Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest

Copyright – Julie Goucher 2019

Today’s tip is connect with others. It always sounds so very obvious when we say a marriage record is made up of at least two people.

Generally speaking, there will be at least two surnames, the bride and groom. Sometimes there will be a third, if the bride has previously been married. In the case of my Grandparents, their marriage record certificate show they were both single when they married in 1939.

In that case, both surnames are registered with the Guild – my Grandfather’s surname by myself and my Grandmother’s by another Guild member.

Go a step further. Take each marriage in your own family or study and see if the other surname is registered with the Guild. If so the other member may have additional information to share, or they perhaps have nothing further, in which case they will very likely be glad of the information.

Perhaps the surname is not registered, in which case why not register it. Or alternatively, perhaps the surname is listed as a surname interest.

So, what are you waiting for? Visit the website and search those surnames!

Copyright – Julie Goucher 2019

Today’s tip is quite simple.

Join the Guild of One-Name Studies or Renew your membership.

Long before I was a Trustee of the Guild I was a member, joining the Guild in 2002. I immediately registered the surname of Orlando. I have written quite a lot about my Orlando study and do not regret the registration of the surname.

When I joined the Guild, the concept of “on-line” was new and the ability to be online and research has aided my research tremendously. I began researching in the late 1980’s – it took me three years to gather the Orlando references from the GRO indexes for England and Wales. Now I can download the same material in about 3 minutes!

Times change and studies, like all our research evolves as we become more experienced and creative in what we want to achieve. As researchers with a study, there is no pressure to become global, no pressure to adopt a particular way of working. There are many advantages for joining the Guild, connecting with others and sharing information, experience and support. The biggest benefit though is the friendships we make along the way with other members.

Copyright – Julie Goucher 2019

Today the tip to review your current genealogy filing system. Do a quick appraisal of the following:

• Genealogical Software
• Notebooks
• Research log
• To Do lists
• Random notes (yes, all those post it notes too!)
• Material held in OneNote or Evernote
• Material held on USB’s and external drives
• Documents
• Audio tapes
• Spreadsheets
• Anything else?

How much of that data is related to your surname of interest? Will your current processes stand up to a more robust and enjoyable research method?

Copyright – Julie Goucher 2019

Today’s tip is to read a copy of the current version of The Art of a One-Name Study, (Seven Pillars). Published by the Guild in 2012 the book is a great introduction to progressing a One-Name (surname) Study.

The book is available from the Guild of One-Name Studies and via Amazon.

Copyright – Julie Goucher 2019

Today’s tip is to read a copy of the newly published Surname Research Guide. I wrote the initial version back in February 2019. The booklet was circulated with Family Tree Magazine (UK), March edition as a way of the Guild of One-Name Studies celebrating it’s 40th anniversary.

The booklet was also circulated at a variety of events, both in the UK and elsewhere. The magazine sadly has none of the magazines available, but the there are electronic versions for purchase on the magazine’s website.

I was then asked if I would produce a slightly longer version for the Guild which could be used as part of the welcome pack sent to new members. I agreed.

That version contains some material from the Guild website, some from articles I have written and published both on this site and via my Family Tree Magazine 2019 surname series.

The booklet, in PDF format is to be available to members of the Guild of One-Name Studies free of charge via the Resources section of the Members’ Room on the website. Physical copies are available from the Guild, or will be in the next week or so or via Amazon. All royalties from the booklet are going to the Guild, which is a registered Charity in England and Wales.

One of the tips early on, was to explore the Guild website, today the tip is view the recording of the Guild website.

The recording was from the seminar in spring 2017 and was presented by Kim Baldacchino, who was webmaster at the time. (Kim has three studies for the surnames of Eastall, Eastlack and Baldacchino).

Whilst the presentation is almost 3 years old, it is a great opportunity to explore the website and to explore the elements of creating a study profile page.

This is something that I recommend to students of the Introduction to One-Name Studies course and many students say they always learn something new, so recommended viewing!

The best way of getting the most of your membership is to explore the one of the biggest assets the Guild has, which is our website and members room. If of course you are not a member of the Guild, why wait any longer!

Copyright – Julie Goucher 2019

Yesterday, the tip was to attend a Guild seminar or conference, today the tip is explore the recorded offering of seminar and conference sessions. These are available to members only.

Members need to be logged in to the website and then hopefully this LINK will work!

The Guild in 2018 ran a series of webinars and these will begin again in 2020. These are available to both non-members and members live and for a week after broadcast.

After the free access period, they become a members only provision. There are though a few available to all on a permanent basis, and you can access those HERE