993; inspired by visits to and information from her Great Aunts and Uncles. Her own maternal ancestry is very much focused on the UK Counties of Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire with a degree of migration and links to India, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Her paternal ancestry is from Sicily, and it was researching the Italian surname of Orlando that was Julies first step into the concept of One-Name Studies, when Julie began noting all the Orlandos as she researched. By 2002, when the Orlando surname was registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies the amount of research she had undertaken was significant, although it was the internet age that really enabled the study to become more global and a study on migration from Italy & Sicily to England, United States and beyond. Julie has been the project administrator for the Orlando DNA Project hosted at FamilyTreeDNA since 2007.   Julie now spends her time writing for a variety of genealogical magazines and books both relevant to genealogy, pharmacy, or education & learning. Julie has also presented & lectured at Who Do You Think You Are? Live, the Society of Genealogists and globally either in person or electronically. Julie is also a tutor for Pharos Tutors teaching three surname & One-Name Studies courses and one of European Research. Julie has been a Trustee for the Guild of One-Name Studies since 2015 and is currently Chairman.   Julie writes at http://anglersrest.net and can be followed on Twitter @juliegoucher

New to Zoom and would like to attend the course but not sure how it works? Do contact us if you would like to arrange a free taster session.