Things to do Thursday: Family History from Home

As it is Family History Month, and we're still locked down with Stage Four restrictions, here’s a list of family history things that can be done without leaving the house.

Ten Family History Things To Do From Home:

1. Write your own memoirs – there’s no time like the present to preserve your memories. You could record them too, especially if writing is not your thing.

2. Connect with family members via phone or online to collect their stories as well. If you want to use video chat (like Zoom or something similar) to do this, but you're not sure how, this how-to video from State Library Victoria might help.

3. Document your photos. Note down everything you know about who is who, and when and where. Everything. And a bonus: document that you were the one who did this and you’re pretty much guaranteed to be a favourite ancestor of any family history loving descendants for generations to come! 

4. Keep researching. Although libraries and archives are closed
there is a lot that can still be done online, particularly as the libraries’ family history resources can be used from home at the moment.

5. Check for updates. Lots of sites are regularly updated with new records, indexes and documents. Revisit the sites you’ve found useful in the past to see what new gems you might now be able to uncover. 

6. Get your records in order. Many of us have copious notes, files, photos, documents, recordings and objects we’ve collected relating to our family history, but the organisation of all this stuff is… well, less than perfect. This could be a good time to get organised.

Image of a folder of family history documents
My family history documents are kept in an archival grade folder. They could use some sorting.

7. Attend a virtual conference, webinar or class.  My Heritage have lots of family history webinars coming up, and Gould Genealogy & History keeps a good list of events coming soon. Family Search also run regular online classes. Next Wednesday, (26th August) at 7pm, The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is holding a free online workshop on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family history:
 
8. Join an online family history or genealogy group to connect with more people with your shared interest, and to access to more tools, events, newsletters and the like. The Virtual Genealogy group might be a good one to join at the moment.

9. Read family history magazines for free online (see our recent post about these). Moonee Valley Libraries provides free digital access for members to a several magazines from around the world that focus on family history. They're fascinating reading, and great for keeping up with the latest in the family history area.

10. Share what you know. Upload all those historical family photos you’ve been meaning to put online for years - along with what you know about them. Reach out to family members, to see who’d like to hear your stories. If you write up your memories or family stories make sure to share them with other family members. Plus, if anything relates to Moonee Valley, please reach out to Moonee Valley Libraries – we’re always interested in collecting documents, memoirs or photos that relate to the local history of the area.

Hopefully this list will keep you busy. 

Take care everybody! 

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