Qualifications

BA (Hons) Art History and Creative Writing, First-class Honours

Whilst not directly related to genealogy or history, the creative writing part of my degree focused on many genres – poetry, short stories, novels, scriptwriting, and creative non-fiction. All of these gave me excellent experience in the transferable writing skills I utilise while writing for my clients.

MA English Local History, Merit

Focusing on the period 1750-1950, my postgraduate degree enabled me to embrace my love of history, particularly the period commonly referred to as the “long nineteenth century”, approximately 1760 (the dawn of the Industrial Revolution) to 1914 and the start of the First World War. The taught part of my MA involved the following subjects, the assessment for which awarded me a Distinction:

• Block 1: Historiography of local and regional history
• Block 2: Case History: Microhistories by Barry Reay
• Block 3: Historical study skills
• Block 4: Crime, police, and penal policy
• Block 5: The roles of families
• Block 6: Poverty and welfare
• Block 7: Industrialisation
• Block 8: Religion
• Block 9: Urban history

My 16,000 word dissertation involved a genealogical investigation into the Woods farming family of Haslingden, Lancashire over three nineteenth-century generations, with the hypothesis, “Did the Woods farming family change between 1837 and 1888?”. (Yes, they did.) The family lived mainly in an area between Haslingden Moor to the west, and the town of Haslingden itself in the east, and every generation was heavily influenced by the increasing industrialisation of the area. (My research has formed the basis of my One Place Study into the area.) The three main chapters focused on the following:

• Chapter 1: From Revolution to Depression – industry, migration, and occupational change
• Chapter 2: Big Changes, Little Changes – education, life expectancy, mortality, and morbidity
• Chapter 3: The Micro Family – fertility, women, and the social economy

Whilst all this might sound rather dry to read about, I must tell you that I loved every moment of learning, and transferring that learning into a physical project containing my own research!

Pharos Tutors and Teaching – Intermediate Certificate in Genealogy

I took this course in order to hone my skills in aspects more specific to genealogy itself, and to enhance my previous postgraduate study. Over the course of a year, I undertook the following modules, and after assessment was rewarded with a Distinction:

• Module 203: Researching the poor: a practical guide to parish and workhouse archives
• Module 204: Building on a solid foundation: genealogical methods and techniques
• Module 205: Wills and administrations: the riches of probate records
• Module 224: Your military ancestors
• Module 280: Nonconformity: its records and history, 1600-1950
• Module 281: Apprenticeship records
• Module 308: Victorian crime and punishment: courts, police, and prisons
• Module 380: Employment records
• Module 381: Before the modern census: name-rich sources 1690-1837
• Module 382: 17th Century sources

In addition, I have taken a number of additional modules from Pharos’ Advanced Certificate programme:

• Module 401: Manorial records for family and local historians
• Module 482: Advanced methods and reports
• Module 501: Introduction to medieval records

And also from Pharos’ non-assessed programme:

• Module 332: Introduction to house history
• Module 343: Mapping strategies for family historians
• Module 346: Progressing your local history research
• Module 941: Professional genealogist: become one, become a better one

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

As part of the criteria for advancing my Associate membership of AGRA to full membership, I am obliged to show that I am keeping both my research and business skills up to date. I regularly attend talks, seminars, and workshops on a variety of subjects from marketing, accounting, and using mind mapping in my research, to learning more about seaside bathing huts, the Romans in Cumbria, and even what Jane Austen might have eaten at Christmas!