Sourcing your Ancestors in England in the Long 18th Century

Join Else Churchill for an important summer school course on Zoom. To help you take your family tree back into the 1700s, Else covers all the essential resources and techniques to find ancestors back in time. 

Yes, the 18th century did begin on 1 January 1701. But, when it comes to history, it’s sometimes useful to think in wider terms so that we can understand why things happened and what happened next. Many British historians do this for what is called ‘the long 18th century’, starting at about 1690 and running through to 1837.  

To get full value from this course, you are expected to have used genealogical sources, such as parish records. You must also be reasonably familiar with the major genealogy websites, such as FamilySearch, Ancestry, FindmyPast, and archive catalogues. 

Else covers the documents, the sources and the resources for the period, to give you the knowledge and the context you need to continue to build your family tree. She also introduces the FAN method (Family, Association, Network). This gives you a genealogical technique to enable you to research the period in different ways, such as family reconstruction, or strategies for searching baptisms and marriages.  Click "Show Sessions"  above to find out more. 

Guest speaker Paul Couchman will be taking you into kitchens of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century using recipes from female cookery writers including Hannah Glasse, Elizabeth Rundell and Elizabeth Raffald. We’ll be looking at original recipes that would have been made, and eaten specifically in July. Recipes easy to try for yourself at home. There will be a soup, a main course dish and something sweet. To finish, we’ll also consider the role that preserving food would have played. July’s harvest would have been preserved for use later in the year so we will look at recipes for pickles and jams and I will show you some you might like to make yourself. In addition I will talk about where and how the dishes would have been served. We’ll look at service à la française and explain table etiquette so, if you should ever find yourself a guest at a Georgian dining room you would know what to do.

Complete our pre course feedback form to obtain your exclusive invite to the SoG’s virtual post-course coffee morning, this is your chance to share stories and socialise with fellow attendees and tutor alike! Held the week after course completion on 14th July at 10:30am to give you time to reflect on the course. Our pre-course forms are used to help us ensure our course meets your needs. As a thank you to all those that complete the form, we like to open our virtual coffee shop doors. Please bring a cuppa.

A one week summer school of five intense mornings with tutor Else Churchill. Full cost £180.00, as a membership benefit SoG members pay £144.00. All talks will be recorded and available to those who book a place for two weeks. Bookings accepted until 4 July. The full programme is to follow.

All students will receive a reading list to further enhance learning opportunities.  There will be plenty of opportunity for discussion and asking questions. Bring along your research queries. 

About the tutor:  Else Churchill is the Genealogist at the Society Genealogists in London and a has over 30 years of experience as a genealogist. Formerly a professional genealogical librarian and researcher, Else has worked for the SoG since 1994. She now leads on external liaison, representation and communications; the Society's education and publishing programmes as well as being the Society's subject specialist.

Guest speaker:  Paul Couchman, The Regency Cook, set up the historic kitchen at The Regency Town House in Hove, England. He appears regularly on local radio and writes a blog on historic cooking.