Social Distancing Made Easy – Genealogy in the Time of Covid-19

As the novel Coronavirus takes a firm hold on the world, we are being encouraged to ‘flatten the curve’ of infection in order to keep our healthcare services from being completely overwhelmed. Social distancing, keeping away from the hordes, appears to be the most effective way of limiting the spread of the virus. Indeed, the same measures were taken during the Spanish Flu outbreak a century ago.

This means many of us will be at home a lot more than usual. Social distancing is the new (temporary) norm. But it’s not all bad news. There is so much we can do to pass the time that we may not usually have enough space in our days to do. Let’s make lemonade! Our family trees can benefit enormously from this enforced time out from our social lives!

Social Distancing Genealogist-Style

Here are just a few ideas to pass your time productively and progress your family history…

1) Get organised

When we dip in and out of our genealogy whenever we get a spare moment, things can quickly get disorganised. Social distancing time is perfect to invest in getting your research organised again…a crucial part of efficient research.

• Do you have a pile of documents that needs sorting and filing?
• Have you scanned all your photos and documents?
• Are your computer files sorted so you can find everything easily?
• Have you written a research plan?

2) Read

We all have a pile of reading material we need to get around to tackling. Do it now while you’re social distancing!

• Non-fiction – now is the time to dig out all the family history society journals, history books and other reference books that help provide knowledge and context to our research. Educate yourself.
• Fiction – there are some great genealogical mystery books around to lose yourself in. Try Nathan Dylan Goodwin or Steve Robinson!

3) Listen and watch

If you don’t feel like reading, there are many other ways to enjoy some genealogy input while social distancing.

• Listen to genealogy podcasts. There are so many to choose from, find one that matches your interests and enjoy!
• Watch webinars (try Family Tree Webinars, or catch the Rootstech 2020 lectures still available online).
• Have you seen all the episodes of your favourite genealogy TV show? If so, can you track down other versions of it? For example, although ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ began in the UK, there are also several seasons of the Australian and US versions. Even if you don’t always know who the celebrity is, the stories are always interesting and you can get some insight into how to solve nutty genealogy problems.

4) Research

With a bit more time on your hands, social distancing gives you the opportunity to go really in-depth with your research. Perhaps it’s time to get stuck into…

• Exploring your ancestors’ FAN clubs
• Analysing your DNA results, maybe trying some new tools such as AutoTrees
• Looking for gaps in your documentation and ordering copies in. Don’t forget to ‘kill off’ all your ancestors!
• Doing a ‘deep dive’ into one of your brick wall ancestors. Start again from scratch with them and see what you can find.
• Digging out some of those wills that seem a bit daunting and focus on working out their contents!

5) Involve the family

• Phone elderly relatives and ask about their memories. Get those stories from them while you have time to really listen. It’s a good way to check up on their wellbeing too since they are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus.
• If you are home with the kids due to school being shut, help them pass the time by doing a family tree project. This is also a great way to get them involved and perhaps recruit one of them to carry on as the family historian after you have gone!

6) Volunteer

• Family History Societies and local history groups are always crying out for volunteers. Why not see what your groups need and offer to help with things you can do from home? Transcriptions of registers and other documents can be done from your computer.
• Memorial sites such as Billion Graves and Find A Grave rely on people transcribing uploads. If you’re good at reading headstones, this is a great use of your time.

So there we go. Your social calendar might be emptying, but give it a couple of weeks and you’ll wonder how you ever found time to go out and play! Stay safe and well, and happy researching!