Join Else Churchill and take your family tree back to the 1700s.
This course explores the essential resources, records, and research techniques needed to trace your ancestors into the 18th century. While the 18th century officially began on 1 January 1701, historians often think in terms of the “long 18th century” - roughly 1690 to 1837 - to better understand the wider historical context and the forces that shaped people’s lives. This broader perspective will help you see not just when events happened, but why they happened and what followed.
To gain the most from the course, you should already have experience using key genealogical sources, such as parish registers, and be reasonably familiar with major genealogy websites including FamilySearch, Ancestry, FindMyPast, and archive catalogues.
Through detailed case studies and hands-on exploration of original documents and key resources, you will develop both the practical skills and the historical understanding needed to extend your family history research. The course also introduces the FAN method (Family, Associates, Neighbours), a powerful research strategy that broadens your approach beyond direct ancestors. You will learn how to apply techniques such as family reconstruction and more effective strategies for locating baptisms, marriages, and other records from the period.
The 10-Week course covers:
- Setting the Scene of 18th century life
- Parish Life
- Voting Rights and Responsibilities
- Tax and Town
- Property and Probate
- Court Records
- The Home Country at War
- Rise of the Professional Men
- Monuments and Memorial
- Great Frost & Famine of 1739-41 with guest speaker Wayne Shepheard
- Assembly Rooms at Christmas with guest speaker Dr Hillary Burlock
By the end of the course, you will have the tools, confidence, and context to continue building your family tree deep into the long 18th century.
- 20% Discount for all Society of Genealogists Members
- Recordings available until 07/01/2027 for everyone who pre-books
Click here for information about our events. Contact events@sog.org.uk if you have any questions.
Programme details
| Setting the Scene | Online | 05/10/2026 | 18:30 - 20:30 | |
| Parish Life | Online | 12/10/2026 | 18:30 - 20:30 | |
| Voting Rights and Responsibilities | Online | 19/10/2026 | 18:30 - 20:30 | |
| Tax and Town | Online | 26/10/2026 | 18:30 - 20:30 | |
| Property and Probate | Online | 02/11/2026 | 18:30 - 20:30 | |
| Court Records | Online | 09/11/2026 | 18:30 - 20:30 | |
| The Home Country at War | Online | 16/11/2026 | 18:30 - 20:30 | |
| Rise of the Professional Men | Online | 23/11/2026 | 18:30 - 20:30 | |
| Monuments and Memorial | Online | 30/11/2026 | 18:30 - 20:30 | |
| Great Frost & Famine of 1739-41 | Online | 07/12/2026 | 18:30 - 19:30 | |
| Assembly Rooms at Christmas | Online | 07/12/2026 | 19:30 - 20:30 |
About the
Else Churchill
Else Churchill is the Genealogist at the Society of Genealogists in London. Formerly a professional genealogical librarian and researcher, Else has worked for the SoG since 1994. She is the Society’s subject lead, working across the organisation and runs the publishing programme. She was the recipient of the IHGS Julian Bickersteth Memorial Medal in 2023 for her exemplary contribution to family history studies. TEST
About the Speaker
Hillary Burlock
Dr Hillary Burlock is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Liverpool, working on the histories of British assembly rooms in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. She was awarded her PhD in History at Queen Mary University of London in 2022 where her thesis explored intersections between Georgian political culture and social dance from 1760 to 1832. Hillary Burlock has held fellowships at the Lewis Walpole Library, Huntington Library, and Royal Archives, and has recently published edited collections on the cultural influence of Bath’s Assembly Rooms with Routledge and on dance and sociability in the long eighteenth century with Bloomsbury.
About the Speaker
Wayne Shepheard
Wayne Shepheard has pursued genealogical research for several decades, exploring families in North America, Europe and the United Kingdom. He is active in expanding interest in, and writing and speaking about natural phenomena and their impacts on people and communities. In addition to several dozen articles he has written for family history journals and magazines, Wayne has also published two books. Surviving Mother Nature’s Tests relates many of the situations observed in nature to the lives of families who experienced or endured them. Genealogy and the Little Ice Age deals with the physical parameters of the Little Ice Age (1300-1850), the effects climatic conditions of that period had on people and how the environmental situations influenced the broader society. He is a co-author of The Wreck of the Bay of Panama: 10 March 1891. Wayne writes regularly on his blog, Discover Genealogy (www.discovergenealogy.ca). Wayne lives in Langford, British Columbia, Canada.
