Are you interested in researching your family history, but not sure how to get started? Have you tried some genealogy websites, with unsatisfying results? Do you want to get off your computer and into the fascinating world of libraries, courthouses, archives and town halls?
If so, Piedmont Adult School has a class for you! New this fall, Building Skills for Successful Family Research is a class for aspiring family historians who want to build accurate family trees and learn about the lives of their ancestors. The class will focus on teaching foundational skills such as identifying relevant records and where to find them, documenting sources, assessing record reliability, and analyzing the results of research.
Building Skills for Successful Family Research will consist of six classes plus optional field trips to the Oakland Family Search Library and the California Genealogical Society Library.
The class will be taught by Pam Brett, who has been researching her own family history for the last 25 years. Brett has taught numerous classes for the California Genealogical Society and has traveled extensively to attend genealogical conferences and workshops and to conduct on-site research.
“Many people have dabbled in genealogy,” says Brett, “but they often hit a brick wall or lose interest when results are slim. This class goes far beyond what you can accomplish on a genealogy website. Students will learn how to dig deep and uncover the information that really makes family histories come alive.”
To register for this class and others, visit piedmontadultschool.org or call (510) 594-2655.
Building Skills for Successful Family Research
Instructor: Pam Brett
Wednesdays, 9/25 – 11/6
8 meetings plus 2 optional field trips
$360