Future Family History: The Upside of Being Inside During a Pandemic

Testing whether a video can be embedded in webinar

Dear future generations: More about living life during the novel coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Here are highlights of the final week in March, spent mostly indoors.

Genealogy galore indoors

The upside of being inside: Plenty of time for genealogy!

Katherine Willson, head of the Virtual Genealogical Association, was kind enough to help me with a test as I prep for my webinar, "Curate Your Genealogy Collection--Before Joining Your Ancestors!" scheduled on November 24th.

I wanted to embed one or two brief (30-second) videos into my webinar. My hubby videoed me showing off an archival box with a scrapbook of World War II letters. I talked about labeling the box on two sides, and keeping the scrapbook safe with archival tissue paper between the pages.

Unfortunately, it turns out video can't be embedded in a webinar (we tested without success, then asked Thomas MacEntee, who explained the technical reason why it won't work). So instead, I'll include photos and do a voice-over during the webinar.

Another upside to being inside: Time to binge-watch genealogy webinars! As a VGA member, I blazed through several previously-recorded webinars, printing the handouts for note-taking as I watched.

It was so much fun participating in both the Friday and the Saturday #Genchat Twitter conversations about downsizing with genealogy in mind (guest expert: Devon Noel Lee of Family History Fanatics). Also I enjoyed this week's #AncestryHour conversation on Twitter.

In addition, I'm watching the MyHeritage webinar marathon, little by little, a great opportunity to learn from the experts!

Meanwhile, outside...

One early morning, I scraped ice off my car and went to the supermarket to take advantage of "senior-only" hours (ahem, I barely qualify, right?).

In the pre-dawn hours, I wiped down my shopping cart with disinfectant and walked through the aisles, rarely seeing another shopper. Happy dance: disinfectant spray was back on the shelves--limit 2 per customer. I bought 2! Fresh chicken in the meat department, no beef for stew or meatloaf. Lots of produce. No toilet paper in stock, but none needed for another month at least ;)

After loading my cart to the brim--ready for two more weeks of staying indoors--I checked out, standing a safe six feet away from the customer in front of me. At home, I unloaded everything and wiped all packages down with disinfectant, just in case, then showered and washed my clothes and coat. Whew.

This was the only time I got into the car all week. Hubby and I walk around the block on sunny days, greeting friends and neighbors from a safe distance.

This will be the rhythm of our days until late April, when I hope New England will be past the apex of this awful coronavirus crisis.

Readers, please stay indoors and stay healthy!

Binge-Watching VGA Genealogy Webinars

During this weekend's heatwave, I binge-watched several webinars hosted by the Virtual Genealogical Association.

And truly, it was like attending a genealogy conference to see expert speakers, but without the costly travel and crowded auditoriums. (Plus I could sip homemade lemonade while I watched.)

There was a lot of wisdom on offer, and the programs were well worth the modest membership fee. Although I only had time to watch 3 of the webinars, I'll return again to view some I missed and more that are scheduled in the coming months.

• Thomas MacEntee's "Future Trends" talk provided much food for thought about what's coming in the near and far future. A great way to consider what might be in store for the genealogy community as tech trends evolve (such as: is blockchaining for genealogy on the way?).
• Randy Whited's DNA introduction was illustrated with excellent and informative slides. A thorough and easy-to-digest overview of genetic genealogy, with useful "third-party tools" listed in the handout. Inspired me to check out more of my DNA matches, after a brief summer hiatus.
• Katherine R. Willson's "Voyage to America" talk reinforced my admiration for the hardships faced by my ancestors crossing the Atlantic. It also encouraged me to do a better job of analyzing which ports were used by specific individuals and families--and why they chose these particular ports.