When We Became History

What happens when a genealogist lives through a historic event?

As someone who spends hours piecing together the lives of ancestors from the documents our ancestors left behind in the records, I never expected to find myself consciously documenting history as it unfolded around me. Yet that's exactly what happened when COVID-19 transformed our world.

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This weeks prompt for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is ‘historic event’, I couldn’t leave out something as important as this in our lifetime.

Living in Western Australia during the pandemic was like being on "an island within an island." While we watched case numbers soar elsewhere, Premier Mark McGowan's "based on health advice" mantra kept us in a protected bubble.

In my latest blog post, I share the unexpected journey of:

• Navigating the rollercoaster of border closures and sudden lockdowns

• Teaching my grandchildren about family history over Zoom

• The bittersweet moment when our borders finally reopened

• Finding time amidst isolation to research my convict ancestors and write a book about them

  

  Source: NAA (National Archives of Australia), May Gibbs illustration for public health poster, 1919, CP567/1, Box 4

For a genealogist accustomed to studying how past generations weathered historic events, to then find ourselves becoming part of history-in-the-making. I created an online scrapbook throughout the pandemic—documenting empty supermarket shelves, vaccination certificates, and changing regulations—realising that someday it would become a primary source for future family historians.

[Read the full story here of how Western Australia experienced the pandemic through the eyes of someone who usually studies history rather than lives it.]

What historic events have you lived through, and how did you document them for future generations?